I'm a retired 40-year CSX Locomotive Engineer. I was a former Conrail employee, this so-called drama in this video is everyday business on today's CSX. The complete operation is a cluster you know what. We use to have a saying about CSX management "Screw up, move up". It's gotten worse now that lawyers are controlling everything.
It is all perspective. Railfanning with drama provides an interesting view of how the railroad works. Given the parameters, the dispatcher worked it out quite efficiently. Thanks to your coverage, I had a pretty good seat for the event.
I sit here in at my computer in Milton Keynes in England (between Birmingham and London) watching your videos utterly fascinated. I used to be a driver on the route from Rugby to London on electric units. The largest freights we ever see are our intermodal services which load to about 30 or 40 trucks, usually hauled by either single Class 66 or Class 70. The 66 is our specially built version of your EMD JT42CWR model while the 70 is a GE model PH37ACmi. They really are weedy little things compared to the monster trains you have there ! I only found your channel quite recently and I have to say I thoroughly enjoy your videos. Thank you for all the hard work you put into them.
Thanks very much! I really appreciate your feedback; it helps keeping motivation up and this channel alive :) Also thanks for your little story. In fact, I recently read an article in our Trains magazine about your Class 66s and 70s. Cool engines that have served their customers well!
Things break, priorities change, crews get short on time...just another day on the railroad. Interesting how he moved his traffic around but he got the job done in the end. Liked the commentary, and your choice of shots as well. Very enjoyable! Thanks!
I am a retired control center operator from a major North American crude oil pipeline, and I got most of this ... enjoyed it a lot. Too bad I didn't see the final outcome!!
I'm sure you understood it right and I'm glad you liked it. Eventually, some trains tied down as crews had lawed out and recrews were not immediately available, but overall normal operations resumed in the hours thereafter.
My uncle was a switchman for Southern Pacific Railroad for 40 years. He hated to ride in cabooses. It was a sudden jerk when it got started rolling and a big jerk when it stopped. He used to say if you weren't ready for it, it would knock you off your feet or off your seat. Every coupling takes up slack when the train moves either forward or backwards. 100 rail cars taking up about a 10 inch slack space each equals one hell of a jerk at the back. This slack is necessary for the train to start pulling one car at a time so the first hitch doesn't snap off.
They are bloody annoying the US is the only place that has them as far as I know. The same goes for that ridiculous Grade crossing warning 2 long, 1 short, one ridiculously long blast even if the train is going at a slow walking pace, once again only in the US is this done. Some countries don't warn at all, here in Australia just one blast is more than enough, sure we have crossing accidents/deaths but so does the US.
Thanks for sharing. Looks like it was a long day. I used to live in Lawrenceville, GA about two miles from where this line passes Briscoe field. Had some great fun chasing trains between Lawrenceville and Winder, and sometimes on to Bogart.
Nice! Chasing trains in that area isn't simple (anymore - maybe it was easier at earlier times). Winder has sometimes very bad traffic and therefore I prefer to stay more on the section eastern of Winder.
Typically a road would parallel a track; when the road gets upgraded, many times part of the road continues to be in use, many times other parts are cut off or dead ended. GA Hwy 17 from Livonia (I-85 exit) to Toccoa no longer closely parallels the track from Toccoa to Elberton but you have four lanes not two.
For those of us who have spent many hundreds of hours on this magnificent railway in Train Simulator (one of the early Microsoft Train simulator routes, it's still a pleasure in Train Simulator) and it's various variations, this movie is a real gem. We've all been here many times before !!!! Thanks for a great movie.
Don't know what it is but there's something about the design of these particular engines I just love. Still blows me away how much they can haul behind them.
26:43 idk but the train looks stupid, pretend the two head lights (the ones on top near the cab) are the eyes, then the two lower ones are basically the mouth... I make no since at all.
When the crew hits 12 hours, all movements stop if on the main. Sadly, have seen it happen too many times on Amtrak. When CSX does track work, almost all of the crews will go dead at some point.
As a former Norfolk Southern employee this is a everyday thing with the long trains & especially the man getting a drawhead. I’ve re-crewed a train & never turned a wheel because of the shit storm going on. Thanks, great video
I can relate. Sort of. Back in the day, I worked for the defunct SP. Houston was the terminal. I worked the 'local' from Houston to my turn around, Hearne. The timetable scheduled us to leave Inglewood Yard Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 5 A.M. More often than not, I was not called out until 5 P.M. and after picking up the engine and caboose at Hardy Street and picking up our train at Inglewood, we might not leave until some five hours later. The Hog Law was sixteen hours then and there were times when we tied up in the side track at Bryan, twenty miles from our destination. That would be late 60's/early 70's.
Thanks for sharing this story. I think, Union Pacific has inherited these issues in Houston and still struggles to get things better scheduled and organized there. Here, the situation has relaxed after CSX implemented all those recent changes. Knuckles don't break anymore as often as they used to and emergencies are rare. Traffic has become more fluent.
@JAG timely and many times damaged... in 7 years of loading trucks/containers, without a doubt rail is the safer option in regards to product. Trucking companies pay out their nose in freight claims and run real tight margins for the chance to move the bulk of freight. Shout out to all the drivers and dock workers that actually take pride in their jobs and care of their cargo! Mistakes happen.
@JAG definitely safer over all with rail, but you're correct; rail disasters are by-and-large more catastrophic when things do go wrong. Completely agree, rail is incredibly slow and also limited. Most businesses don't own facilities with proper sidings for box cars and such to just pull up and load/offload. That's where trucks come in. Whether you have your goods shipped to a facility via train and they do the loading/offloading which you then have truckers drop off or receive or you go intermodal container and have truckers pick up/drop off at rail yards directly. Trucks are an essential piece of the system whether long haul or last few miles.
Well! What can I say. I have been a railway / railroad fan all my life, but I never seen anything as awesome as this. We rarely have or hear of dramas such as this in the U.K. Great video footage though! Thanks for sharing and definitely worth watching. Best wishes. C.Davenport (Aberdeen) N.E. Scotland U.K.
Thank you very much! I'm happy you enjoyed following this little drama that unfolded unexpectedly on that day. Fortunately, it's not always like this, but it was interesting to watch how they tried to disentangle the chaos they had created.
A frustrating day for you turned into one of the more interesting railfan videos I've seen lately thanks to your careful storytelling. A very insightful video for us less than hardcore railfan types!
Thank you very much! I agree, it was somewhat frustrating, but also interesting. I'm glad the video came out well and reflects in its condensed form the action on this special day on this line.
I live in Danielsville, and travel 72 all the time, why were the trains called north and south bound when the track runs east-west, enjoy you work thank you
Your videos are top-notch great angles, clean shots, excellent editing, along with pertinent information with scanner audio and on screen graphics. Keep up the good work.
Looks a normal day on the CSX. The big drama is where is the top for car # 499125, the rolled steel transport car. Seems the CSX is making it's own drama trying to run too many trains on a single track mainline. Thanks for the video.
Yep, I have to agree. It just happens too frequently and there is nothing they do to prevent these emergencies from happening. I wouldn't say it's too many trains, it's more the length (and weight) of some trains that causes trouble. Thank you for watching!
We have the same problem up in Canada on the CN runs from Toronto to Halifax. The trains are running over11,000 feet on single lines through New Brunswick and the longest siding is around 9,900 feet long. CN has a secondary that's used mostly by VIA Rail, the passenger service, that at one point CN wanted to abandon but got the provincial government to hand over $ 125 million to rebuild it. Seems to be the same story all over.
Charles Damery I'd guess so. I can't imagine that just CSX operates like that. I've seen similar things happening on Norfolk Southern lines as well. They simply have no "emergency plan" that tells them what to do if a train goes into emergency on the main line. This happened near the CSX depot in Athens. Why does it then need 4 hours to repair the drawbar? This is what I don't understand. The crews are mostly left to their own devices and this is inefficient.
Drawbar are a pretty heavy part of the car, so they'd need a crane or front end loader to take the weight and the crews didn't have one and it had to called in from the nearest depot and a car repair crew. It all takes time.
That's right, but it could be organized more efficiently I think. For example, I would have moved the first part of the train into the siding at Fowler and the engines of one of the trains in Hull could have shoved the second half behind the first part. Then the main line would have been free for the traffic again and the repair crews had all the time to do their repair job without pressure.
