Eastern Railroad Discussion > CSX S991 High/Wide load

CSX S991 had a maximum speed of 25 mph on the CE&D sub today. Supposedly going to New Castle, PA with NS 9730 doing the honors. I heard on one bridge they had 4" to spare on each side! Should be in Avon(Indy) by now. Video to come later.

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For those not familiar with the High & Wide Load Clearnce Departments,
it's a vital office to RR operations.  Each Railroad staffs and maintains
Hide and Wide Clesrance Offices. 

Yes, first they check the route, that ACTUAL dimensions of the shipment,
and any protrusions of the load.  They compare ALL the actual  clearances 
on the proposed route.

But, another aspect is to uncover and protect any possible opposing
High & Wide loads that might have previously been cleared on the
same route and same day, on the same route, but in opposing
directions...A screw-up there could be very costly.

They check other regular trains that might be operating, and the weather conditions,
looking for possible 'high water" conditions along the route.

So, there's a lot to confirm before approving a 'clearance'  application
being issued to the Transportstion Department, for crew scheduling etc.  

Consequential delays CAN alter earlier issued 'clearances', and 
the operating crews CANNOT proceed, after a long delay, without updated
clearances and permission from the High & Wide Clearing Department. 
Opposing moves & traffic could be a severe clearnce conflict ...

I have seen High & Wide loads operating on major Holidays,
when other traffic is very reduced.

The folks in the Hi & Wide Clearance Departments are very familiar 
with all the critical areas, and physical characteristics of the 'roads
they have authority over.

And of course, there are challenges with interconnecting other 
railroads--- all the way to the ultimate destination(s).   All the 
connecting railroads' Clearance.Departments must accept the 
the dimensions of Hi & Wide loads that are presented at " Interchange".

ALL the several carriers involved must have approved a route and established
clearances & scheduled dates and times, at interchange points.

The Hi & Wide shipments are given top priorities, esoecially since many shipments
have high value, and delicate aspects that  must be protected.

And, most Hi & Wide Offices are staffed 24/7/365, everyday;
A crucial aspect of safe, reliable handking of customers' Critcal shipments.
Everything from aircraft bodies, & wing assemblies, to power-plant shipments,
to wind turbines components,  and countless other high-value, large,
heavy  shipments.

​W.

( In the photo above, note the Hydraulic cylinders at the 4 corners of the 
  depressed-center main frame --- used for situations where the entire 
 center must be raised to clear any close clearances in the roadbeds of the carriers..
  The caboose carries dedicated car-technicians who operate the self-contained
  hydraulic appliances that operate the car's  special systems contained in the special 
  railcars).

 



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 03/21/24 00:58 by wcamp1472.

Well-photographed - Your views really show the hugeness of the load.
Bob

Nice shots. But what's the ID on the depressed deck car and the caboose? As posted, I can't make out the reporting mark on either.
/Ted



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/21/24 03:37 by WM_1109.

WM_1109 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Nice shots. But what's the ID on the depressed
> deck car and the caboose? As posted, I can't make
> out the reporting mark on either.
> /Ted
Flat is KRL 204043. Caboose is Fracht, LBR 551980
They met a train at the Smith siding and has two curves. S991 pulled north past the South Smith switch on the tangent part then stopped to let the M503 proceed south. The approaching curve evidently was too tight and S991 could have side swiped some cars on M503. Yes, they had to shift the load in Vincennes due to crossing gate clearance issues. Took them a while to make it through town as there is about 5 curves in town.

Thanks.
It's a big one...assuming it's the same as KRL 204040-204042, 20 axles, with a capacity of 953,600 lb, and overall length of 164'-11-1/4" over pulling faces. 
/Ted

wcamp1472 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> For those not familiar with the High & Wide Load
> Clearnce Departments,
> it's a vital office to RR operations.  Each
> Railroad staffs and maintains
> Hide and Wide Clesrance Offices. 
>
> Yes, first they check the route, that ACTUAL
> dimensions of the shipment,
> and any protrusions of the load.  They compare
> ALL the actual  clearances 
> on the proposed route.
>
> But, another aspect is to uncover and protect any
> possible opposing
> High & Wide loads that might have previously been
> cleared on the
> same route and same day, on the same route, but in
> opposing
> directions...A screw-up there could be very
> costly.
>
> They check other regular trains that might be
> operating, and the weather conditions,
> looking for possible 'high water" conditions along
> the route.
>
> So, there's a lot to confirm before approving a
> 'clearance'  application
> being issued to the Transportstion Department, for
> crew scheduling etc.  
>
> Consequential delays CAN alter earlier issued
> 'clearances', and 
> the operating crews CANNOT proceed, after a long
> delay, without updated
> clearances and permission from the High & Wide
> Clearing Department. 
> Opposing moves & traffic could be a severe
> clearnce conflict ...
>
> I have seen High & Wide loads operating on major
> Holidays,
> when other traffic is very reduced.
>
> The folks in the Hi & Wide Clearance Departments
> are very familiar 
> with all the critical areas, and physical
> characteristics of the 'roads
> they have authority over.
>
> And of course, there are challenges with
> interconnecting other 
> railroads--- all the way to the ultimate
> destination(s).   All the 
> connecting railroads' Clearance.Departments must
> accept the 
> the dimensions of Hi & Wide loads that are
> presented at " Interchange".
>
> ALL the several carriers involved must have
> approved a route and established
> clearances & scheduled dates and times, at
> interchange points.
>
> The Hi & Wide shipments are given top priorities,
> esoecially since many shipments
> have high value, and delicate aspects that  must
> be protected.
>
> And, most Hi & Wide Offices are staffed 24/7/365,
> everyday;
> A crucial aspect of safe, reliable handking of
> customers' Critcal shipments.
> Everything from aircraft bodies, & wing
> assemblies, to power-plant shipments,
> to wind turbines components,  and countless other
> high-value, large,
> heavy  shipments.
>
> ​W.
>
> ( In the photo above, note the Hydraulic cylinders
> at the 4 corners of the 
>   depressed-center main frame --- used for
> situations where the entire 
>  center must be raised to clear any close
> clearances in the roadbeds of the carriers..
>   The caboose carries dedicated car-technicians
> who operate the self-contained
>   hydraulic appliances that operate the car's
>  special systems contained in the special 
>   railcars).
>
>  

We call it the "clearance bureau"

Nice clear views of a big and heavy load! Conrail would run a lot of oversize loads, generating station bits like this one and a lot of Abrams tanks heading for rebuild, past here and would use reverse running to clear some close rock faces but that put them close to a track in a yard where trains were often stored waiting for crews or room in a yard ahead. The dispatcher would ask the crew to inform him if there were any cars or trains there as they could side-swipe on the curve there.
A year or two before Conrail, I saw a Lehigh Valley High and Wide that stopped before proceeding through a through truss bridge. There was an on ground crew to watch for any issues as it crept through the structure. Obviously these are high dollar shipments.
Gonut

That will be quite interesting traversing the transfer track at Greenwitch Ohio.
Or will they back it around one of the northwest transfers?

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