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Western Railroad Discussion > BNSF southern transcon was hoppin' todayDate: 04/12/25 19:38 BNSF southern transcon was hoppin' today Author: eljay I rode Amtrak 4 from Needles to La Junta today and was impressed at the number of trains all the way to Dalies. Saw mostly WBs of course but some EBs were laid out at several crossovers in New Mexico as the DS threaded us between mains 1 and 2 to keep us moving. I guess to be expected on the weekend. Anyway, great show!
Date: 04/12/25 20:50 Re: BNSF southern transcon was hoppin' today Author: AndyBrown It seems like every time we ride there are many freights to encounter west of Dalies with a lot of dispatching going on. Always a pleasure to see.
Andy Date: 04/12/25 21:35 Re: BNSF southern transcon was hoppin' today Author: mapboy Past the Flagstaff railcam today, between 00:00 and 16:28, there were 28 WB and 28 EB, excluding your Amtrak #4 at 04:34.
In part of this thread, "the fastest on the Needles Sub"- https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?1,5694417,5694417#msg-5694417 I talked about overtakes and passes on 5/31/23. "...one can follow trains on ATCS from Barstow to Needles [edit- that has changed, no longer possible]. A look at the fastest there on 5/31, the Z-NBYWSP1 (old Santa Fe 991 train), shows the path it took on the Needles Sub. It passes the Barstow camera at 15:05, where the V-RICCLO3-30 has a 22-minute lead on it, but it stops at Daggett, the end of triple track, to let the Z-NBYWSP1 pass it. The Cadiz Turn stops on Main2 at Amboy while the Z-NBYWSP1 crosses over to M1 at E. Siberia. It passes the Cadiz Turn to cross over back to M2 in front of it at E. Amboy. The H-BARKCK8-31 and H-BARKCK9-27 cross to M1 so that the Z-NBYWSP1 doesn’t have to. They are passed up at W. Cadiz and W. Danby, respectively. The Z-NBYWSP1 crosses to M1 at Fenner to pass the V-SDGCLO1-30 at Goffs, crosses at E. Goffs to M2 and passes the U-WATCCE7-03 (sic, 3 days ahead of schedule) in the new South Goffs Siding (the future Main 3 from Needles). The Z-NBYWSP1 appears at Needles at 18:17 after meeting 10 westbounds on the Needles Sub and overtaking six eastbounds. All the crossovers it used were rated for 50 MPH. For comparison, Amtrak #4 met 12 westbounds and overtook only three eastbounds on the Needles Sub. Amtrak #3 met 5 and overtook only two." It was so much fun to record and later examine the train movements on ATCS. The Sunset Route when it was mostly single track was very interesting to watch the dispatching moves! When traveling trackside, ATCS made it so easy to see where the trains were and how to minimize missed trains. There is still a lot of BNSF track with ATCS in use in Washington, Idaho and Montana, but ATCS will be gone in a year or so. mapboy Date: 04/14/25 14:25 Re: BNSF southern transcon was hoppin' today Author: tehachcond As I recall, when the old ATS was in service allowing Amtrak to run 90 per, it could only do it on the #1 track westbound and eastbound on the #2 track. I know the ATS has been taken out, and the PTC allows 90 MPH operation, but my question is, can Amtrak run 90 on both mains now in Class 5 track territory?
Brian Black Castle Rock, CO |