Thanks for the video. It's interesting to see what's going on in other parts of the world.Are trains limited in length due to siding size? The longest ore train I've seen was about 7,000 metres long (Just under 23,000 feet)
Must be pretty flat where that is. If you ran a train that long in Canada, you'd never get it across the road. It would break knuckles everywhere. Too many rolling hills.
For a railfan it's a drama, because he wants to see trains flying through. For the railroad it's merely another wasted day lol. Just a question of perspective...
Thinking they had major track damage, did a temp fix to get trains going, got a backlog of 6 trains, then had to jockey them all past the damage one at a time putting the others on sidings in somewhat complicated dance of sorts, NICE video !
Thanks! I'm happy you enjoyed it! It was a complex problem after all. There was no actual track damage. The major issue was the broken or pulled draw bar of one of the first trains at a location that was not easy to reach. It took a lot of time to get that fixed and the other trains started piling up...
With these 9000 foot behemoths, short of two miles, it takes the guy nearly 40 minutes to walk that distance. Adding the caboose back into the mix could be considered as a safety measure.
generally a crew hauler will drive them along to do an air test and inspection, i used to be one. but if theres no access road then yeah the conductor and brakeman are wallllking
@@g.k.32 in the days of the 3 man crew, whoever took the caboose could wait until the train had pulled past him, slowly, and he would get on the caboose as it rolled out (leaving the yard, a carman usually did the set & release before they started pulling). They trained us on how to do that (getting on, getting off, trailing foot first). I guess they don't allow it anymore. Shortly before my time, they stopped allowing getting on top of cars for any reason, which made signal passing a challenge in some of the switching tracks. Many old bridges over major rivers were single track with no catwalks on the side, so if the train lost it's air and went into emergency, there was no way to get back to the problem to diagnose or fix it. I understand that a crew, in most road situations, consists of the engineer and the foreman, and they are pushing for "engineer only." Some yard crews are one man with a radio controlled engine, called "RCO" (Routine Collision Occurrence). These days, by what I hear, ... well, I'm glad I got out of it before it all went to pot. A railroad executive should never be allowed to have any say until they have worked the ground for a minimum of 3 years, in my opinion.
@@infoanorexic yeah we have an RCL (remote controlled locomotive) guy in our terminal. basically drives around throwing switches and uses remote controls to move the train.
At 14:10, the reason for the rush to get a car carrying autorack consist thru is due to 2 things, unloading of the auto's and getting them onboard a RORO ship before the low tide and get it underway on the high sea's. Ships have deadlines also. I would guess these are Mercedes out of Vance, Al. headed for the Port of Brunswick, GA.
Watching these giant majestical trains move is curiously therapeutic!......I feel better already! ( I live in the UK where trains are 5 feet long and pass by in 10 seconds)....great vid; thanks.
Expertly done MB! You captured the true essence of railroad drama. Moving huge amounts of freight over a single track with all sorts of rules and regs to follow. Yet it gets done and done right!
I used to do a lot of work for Canadian Pacific Rail. My work had to do with their computers and logistics. Those guys working the tracks really earn their pay. These guys on the ground are the ones keeping railways running from sea to shining sea
did you help implement that new logistics that your new executive officer brought in? i see these cp trains run FMR and theyre sooo overworked. guys like you saved that company. cp crews generally seem happy but boy do they get worked
do you do any videos of the train yard where the trains are disconnected and reassembled for their prospective destinations (including the "hump" hill) and various tracks that the cars go to ??
Yes and no. I have several videos on my channel, where one can see some yard action. However, I haven't yet filmed inside yards, which would require special permission.
thanks I used to be able see some of the trains at the main yard in St Paul Minnesota being dispersed right from the highway years ago this always fascinated me and still does to this day
Looks like a typical CSX (Chicken Shit eXpress) move. I ran trains for them in the 90s and I recall once being on the engines for 14 hours (12 is going on the law) without pulling the throttle. Sometimes it just works that way. However when you rip up sidings, make all your sidings passing sidings (in theory because in order to do that your trains need to fit), make your trains long (saves money because they use less crews and rolling steel wheels get good fuel mileage) sure you are able to cut cost and increase profits. Only problem is when you plan on the minimum then when something happens you have nowhere to give. CSX likes to gamble and play the odds. I recall another time where the dispatcher put 2 opposing trains at the same siding without checking their lengths. He must have been new. Wow was that a mess. Only way it was fixed was by cutting the train on the main, with one behind it cutting away from theirs then dragging the extra cars back 10 miles to another siding and dropping them for another train to pick up days later. I'm sure it happens on all roads, just seems like CSX has perfected it.
Very interesting. Thank you for providing first-hand information. I'm sure other roads have or cause similar issues. That's why I try to avoid to be too harsh with CSX and just watch everything with a smile. I'm not an insider, just observer and interested in railroads, but what I see and think about railroad operations completely coincides with what you said. In particular, this issue of fitting overlong trains into a siding is a nightmare scenario for dispatchers. I haven't yet heard of such a case yet, but if Q616 and Q667 should meet somewhere on the Abbevile - well, you described the consequences clearly. Operating efficiently and trying to cut costs, well, this is what basically every company does, even more so in economically weak times like now. So, to try out new variants is perfectly okay, but one should also draw conclusions and revise ideas if they don't work out as expected.
Railroad management is long in tradition. Even though they are constantly talking about thinking out of the box frequently the phrase "we've always done it this way" is a law amoung many in management. Unfortunately there is always a large battle between management and union no matter what everyone says. Of course because management owns the company they are hard and fast about never being wrong and will make their point at all cost. As an example... what you saw. Railroading was an extremely enjoyable job and a career that I treasure the memories of. I was and still am extremely proud to say that I was a professional locomotive engineer! The only real problem was the constant threats over worried about being fired (the railroads are heavy on negative motivation never saying you did good, instead always critizing and threatening) and the repeated and frequent times of unemployment. Layoffs were a way of life that came at the expense of the new hires. When there was freight to move crew management would turned you on your rest and you were never at home, always living your life on the 2 hour call. As soon as business slowed just a little they were quick to lay you off. Every time without warning and no help while unemployed. The union didn't care because they were more concerned about protecting their long time members. Frequently I heard "you gotta pay your dues". They didn't mean your monthly dues they meant out last the lay offs. Every time we got called back there were fewer of us. Out of the 10 on our division that were hired as a group with me, none of them are with CSX today. CSX invested a lot of time, effort and money into teaching us to be professional locomotive engineers from the street to the throttle. But just like most of their investments they toss their tools away without thinking of the costs. Just look at how many engines are sitting in storage all around their systems and yet their trains struggle to maintain track speed because they are too long and underpowered. What you saw and demonstrated in your video was clearly a case of equipment, manpower/ crew usage and management conflicting instead of working together.
Thank you again for sharing your experience. It is very interesting for me (and certainly also other railfans) to learn more about how railroads operate and are managed. Of course, one has to see work-related issues always from both perspectives, employer an employee. The history of American railroading is full of examples of how general circumstances, economic situation, but also mismanagement have led to catastrophic failure. It is certainly also a very difficult task for the "upper ranks" and requires a fine balance to keep a railroad alive. On the other side, your description gives a clear insight into the hardship of the railroaders, in particular in times when demand for railroad traffic is low. One really must love this job to endure the lay-off periods. I think many of us railfans, in particular the younger ones, have a somewhat romantic imagination and many little boys' dream job is locomotive engineer or conductor. So, learning more about the good and the no-so-good aspects (which are both present in basically all jobs, of course) is useful for those who consider applying for a job in the railroad business or elsewhere. I also appreciate that you liked the video. I find the judgement of experts particularly important as I don't want to make statements in my videos that are not justified.
Mouse Nutz yep that long train shit may work out west but not out here with mountains and city's everywhere. Hook Harrison up to a brake pipe n give him a brake stick to to stop lol
The signs of trouble have been visible of the many problems at CSX for quite sometime and now it seems thats all about to come to a head,replacements crews or not. Great video my friend,thanks for the share!
