Western Railroad Discussion > BNSF Helper Sanborn CP

BNSF has 2CP engines using for helpers from Sanborn to Tehachapi CA. Nov 24, 2020
In the spear track at Sanborn off the siding. 17:00 hours
Dennis

Helpers work out of Bakersfield as the dpu remotes on an EB, are cut off at Sanborn and used as helpers. They run
with a Bakersfield crew and shove West as remotes and East are run by the crew. 

Out 

callum_out Wrote:
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> Helpers work out of Bakersfield as the dpu remotes
> on an EB, are cut off at Sanborn and used as
> helpers. They run
> with a Bakersfield crew and shove West as remotes
> and East are run by the crew. 
>
> Out 

Your second statement seems to contradict your first.  Manned helpers push west, IINM.  Do you happen to know which
trains get shoved west out of Mojave, or is there no particular pattern?

Last night while watching the museum cam I saw a 3x2x2 eastbound bnsf manifest around 9pm. Is this one of the trains that gets a manned helper? Or is it more likely they were all remote controlled?

I was just watching the museum cam this morning before I head off for work, at around 530am what looked like the MBARRIC came west with 5x2. The 2 on the rear were CN units with the FRED blinking.

It's cool to see manned helpers over Tehachapi again!
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/25/20 05:38 by Doodle.

callum_out Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Helpers work out of Bakersfield as the dpu remotes
> on an EB, are cut off at Sanborn and used as
> helpers. They run
> with a Bakersfield crew and shove West as remotes
> and East are run by the crew. 
>
> Out 

Not at all how the operation is taking place. The KBAKBAK stays between Sanborn and Bissell to help anything west/north, cuts off at Tehachapi and returns east.

The helpers are delivered to Sanborn as the EB remotes out of Bakersfield. A crew is brought to run the shoves, Sanborn to Summit. The shove
is made with the heleprs in DPU mode to Summit. They cut off and the crew runs West to Tehachapi (or back to the Cameron crossover) and then
runs back to Sanborn. Remotes West, crewed East. The helpers post assignment are run back to Bakersfield as the remotes on a WB train while
the crew takes the van back to Bakersfield. Argue all you want, this was verified by a BNSF employee.

Out 

You two can verbally "duke it out".  -:).  Thanks for your perspectives.  What is the criterion for which heavy westbound gets a helper up to the summit?

So far it's been the H trains notably the BARBAK (bakersfield train) and a couple others.

Out

callum_out Wrote:
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> So far it's been the H trains notably the BARBAK
> (bakersfield train) and a couple others.
>
> Out

Thanks.  Why don't they just DP them in Barstow?

Deal is that they take most of the remotes other than the grain trains off at Bakersfield and end up sending
them back to Barstow as a powermove. So you'e got units sitting around until they gather enough to send 
back, someone physically has to tie everything togather. It's just easier to shove to manifests over the hill
with the helpers. The way they are doing it by handling the helpers East in a train and back in a train does
minimize the light engine moves to and from the terminal. It actually is well thought out. 

Out