Thought I'd stop by for a revisit. Back in the day, I hired on with the SP. After two weeks of OJT, another newbie and I were assigned as part of a road crew to work in Englewood Yard in Houston for three months. Some kind of deal had been worked out by SP and the union that required the road crew off the Houston & Texas Central [SP]. That was an experience. We, the newbies, worked with an old head engineer and conductor. Our job was to walk the 'completed' track and couple cars and then pull them out and spot them elsewhere. After completing said task one night, I gave the engineer the sign with my lantern, climbed the ladder and sat on the edge of a gondola with one leg on the ladder and the other inside with no support. Stupid I know. Now the tracks were supposed to be collared for our safety, yet another car rolls in while we are pulling out and slams into the gondola. That's when my back issues began, but we won't go into that. The switches in the yard had to have been installed in the 19th century because it took a PHD in switches to make sure you had them aligned correctly. The funniest event I witnessed, if you want to call it funny, was an autopak car, which in those days was wide open, come off the hump and slam into a line of cars. New Pontiac Firebirds went everywhere. I'm sure all responsible got fired, or at least I would think so.
Funny you mention you need a PHD to throw switches. I wonder if the "switch" practices from the SP transferred to the UP during the merger. Iv'e put hard to throw switch issues several times into the safety hotline and one month later still the same switches did not get oiled. Often when i bring trains to foreign RR yards i joke with the crews there and say, "Your switches throw so easily, were going to steal your switches and put them in our rail yard".
@Djkh1 TheBrainstopper You won't understand this, but others will: You and your many friends are one factor--a small one to be sure---but one factor in the gradual destruction of this nation as we have known it. The founding fathers set forth in writing the concept of "private property," and indeed made it sacred, and an important part of our Constitution. It forbade the government from entering or seizing a man's property without due process. But the individual was constrained by his or her own conscience, It worked back then because they were better people than those of this generation. When you enter "private property" with the intent to damage, destroy, or desecrate, you are breaking the Law, yes...but the long-term effects are very destructive to this nation. But You say that your have a "right" to express yourself in your so-called "art." You are saying that your right trumps another person's private property rights. So, we can't ONLY blame the politicians, or the people who don't vote...we can blame YOU, and all of your comrades, who are like termites eating away at a tall tree. The effects aren't seen today or tomorrow, but your grandchildren will live in a poorer world, Brainstopper. One day the tree will topple. I'll bet you are proud, aren't you? I thought so...
I married a retired engineer and really didn't understand how much work was involved until seeing this. He began sending me videos of trains and I enjoyed them so much told him more...almost 8 yrs married and didn't realize all of this, now off to part two. TY so much for this, really am enjoying it!
Great video. I have a hard time understanding why anyone would give a thumbs down. Not just to this but lots of other videos. If it's not to your liking, simply stop watching it.
Most graff writers tend to go around the numbers just as a courtesy to the workers so they can still read them and also so they’re stuff won’t get buffed
@@scottsmith7051 you’re really telling me you don’t see beautiful colors and words often with cool designs and characters and styles as artistic? That’s sad man, you gotta look at it with more of an open mind!
worked for Southern Railway and then NS Railway for over 25 years as a switch man/foreman in a freight classifying yard that operated 24/7 365 days a year. When I started we wore tennis shoes and shorts in the summer, made all switching moves with hand signals or flashlight signals, no radios, no safety gear. we would climb trees and power poles to relay signals around curves or over hills. We ran on the tops of cars (cars that were moving and sitting still) and jumped from one car to another to get better signaling positions. It was common for both switch men and the foreman to be on top of rail cars spread out over a 1/4 mile or more relaying signals. Switching on the hump end of the yard was fast and furious with 5 or 6 cars rolling into tracks at one time. One man kicked the cars up the lead while the foreman kept the switches lined and the third man kept the cars from rolling out of the tracks. On the hump job there was 2 speeds wide open or stopped. It was a dangerous job and we classified a lot of cars in a shift. 12 hr shifts were common and 7 day work weeks were normal. I remember once working 54 straight 12 hr days. I made a lot of money but was exhausted, totally exhausted. Then the railroads got safety conscious and we had to stop doing some of the wild crazy things we were doing. With all the rule changes and supervised enforcement and the new safety rules daily switching slowed to a crawl and became tedious and boring. The railroad went through a lot of changes in my career and for grizzled, tough, hard headed old switch men change came hard. The job lost most of it's fun and excitement and because I felt "too old change" I said "screw this" and just resigned.
Roy I'm like you man. I.was a paramedic in Australia 38 years. Initially the job was great had so much fun then it all changed the fun police came in and screwed up everything. In the end I couldn't stand all the crap and the young ones dobbing everyone in so like you I resigned . Live on great memories now
@@patkelly6349 track gauge in the US is 4 ft 8.5 inches and it does not vary on major railroads. locomotive types are numerous and vary from railroad to railroad. you can find info on the internet using a search for types of diesel locomotives used in the US
They were probably taught to be totally aware of there surroundings just like in the old days. Also might have had the line switched to direct any traffic away from the working area. Old school thinking ahead. Nice lowboy.
Just found you. What a pleasant discovery. My one granddad worked on the Southern Pacific and other granddad worked on the Pennsylvania RR. Trains are in my blood. Nothing in the world like the sound of the whistle in the night. So glad I can hear them still. Thank you for all these great videos.