Well, there are people who find this way of operating a railroad "normal", which worries me somewhat. My (railfanning) experiences with BNSF and UP are quite different. So, fortunately, there are ways of running a railroad with all its intricate complexities efficiently. We have to wait and see which route CSX is gonna take. Of course, I hope it all works out well at the end... Thanks for watching!
I love your videos, but I have just a small complaint (or suggestion, if you wish). Your commentary tags don't stay up long enough to read. Great stuff, but it's a pain in the ass to have to pause, go back, find, then freeze and read. How about leaving them up a bit longer to give us older folks a chance, eh? Thanks, Rich
Thanks for your suggestion. I know that this video contains a lot of such comments with information which to read is necessary to understand what's going on. The tags are visible for about 6.5 seconds which I always thought is long enough for just one sentence :)
delano62 As I said before, I have hardly any other option and strongly suggest to watch the videos on a reasonably sized screen. It's so much better anyway.
Re the comment below from azzir325, yes, I was going to say "what no caboose"? How come? Very interesting look at the experiences of American railway crews, and the only people I envy, oh to be on one of these fabulous machines! Great programme, thanks for sharing the experience.
Thanks! I always suggest to watch these high-quality videos on a large screen. It's a much more enjoyable experience (and makes reading the annotations easier).
Well, sometimes things just go terribly wrong. Fortunately, it's not always like this. It actually looks like everything works more efficient on this line nowadays.
Thanks for the video. I never thought I would see a huge train move forward then have to back into a siding has this happen before. CSX has problems at times. I appreciate your work.
8:09 I'm curious. I'm not seeing any brakes on the carriage wheels. I can't see any disc brakes nor clasp brakes. Can someone clarify? Also why aren't the red lights working on the crossing?
The brake shoes are there, they are found on the "insides" of the bogie, that is to say between the leading and trailing axle, obstructed by the truck side. You'd have to get closer to see them in there. I'm sure you can find video on TH-cam of that setup. As for the crossing lights in this video, the poster made a note of the fact that they weren't working, hence the train stopping while the conductor drops some flares and stops traffic until the locomotive has the crossing fully occupied, then the conductor can climb back on and take his seat again.
@th-cam.com/users/roboftherock I agree! Sorry, I still can't reply to your comments. Please post on youtube and not google+ if that's what you typically do.
No, I just tried. It didn't work. The error message is "comment failed to post". I have not received any reasonable answer from youtube why this happens with some users.
The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry! Railfans included! LOL But you saved the for us and that is much appreciated. I always learn something from your videos, you know.
I worked for Union Pacific on the Desoto/ Chester/PeaRidge Subdivision as a locomotive engineer for 12 years from 1974-1986. I have to say that I had many a days like this were a engine cylinder failure, oil every were on a Ge U30 C . 1 of 4 shot craps and you were going up a 2% grade for 30 miles now with 3 units when you needed 4 for 50 cars of iron ore , 100ton hoppers. Running 2200 amps notch 8 sanders on just waiting for wheel slip and then the traction motors our so hot you can smell the armatures burning . You have to start throttling down have the head brakeman drop off and cut 25 cars to make up the hill. Set them out in a down hill siding 15 miles away set 5 hand brakes on the head end and 5 on the rear end . Run around your half of a train a go back and get the other cut of cars with a caboose and set that out on the main line. Set 5 hand brakes on the head end and 5 on the rear end. Run back into the siding and couple back into the cut of cars have the head brakeman release the 5 hand breaks on the head end and the rear brakeman release the 5 handbrakes on the rear end. After everyone is in the clear put the reverser in reverse and throttle in notch 1 with independent brake on and charge the cut of cars. Then you had to use the pea shooter because at that time we didn’t have dynamite breaking on the older units. Once you got stoped, call the dispatcher get permission to proceed thru the absolute red signal on the main line have the brakeman 104c the interlock switches, then he or she aboard’s the cut of cars reconnecting the train and releasing the 5 hand brakes and the rear brakeman releases the 5 rear hand brakes . Charge the brake pipe use the pea shooter get a minimum reduction and the poor rear end has to deal with the run in and out. I preferred to power brake down the hills with just a minimum reduction and keep the train stretched to provide a comfortable ride for the rear end. It also made my job easy in controlling the speed at 40 mph right there by just throttle up or down especially for the 22 mile 2% down grade with a absolute signal just around a curb. But in 1986 they had a $50,000 buy out and I took it and went to school and became a robotic engineer and controls programmer. So on your newer engines the touch screen that you use for the display and controls would be something that I would design and the PLC on the SD40-2 would be something that I would program, also I would design the electrical schematics and control wiring size and color. Now I didn’t do this on locomotives I’m just using it as a example what a robotic engineer does. I am now disabled but for those of you that are young don’t think that the Railroad will be a lifelong job. Not to scare you but I been out of the programming business for 8 years. The future is the locomotive will operate by its self and a very low payed employee will sit were you are and just be there for a emergency. From a remote location a engineer can operate 5 to 10 trains in the future everything you see here will see like the dispatchers control center. I am positive that I could do this. So if I could do this it is or has been already in the works or will be. The best advice is to live within your means and get a technical degree online to prepare you for that day of reckoning. When I became a robotic programmer my intentions were to make the job less stressful for the operators. But business took advantage of the automation and instead of having a operators of 25 to 50 people they were replaced by a $50,000.00 GE Fanuc rebuilt robots from the automobile industries. The 50 people were replaced by a control room operator with monitors and cctv. From my home I could remote into the plant and troubleshoot a failure or program a call to a maintenance company and display on a touch screen the SOP on how to remove and replace the part were it was located in the inventory. Now this was 8 years ago and the plant is a dark plant meaning that their is only a security guard on duty and minimum lighting. So when Trump tells you that he is going to bring jobs back he may bring a company back but it will be fully automated. For the 21to 30 year olds this is going to be a real crisis because there will be very limited employment and unless we develop new jobs that require manual labor your working is in real jeopardy. I am sorry to have to tell you this but your jobs or not safe. I really enjoyed the power of being a locomotive engineer but I just got burned out with being on call jumping from engineer to fireman and back and forth. Along with the 12 hog law and 16to 20 hours getting back in to terminal. I wish all you railroader much success but work all the miles you can. Also the Union has really failed the engineers on my old division were the conductor gets more mileage then engineer. Good luck to you all
Thanks for sharing your experiences! Automation has its pros and cons. I hope the future for the younger generations is not bad. There's always something one can do.
I agree. Boring dispatch foul up or such ! I thought there would be a string drop derail coming , with all those loose spikes ! This is just another typically bad day in railroadin'....so what !
At 15:20 you hear the words "in emergency"; its railroad argot for "the s$$t just hit the fan". Luckily the crossing was not blocked. On the other hand the train sitting there isn't moving soon and there are 4 more behind it.
I'm guessing that the track in this area was recently worked and the gang is still in the general area. If so the track may have a "slow order" on it which limits speed over the track segment. This may also explain all the trains which are bunched together to allow maximum work time for the maintenance gang, roughly about 50 people with about 20 machines.
@@robertdavenport5457 actually I think that the non-working crossing gate would be the reason for the bunching of trains, that is until the broken drawbar.
That depends on the railroad and the line. In total, there are about 100 channels used by railroads, most of them in the VHF band between 160.2 and 161.6 MHz. On the line that I railfan most, the CSX Abbeville Sub, the road channel is 161.100 MHz and the dispatcher channel 160.290 MHz.
In areas, where I don't know the frequencies used by the railroads there, I usually put the scanner in scanning mode in the band I mentioned above (some scanners have service modes including the railroad band). Whenever the scanner receives a signal it stops and one can take a note of the frequency. This way you'll surely find the most important frequencies very quickly. Then program them into the scanner in an own bank if possible and scan only the these stored frequencies in this bank, because the scanner performs much more efficiently if one only scans a few channels instead of the entire band.
Speaking of blocked crossings, have you been through Dacula and Auburn lately? Massive amounts of MOW work and right now, every crossing in Auburn (and Carl) except one has been closed while CSX is working on the line. The pile of railroad ties in Dacula looks like Odin's woodpile. :)
Why isn't the work crew on the ground right at the start of the video on both sides of the track giving the train a visual roll-by? I thought that was a requirement???
