Western Railroad Discussion > PSR BNSF PNW

as seen on Skykomish railcam at 7:00am 2/22/20, BNSF ran a 3x1x2, 13000 ft QCHCSSE over the Scenic Sub today. Front half was domestic, back half was int’l cans.

Wonder if they ran it like that in one train over Marias on the Hi Line or MRL?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/22/20 08:03 by jayman.

Dunno, but that was the length coming into Hauser.

thanks for this info/symbol.  does anybody know how many times per week this huge train runs?

do any other "non-clearing" trains run between pasco and whitefish?

thanks for any info..........

66



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/22/20 08:33 by goneon66.

this is the first wbd, non-unit-train “monster” that i know of. the others have been eastbound,built in Auburn to go over stampede, and consist of either two empty grain trains or an empty grain and an empty oil or coal. i think they have also assembled a couple in Hauser to go east but i dont know much more than that.

bbcc Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> as seen on Skykomish railcam at 7:00am 2/22/20,
> BNSF ran a 3x1x2, 13000 ft QCHCSSE over the Scenic
> Sub today. Front half was domestic, back half was
> int’l cans.

That's kind of funny. In the late 70s, I was new in Seattle and had been working the hill a short time. I talked with a colleague in the office about the difference in handling Tehachapi and handling Stevens Pass. BN was running 108 car grain trains into Wenatchee out as two 54 car trains. Single limit was 4,800 tons 4,800 feet and helper train limit was 6,600 tons 7,000 feet. Only a few years before, I had been regularly handling 14,000 ton trains over Tehachapi. He was chief one weekend afternoon and decided to run a grain train out of Wenatchee SP style: 4 on the point, 4 cut in, 4 cut in. All was well until an official happened to see the train roll into Sky. We received a directive: What he saw at Sky was impossible, so don't ever do it again!

TAW

jayman Wrote:
>> Wonder if they ran it like that in one train over Marias on the Hi Line or MRL? >>

They've been running trains like that via MRL (over Mullan and Bozeman Passes) for several months. Mostly doubled up grain/ coal empties, as well as manifest/ Q/ something else combo. I'm assuming they run stuff like that on the Hi Line over Marias Pass.
Dave in MIssoula

bbcc Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Dunno, but that was the length coming into
> Hauser.
Two trains put together at Whitefish?

On the UP engineers call them "no fits".

Listening to this almost-14000-ft QCHCSSE come into Seattle, and it is clear that there has been almost no preplanning — dispatcher, Stacy yardmaster and crew all talking in circles about how to handle the monster, especially dealing with the mid and rear dpus once they cut away in the Military tracks. youd think with all the money and resources at their disposal, they could have this figured out. i guess big organizations are clunky - the gov’t doesn’t have a monopoly on that haha.

bbcc Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Listening to this almost-14000-ft QCHCSSE come
> into Seattle, and it is clear that there has been
> almost no preplanning.

> youd think with all the money and
> resources at their disposal, they could have this
> figured out.

It doesn't take money and resources; it takes knowledge and effort. If such a train leaves Spokane, no rocket scientists are necessary to determine more or less when the train would show up in Seattle within a few hours (given that we could hit it within an hour from the time out of Spokane 40 years ago). The train would look at Seattle just like it did leaving Spokane.

40 years ago, the chief would have had a conversation with the trainmaster shortly after the train left Spokane and the list was available. The trainmaster would tell the Stacy and South Seattle yardmasters that it was coming and when. The chief would put a note about it in the Seattle Terminal live file for the next shift to see. The Seattle Terminal trick man and the yardmasters would start working on the move at least an hour before it got to Interbay. Spatch would have given Stacy and South Seattle another call as the train came through Ballard. Whatever assistance was needed (U man, outside hostler, yard crew, crew van) would be in place. The crew would get their instructions as they were just past King Street Station. All it takes in knowing what needs to be done, knowing how to do it, and doing it (much of which is gone in the 21st Century).

> i guess big organizations are clunky
> - the gov’t doesn’t have a monopoly on that

I'm always entertained by the folks who go on and on about government and how inept and inefficient it is. Corporations are at least as bad.

TAW

And many who work for the government in some capacity fail to see why some things are so much of a problem to get done.  Its unlike most large companies due to the mandated by how they have to comply with buying or work rules put in place trying to keep track of items bought or hiring the right mix of people, following the correct requirements other than if they can do the job or not.