As a kid, I recall the yard in my hometown of Hearne, Texas. The SP lines came through Hearne from East St. Louis. Trains would either take the line to San Antonio and on out west to LA, or they could continue south towards Houston on the old Houston and Texas Central, for which I was assigned as a brakeman back in the day. The yard had 12 tracks, a car shed for repairs, a working turntable, an icing rack for reefer trains, a switch engine, which we called the Dinkie, as well as yardmen who bled off the air for trains to be switched, as well as oiling 'boxes'. The Mop crossed the interlock system on the north edge of town. They did some switching, mostly cotton gin mills, or position cars for unloading at this very large covered shed. About five miles west of Hearne was Valley Junction, where east/west MoP trains could either continue or wye north/south. The MoP did their switching at Valley Junction. At the interlock with the MoP was the depot, where the Sunbeam, complete with yellow steam engine, would stop to take on and drop off passengers. The MoP Eagle would cross the interlock and stop at their depot about a half mile from said interlock. From steam engines of the SP with those round tenders, or MoP steam engines with that flat tender, to F units and on to the Alco's and early GP's, I guess I was very fortunate to have grown up in a railroad town. Today, it's all owned by the UP and the Hearne yard is deader than a doornail. No switching is done at Valley Junction, either.
David Barnett, hello from Navasota, TX. Did you see or hear about the derailment in Hearne back in February? It happened on the curve going from the north/south UP to the east/west line. While the yard may not see much switching any more (and your account of the past glory was great), there is still a lot of traffic moving through the old Hearne yard.
Steve from Texas - No, I did not hear about it. I live in the Temple - Killeen - Ft. Hood area now. I occasionally visit Hearne and I've noticed the switching aspect is almost non-existent, and that there are perhaps one or two trains in the old yard. I was over in Franklin, Texas the 6th of May this year, and I did notice the traffic heading east on the former Missouri Pacific line. Navasota brings back a few memories in my day as a brakeman. One of our south bound SP rock trains had 'misjudged' and hit a Santa Fe eastbound to Houston going through the interlock system in Navasota at the old depot. I worked the special work train after that accident. Then there was the time one of our engines would not start. I had gone back to the second engine in the lashup and tried getting it to start, but to no avail, so the engineer says hey, sit down, blow the whistle, and keep your eyes open and let me go back and try to start said engine. Needless to say I was blowing the hell out of the whistle and hoping no one tried to beat the train to the crossings while we were passing through Navasota on our way to Bryan-College Station and Hearne.
Thanks for posting this informative and well-crafted video. Double thanks for omitting the seemingly obligatory railroad bluegrass music. The natural sound commands our attention.
Thats the difference between the old fishplate and bolt and fully welded rail - You dont get that bumpiness because the welded rail doesn't come lose - what surprises me is why it isn't all welded rail - You can see the mainline is why not the yard
I remember when I used to have more time to railfan..me and some other ole school guys shot mostly the power on the point..but I couldn't figure out what some of the younger guys were doing..Now I know..they were waiting for rolling stock with their tags on them..
Every time I drove over the ACCA Yard here in Richmond, VA I'm always looking and wondering how it all goes down, that and the seaports. Looking at a Satellite image of the Port of Norfolk, VA, just wow at the scope of things. So I'm checking out all your videos, very informative.
Thank you very much for this perfect Intermodal Taylor Yard video quite a lot of movement and a very busy with the coming and going of Switchers, Locos, Trucks with load loaders, and the Tractor units with Containers, I have to watch part 2 to get the latest follow up thanks again for your wonderful videos and what a fantastic website you have well done
Thank you for the kind and encouraging words, Teady.. Part 2 deals less with Taylor and more with Northeastern PA itself.. Part 5 has more of Taylor Yard in it if that's where your interest lies :-)
I am going to watch every part I am getting quite a lot of ideas just after part 1 off how many just looking forward to seeing all parts is Fantastic videos so far from you Trains 21
Story of the 8367 loco on fire... since I happened to find it pretty far down: "Anyhoots, the #8367 was the leader of 3 units on Train 37T out of Allentown on Thursday.... Don't ask me how or why but the train left Allentown with 1 unit (no fuel), another unit (no water) and the leader.... Coming through Taylor the crew reported 13 miles an hour and told dispatch that they weren't going to make the grade to Clark's Summit.... They were told to do the best they could (dumb). The train stalled (any surprise?) and the crew said over the radio, "And I think we're on fire, too!" That was the big joke for all of us listening!... So, the power of 11Z had to cut from their train at Dalton, go down and drag 37T up the hill, new power and crew had to be sent from Binghamton to retrieve the dead units and the train. The original crew outlawed and In the end you had a train with 3 dead units sitting on the hill. A lot of us think that someone should've been fired at Allentown as that's a major yard on NS."
Where I grew up in Carroll County, Illinois, The Milwaukee Railroad and the CB&Q both had freight yards in Savanna, Illinois. It was interesting watching the freight trains in the yards making the trains up. There was an overpass that you drove over the yards and you could look down and see the work being done.
The NS SD40-2 3475 was originally built for Burlington Northern in 6-80 and was numbered 7227; it went to locomotive dealer FURX and became the FURX 7227 before being acquired by NS.
Maybe.. It depends on the yard that you're companring it too.. Whether true or not, you must consider that these were "Canadian Pacific" tracks up until just over a year ago and CP was not interested in maintenance which is one reason (only one) that NS bought the line.. In the defense of NS.. They've made (and continue to make) grand improvements to this and the A&S Freight Line between Binghamton and Schenectady, NY.
Hello Jeremy, and greetings from the USA.... Thank you for the compliment, it's much appreciated and don't worry, there's plenty more where these came from so check in daily.... AC
I’m watching this in my bunk on the southbound #11 Amtrak. My sleeper car is first car behind the set of P42s in the lead. Can’t tell if horn blowing is this locomotive or the ones in this video. I’m feeling the rail as well.