They never said a thing about road flares and guys with flags in drivers ed. But, the sight and sound is usually enough for me, I do slow down and look both ways.
I once watch a televised chess match between two chess dudes. It was at a venue with perhaps 2000 people watching. The two chess dudes were on stage and the chess board was on a big screen for the audience to see. One of the chess dude opened by moving rook something to field something other and apparently that was a highly unexpected move, because the entire audience went into a collective gasp - which made me wonder where the heck they found those people in the audience?? I've now watched 46 minutes of train video, figuring the word drama apparently has very different meanings?!?!
@@jays106 It's drama for railfans and people that understand about this subject. To me, watching this video was more or less like watching ants in a backyard...
great video! and no you are not the only one that misses the caboose (azzir325). I do too, it is not the same! there were so many different kinds off cabooses colors and shapes. it`s like the end was cut off the train, not the same anymore.
@th-cam.com/users/jobrowne561 Hope you read this. Can't reply to your comment. - Yes, typically it is. Occasionally one or the other train is longer than any siding along the line, but this is potentially troublesome. So, the typical maximum train length is 10,000 ft. The ore train you mentioned has an impressive length. How many engines are needed?
The train was 7353 metres long hauling 682 ore cars 99,734 tonnes of iron ore. They used 8 x AC6000 spaced 2 locos, 168 ore cars, 2 locos, 168 ore cars, 2 locos, 168 ore cars,1 loco, 178 ore cars plus 1 loco at the end. All locos were remotely controlled from the lead engine.
Jo Browne This is just awesome. I really like short trains most, but this train must just look impressive, in particular, in the wide open space of which Australia has so much! For future communication, please check your channel settings. I could not comment to your original post, error message "comment failed post". I have contacted youtube previously, because I already had another "case". Although other users complain as well, nobody seems to know what the issue is. Maybe a google+ thing? Or privacy settings? Idk.
I loved the part where the crooked mayor got nailed! But really surprised they got Dirk Benedict to play the engineer for Q675-19. His acting was right on point, especially when challenged by Johnny Depp as the conductor of q210-19! Did they use CG for the fight scene? They should have used a few more fusees though. . .
Man, Somebody is not having a good day. And this all started it off going down the road when you spotted Q667-19 then you have to turn around and finish working on a switches on Hull Siding. Then the malfunction gate. I'm not going no further than this. That's crazy. But other than that. No accidents which is a very good after all. Oh by the way, This is the first time I saw a tanker train with 6 wheel axles Carried by Q667-19. That's pretty cool. Keep up the good work.
Good you didn't continue writing down all the issues. Would have become a long list lol. Q667 and Q616 have often these 6-axle tankers in their consists. I kinda like them, too!
It depends. If the helper service is only local, say over a mountain ridge, helpers are usually manned, because they are supposed to help other trains as well. If DPUs (distributed power units) remain attached between terminals, they are usually unmanned and remotely controlled by the engineer in the lead locomotive.
Really great video!! Lots of trains in this video! And to be honest, 2016 was way better than 2021 because of some nice locomotives that I missed and no longer used.
![[1c] New CSX Tier 4 Units and Why the Police Stopped Q194, Carlton - Athens GA, 11/15/2015 ©mbmars01](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/t7bwtsZkbMA/mqdefault.jpg)
![[1c] New CSX Tier 4 Units and Why the Police Stopped Q194, Carlton - Athens GA, 11/15/2015 ©mbmars01](/img/tr.png)
![[8N][4k] The Rescue of Coal Train N319, CSX Abbeville Subdivision, GA 01/19/2022](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/6PKITGZa_fY/mqdefault.jpg)
![[3Y] Emergency Braking of Military Train with KCS Units, Hull - Elberton, GA, 09/08/2016 ©mbmars01](/img/n.gif)
I'm a retired 40-year CSX Locomotive Engineer. I was a former Conrail employee, this so-called drama in this video is everyday business on today's CSX. The complete operation is a cluster you know what. We use to have a saying about CSX management "Screw up, move up". It's gotten worse now that lawyers are controlling everything.
It is all perspective. Railfanning with drama provides an interesting view of how the railroad works. Given the parameters, the dispatcher worked it out quite efficiently. Thanks to your coverage, I had a pretty good seat for the event.
I agree and you're very welcome. I can imagine that you had a comfortable seat! I sat in the first line of events, though :)
Train drama is like watching oil paint to dry. But I still keep watching it.
Thought my girls public hair had landed next to your name. Ha that's good.
I sit here in at my computer in Milton Keynes in England (between Birmingham and London) watching your videos utterly fascinated. I used to be a driver on the route from Rugby to London on electric units. The largest freights we ever see are our intermodal services which load to about 30 or 40 trucks, usually hauled by either single Class 66 or Class 70. The 66 is our specially built version of your EMD JT42CWR model while the 70 is a GE model PH37ACmi. They really are weedy little things compared to the monster trains you have there ! I only found your channel quite recently and I have to say I thoroughly enjoy your videos. Thank you for all the hard work you put into them.
Thanks very much! I really appreciate your feedback; it helps keeping motivation up and this channel alive :) Also thanks for your little story. In fact, I recently read an article in our Trains magazine about your Class 66s and 70s. Cool engines that have served their customers well!
Things break, priorities change, crews get short on time...just another day on the railroad. Interesting how he moved his traffic around but he got the job done in the end. Liked the commentary, and your choice of shots as well. Very enjoyable! Thanks!
I am a retired control center operator from a major North American crude oil pipeline, and I got most of this ... enjoyed it a lot. Too bad I didn't see the final outcome!!
I'm sure you understood it right and I'm glad you liked it. Eventually, some trains tied down as crews had lawed out and recrews were not immediately available, but overall normal operations resumed in the hours thereafter.
Am I the only one who misses cabooses??
nope!
azzir325 I miss caboose too
azzir325 ... no. a fred juat isnt the same.
Kailloren 22 years
Nope. I think they should have a National Caboose Day where every train should have to pull a Caboose just to prove they really use to exists.
My uncle was a switchman for Southern Pacific Railroad for 40 years. He hated to ride in cabooses. It was a sudden jerk when it got started rolling and a big jerk when it stopped. He used to say if you weren't ready for it, it would knock you off your feet or off your seat. Every coupling takes up slack when the train moves either forward or backwards. 100 rail cars taking up about a 10 inch slack space each equals one hell of a jerk at the back. This slack is necessary for the train to start pulling one car at a time so the first hitch doesn't snap off.
At last, I can see (@ 5:28), where the loco chime coms from… I thought it was somewhere on the roof
Me too, thanks for showing the location of the bell.
+nanba25 The Bells!!! The Bells!!! Those annoying Bloody Bells now I know how Quasimodo felt at Notre Dame.
I love the train bells my dad has a very nice brass one in his back yard from when he retired from the BN after working for them for 34 yrs.
They are bloody annoying the US is the only place that has them as far as I know. The same goes for that ridiculous Grade crossing warning 2 long, 1 short, one ridiculously long blast even if the train is going at a slow walking pace, once again only in the US is this done. Some countries don't warn at all, here in Australia just one blast is more than enough, sure we have crossing accidents/deaths but so does the US.
Don't like it, I guess you could not watch it maybe.
Thanks for sharing. Looks like it was a long day. I used to live in Lawrenceville, GA about two miles from where this line passes Briscoe field. Had some great fun chasing trains between Lawrenceville and Winder, and sometimes on to Bogart.
Nice! Chasing trains in that area isn't simple (anymore - maybe it was easier at earlier times). Winder has sometimes very bad traffic and therefore I prefer to stay more on the section eastern of Winder.
Typically a road would parallel a track; when the road gets upgraded, many times part of the road continues to be in use, many times other parts are cut off or dead ended. GA Hwy 17 from Livonia (I-85 exit) to Toccoa no longer closely parallels the track from Toccoa to Elberton but you have four lanes not two.
Your trains are MASSIVE compared with ours in the UK!
What train do you have in the UK
For those of us who have spent many hundreds of hours on this magnificent railway in Train Simulator (one of the early Microsoft Train simulator routes, it's still a pleasure in Train Simulator) and it's various variations, this movie is a real gem. We've all been here many times before !!!! Thanks for a great movie.
