Eastern Railroad Discussion > Roanoke Trash Train ends, going to truck after 27 years

Friday, April 2, was the last day of operation of Norfolk Southern's Roanoke Trash train, symboled V60, The Roanoke Times reports.  The Roanoke Valley's trash will now be hauled to the Roanoke Valley's Smith Gap landfill by truck, and the 4.5 mile spur constructed for the operation from the former Virginian Railway Whitethorne District track will be now be paved for the trucks.  To get to the private road trucks will likely travel over I-81, which is already jammed with trucks.  The other possible route would be US 11/460. The article says 40 to 50 trucks a day will make the trip instead of the one rail round trip. The only other access to the landfill is Bradshaw Road, a narrow, curvy rural road.  While the rail line is converted to a road the trash will be trucked to another unnamed landfill.

From The Roanoke Times article, one of the reasons for the change is problems with the rotary dumping tipper at the landfill that have caused the operation to be shut down in the past.  I'm not sure if it's mentioned in the article, but containers are supposed to be used for the trash, which could have been hauled by rail.  The containers will be hauled directly to the dumping location in the landfill, bypassing the tipper.

The Roanoke Times article.  I don't think it is behind a paywall.

https://roanoke.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/end-of-the-line-for-roanoke-valleys-trash-train/article_939ba6fa-931d-11eb-a722-535b52e136ba.html#tracking-source=home-top-story-1

Jim

More stupidity by elected officials, just keep adding more traffic to the highways with big trucks tearing up the road.  Someone needs to realize this is a mistake.
John in White Marsh, Maryland

follow the money - i may be cynical, but if govt is involved i'm more than likely right

ClubCar Wrote:
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> More stupidity by elected officials, just keep
> adding more traffic to the highways with big
> trucks tearing up the road.  Someone needs to
> realize this is a mistake.
> John in White Marsh, Maryland

The greater stupidity among elected officials* is not finding ways to recycle a much greater amount of the solid waste so that trains or large number of trucks are not needed to haul waste to a landfill.   

Norfolk Southern regularly runs a garbage train on its Pittsburgh Line not far from where I live.  Hauling garbage is a poor use of what the railroad claims is a scarce resource - track capacity.  NS raises the capacity issue whenever there are proposals to increase passenger train service on its lines in Pennsylvania.

*Greater stupidity not just in Roanoke, but just about everywhere in the US.

 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/03/21 07:32 by RuleG.

zr1rob Wrote:
> follow the money - i may be cynical, but if govt
> is involved i'm more than likely right

Cynical? Maybe. Likely right? You'd better believe it. This idea is just too backassward for any other explanation to be possible.
How the hell does this pass environmental impact scrutiny?
The poor folks who live along Bradshaw Creek and Bradshaw Road are really getting screwed.
/Ted

they should pave the tracks but leave them in, in case

Hauling from Salem to Roanoke is a back haul already, and it's about the same distance from Salem to Roanoke as it is from Salem to the landfill. This move eliminates about 3 handlings. Definitely makes sense from that standpoint. 

Virginia’s governor is an idiot!!! More gun control. Legalize pot. Stop death penalty felons can vote. This is just another example of how stupid they are.


Gary


ClubCar Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> More stupidity by elected officials, just keep
> adding more traffic to the highways with big
> trucks tearing up the road.  Someone needs to
> realize this is a mistake.
> John in White Marsh, Maryland

Posted from iPhone

Some of us have very different opinions on all of that, except that I'm not in a position to comment on the IQ of the Virginia governor. Anyway, what's that got to do with railroads?

RuleG Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> ClubCar Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > More stupidity by elected officials, just keep
> > adding more traffic to the highways with big
> > trucks tearing up the road.  Someone needs to
> > realize this is a mistake.
> > John in White Marsh, Maryland
>
> The greater stupidity among elected officials* is
> not finding ways to recycle a much greater amount
> of the solid waste so that trains or large number
> of trucks are not needed to haul waste to a
> landfill.   
>
> Norfolk Southern regularly runs a garbage train on
> its Pittsburgh Line not far from where I live. 
> Hauling garbage is a poor use of what the railroad
> claims is a scarce resource - track capacity.  NS
> raises the capacity issue whenever there are
> proposals to increase passenger train service on
> its lines in Pennsylvania.
>
> *Greater stupidity not just in Roanoke, but just
> about everywhere in the US.
>
>  

Westbound trash train passed through Cresson, PA about an hour ago. What is its destination?

Posted from Android

P Wrote:
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>
> Westbound trash train passed through Cresson, PA
> about an hour ago. What is its destination?
>
Mingo Junction, Ohio.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/03/21 11:35 by RuleG.

RuleG Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> P Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> >
> > Westbound trash train passed through Cresson,
> PA
> > about an hour ago. What is its destination?
> >
> Mingo Junction, Ohio

That's on the Ohio River, isn't it? I guess Ohio is getting the northeast's garbage, eh?

Posted from Android

P Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> RuleG Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > P Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > >
> > > Westbound trash train passed through Cresson,
> > PA
> > > about an hour ago. What is its destination?
> > >
> > Mingo Junction, Ohio
>
> That's on the Ohio River, isn't it? I guess Ohio
> is getting the northeast's garbage, eh?
>
> Posted from Android

Pretty much. Ohio gets the trash. Somtimes Pittsburgh will get two trash trains thru town in a day. Saw one the other day at 49 cars/platforms. Most of the time they are about 80-90 cars/platforms

SantaFeRuss

P Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> RuleG Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > P Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > >
> > > Westbound trash train passed through Cresson,
> > PA
> > > about an hour ago. What is its destination?
> > >
> > Mingo Junction, Ohio
>
> That's on the Ohio River, isn't it? I guess Ohio
> is getting the northeast's garbage, eh?
>
> Posted from Android

Trash from the NYC/NJ area.  It gets incinerated....



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/03/21 19:07 by ns1000.

May be going to the Ohio Central, they have a dump on their line
 

In any event, it sounds like the taxpayers will bare the additonal cost or their city utility bills will go up...

Victor A. Baird
http://www.erstwhilpublications.com

Maybe they got tired of the rate hikes of being a captive customer. The environmental reasons don't become much of an issue when your rate gets too high. Sounds like they got tired of the high rate and poor service. Add to it the double and triple handling of the containers. 

ctillnc Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Some of us have very different opinions on all of that, except that I'm not in a position to comment on the IQ of the Virginia governor. Anyway, what's that got to do with railroads?

Indeed.

oneblock Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Maybe they got tired of the rate hikes of being a
> captive customer. The environmental reasons don't
> become much of an issue when your rate gets too
> high. Sounds like they got tired of the high rate
> and poor service. Add to it the double and triple
> handling of the containers. 

Yes, there's likely a lot of all that.  

When the trash train started it was one of the first Engineer/Conductor only crews, on the N&W anyway.  As I recall a contract was negotiated specifically for that operation.  Of course now that's the norm.

Jim

There may also be a situation where investment is required for new equipment, new tipping facilities, etc.  That's often the point where a long, hard look is taken at the whole business.