OTR trucker here: At times, I have hauled used rail. At loading/unloading points I've talked to "those who know." All reading this know each rail section has the year of manufacture. I've seen rail made in the 1890's and early 1900's. Still serviceable. "Those who know" told me the USS 1912 rail was some of the best and still plentiful! 100+ YO rail still useful. Unbelievable. Ironically, I currently live near Bham AL, which had a USS rail mill at Ensley, long since shuttered and razed 😢
Same can be said re working the 'local'. Tedious, tiring, setting in sidings awaiting through freights, leaving the home terminal often 12 hours behind schedule, working at night with only lanterns and NO communications like today, getting caught by the 'hog' law in those days and tying up in a siding waiting for a through freight going your way to pick up the local and take it to the turn-around or terminal, etc., but someone had to do it. lol
Nice clip. Theirs quiet a bit of rockn action at 11:00, and at 25:00 that go to hell Ford wouldn't start hu?? So they called a wrecker. Nice catch 👍 thanks for sharing this👍👍
Hi There. Yes you are so right about this, We have some freight And container yard's. But nothing like we should have. All the best to you. And your family.
Hi There. Yes you are so right. We do have some freight On the railway's But not as much as we should all the best to you and your family. from the uk.
Since I'm not familiar with modern diesel electrics, Norfolk Southern is the only railroad that puts the model type on the cabs. If you could, do a quick zoom on the engine type. I appreciate all the work you do in shooting these railroads. This video really taught me a few things about freight trains. Keep up the good work as there are those of us who really enjoy these videos. Thank you for your post production work as well with the explanations of what's going on. And yes, please share the fire story. W Rusty Lane in eastern Tennessee (Witherington Place Railroad)
So, if you've been following this channel for the past month or so then you know that heavy trains, specifically, coal and rock trains have a bad reputation north of milepost 672 (the infamous grade to Clark's Summit). BTW - As I'm writing this there's another coal train about an hour out!... Anyhoots, the #8367 was the leader of 3 units on Train 37T out of Allentown on Thursday.... Don't ask me how or why but the train left Allentown with 1 unit (no fuel), another unit (no water) and the leader.... Coming through Taylor the crew reported 13 miles an hour and told dispatch that they weren't going to make the grade to Clark's Summit.... They were told to do the best they could (dumb). The train stalled (any surprise?) and the crew said over the radio, "And I think we're on fire, too!" That was the big joke for all of us listening!... So, the power of 11Z had to cut from their train at Dalton, go down and drag 37T up the hill, new power and crew had to be sent from Binghamton to retrieve the dead units and the train. The original crew outlawed and In the end you had a train with 3 dead units sitting on the hill. A lot of us think that someone should've been fired at Allentown as that's a major yard on NS.
Trains21, Thank you for sharing that story. I cannot fathom how the crew must have felt! When you speak of Allentown, is that Allentown, PA? I served in the 2nd Marine Air Wing with an officer who was from Allentown, PA, and he gave me permission to write his sister when I was in the Nam. W Rusty Lane in eastern Tennessee (Witherington Place Railroad)
R&N 3056 is a SD40‐2 "snoot". Looks like the low hood was longer than standard. But was sure if the yellow green livery just made it look like it was longer.
+Trains21 when I ran Railshuttle in the 90's here in SLC,UT, in was all TOFC or Doublestack, no mixed. So yes, interesting.Didn't think UP went CSX on us!Lol
Mixed freights have a purpose, as do unit trains. Depends on what's going where and with what kind of priority. This looks like a backwater yard, so I doubt they see much unit-train doublestack zipping through here... especially with all that ripply jointed rail! The speed limit on the main track is probably 35 mph through there.
I've noticed locomotive fires are more in the last few years. Hospital trains are made up here and stored in an old yard (used mostró for storage an traffic control) here in OKC until they're dispatched for their departure. Many of the new wide bodies seem to show evidence of a fire in near the forward end of the radiators. Can you speak to that. There was a quite dramatic photo that I saw of a UP wide body at the Evanston subdivision in WY where that same location of the carbody was completely blown out. And another engineer/model railroader on u toob talked about his experience with an locomotive fire. Wondering if the latest generation of locomotives are just more prone to this or if I've simply been more observant. Lol
Exactly. This is a perfect of a example of a video that should have voiceovers instead of titles. Since my eyes don’t work together (double vision), it’s very difficult for me to read. Also, every time I read something, I don’t see what you’re showing me in the video. Makes me wonder if I should start doing voiceovers in my own videos.
You didn't explain why they stopped , other than crew change. Why three man crew? How or who divided original consist up? Can the yard track hold whole length of train? Good footage, but titled totally wrong!!!!
@@Trains21: Might be worth a copy & paste into your "read more" at the top. I've been scrolling for 20 min. just to get here & haven't found it I give up.
What I noticed about trains in US is that they just love to hoot all the time. Yea I know this is for safety, but still really bothersome, especially if you live close to the tracks.
To be sincere, not to be bad I didn't really get what I watched. Maybe next time you show us how it's even connected with each other, how the staff Leave office, communicate with each other etc. Thanks.
Well, hopefully someone comes up with a better video. All I got out of this video was actually witnessing a shift change with the crew. Wow wait let me say wow again the rest of this was real fanning. Any cars that were hooked up dropped off with a conductor involved was already done, didn’t see any of that come on man
Wow! Great video! Very nicely done. Looks like I'll be busy watching for a while, lol. So many questions, I don't even know where to start. First two though, What is Yard Limits? And what is a derail-er?
The yard limit is the area and/or trackage that make up a rail yard.. A de-railer is a device and/or track alignment that prevents freight cars and/or locomotives from entering a main line and/or other important piece of track.
A lot of video with very little information. Pretty pictures of trains but little useful information about how rail yards work. I can see why others called this boring.
