Western Railroad Discussion > Staying At Home On The BNSF Lakeside Sub--Mega

It was a  breezy cool partly cloudy day in Ritzville, WA on the BNSF Northern Transcon with a high-low of 51-29 with a few drips. We were given the order to stay home, so I was confined to the backyard which isn't that bad. There have been 22 trains since midnight with more on the horizon. Also MoW is back! Here are some of the trains from today and a few from yesterday.

3/23/2020

1. WB 431pm "Z" train with BNSF 6296-6692 on the point with DPU's.
2. DPU's BNSF 9895-8139 on same "Z".
3. WB 445pm ballast train with BNSF 6399-8206 on the pull with no DPU.
 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/24/20 16:25 by Ritzville.

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4. Grab shot of EB 503pm grain train with BNSF 5133-7604-6983 on the pull with no DPU.
5. EB 518pm manifest train with BNSF 8279-5941-8820 on the point with no DPU and a friendly toot-toot from the hogger and a wave from the conductor.
6. Another shot of BNSF 8820 on same train.

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3/24/2020

7. WB 843am grain train with BNSF 6905-3924 on the point with DPU. Went to the market after this shot an finally was able to by some TP for the first time in weeks.
8. EB 1101am empty oil train with BNSF 4104-6986 on the pull with DPU's. Sorry, had stutter finger cutting of the nose of 4104.
9. DPU's NS 7578 and BNSF 4547 on same train.

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10. WB 1151am "Z" train with BNSF 6247-7645 on the point with DPU's.
11. DPU's BNSF 7324-8382 on same train.
12. WB 1253pm grain train with BNSF 6374-5433 on the pull with DPU.

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13. BNSF 485171 Sant Fe Heritage Hopper rolling in same train.
14. DPU BNSF 9019 on same train.
15. EB 133pm manifest train with BNSF 5118-5262-4373 on the point with no DPU.

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16. The End of same train fading away.
17. EB 148pm manifest train with BNSF 6136-7431-6566 on the pull with no DPU and a friendly wave from the conductor.
18. Two BNSF passenger cars on the end of same train. Thanks Captain92!

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19. Going away shot of same train.
20. Mega train sneaked up on me with a 3x2x2 grain train with BNSF 6311 on the very point. Thanks Captain92! Long train!
21. Middle DPU's BNSF 7007-7731 on same Mega train.

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22. End DPU BNSF 8199 on same Meag train fading away.

That's it for today. Hope everyone has a great evening and tomorrow. Thank you so much for looking! Stay safe!

Larry
​Ritzville, WA

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Ritzville Wrote:
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> 18. Two BNSF passenger cars on the end of same
> train. Thanks Captain92!

Those were the cars left in Pasco over the winter as the Snow Bus for crews if necessary (but definitely not this winter!)

Thanks Richard for that interesting  information. You're right, we didn't have much of a Winter.

​Larry

Hey Larry,
That looks like the makings of a funnel cloud(s) in that third shot.

Kent in CArmel Valley

Love those Heritage Hoppers. Thanks for posting them.

Thank you Larry for your excellent trackside reporting! I do appreciate it!

Thanks everyone!

Larry

Every picture tells a story.  Take a look at Larry's first photo.  The one of the westbound Z.

Focus on the first 12 containers.  They've got two Estes boxes first.  Estes is primarily an LTL trucker.  Of course this freight used to be less than carload instead of less than truckload.  Government economic regulation literally drove the railroads out of the lcl business by prohibiting the use of containers at a competitive price.  (There were other silly restrictions on rail lcl that helped move the business to truck,)  Railroads had begun using containers for lcl in the 1920's.  In 1931 the government ordered the container charges increased to non competitive levels.  The regulations didn't really come off for 50 years.  Now the rails have to claw back the business.

Then there are two Marten reefers.  Marten is a trucker that specializes in refrigerated transport.  Again, the railroads used to haul this freight.  Their rates were strictly regulated and could not be changed to meet market situations.  (There's a seasonality involved that causes transport demand to shift.  This change in demand should, and does, cause a change in the freight rates on a lane.)  The railroads weren't allowed to change rates with the market demand.  Truck rates on produce were never economically regulated.  The truckers just went with the market and took the loads.  Now the rails have to claw back the business.

Next is a well with FedEx and YRC containers.  More LTL.  (YRC is another ltl trucker.)   Then come two more reefers, one a JB Hunt reefer.  Then there is another YRC box loaded with another JB Hunt reefer in a well.  Then comes a well with yet another Estes box and another Marten reefer.

After that it looks like UPS containers.

Economic regulation of transportation didn't just harm the railroads.  It harmed the American People by causing an inefficient logistics system that added dead weight cost and reduced the standard of living.  Some people want to return to regulation.  I'll say those folks are ignorant about the issue.