A Union Pacific manifest train passes through River Forest, Ill, on Sept. 9, 2018. UP plans to roll out Precision Scheduled Railroading in phases. TRAINS: David Lassen The basic tenets of Precision Scheduled Railroading. OMAHA, Neb. – Union Pacific sees Precision Scheduled Railroading as a way out of the operational and service rut in which […]
Union Pacific multilevel automobile trains pass east of North Platte, Neb., on the railroad’s Overland Route in June 2018. UP has shifted 70 percent of its automotive traffic out of unit trains and into the merchandise network Bill Stephens OMAHA, Neb. – Union Pacific’s embrace of Precision Scheduled Railroading principles came just two months after […]
UP Monday announced plans to reorganize its system following precision scheduled railroading principles. This southbound auto rack train was at Nunn, Colo., in June 2018. Trains: Jim Wrinn OMAHA, Neb. – Union Pacific today announced its Unified Plan 2020, a new operating plan that implements Precision Scheduled Railroading principles. Unified Plan 2020 will launch Oct. […]
A split-rail derail along the trail in Auburn, Wash., helps keep errant railcars from fouling the main track. Dale Smith A wedge-style derail, that lifts wheels over the rail, protects the Norfolk Southern yard facility at Rossville, Tenn. Ralcon Wagner Q I recently observed the most unusual track switch along the Interurban Trail near Main […]
DORVAL, Quebec – In its investigation report (R17Q0061) released today, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) determined that bottling of the air in the brake pipe during switching operations led to the July 2017 uncontrolled movement of rail cars in Mai, located 128 miles north of Sept-Îles, Quebec. On 25 July 2017, a southbound […]
A Canadian National train crosses Echo Lake in Burlington, Wis., in May 2018. CN’s CEO says the railroad should pursue other technological opportunities before working on autonomous train operation. TRAINS: David Lassen BOSTON – Canadian National CEO Jean-Jacques Ruest says there’s a whole lot of low-hanging technology fruit that his railroad can pick before moving toward […]
Nashville’s Radnor Yard. CSX Transportation JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – CSX Transportation has resumed hump operations at Radnor Yard in Nashville, Tenn., which was among the eight classification yards converted to flat-switching facilities last year under then-CEO E. Hunter Harrison. Radnor’s layout ultimately proved cumbersome for flat switching. So in June the railroad began work on retarders and […]
BOSTON — CSX Transportation will eventually seek to operate trains with one-person crews on lines under the protection of positive train control, Chief Financial Officer Frank Lonegro told an investor conference this week. When PTC is fully operational by the end of 2020, CSX will have invested $2.4 billion in the federally mandated safety system. […]
Trains Magazine · Conversations with Brian Solomon, Episode 39 Railroad author and photographer Brian Solomon produces this exclusive biweekly podcast for Trains Magazine. You can catch his column monthly in the magazine or his daily railroad photography blog at briansolomon.com/trackingthelight. Conversations with Brian Solomon, Episode 38 We’re back on the railfan track this week with […]
Although this CNJ RS3 had dual engineer controls, the “F” defines the leading end for hand or radio signals. Bert Pennypacker Q When diesels replaced steam locomotives, early cab units had snub noses with good front visibility for the engineer. When hood units appeared, some railroads set them up to run short hood forward and […]
Metra commuter and Norfolk Southern freight trains meet at tower A2 northwest of Union Station. Steve Sweeney Trains tracks the evolution of positive train control technology from the 1980s to present! August 1985 – Burlington Northern executives approve testing a PTC prototype system, ARES, in Minnesota’s Iron Range. May 1, 2007 – U.S. Rep. James […]
With a BNSF Railway unit in the lead, a Mexico-bound empty auto rack train pulls into Robstown, Texas, on Kansas City Southern tracks in November 2017. Bill Stephens The trade deal reached by the U.S. and Mexico this week — which The Wall Street Journal dubbed “half a NAFTA” — may be positive for railroads […]