Pretty much every week, they have been running a combined stacks and racks eastward from Pasco and via MRL and Mandan. They have been symboled ether V or S and all have a destination of LPC with set-out block in the Twin Cities. Lengths have been 10,000-12,700 ft.

https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?1,4959115,4960667#msg-4960667
 
https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?1,4933951,4933951#msg-4933951

BB



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/23/20 06:49 by bmarti7.

bbcc Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>  youd think with all the money and
> resources at their disposal, they could have this
> figured out. i guess big organizations are clunky
> - the gov’t doesn’t have a monopoly on that
> haha.

Obviously, people who are paid to use their brains aren't doing their jobs. Try an idea to "save money" but too lazy to analyze the consequences of their actions. I'm being nice by calling them too lazy, because that implies they might be capable. Reality is they are probably too dumb.

Off topic, but as TAW has mentioned above, I don't see this as a public vs. private sector narrative that people get suckered into. 

bmarti7 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Pretty much every week, they have been running a
> combined stacks and racks eastward from Pasco and
> via MRL and Mandan. They have been symboled ether
> V or S and all have a destination of LPC with
> set-out block in the Twin Cities. Lengths have
> been 10,000-12,700 ft.
>
> https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?1,
> 4959115,4960667#msg-4960667
>  
> https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?1,
> 4933951,4933951#msg-4933951
>
> BB

Also many combined stack trains (marine containers) and carload freight trains going east.  Best guess is this is out of Tacoma based on the shipping lines the containers have, and the manifest part has a bunch of Serria Pacific lumber cars.

I've also heard that vehicle trains regularly pick up carload freight cars at Spokane going east as well.

wyeth Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Also many combined stack trains (marine
> containers) and carload freight trains going
> east.  Best guess is this is out of Tacoma based
> on the shipping lines the containers have, and the
> manifest part has a bunch of Serria Pacific lumber
> cars.
>
> I've also heard that vehicle trains regularly pick
> up carload freight cars at Spokane going east as
> well.

Wyeth & BBCC,

BNSF has been running a Q-SSEALT and it's counterpart Q-ALTPTL that has manifest traffic on it east on the SSE part and manifest traffic going all the way to South Seattle on the westbound part.  This train has been running well before the PSR episode started with class 1's...

Now, BNSF runs an H-PASNTW with LPC vehicle train every once and a while and that is what BNSF is doing "PSR" wise..  I think Larry (Ritzville on TO) has posted about it..   I know Larry has gotten a double grain train too..  BNSF seems to be a bit more reluctant to run the longer trains.   The S-SEALPC has manifest behind the stack cars and that has eliminated the SEAPAS train that would run down the Seattle Sub and east to Pasco from Vancouver, Wash.


SP8100

 

TAW Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> bbcc Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > as seen on Skykomish railcam at 7:00am 2/22/20,
> > BNSF ran a 3x1x2, 13000 ft QCHCSSE over the
> Scenic
> > Sub today. Front half was domestic, back half
> was
> > int’l cans.
>
> That's kind of funny. In the late 70s, I was new
> in Seattle and had been working the hill a short
> time. I talked with a colleague in the office
> about the difference in handling Tehachapi and
> handling Stevens Pass. BN was running 108 car
> grain trains into Wenatchee out as two 54 car
> trains. Single limit was 4,800 tons 4,800 feet and
> helper train limit was 6,600 tons 7,000 feet. Only
> a few years before, I had been regularly handling
> 14,000 ton trains over Tehachapi. He was chief one
> weekend afternoon and decided to run a grain train
> out of Wenatchee SP style: 4 on the point, 4 cut
> in, 4 cut in. All was well until an official
> happened to see the train roll into Sky. We
> received a directive: What he saw at Sky was
> impossible, so don't ever do it again!
>
> TAW

Narrow mind of that official

WAF Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

>
> Narrow mind of that official

I have worked for far more than a few of such.

TAW

Remember the MASH episode where Col. Potter is trying to get something taken care of so he calls another unit and starts with a second Lt. And after getting transferred all over the place he's connected to the Col. Commanding the United? Finally he asks the Col. In frustration can I speak with someone who knows what the hell is going?? The next words are, this is M/Sgt who. In most corporations as in government most times the big bosses have no real Idea what's really going or how things work .

Generally, a sargeant, NCO, chief petty officer is the guy who will actually get the job done.

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