Not sure your comment refers to this video (sounds more like Marias Pass?), but if so: I'm happy you like it!
I allways wanted to know where that ding sound came from in freigth train thxxxxxx
Lol, that's funny :)
Don't know what it is but there's something about the design of these particular engines I just love. Still blows me away how much they can haul behind them.
I agree. Watching the locomotives and listening to their engines never gets old.
more entertaining than the fall cbs line up
Good point :)
thats not saying much.
Jay Aeecee it is
I'd watch this over another season of NCIS, for sure.
26:43 idk but the train looks stupid, pretend the two head lights (the ones on top near the cab) are the eyes, then the two lower ones are basically the mouth... I make no since at all.
When the crew hits 12 hours, all movements stop if on the main. Sadly, have seen it happen too many times on Amtrak. When CSX does track work, almost all of the crews will go dead at some point.
As a former Norfolk Southern employee this is a everyday thing with the long trains & especially the man getting a drawhead. I’ve re-crewed a train & never turned a wheel because of the shit storm going on. Thanks, great video
Many thanks! I know, it's often a mess, but this day seemed unusually crazy.
how tomorrow moves... cuz it ain't movin' today...
I have already used a very similar skit in an earlier video lol.
Good one. Love it
Quality in Motion You mean
16 is a very powerful locomotive strong up to power a small city.
4 MILES OF TRAINS, shalring 3 MILES OF TRACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What are they carrying in those boxes at 17:10. Some are see-through boxes
These are called autoracks and are used for the transport of cars, trucks, etc.
I can relate. Sort of. Back in the day, I worked for the defunct SP. Houston was the terminal. I worked the 'local' from Houston to my turn around, Hearne. The timetable scheduled us to leave Inglewood Yard Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 5 A.M. More often than not, I was not called out until 5 P.M. and after picking up the engine and caboose at Hardy Street and picking up our train at Inglewood, we might not leave until some five hours later. The Hog Law was sixteen hours then and there were times when we tied up in the side track at Bryan, twenty miles from our destination. That would be late 60's/early 70's.
Thanks for sharing this story. I think, Union Pacific has inherited these issues in Houston and still struggles to get things better scheduled and organized there. Here, the situation has relaxed after CSX implemented all those recent changes. Knuckles don't break anymore as often as they used to and emergencies are rare. Traffic has become more fluent.
Only heard bleeps until know. The whistle going on for the whole crossing of a street this close is amazing. Awesome
Lol, thanks!
Makes you wonder how anything gets delivered at times.
It doesn't
Another reason many shippers have gone to trucks.
I wonder how heavy is that mutha?
@JAG timely and many times damaged... in 7 years of loading trucks/containers, without a doubt rail is the safer option in regards to product. Trucking companies pay out their nose in freight claims and run real tight margins for the chance to move the bulk of freight. Shout out to all the drivers and dock workers that actually take pride in their jobs and care of their cargo! Mistakes happen.
@JAG definitely safer over all with rail, but you're correct; rail disasters are by-and-large more catastrophic when things do go wrong. Completely agree, rail is incredibly slow and also limited. Most businesses don't own facilities with proper sidings for box cars and such to just pull up and load/offload. That's where trucks come in. Whether you have your goods shipped to a facility via train and they do the loading/offloading which you then have truckers drop off or receive or you go intermodal container and have truckers pick up/drop off at rail yards directly. Trucks are an essential piece of the system whether long haul or last few miles.
Well! What can I say. I have been a railway / railroad fan all my life, but I never seen anything as awesome as this. We rarely have or hear of dramas such as this in the U.K. Great video footage though! Thanks for sharing and definitely worth watching. Best wishes. C.Davenport (Aberdeen) N.E. Scotland U.K.
Thank you very much! I'm happy you enjoyed following this little drama that unfolded unexpectedly on that day. Fortunately, it's not always like this, but it was interesting to watch how they tried to disentangle the chaos they had created.
A frustrating day for you turned into one of the more interesting railfan videos I've seen lately thanks to your careful storytelling. A very insightful video for us less than hardcore railfan types!
Thank you very much! I agree, it was somewhat frustrating, but also interesting. I'm glad the video came out well and reflects in its condensed form the action on this special day on this line.
I live in Danielsville, and travel 72 all the time, why were the trains called north and south bound when the track runs east-west, enjoy you work thank you
Many thanks! It’s admittedly confusing, but for CSX the line runs from Atlanta in the south to Abbeville, SC in the north.
Your videos are top-notch great angles, clean shots, excellent editing, along with pertinent information with scanner audio and on screen graphics. Keep up the good work.
Thank you very much. I'm particularly happy if people who are experts in the field like the videos.
I really enjoy your work. I love to watch your videos for hours
Many thanks! It's great you like watching them.
Looks a normal day on the CSX. The big drama is where is the top for car # 499125, the rolled steel transport car. Seems the CSX is making it's own drama trying to run too many trains on a single track mainline. Thanks for the video.
Yep, I have to agree. It just happens too frequently and there is nothing they do to prevent these emergencies from happening. I wouldn't say it's too many trains, it's more the length (and weight) of some trains that causes trouble. Thank you for watching!
We have the same problem up in Canada on the CN runs from Toronto to Halifax. The trains are running over11,000 feet on single lines through New Brunswick and the longest siding is around 9,900 feet long. CN has a secondary that's used mostly by VIA Rail, the passenger service, that at one point CN wanted to abandon but got the provincial government to hand over $ 125 million to rebuild it. Seems to be the same story all over.
Charles Damery
I'd guess so. I can't imagine that just CSX operates like that. I've seen similar things happening on Norfolk Southern lines as well. They simply have no "emergency plan" that tells them what to do if a train goes into emergency on the main line. This happened near the CSX depot in Athens. Why does it then need 4 hours to repair the drawbar? This is what I don't understand. The crews are mostly left to their own devices and this is inefficient.
Drawbar are a pretty heavy part of the car, so they'd need a crane or front end loader to take the weight and the crews didn't have one and it had to called in from the nearest depot and a car repair crew. It all takes time.
That's right, but it could be organized more efficiently I think. For example, I would have moved the first part of the train into the siding at Fowler and the engines of one of the trains in Hull could have shoved the second half behind the first part. Then the main line would have been free for the traffic again and the repair crews had all the time to do their repair job without pressure.
Who could do without all that Graffiti? It's a Railroad tradition to have all that art work displayed.......
Thanks for the video. It's interesting to see what's going on in other parts of the world.Are trains limited in length due to siding size? The longest ore train I've seen was about 7,000 metres long (Just under 23,000 feet)
Must be pretty flat where that is. If you ran a train that long in Canada, you'd never get it across the road. It would break knuckles everywhere. Too many rolling hills.
You have some excellent videos. I am subscribed now. You are my new favorite mood videos while I'm in my train room !! Thanks
That's awesome. Thanks for watching!
Very good camera work. Is it just me, I fail to find any"drama" here. (Yawn!) It sounded and appeared to be a typical goofy day.
For a railfan it's a drama, because he wants to see trains flying through. For the railroad it's merely another wasted day lol. Just a question of perspective...
@@mbmars01 I was actually waiting for a collision.. I think we have very different meanings for the word 'drama'..
Very nicely done video. I enjoyed watching it.
Thank you! Very much appreciated.
6:36
That’s one long horn
They have to blow it all the way through the intersection, by him going so slow it was extra long
Thinking they had major track damage, did a temp fix to get trains going, got a backlog of 6 trains, then had to jockey them all past the damage one at a time putting the others on sidings in somewhat complicated dance of sorts, NICE video !
Thanks! I'm happy you enjoyed it! It was a complex problem after all. There was no actual track damage. The major issue was the broken or pulled draw bar of one of the first trains at a location that was not easy to reach. It took a lot of time to get that fixed and the other trains started piling up...
With these 9000 foot behemoths, short of two miles, it takes the guy nearly 40 minutes to walk that distance. Adding the caboose back into the mix could be considered as a safety measure.
