Eastern Railroad Discussion > explanation needed for NS snafu in Rome GA

Looks like NS sent a train down a spur to downtown Rome GA that usually only gets covered hoppers for a flour mill:

Train removed after blocking traffic on Glenn Milner Boulevard, Second Avenue | Local News | northwestgeorgianews.com

Did NS accidentally route a train down the spur? 

If that is true, the crew should have known better.

I believe the spur in question, along the north bank of the Etowah upstream from the Oostanaula, is a remnant of the NC&StL line into Rome from the east. See https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?2,1359426. This spur connects to the ex-Southern on the northeast side of town and used to connect to the ex-CofG which is no longer there. Hard to imagine that the dispatcher lined a train down that spur by mistake. 
 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/03/21 13:43 by ctillnc.

ctillnc Wrote:
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> I believe the spur in question, along the north
> bank of the Etowah upstream from the Oostanaula,
> is a remnant of the NC&StL line into Rome from the
> east.
> See https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.p
> hp?2,1359426. This spur connects to the
> ex-Southern on the northeast side of town and used
> to connect to the ex-CofG which is no longer
> there. Hard to imagine that the dispatcher lined a
> train down that spur by mistake. 

Correct.

Unless some unusual circumstance called for the train to clear on the spur, we had a very dangerous situation. The picture is close to Sixth Avenue. The track runs from there to Second Avenue in the median of Glen Milner Boulevard. If the train got past Second Avenue, about a mile away from the switch to the spur, it crossed a busy street that is unprotected. The switch crew normally waits to cross until it gets the green stoplight.

That spur doesn't meet the main line for a mile before it reaches 8th avenue. How fast was the train going when it took the wrong route?

Lots of assumptions here, but few if any facts.

All I see in the link is a picture of a stopped train. Tank cars present on a train that usually only sees covered hoppers is not indicative of a misrouted train.

Posted from iPhone

altoonafn Wrote:
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> Lots of assumptions here, but few if any facts.
>
> All I see in the link is a picture of a stopped
> train. Tank cars present on a train that usually
> only sees covered hoppers is not indicative of a
> misrouted train.

Only a switch job goes down the spur, which is stub-end with a run around track. It is not a place where freight trains venture.

 

Is this PSR at play ? 

Just a guess, sounds like maybe the crew was about to run out of time, and had no other place to clear the main until a recrew could get to it. 

ts1457 Wrote:
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> altoonafn Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Lots of assumptions here, but few if any facts.
> >
> > All I see in the link is a picture of a stopped
> > train. Tank cars present on a train that
> usually
> > only sees covered hoppers is not indicative of
> a
> > misrouted train.
>
> Only a switch job goes down the spur, which is
> stub-end with a run around track. It is not a
> place where freight trains venture.
>
>  

how many locomotives were on the train?  Again, all we have is a picture of a few cars from a news website 

       Looks like the number of locamotives and speed of the train have very little to nothing to do with why it was there. I would not put it past a crew to follow the incorrect directions of a dispatcher especially if they have been badgered seriously to ' shut up and do what you are told' by the mis management before . . .  numerous times.

halfmoonharold Wrote:
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> Just a guess, sounds like maybe the crew was about
> to run out of time, and had no other place to
> clear the main until a recrew could get to it. 

Trying to find out what happened, but I have never seen that done here. Forrestville Yard is north of the spur switch:

Forestville Yard - NS in Rome, GA (Google Maps) (virtualglobetrotting.com)

The first diverging route  south of the yard is the Krannert branch. Next diverging route right before the bridge across the Etowah is the spur to downtown. Interestingly the alignment of that spur is pre-Civil War belonging to the Rome Railroad between the junction with the Western & Atlantic at Kingston GA and Rome. A Rome Railroad engine was briefly borrowed in the Great Locomotive Chase.

Maybe it is PSR. North end of yard goes to single track and the main is single again past the spur. It might have taken a bit extra to clear an extremely long train. However if NS makes a practice of this, the city will not be too happy.

rantoul Wrote:
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> Google aerial photo street view include a train
> through the 2nd Ave intersection, traffic lights
> show green.  Scaled the photo, shows a 1.5 mile
> branch to the mill.  Doubt the train went
> unknowingly the wrong way.

Thanks, that's quite a find. Traffic light probably changed while the move was in the intersection.

The move does look intentional and probably a result of PSR. I have received word that a 15,000 foot southbound train met two northbound trains at Forrestville and setoff 58 cars. The spur must have been used to clear the monster train. I have never seen that move in this town before and it  tied up some intersections which normally do not get blocked for such an extensive period of time. If it becomes a regular practice, local people are going to get very upset with NS.

I am reliably informed the 58 set out cars had erroneously been placed on the end of this train in Chattanooga. Decision was made to use the spur to stay clear of the main then shove back into the yard.

Posted from iPhone

Juniata Wrote:
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> I am reliably informed the 58 set out cars had
> erroneously been placed on the end of this train
> in Chattanooga. Decision was made to use the spur
> to stay clear of the main then shove back into the
> yard.

Thank you very much for completing the answer.