So, if you've been following this channel for the past month or so then you know that heavy trains, specifically, coal and rock trains have a bad reputation north of milepost 672 (the infamous grade to Clark's Summit). BTW - As I'm writing this there's another coal train about an hour out!... Anyhoots, the #8367 was the leader of 3 units on Train 37T out of Allentown on Thursday.... Don't ask me how or why but the train left Allentown with 1 unit (no fuel), another unit (no water) and the leader.... Coming through Taylor the crew reported 13 miles an hour and told dispatch that they weren't going to make the grade to Clark's Summit.... They were told to do the best they could (dumb). The train stalled (any surprise?) and the crew said over the radio, "And I think we're on fire, too!" That was the big joke for all of us listening!... So, the power of 11Z had to cut from their train at Dalton, go down and drag 37T up the hill, new power and crew had to be sent from Binghamton to retrieve the dead units and the train. The original crew outlawed and In the end you had a train with 3 dead units sitting on the hill. A lot of us think that someone should've been fired at Allentown as that's a major yard on NS.
You definitely have a great and unique channel here, and what kind of camera are you using the pictures so crisp and clear, happy railfang and God bless.
Thank you.... I'm using a Sony HDR-XR160 Digital HD camcorder.... It's actually an older model (5 years) but I edit using Adobe Premier with a sharpening filter which enhances the final picture.
@@ohgary Or they can sneak out to the outskirts of town and get them there. I was at a local Walmart buying a can of paint. I'm 73 years old and the cashier still carded me. What's up with that?
Thought I'd stop by for a revisit. Back in the day, I hired on with the SP. After two weeks of OJT, another newbie and I were assigned as part of a road crew to work in Englewood Yard in Houston for three months. Some kind of deal had been worked out by SP and the union that required the road crew off the Houston & Texas Central [SP]. That was an experience. We, the newbies, worked with an old head engineer and conductor. Our job was to walk the 'completed' track and couple cars and then pull them out and spot them elsewhere. After completing said task one night, I gave the engineer the sign with my lantern, climbed the ladder and sat on the edge of a gondola with one leg on the ladder and the other inside with no support. Stupid I know. Now the tracks were supposed to be collared for our safety, yet another car rolls in while we are pulling out and slams into the gondola. That's when my back issues began, but we won't go into that.
The switches in the yard had to have been installed in the 19th century because it took a PHD in switches to make sure you had them aligned correctly.
The funniest event I witnessed, if you want to call it funny, was an autopak car, which in those days was wide open, come off the hump and slam into a line of cars. New Pontiac Firebirds went everywhere. I'm sure all responsible got fired, or at least I would think so.
I'm speechless.
Funny you mention you need a PHD to throw switches. I wonder if the "switch" practices from the SP transferred to the UP during the merger. Iv'e put hard to throw switch issues several times into the safety hotline and one month later still the same switches did not get oiled. Often when i bring trains to foreign RR yards i joke with the crews there and say, "Your switches throw so easily, were going to steal your switches and put them in our rail yard".
BossSpringsteen69 .
David Barnett ....thanks for the stories.....very interesting
@Djkh1 TheBrainstopper You won't understand this, but others will: You and your many friends are one factor--a small one to be sure---but one factor in the gradual destruction of this nation as we have known it.
The founding fathers set forth in writing the concept of "private property," and indeed made it sacred, and an important part of our Constitution. It forbade the government from entering or seizing a man's property without due process. But the individual was constrained by his or her own conscience, It worked back then because they were better people than those of this generation. When you enter "private property" with the intent to damage, destroy, or desecrate, you are breaking the Law, yes...but the long-term effects are very destructive to this nation.
But You say that your have a "right" to express yourself in your so-called "art." You are saying that your right trumps another person's private property rights. So, we can't ONLY blame the politicians, or the people who don't vote...we can blame YOU, and all of your comrades, who are like termites eating away at a tall tree. The effects aren't seen today or tomorrow, but your grandchildren will live in a poorer world, Brainstopper. One day the tree will topple. I'll bet you are proud, aren't you? I thought so...
I married a retired engineer and really didn't understand how much work was involved until seeing this. He began sending me videos of trains and I enjoyed them so much told him more...almost 8 yrs married and didn't realize all of this, now off to part two. TY so much for this, really am enjoying it!
Great video.
I have a hard time understanding why anyone would give a thumbs down.
Not just to this but lots of other videos.
If it's not to your liking, simply stop watching it.
Amen to that, brother.. That's EXACTLY how I feel.. And thank you for the kind words. :-)
I can think of people giving thumbs down to some political or music videos when they don't like the videos fro some reason.
I could watch this all day
Thanks Loudmouth.
I'm amazed at how wavy and worn some of the tracks look. And the sound of metal scraping against metal...!
Very interesting and informative! And I would like to hear about the locomotive fire on train 37T!
I am mildly impressed that the graffiti artists don't paint over any of the freight car lettering (tonnage, etc)
They do, just not all of the time.
Most graff writers tend to go around the numbers just as a courtesy to the workers so they can still read them and also so they’re stuff won’t get buffed
They probably can reach so high
I'm having difficulty associating the defacing of private property with artistry.
@@scottsmith7051 you’re really telling me you don’t see beautiful colors and words often with cool designs and characters and styles as artistic? That’s sad man, you gotta look at it with more of an open mind!
If you're a train lover like me you'll love this video. It's super.
Thanks Thomas
worked for Southern Railway and then NS Railway for over 25 years as a switch man/foreman in a freight classifying yard that operated 24/7 365 days a year. When I started we wore tennis shoes and shorts in the summer, made all switching moves with hand signals or flashlight signals, no radios, no safety gear. we would climb trees and power poles to relay signals around curves or over hills. We ran on the tops of cars (cars that were moving and sitting still) and jumped from one car to another to get better signaling positions. It was common for both switch men and the foreman to be on top of rail cars spread out over a 1/4 mile or more relaying signals. Switching on the hump end of the yard was fast and furious with 5 or 6 cars rolling into tracks at one time. One man kicked the cars up the lead while the foreman kept the switches lined and the third man kept the cars from rolling out of the tracks. On the hump job there was 2 speeds wide open or stopped. It was a dangerous job and we classified a lot of cars in a shift. 12 hr shifts were common and 7 day work weeks were normal. I remember once working 54 straight 12 hr days. I made a lot of money but was exhausted, totally exhausted. Then the railroads got safety conscious and we had to stop doing some of the wild crazy things we were doing. With all the rule changes and supervised enforcement and the new safety rules daily switching slowed to a crawl and became tedious and boring. The railroad went through a lot of changes in my career and for grizzled, tough, hard headed old switch men change came hard. The job lost most of it's fun and excitement and because I felt "too old change" I said "screw this" and just resigned.