Geoffrey Lee what for??
generally a crew hauler will drive them along to do an air test and inspection, i used to be one. but if theres no access road then yeah the conductor and brakeman are wallllking
@@g.k.32 in the days of the 3 man crew, whoever took the caboose could wait until the train had pulled past him, slowly, and he would get on the caboose as it rolled out (leaving the yard, a carman usually did the set & release before they started pulling). They trained us on how to do that (getting on, getting off, trailing foot first). I guess they don't allow it anymore. Shortly before my time, they stopped allowing getting on top of cars for any reason, which made signal passing a challenge in some of the switching tracks. Many old bridges over major rivers were single track with no catwalks on the side, so if the train lost it's air and went into emergency, there was no way to get back to the problem to diagnose or fix it.
I understand that a crew, in most road situations, consists of the engineer and the foreman, and they are pushing for "engineer only." Some yard crews are one man with a radio controlled engine, called "RCO" (Routine Collision Occurrence). These days, by what I hear, ... well, I'm glad I got out of it before it all went to pot. A railroad executive should never be allowed to have any say until they have worked the ground for a minimum of 3 years, in my opinion.
@@infoanorexic yeah we have an RCL (remote controlled locomotive) guy in our terminal. basically drives around throwing switches and uses remote controls to move the train.
At 14:10, the reason for the rush to get a car carrying autorack consist thru is due to 2 things, unloading of the auto's and getting them onboard a RORO ship before the low tide and get it underway on the high sea's. Ships have deadlines also.
I would guess these are Mercedes out of Vance, Al. headed for the Port of Brunswick, GA.
Beautifully done ! What patience and what a camera ! Thanks !
Many thanks! Glad you like it!
Watching these giant majestical trains move is curiously therapeutic!......I feel better already! ( I live in the UK where trains are 5 feet long and pass by in 10 seconds)....great vid; thanks.
Lol, 5 feet... that's funny. You're welcome! Keep watching :)
Here in the USA & Canada the train length varying from 6,000 to 16,000 ft depend on the length of the siding.
Well, at least at 7:08, the conductor paid attention to the "Stop here on red" sign!
Expertly done MB! You captured the true essence of railroad drama. Moving huge amounts of freight over a single track with all sorts of rules and regs to follow. Yet it gets done and done right!
Thank you! Yes, it was a bit confusing, but finally it always works out - somehow :)
I used to do a lot of work for Canadian Pacific Rail. My work had to do with their computers and logistics. Those guys working the tracks really earn their pay. These guys on the ground are the ones keeping railways running from sea to shining sea
did you help implement that new logistics that your new executive officer brought in? i see these cp trains run FMR and theyre sooo overworked. guys like you saved that company. cp crews generally seem happy but boy do they get worked
@@g.k.32
Were noobs from roblox
former gandi dancer...……... you betch'ya
do you do any videos of the train yard where the trains are disconnected and reassembled for their prospective destinations (including the "hump" hill) and various tracks that the cars go to ??
Yes and no. I have several videos on my channel, where one can see some yard action. However, I haven't yet filmed inside yards, which would require special permission.
thanks I used to be able see some of the trains at the main yard in St Paul Minnesota being dispersed right from the highway years ago this always fascinated me and still does to this day
Oh I can imagine!
Looks like a typical CSX (Chicken Shit eXpress) move. I ran trains for them in the 90s and I recall once being on the engines for 14 hours (12 is going on the law) without pulling the throttle. Sometimes it just works that way. However when you rip up sidings, make all your sidings passing sidings (in theory because in order to do that your trains need to fit), make your trains long (saves money because they use less crews and rolling steel wheels get good fuel mileage) sure you are able to cut cost and increase profits. Only problem is when you plan on the minimum then when something happens you have nowhere to give. CSX likes to gamble and play the odds. I recall another time where the dispatcher put 2 opposing trains at the same siding without checking their lengths. He must have been new. Wow was that a mess. Only way it was fixed was by cutting the train on the main, with one behind it cutting away from theirs then dragging the extra cars back 10 miles to another siding and dropping them for another train to pick up days later. I'm sure it happens on all roads, just seems like CSX has perfected it.
Very interesting. Thank you for providing first-hand information. I'm
sure other roads have or cause similar issues. That's why I try to avoid
to be too harsh with CSX and just watch everything with a smile. I'm
not an insider, just observer and interested in railroads, but what I
see and think about railroad operations completely coincides with what
you said. In particular, this issue of fitting overlong trains into a
siding is a nightmare scenario for dispatchers. I haven't yet heard of
such a case yet, but if Q616 and Q667 should meet somewhere on the
Abbevile - well, you described the consequences clearly. Operating
efficiently and trying to cut costs, well, this is what basically every
company does, even more so in economically weak times like now. So, to
try out new variants is perfectly okay, but one should also draw
conclusions and revise ideas if they don't work out as expected.
Railroad management is long in tradition. Even though they are constantly talking about thinking out of the box frequently the phrase "we've always done it this way" is a law amoung many in management. Unfortunately there is always a large battle between management and union no matter what everyone says. Of course because management owns the company they are hard and fast about never being wrong and will make their point at all cost. As an example... what you saw.
Railroading was an extremely enjoyable job and a career that I treasure the memories of. I was and still am extremely proud to say that I was a professional locomotive engineer! The only real problem was the constant threats over worried about being fired (the railroads are heavy on negative motivation never saying you did good, instead always critizing and threatening) and the repeated and frequent times of unemployment. Layoffs were a way of life that came at the expense of the new hires. When there was freight to move crew management would turned you on your rest and you were never at home, always living your life on the 2 hour call. As soon as business slowed just a little they were quick to lay you off. Every time without warning and no help while unemployed. The union didn't care because they were more concerned about protecting their long time members. Frequently I heard "you gotta pay your dues". They didn't mean your monthly dues they meant out last the lay offs. Every time we got called back there were fewer of us. Out of the 10 on our division that were hired as a group with me, none of them are with CSX today. CSX invested a lot of time, effort and money into teaching us to be professional locomotive engineers from the street to the throttle. But just like most of their investments they toss their tools away without thinking of the costs. Just look at how many engines are sitting in storage all around their systems and yet their trains struggle to maintain track speed because they are too long and underpowered. What you saw and demonstrated in your video was clearly a case of equipment, manpower/ crew usage and management conflicting instead of working together.
By the way, Great video and a lot of informative information along with it. Thanks.
Thank you again for sharing your experience. It is very interesting for me (and certainly also other railfans) to learn more about how railroads operate and are managed. Of course, one has to see work-related issues always from both perspectives, employer an employee. The history of American railroading is full of examples of how general circumstances, economic situation, but also mismanagement have led to catastrophic failure. It is certainly also a very difficult task for the "upper ranks" and requires a fine balance to keep a railroad alive. On the other side, your description gives a clear insight into the hardship of the railroaders, in particular in times when demand for railroad traffic is low. One really must love this job to endure the lay-off periods. I think many of us railfans, in particular the younger ones, have a somewhat romantic imagination and many little boys' dream job is locomotive engineer or conductor. So, learning more about the good and the no-so-good aspects (which are both present in basically all jobs, of course) is useful for those who consider applying for a job in the railroad business or elsewhere. I also appreciate that you liked the video. I find the judgement of experts particularly important as I don't want to make statements in my videos that are not justified.
Mouse Nutz yep that long train shit may work out west but not out here with mountains and city's everywhere. Hook Harrison up to a brake pipe n give him a brake stick to to stop lol
The signs of trouble have been visible of the many problems at CSX for quite sometime and now it seems thats all about to come to a head,replacements crews or not. Great video my friend,thanks for the share!
Well, there are people who find this way of operating a railroad "normal", which worries me somewhat. My (railfanning) experiences with BNSF and UP are quite different. So, fortunately, there are ways of running a railroad with all its intricate complexities efficiently. We have to wait and see which route CSX is gonna take. Of course, I hope it all works out well at the end... Thanks for watching!
I love your videos, but I have just a small complaint (or suggestion, if you wish). Your commentary tags don't stay up long enough to read. Great stuff, but it's a pain in the ass to have to pause, go back, find, then freeze and read. How about leaving them up a bit longer to give us older folks a chance, eh?
