Bob,
Answers have been inserted. My apologies to all. Seem to have a line
wrap problem. Got to convince Outlook that I am in charge.
Russ
----- Original Message -----
From: "Bob Weber" <eng95@a...>
To: <BRHSlist@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Monday, 25 March, 2002 02:04
Subject: Re: [BRHSlist] Modern operations
>
> So the brakeman in now a brakeperson? Is that because there are only 2
people in a train crew and one or both could be a woman? J
Was trying to be polite. Have been very plainly told that this list does
not want unfiltered conversation.
>
> What is a grain unit in the context ".usually includes unit grain pickups
and setouts since few elevators have room for entire grain units on one track."?
"Grain Unit" means a group of cars billed on one waybill to one destination.
The BN started in the late 80's with the following increments: 9 - 27 - 54.
They sold "Certificates of Transportation" which guaranteed a supply of empties
and a rate at some future date. After the RR sold these they could be exchanged
or bought and sold by the Customers as their needs changed. The increments have
changed now to: 26 - 52 - 104. This is with old style 263,000 GWR equipment.
There are still contracts floating around, especially in Nebraska, that use the
old increments. Agricultural Transportation Marketing has to be flexible.
BN developed the "Shuttle Train" concept around 1994. Started getting bigger,
(and more expensive), cars and had to maximize their usage. With a few
exceptions Shuttle Trains are
110 286,000 GWR cars from a single origin to a single destination. Loading and
unloading times are very
short, (12 hours) so the equipment is always moving.
There are also unit train movements of corn syrup and sweet bran, (corn
squeezings). The sweet bran is
perishable and moves in old flat bottom coal
gons that have had permanent roll up tarps added to the tops of the cars sides.
Yes, there is a dumper
for these trains, currently just in Dalhart TX but there will be more. The unit
corn syrup trains
generally go to Mexico.
I'll set up a scenario that I am familiar with:
At Wolf Point MT there are three active elevators. One is off the main with a
West facing switch. Two
are off the East end of the siding and are switched from the East. All three
usually load 52 car units.
You are called for a turn out of Glasgow with 104 empties. These will not be
shuttle cars. Just normal
generic 263,000 GWR's. You pull down the main at Wolf Point. There is a
crossing right in the middle of
the siding but 104 cars will fit either East or West of it.
In this case you will leave the cars East of the crossing so you can work the
elevator off the main
later. You cut off and go into the East end of the siding and start making the
joints on the 52 loads
which will be in three pieces. (Both elevators on that side share the same
trackage). Meanwhile the
Dispatcher runs trains through the siding. After you have everything assembled
you will pull East,
needing the siding and main and set the loads over to track #2 which is not
used for loading, This task
done you go back to the main and get the 52 empties, which will be on the head
end, and shove back in
and arrange them on tracks 3, 4, & 5 so either of the elevators can load them.
(Yes, there are little
books for each territory that tell you how cars are supposed to be spotted. Of
course, if you are on
the Glasgow Extra Board you don't need any book.) After you have spotted either
of the North side
elevators you run down
to the West end of the siding and the Dispatcher lines you down the main. He
still has the siding to
run trains. You pull the South side elevator, there will be joints to make, and
hold on to the 52
loads. Shove down the main and
get the remaining 52 empties and spot them, holding on to the loads. (It is a
big no-no to pull loads
while holding on to empties. If there is a curve they sometimes just roll over
on their sides.) Almost
done. Shove the 52 loads in the siding from the West end and make the joint
with the West end of track
#2. (The guy that was protecting the shoves into the South side elevator is in
a good spot to walk over
and make this joint.) Pull all 104 West of the crossing on the siding and do
your terminal air test.
Dispatcher now has the main back. Air test done, it's time to go to Glasgow.
Problem is you got 52 for Kalama WA and 52 for Seattle WA. That's alright. When
you get to Glasgow you
put the 52 for Seattle on track #2 at that location, (crossing to be cut), and
turn the 52 for Kalama
over to a Havre crew. At Havre the train will be set up for Distributive Power
and go on it's way, pick
up 52 more Kalama's at, say, Rudyard MT. Meanwhile back at Glasgow some train
will set out a couple
"Pumpkins" and a crew will be called there to pull the Glasgow elevator and
make up a 104 car train for
Seattle. (Brakeperson from Havre will be pre-positioned there by plan and just
called for that train.)
Now you have two 104 car grain trains heading West and no yard crew has ever
touched a car in either
train. The blocking and the destinations might be more complicated than this
but the Grain Department
does a good job and keeps the trains full. There is a plan and it is not kept a
secret. Since the
Dispatcher runs Glasgow most of this can be done with no Management attention.
Just follow the plan and
call the crews to fit in with the traffic pattern. For instance you could not
make the Wolf Point move
during the Amtrak time frame because you can not run them through the siding
without an awful good
reason. If this was forced to happen the empty would just have to wait in the
siding until both Amtrak's
were gone and then start his work.
I'll get back to this.
Russ
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