Thanks Roy I like that story. Can you tell me are they mainly dash 9s and what gauge track in the USA does it vary like Australia
Roy I'm like you man. I.was a paramedic in Australia 38 years. Initially the job was great had so much fun then it all changed the fun police came in and screwed up everything. In the end I couldn't stand all the crap and the young ones dobbing everyone in so like you I resigned . Live on great memories now
@@patkelly6349 track gauge in the US is 4 ft 8.5 inches and it does not vary on major railroads. locomotive types are numerous and vary from railroad to railroad. you can find info on the internet using a search for types of diesel locomotives used in the US
Thank you roy
That track crew was frightening. No lookout, no PPE, shorts, no shirts, no hard hats. Accident waiting to happen. They were definitely not NS people.
Don't let OSHA see that.
They were probably taught to be totally aware of there surroundings just like in the old days. Also might have had the line switched to direct any traffic away from the working area. Old school thinking ahead. Nice lowboy.
Just found you. What a pleasant discovery. My one granddad worked on the Southern Pacific and other granddad worked on the Pennsylvania RR. Trains are in my blood. Nothing in the world like the sound of the whistle in the night. So glad I can hear them still. Thank you for all these great videos.
As a kid, I recall the yard in my hometown of Hearne, Texas. The SP lines came through Hearne from East St. Louis. Trains would either take the line to San Antonio and on out west to LA, or they could continue south towards Houston on the old Houston and Texas Central, for which I was assigned as a brakeman back in the day. The yard had 12 tracks, a car shed for repairs, a working turntable, an icing rack for reefer trains, a switch engine, which we called the Dinkie, as well as yardmen who bled off the air for trains to be switched, as well as oiling 'boxes'. The Mop crossed the interlock system on the north edge of town. They did some switching, mostly cotton gin mills, or position cars for unloading at this very large covered shed. About five miles west of Hearne was Valley Junction, where east/west MoP trains could either continue or wye north/south. The MoP did their switching at Valley Junction. At the interlock with the MoP was the depot, where the Sunbeam, complete with yellow steam engine, would stop to take on and drop off passengers. The MoP Eagle would cross the interlock and stop at their depot about a half mile from said interlock. From steam engines of the SP with those round tenders, or MoP steam engines with that flat tender, to F units and on to the Alco's and early GP's, I guess I was very fortunate to have grown up in a railroad town. Today, it's all owned by the UP and the Hearne yard is deader than a doornail. No switching is done at Valley Junction, either.
Timeless.
David Barnett, hello from Navasota, TX. Did you see or hear about the derailment in Hearne back in February? It happened on the curve going from the north/south UP to the east/west line. While the yard may not see much switching any more (and your account of the past glory was great), there is still a lot of traffic moving through the old Hearne yard.
Steve from Texas - No, I did not hear about it. I live in the Temple - Killeen - Ft. Hood area now. I occasionally visit Hearne and I've noticed the switching aspect is almost non-existent, and that there are perhaps one or two trains in the old yard. I was over in Franklin, Texas the 6th of May this year, and I did notice the traffic heading east on the former Missouri Pacific line.
Navasota brings back a few memories in my day as a brakeman. One of our south bound SP rock trains had 'misjudged' and hit a Santa Fe eastbound to Houston going through the interlock system in Navasota at the old depot. I worked the special work train after that accident. Then there was the time one of our engines would not start. I had gone back to the second engine in the lashup and tried getting it to start, but to no avail, so the engineer says hey, sit down, blow the whistle, and keep your eyes open and let me go back and try to start said engine. Needless to say I was blowing the hell out of the whistle and hoping no one tried to beat the train to the crossings while we were passing through Navasota on our way to Bryan-College Station and Hearne.
David Barnett z
At least there is a Dairy Queen. Dang it gets hot in Hearne.
Good job I'm proud to have work for the R.R. 42yr and 19day !!!!!!!!
I'm proud to have you watching our videos.. A railroad man of your caliber.. Congratulations on a long and proud career in railroading!
Thanks for posting this informative and well-crafted video. Double thanks for omitting the seemingly obligatory railroad bluegrass music. The natural sound commands our attention.
I didn't realize how rough yard tracks could be. Looks like a rollercoaster.
Thats the difference between the old fishplate and bolt and fully welded rail - You dont get that bumpiness because the welded rail doesn't come lose - what surprises me is why it isn't all welded rail - You can see the mainline is why not the yard
Great video thanks for sharing lot of different stuff going on got to stay alert dangerous jobs
I really enjoyed watching some train switching, I used to work for BNSF inTulsa OK as yard foreman and hostler and road brakeman now and then
Cool.. I'm glad you liked it.
Excellent photography, and excellent narrative captions. A primer introduction to the operations in a yard. Thank you!
Thank you Ruben.. Glad you liked.
I remember when I used to have more time to railfan..me and some other ole school guys shot mostly the power on the point..but I couldn't figure out what some of the younger guys were doing..Now I know..they were waiting for rolling stock with their tags on them..
I will never get tired of this one! Thanks AC.
Thanks, Bethany.. In the future I'll have better videos of bigger, more active yards.. Stay tuned..