Thanks,
Rich
Thanks for your suggestion. I know that this video contains a lot of such comments with information which to read is necessary to understand what's going on. The tags are visible for about 6.5 seconds which I always thought is long enough for just one sentence :)
I get so wrapped up watcing the video, I end up missing the tags ,and then have to go back. Great videos though!
delano62 As I said before, I have hardly any other option and strongly suggest to watch the videos on a reasonably sized screen. It's so much better anyway.
The rule for filmografers is they should read it twice then it is long enough.
J goes back 10 secs (arrows don't always work - depends if you've been changing the volume), K top pause and L to go forward 10 secs.
I gave up watching the grass grow, to watch this. What a good thing.!!! DA !!!
I am a train fan. I grew up beside the local goods yard but this is like watching paint dry.
Re the comment below from azzir325, yes, I was going to say "what no caboose"? How come?
Very interesting look at the experiences of American railway crews, and the only people I envy, oh to be on one of these fabulous machines! Great programme, thanks for sharing the experience.
Great you enjoyed watching the video!
You have good camera techniques and interesting shots.
Thank you :)
mbmars01 have you ever caught a vehicle vs train on video?
kddkd
kdkkeld
Man, what long trains. Thanks for the video
You're welcome!
I've loved TWAINS since I was a little boy.
Great video could not understand what was going on because I can't read the tags fast enough maybe have speech commentary , very good quality picture
Thanks! I always suggest to watch these high-quality videos on a large screen. It's a much more enjoyable experience (and makes reading the annotations easier).
I'm a 41 year retired CSX engineer. I watch this video, too much realism for me. My ulcers are acting up. I don't know how surivided 41 years.
Well, sometimes things just go terribly wrong. Fortunately, it's not always like this. It actually looks like everything works more efficient on this line nowadays.
@@mbmars01 Sure it does. CSX couldn't switch a carload of feces out between two empties. Worse railroad I've ever seen and I've seen a few.
Why do American train DRIVERS insist on calling themselves engineers, your fucking train drivers FFS.
@@johncodling9805 It's "engineer" because they drive an engine
@@harleck9119 So does every cunt who drives a car you fucking plonker
Thanks for the video. I never thought I would see a huge train move forward then have to back into a siding has this happen before. CSX has problems at times. I appreciate your work.
Yeah, it's unusual, but it occasionally happens for different reasons.
CSX 7337, Was it Not A Former Conrail Loco?
Drunk Bugs Bunny It most certainly was.
8:09 I'm curious. I'm not seeing any brakes on the carriage wheels. I can't see any disc brakes nor clasp brakes. Can someone clarify?
Also why aren't the red lights working on the crossing?
The brake shoes are there, they are found on the "insides" of the bogie, that is to say between the leading and trailing axle, obstructed by the truck side. You'd have to get closer to see them in there. I'm sure you can find video on TH-cam of that setup. As for the crossing lights in this video, the poster made a note of the fact that they weren't working, hence the train stopping while the conductor drops some flares and stops traffic until the locomotive has the crossing fully occupied, then the conductor can climb back on and take his seat again.
Inimbrium has the
Don't call them carriages . This is NA not Europe
Then the boegies are not begies either, they're trucks? :)
Yep, you can just about see them on the green car, at 38:53.
Why is this called a "Drama"? Isn't that being over Dramatic?
just saw this - well done summarizing this and editorializing what is occurring to make it entertaining.
Thank you very much!
@th-cam.com/users/roboftherock I agree! Sorry, I still can't reply to your comments. Please post on youtube and not google+ if that's what you typically do.
No, I just tried. It didn't work. The error message is "comment failed to post". I have not received any reasonable answer from youtube why this happens with some users.
Its telling me "comment failed to post" sometimes
mbmars01
mbmars01
Peter Singh Q
Wow! At 35:11, is that rail moving up and down a normal occurrence?
Rails have to be elastic to some extent; otherwise they break. However, there's obviously a limit to it.
That dispatcher may just have a future as an air traffic controller! :D
That fluster cluck is a classic example of the Right Hand not knowing what the Left Hand is doing .
It really ended up being like that.
6:36 longest horn blow I’ve ever heard
The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry! Railfans included! LOL But you saved the for us and that is much appreciated. I always learn something from your videos, you know.
+seiscat1 Thank you. Something is always going wrong. Nice, glad you do!
My gosh, what a cluster of trains, trains and more trains!
Yes, it was quite crowded in this area on that day.
I worked for Union Pacific on the Desoto/ Chester/PeaRidge Subdivision as a locomotive engineer for 12 years from 1974-1986. I have to say that I had many a days like this were a engine cylinder failure, oil every were on a Ge U30 C . 1 of 4 shot craps and you were going up a 2% grade for 30 miles now with 3 units when you needed 4 for 50 cars of iron ore , 100ton hoppers. Running 2200 amps notch 8 sanders on just waiting for wheel slip and then the traction motors our so hot you can smell the armatures burning . You have to start throttling down have the head brakeman drop off and cut 25 cars to make up the hill. Set them out in a down hill siding 15 miles away set 5 hand brakes on the head end and 5 on the rear end . Run around your half of a train a go back and get the other cut of cars with a caboose and set that out on the main line. Set 5 hand brakes on the head end and 5 on the rear end. Run back into the siding and couple back into the cut of cars have the head brakeman release the 5 hand breaks on the head end and the rear brakeman release the 5 handbrakes on the rear end. After everyone is in the clear put the reverser in reverse and throttle in notch 1 with independent brake on and charge the cut of cars. Then you had to use the pea shooter because at that time we didn’t have dynamite breaking on the older units. Once you got stoped, call the dispatcher get permission to proceed thru the absolute red signal on the main line have the brakeman 104c the interlock switches, then he or she aboard’s the cut of cars reconnecting the train and releasing the 5 hand brakes and the rear brakeman releases the 5 rear hand brakes . Charge the brake pipe use the pea shooter get a minimum reduction and the poor rear end has to deal with the run in and out. I preferred to power brake down the hills with just a minimum reduction and keep the train stretched to provide a comfortable ride for the rear end. It also made my job easy in controlling the speed at 40 mph right there by just throttle up or down especially for the 22 mile 2% down grade with a absolute signal just around a curb. But in 1986 they had a $50,000 buy out and I took it and went to school and became a robotic engineer and controls programmer. So on your newer engines the touch screen that you use for the display and controls would be something that I would design and the PLC on the SD40-2 would be something that I would program, also I would design the electrical schematics and control wiring size and color. Now I didn’t do this on locomotives I’m just using it as a example what a robotic engineer does.
I am now disabled but for those of you that are young don’t think that the Railroad will be a lifelong job. Not to scare you but I been out of the programming business for 8 years. The future is the locomotive will operate by its self and a very low payed employee will sit were you are and just be there for a emergency.
From a remote location a engineer can operate 5 to 10 trains in the future everything you see here will see like the dispatchers control center. I am positive that I could do this. So if I could do this it is or has been already in the works or will be.
The best advice is to live within your means and get a technical degree online to prepare you for that day of reckoning.
When I became a robotic programmer my intentions were to make the job less stressful for the operators. But business took advantage of the automation and instead of having a operators of 25 to 50 people they were replaced by a $50,000.00 GE Fanuc rebuilt robots from the automobile industries. The 50 people were replaced by a control room operator with monitors and cctv. From my home I could remote into the plant and troubleshoot a failure or program a call to a maintenance company and display on a touch screen the SOP on how to remove and replace the part were it was located in the inventory. Now this was 8 years ago and the plant is a dark plant meaning that their is only a security guard on duty and minimum lighting. So when Trump tells you that he is going to bring jobs back he may bring a company back but it will be fully automated.
For the 21to 30 year olds this is going to be a real crisis because there will be very limited employment and unless we develop new jobs that require manual labor your working is in real jeopardy. I am sorry to have to tell you this but your jobs or not safe.
I really enjoyed the power of being a locomotive engineer but I just got burned out with being on call jumping from engineer to fireman and back and forth.
Along with the 12 hog law and 16to 20 hours getting back in to terminal.
I wish all you railroader much success but work all the miles you can. Also the Union has really failed the engineers on my old division were the conductor gets more mileage then engineer. Good luck to you all
Thanks for sharing your experiences! Automation has its pros and cons. I hope the future for the younger generations is not bad. There's always something one can do.
I got to 31:54. When does anything happen?
