Eastern Railroad Discussion > n.s. horseshoe curve questions

1.  as a general rule, do e/b's receive the majority of the helpers over the hill?  i would GUESS that most e/b manifest would by lds and need helpers as opposed to mostly mty manifests going w/b.

2.  do any intermodals get helpers over the hill?  well, i just saw one intermodal that looked like tofc/cofc with helpers.  any guesses to what percentage of intermodals get helpers?.....

3.  does n.s. regularly use dpu's over the hill instead of helpers?

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

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/07/19 14:32 by goneon66.

1. Not always. It depends on things like the length of the train, tonnage, and what kind of power is on the head end to name a few.

2. A lot of the intermodals now have AC power. It does still happen, but not as much as it used to be.

3. Yes, certain trains like 10K, 38G/39G, and 20Q (they have been running some monster 20Qs as of late) to name a few.

Also, keep in mind the eastern slope is steeper than the western slope.

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Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 12/07/19 16:13 by ns1000.

Regarding question 3: the DPU's are not just used to 'go over the hill' in lieu of helpers. If the train has DPU power on it, and the previous post gives some good examples, the DPU/DPU's will stay on from start to finish. It's just the helper pool that runs between the Altoona area and anywhere from Cresson all the way to Pittsburgh, and points in between.

I forgot to mention the coal trains bound for North Carolina from Shire Oaks see DPUs.

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thanks for the info gents.  much appreciated.............

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In regards to question #1, helper use on manifests and intermodal is probably pretty evenly split both directions, but loaded unit trains such as coal, oil, ethanol, and grain, generally do not need helpers when heading back west, which creates an imbalance.   130 car 590s for example, may have 2 helpers up from at times, and a 4 pack on the rear, which would move three sets east which would not be needed to shove back west if all else is equal.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/07/19 19:28 by sscannella.