That yard is in desperate need of some track maintenance... Looks like they're riding a sine wave
It amazes me how those trains stay on those crapy tracks.
Nice but it would've been 1000 times better if it were narrated.
Every time I drove over the ACCA Yard here in Richmond, VA I'm always looking and wondering how it all goes down, that and the seaports. Looking at a Satellite image of the Port of Norfolk, VA, just wow at the scope of things. So I'm checking out all your videos, very informative.
Thanks Brian.. I'm glad that you enjoy them.. They'll be even more informative in the days to come.
I see the spraypaint industry is still doing well............
Actually those guys don’t pay for paint.
My kind of fun watching this vid. Thanks for posting and the description.
Watching this is soothing
It is indeed. I'm not sure why.
Love 🚂 videos I watch them all the time since I've been little love watching 🚂 now 43 still love watching 🚂 and the videos 💯💯👊👊
Thank you very much for this perfect Intermodal Taylor Yard video quite a lot of movement and a very busy with the coming and going of Switchers, Locos, Trucks with load loaders, and the Tractor units with Containers, I have to watch part 2 to get the latest follow up thanks again for your wonderful videos and what a fantastic website you have well done
Thank you for the kind and encouraging words, Teady.. Part 2 deals less with Taylor and more with Northeastern PA itself.. Part 5 has more of Taylor Yard in it if that's where your interest lies :-)
I am going to watch every part I am getting quite a lot of ideas just after part 1 off how many just looking forward to seeing all parts is Fantastic videos so far from you Trains 21
Thanks, Teady.. :-)
It is currently 2 am and this is just interesting to me
Ikr?
Story of the 8367 loco on fire... since I happened to find it pretty far down:
"Anyhoots, the #8367 was the leader of 3 units on Train 37T out of Allentown on Thursday.... Don't ask me how or why but the train left Allentown with 1 unit (no fuel), another unit (no water) and the leader.... Coming through Taylor the crew reported 13 miles an hour and told dispatch that they weren't going to make the grade to Clark's Summit.... They were told to do the best they could (dumb).
The train stalled (any surprise?) and the crew said over the radio, "And I think we're on fire, too!" That was the big joke for all of us listening!... So, the power of 11Z had to cut from their train at Dalton, go down and drag 37T up the hill, new power and crew had to be sent from Binghamton to retrieve the dead units and the train. The original crew outlawed and In the end you had a train with 3 dead units sitting on the hill.
A lot of us think that someone should've been fired at Allentown as that's a major yard on NS."
Sad, isn't it.. Thanks for reposting!!
So how do railroads work?
my dad was a yardmaster for the DL&W in Croxton Yard, secaucus nj, i remember it was a very busy place
I'll bet.. Is that where Croxton is, Secaucus??
Trains21 Croxton is in Jersey City, NJ. Secaucus actually borders Croxton.
Trains21 Do you work for NS?
Thanx 4 the video. Always interesting to see a few of the many things that need to be done to move goods from A to B.
Where I grew up in Carroll County, Illinois, The Milwaukee Railroad and the CB&Q both had freight yards in Savanna, Illinois. It was interesting watching the freight trains in the yards making the trains up. There was an overpass that you drove over the yards and you could look down and see the work being done.
Cool.. Thanks for sharing the memories.
The NS SD40-2 3475 was originally built for Burlington Northern in 6-80 and was numbered 7227; it went to locomotive dealer FURX and became the FURX 7227 before being acquired by NS.
Like where do you keep the rest rooms at?
20:13 I couldn't entirely understand the person on the radio but his reaction was awesome.
Very enjoyable! I thought that hi-rail being towed was going to be torn in two for a second there.😉
LOL!!
I could be wrong, but it looks to me that most of the tracks need to be replaced, given the swaying of the locos and the dips in the steel rails.
Maybe, but they are yard tracks, not mainline tracks.
I would say that the yard tracks here are in far worse condition than a major freight yard. Very uneven.
Maybe.. It depends on the yard that you're companring it too.. Whether true or not, you must consider that these were "Canadian Pacific" tracks up until just over a year ago and CP was not interested in maintenance which is one reason (only one) that NS bought the line..
In the defense of NS.. They've made (and continue to make) grand improvements to this and the A&S Freight Line between Binghamton and Schenectady, NY.
That rail gang crew looks like they just came in from town 🤣
More like the beach.
Nice video, loved it.
Thanks BN
Greetings from the UK....great video, very informative keep them coming.
Hello Jeremy, and greetings from the USA.... Thank you for the compliment, it's much appreciated and don't worry, there's plenty more where these came from so check in daily.... AC
And awesome video, would love to see more like this as Railyards as you said are sure a busy place lol!
Thank you, and yes, I plan to have many more videos like this, including yards, in miles ahead!
I’m watching this in my bunk on the southbound #11 Amtrak. My sleeper car is first car behind the set of P42s in the lead. Can’t tell if horn blowing is this locomotive or the ones in this video. I’m feeling the rail as well.
SD40-2s like 3475 are my favorite. Maybe because I can most easily identify them. They been around as long as I've been alive.
The crew being aware of a camera all made sure their egress was according to OSHA and railroad safety.
No better sound in the world than the railroad......GoUP....
Indeed
You are, I assume, referring to the steam era. No ?
only thing better is the sound of a satisfied woman (silence)
OTR trucker here: At times, I have hauled used rail. At loading/unloading points I've talked to "those who know." All reading this know each rail section has the year of manufacture. I've seen rail made in the 1890's and early 1900's. Still serviceable. "Those who know" told me the USS 1912 rail was some of the best and still plentiful! 100+ YO rail still useful. Unbelievable. Ironically, I currently live near Bham AL, which had a USS rail mill at Ensley, long since shuttered and razed 😢
Thanks for sharing that wonderful information, and for watching.. My family migrated from Alabama.. Atmore.