Sounds like you had certain expectations that remained unsatisfied. What did you expect to see?
I agree. Boring dispatch foul up or such ! I thought there would be a string drop derail coming , with all those loose spikes ! This is just another typically bad day in railroadin'....so what !
At 15:20 you hear the words "in emergency"; its railroad argot for "the s$$t just hit the fan". Luckily the crossing was not blocked. On the other hand the train sitting there isn't moving soon and there are 4 more behind it.
I'm guessing that the track in this area was recently worked and the gang is still in the general area. If so the track may have a "slow order" on it which limits speed over the track segment. This may also explain all the trains which are bunched together to allow maximum work time for the maintenance gang, roughly about 50 people with about 20 machines.
@@robertdavenport5457 actually I think that the non-working crossing gate would be the reason for the bunching of trains, that is until the broken drawbar.
what frequency does csx and norfolk southern use for communication?
That depends on the railroad and the line. In total, there are about 100 channels used by railroads, most of them in the VHF band between 160.2 and 161.6 MHz. On the line that I railfan most, the CSX Abbeville Sub, the road channel is 161.100 MHz and the dispatcher channel 160.290 MHz.
well I am around the Knoxville Tennessee area so I was just wondering
In areas, where I don't know the frequencies used by the railroads there, I usually put the scanner in scanning mode in the band I mentioned above (some scanners have service modes including the railroad band). Whenever the scanner receives a signal it stops and one can take a note of the frequency. This way you'll surely find the most important frequencies very quickly. Then program them into the scanner in an own bank if possible and scan only the these stored frequencies in this bank, because the scanner performs much more efficiently if one only scans a few channels instead of the entire band.
thanks for the information
blue2000teg4dr
You're welcome!
Great shots my friend. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for watching! I'm glad you like it.
Speaking of blocked crossings, have you been through Dacula and Auburn lately? Massive amounts of MOW work and right now, every crossing in Auburn (and Carl) except one has been closed while CSX is working on the line. The pile of railroad ties in Dacula looks like Odin's woodpile. :)
No I haven't been there recently, but I know that a lot of track and tie work is going on on the entire Abbeville Sub.
@@mbmars01 Think that was bad
Up used to block two to five crossings with one train here in Fremont Nebraska.
Why isn't the work crew on the ground right at the start of the video on both sides of the track giving the train a visual roll-by? I thought that was a requirement???
It is. I was a Conductor for IC and later CN rrs and we had to do it!! I lost my caboose during m y 38 yrs.
What is it that makes trains so cool?
That's a very good question. I think it's their powerful appearance.
mbmars01,thanks this old man in a wheel chair thanks you.
Thank you so much. I'm glad you enjoyed watching the video.
They never said a thing about road flares and guys with flags in drivers ed. But, the sight and sound is usually enough for me, I do slow down and look both ways.
Interesting to see such a low number 16 on that lead engine..
I didn't even think such a thing existed
I have seen CSX 31 lead
A number is a number
Excellent videography. Kinda reminds me of the way Trains Magazine videos told a story. Nice job.
Many, many thanks. I really appreciate this comment, because I also like to read the stories in Trains.
I once watch a televised chess match between two chess dudes. It was at a venue with perhaps 2000 people watching. The two chess dudes were on stage and the chess board was on a big screen for the audience to see. One of the chess dude opened by moving rook something to field something other and apparently that was a highly unexpected move, because the entire audience went into a collective gasp - which made me wonder where the heck they found those people in the audience??
I've now watched 46 minutes of train video, figuring the word drama apparently has very different meanings?!?!
you and me both i did not get it and watched it completely i don't know what the drama was probably done for views
@@jays106 It's drama for railfans and people that understand about this subject. To me, watching this video was more or less like watching ants in a backyard...
I heard those similar situations happened on the BNSF this past summer. That's why I love listening to chatter on the main lines.
#16 has an AWESOME horn! 😀
Pokr
0kd
Great Train Video...Thumbs Up! 👍👍👍
Very cool, thanks!
about like watching grass grow, they need a new dispatcher , its easy to see why BN and UP are the prevailing rr's
What are the large boxcars with the ribbed side panels used for ?
I don't think there's anything special about these boxcars and they are also just used for general cargo.
Another really good video! epic problems on that line..enjoyed the whole thing..keep up the great stuff!
Cool, thank you! Keep watching :)
great video! and no you are not the only one that misses the caboose (azzir325). I do too, it is not the same! there were so many different kinds off cabooses colors and shapes. it`s like the end was cut off the train, not the same anymore.
Thanks! Yea, there's a lot of truth in it...
@th-cam.com/users/jobrowne561 Hope you read this. Can't reply to your comment. - Yes, typically it is. Occasionally one or the other train is longer than any siding along the line, but this is potentially troublesome. So, the typical maximum train length is 10,000 ft. The ore train you mentioned has an impressive length. How many engines are needed?
The train was 7353 metres long hauling 682 ore cars 99,734 tonnes of iron ore. They used 8 x AC6000 spaced 2 locos, 168 ore cars, 2 locos, 168 ore cars, 2 locos, 168 ore cars,1 loco, 178 ore cars plus 1 loco at the end. All locos were remotely controlled from the lead engine.
Jo Browne
This is just awesome. I really like short trains most, but this train must just look impressive, in particular, in the wide open space of which Australia has so much! For future communication, please check your channel settings. I could not comment to your original post, error message "comment failed post". I have contacted youtube previously, because I already had another "case". Although other users complain as well, nobody seems to know what the issue is. Maybe a google+ thing? Or privacy settings? Idk.
I have not had this trouble before. It might be a Google problem or once in a while bug.
Jo Browne
I guess, it's a google+ problem.
Sometimes reloading the page will allow posting.
That was so good I had to go back and watch it all again.
Great! One understands the complex story much better anyways when watching it again :)
I loved the part where the crooked mayor got nailed! But really surprised they got Dirk Benedict to play the engineer for Q675-19. His acting was right on point, especially when challenged by Johnny Depp as the conductor of q210-19! Did they use CG for the fight scene?
They should have used a few more fusees though. . .
Haha, that's an interesting cineaste's review of the technical facts :)
Man, Somebody is not having a good day. And this all started it off going down the road when you spotted Q667-19 then you have to turn around and finish working on a switches on Hull Siding. Then the malfunction gate. I'm not going no further than this. That's crazy. But other than that. No accidents which is a very good after all. Oh by the way, This is the first time I saw a tanker train with 6 wheel axles Carried by Q667-19. That's pretty cool. Keep up the good work.
Good you didn't continue writing down all the issues. Would have become a long list lol. Q667 and Q616 have often these 6-axle tankers in their consists. I kinda like them, too!
Thumbs up to you. Great video! Thank you. I don't think I could have taken the whole 6 hours myself.
Thank you. I didn't intend to do so either, but then I was curious how they would manage to disentangle this chaos :)
When there are Locomotives on both ends of a train, are there people manning both ends??
It depends. If the helper service is only local, say over a mountain ridge, helpers are usually manned, because they are supposed to help other trains as well. If DPUs (distributed power units) remain attached between terminals, they are usually unmanned and remotely controlled by the engineer in the lead locomotive.
@@mbmars01 oh ok thanks
That was a long train and yes I miss cabooses also.
How come DPU's aren't tacked on to those long trains? other than that raining on your parade good video, as always - RHRFP out.
Maybe they're lacking engines? I really don't know. The very long northbound manifest Q616 often has a DPU, many coal trains as well. MB out :)
+mbmars01 hey by the way what editor do you use?
Exclusively iMovie.
+mbmars01 looks really good
*****
Well, I'm glad you like it!
7:35 when your crossing gives up.
I'ts arms got tired waiting too long for the train to show up. lol
Really great video!! Lots of trains in this video! And to be honest, 2016 was way better than 2021 because of some nice locomotives that I missed and no longer used.
Thanks! I know, those were the good old days... Who would have thought that things change so quickly in recent years.
It looks like CSX needs to replace one of the bulbs
Anybody know what the 6 axle tank car at 10:33 is used for?
THE SUBTITLES GO BY TOO FAST. I'M NO SPEED READER!
Now my question is why does NS only use Cab lights as their headlights compared to every other company using the nose lights.