@@Trains21 Thanks for the channel!
Very interesting. I didn't know that. Look up the iron pillar of Delhi sometime. It's pure iron and has not degraded for centuries.
Informative yet DREADFULLY slow paced .. coma-inducing
Freight yard movements typically are.
Same can be said re working the 'local'. Tedious, tiring, setting in sidings awaiting through freights, leaving the home terminal often 12 hours behind schedule, working at night with only lanterns and NO communications like today, getting caught by the 'hog' law in those days and tying up in a siding waiting for a through freight going your way to pick up the local and take it to the turn-around or terminal, etc., but someone had to do it. lol
Yeah I'd like to hear that story! Great Video!
Thanks! Check out the very first comment (on the bottom), it's all there.
Wow! Just one word to the Allentown workers.... Genius....
How bout' idiots....
Nice clip. Theirs quiet a bit of rockn action at 11:00, and at 25:00 that go to hell Ford wouldn't start hu?? So they called a wrecker. Nice catch 👍 thanks for sharing this👍👍
I Have just found your stuff and find it there good. As we have nothing like the same as you do here in the uk.
Thanks, Lee.. From what I've seen, the U.K. has a lot a passenger trains but shy on freight.. Am I right about this?
Hi There. Yes you are so right about this, We have some freight And container yard's. But nothing like we should have. All the best to you. And your family.
Hi There. Yes you are so right. We do have some freight On the railway's But not as much as we should all the best to you and your family. from the uk.
yes, let's hear the fire story
I see the RBMN will offer a Steam excursion train from Reading PA to Jim Thorp PA
Looks like a quality work crew.
Very nice video about trains
Thanks.
Awesome 359 Pete at 17:10
When I pulled for DART, I delivered and picked up containers and trailers from railyards. Some made up turn our lights and flashers on. Others didn't
Yeah, I remember the days working for J.B. Hunt
Great Narrative in the Video. 👍
Since I'm not familiar with modern diesel electrics, Norfolk Southern is the only railroad that puts the model type on the cabs. If you could, do a quick zoom on the engine type. I appreciate all the work you do in shooting these railroads. This video really taught me a few things about freight trains. Keep up the good work as there are those of us who really enjoy these videos. Thank you for your post production work as well with the explanations of what's going on. And yes, please share the fire story.
W Rusty Lane in eastern Tennessee (Witherington Place Railroad)
So, if you've been following this channel for the past month or so then you know that heavy trains, specifically, coal and rock trains have a bad reputation north of milepost 672 (the infamous grade to Clark's Summit). BTW - As I'm writing this there's another coal train about an hour out!...
Anyhoots, the #8367 was the leader of 3 units on Train 37T out of Allentown on Thursday.... Don't ask me how or why but the train left Allentown with 1 unit (no fuel), another unit (no water) and the leader.... Coming through Taylor the crew reported 13 miles an hour and told dispatch that they weren't going to make the grade to Clark's Summit.... They were told to do the best they could (dumb).
The train stalled (any surprise?) and the crew said over the radio, "And I think we're on fire, too!" That was the big joke for all of us listening!... So, the power of 11Z had to cut from their train at Dalton, go down and drag 37T up the hill, new power and crew had to be sent from Binghamton to retrieve the dead units and the train. The original crew outlawed and In the end you had a train with 3 dead units sitting on the hill.
A lot of us think that someone should've been fired at Allentown as that's a major yard on NS.
Trains21, Thank you for sharing that story. I cannot fathom how the crew must have felt! When you speak of Allentown, is that Allentown, PA? I served in the 2nd Marine Air Wing with an officer who was from Allentown, PA, and he gave me permission to write his sister when I was in the Nam.
W Rusty Lane in eastern Tennessee (Witherington Place Railroad)
All the Class 1s put the engine type on the power. CN only puts their designations on but NS, CSX, UP, BNSF, KCS all have it on their power.
R&N 3056 is a SD40‐2 "snoot". Looks like the low hood was longer than standard. But was sure if the yellow green livery just made it look like it was longer.
not used to seeing mixed intermodal/manifest. UP used to run straight TOFC, or double stack. Would cut/spot at ea. intermodal ramp.
Interesting.. UP runs mixed IM/Manifest trains in Washington State.. I've seen it on others videos.
+Trains21 when I ran Railshuttle in the 90's here in SLC,UT, in was all TOFC or Doublestack, no mixed. So yes, interesting.Didn't think UP went CSX on us!Lol
Mixed freights have a purpose, as do unit trains. Depends on what's going where and with what kind of priority.
This looks like a backwater yard, so I doubt they see much unit-train doublestack zipping through here... especially with all that ripply jointed rail! The speed limit on the main track is probably 35 mph through there.
I've noticed locomotive fires are more in the last few years. Hospital trains are made up here and stored in an old yard (used mostró for storage an traffic control) here in OKC until they're dispatched for their departure. Many of the new wide bodies seem to show evidence of a fire in near the forward end of the radiators. Can you speak to that. There was a quite dramatic photo that I saw of a UP wide body at the Evanston subdivision in WY where that same location of the carbody was completely blown out. And another engineer/model railroader on u toob talked about his experience with an locomotive fire. Wondering if the latest generation of locomotives are just more prone to this or if I've simply been more observant. Lol
NS back in the day you crapped in a bucket .
This is amazing footage but WHY is there no voice over????
I love the images and the trains but it needs someone to explain....!!!
Exactly. This is a perfect of a example of a video that should have voiceovers instead of titles. Since my eyes don’t work together (double vision), it’s very difficult for me to read. Also, every time I read something, I don’t see what you’re showing me in the video. Makes me wonder if I should start doing voiceovers in my own videos.
Thank you.
You're welcome.
Love those long focal length lenses. Obviously not shot with a folking lPhone.
Exactly right.
Spell much?
Nice to see the snoot still running
WOW COOL what a magnificent Army of trains working together to get the job right thanks for sharing this video with us Trains21
No problem Juan, thanks for watching.
@@Trains21 you're very welcome keep those videos coming
@@juanmatos6796 I'll certainly try
@@Trains21 okay take your time
You didn't explain why they stopped , other than crew change. Why three man crew? How or who divided original consist up? Can the yard track hold whole length of train? Good footage, but titled totally wrong!!!!
Very Interesting, For Me It's Mind Bodeling But You Learn ❤.
Yes, thanks
I didn't realize that the Taylor Yard was that busy and I lived maybe 15 miles from there.
Nowadays, yes.
Mucho trabajo. Las vías en no buen estado. El trabajo interesante. Gracias por el vídeo
yes, I would like to hear that story ! Thanks
Check out some of the comments.. It's mentioned quite a few times.. Thanks.
@@Trains21: Might be worth a copy & paste into your "read more" at the top.
I've been scrolling for 20 min. just to get here & haven't found it
I give up.
INTERESTING. Thanks
Thanks, Douglas.
What I noticed about trains in US is that they just love to hoot all the time. Yea I know this is for safety, but still really bothersome, especially if you live close to the tracks.
Did you notice the tracks when you moved there, or were you the first?
@18:22 he's not realigning the yard switch. He's replacing the derail protecting the yard.
Maybe.. I not sure what he's doing
@@Trains21 I know he's replacing the derail. You can see the orange device moving as he resets it...
To be sincere, not to be bad I didn't really get what I watched. Maybe next time you show us how it's even connected with each other, how the staff Leave office, communicate with each other etc. Thanks.
Walkie talkies…my dad worked on the railroad and i always would see the guys carrying walkie talkies…😁 one question kinda answered!
Just found this video. Nice! I'm surprised the tow truck didn't damage the rail at 25:04 given the force he hit it with!
Thanks, Patrice.. Yeah right.
Those rails handle 200 + ton engines. I'm surprised the tow truck didn't snap a tie rod.
Show some new ones you give me great ideas for my Layouts
Great video lots of action
Thanks, man.. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
+Trains21 *update to my comment* your whole channel is great!
Thanks, dude.. I really do appreciate that!
+Trains21 your welcome!
:-)
very nice
Thanks Sean, glad you enjoyed.
Watching it doesn't explain it!
I’m a Yardmaster for Union Pacific. Why am I watching this?
so you can nit pick and troll the inaccuracies of the video...
I'm a computer scientist. Not sure why, but I find this oddly attractive
Well, hopefully someone comes up with a better video. All I got out of this video was actually witnessing a shift change with the crew. Wow wait let me say wow again the rest of this was real fanning. Any cars that were hooked up dropped off with a conductor involved was already done, didn’t see any of that come on man
Ns is awesome cause they still widely use old power and use real bells
No they don't. Most of their older power is retired and being rebuilt or was scrapped.
Agreed
Wow! Great video! Very nicely done. Looks like I'll be busy watching for a while, lol. So many questions, I don't even know where to start. First two though, What is Yard Limits? And what is a derail-er?
The yard limit is the area and/or trackage that make up a rail yard.. A de-railer is a device and/or track alignment that prevents freight cars and/or locomotives from entering a main line and/or other important piece of track.
Those dudes at 8:01 are commiting so many railway violations - no high-vis shirts, no safety glasses, hard-hats, and wearing shorts.... WTF!
Your guess is as good as mine..
It all depends on how strict the boss is on that crew.
Who cares, shut up
GREAT VIDEO!
Thanks, Vincent
A lot of work. Back and forth. Am I seeing less S D 40-2's? Are they getting rid of them?
I just thought they were such a good alll around, engine.
Why do they carry the white poles?
A lot of video with very little information. Pretty pictures of trains but little useful information about how rail yards work.
I can see why others called this boring.
agreed, difficult to understand what the title suggest
I'd love to find out😸
So, if you've been following this channel for the past month or so then you know that heavy trains, specifically, coal and rock trains have a bad reputation north of milepost 672 (the infamous grade to Clark's Summit). BTW - As I'm writing this there's another coal train about an hour out!...
Anyhoots, the #8367 was the leader of 3 units on Train 37T out of Allentown on Thursday.... Don't ask me how or why but the train left Allentown with 1 unit (no fuel), another unit (no water) and the leader.... Coming through Taylor the crew reported 13 miles an hour and told dispatch that they weren't going to make the grade to Clark's Summit.... They were told to do the best they could (dumb).
The train stalled (any surprise?) and the crew said over the radio, "And I think we're on fire, too!" That was the big joke for all of us listening!... So, the power of 11Z had to cut from their train at Dalton, go down and drag 37T up the hill, new power and crew had to be sent from Binghamton to retrieve the dead units and the train. The original crew outlawed and In the end you had a train with 3 dead units sitting on the hill.
A lot of us think that someone should've been fired at Allentown as that's a major yard on NS.
I picked the wrong career!
TELL US THE FIRE STORY!
You definitely have a great and unique channel here, and what kind of camera are you using the pictures so crisp and clear, happy railfang and God bless.
Thank you.... I'm using a Sony HDR-XR160 Digital HD camcorder.... It's actually an older model (5 years) but I edit using Adobe Premier with a sharpening filter which enhances the final picture.
EXCELLENT
Yes. I know this video is a fewe years old now, but might be interesting.
Those cars without graffiti must be all of 1/2 hour old.
Just confirms spray cans are still for sale in the ghetto...
@@ohgary Or they can sneak out to the outskirts of town and get them there. I was at a local Walmart buying a can of paint. I'm 73 years old and the cashier still carded me. What's up with that?
Great job this video is done very well!
Thanks, Jason.. I'm glad you liked it