http://railroad.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=36065 "CUR STATS 203 LDS 0MTYS 12794TONS 13615FT AT NPLAEAST (North Platte, NE) NX284E" For those of you with access to TrainOrders: www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?1,1359765 (Westbound train) www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?1,1338507 (Eastbound train)
It seems UPRR engineer posted the actual train list (conductor's paperwork) from the train. All you really need to know is what I posted as an excerpt- 203 loads, 0 empties, 12,794 tons, 13,615 feet long, recorded at North Platte, Nebraska. This was the eastbound train.
TRAINS is thinking it's the longest. They've thought quite a few things and printed quite a few things that are full of holes in the past.
CSX regularly runs 10000-13000 foot intermodal trains. Not necessarily solid double stacks, but long nonetheless.
Maybe trains was implying the longest out of LA. According to the link, that UP train did NOT leave LA at 13,000'. It was combined at Ogden or Salt Lake. Then it was split up again at Rochelle. Maybe the Beansniff train was the longest to actually leave LA. Or maybe BNSF is just significantly better at marketing then UP and they made a little call. Also, in that link, they talk about the difference between current Intermodal and the old days when 5 car sets were standard. The fixed drawbar made longer trains more feasible. Anyway, I wasn't trying to bust anyone's chops, just playing the doubting Thomas. Trains may get a lot wrong, but I'll believe them over an unsourced comment on the internet any day of the week.
Well I'm not one to make non factual claims, so I went and found the info for you guys. As far as the marketing thing- it was just a test and, I'm sure, had no importance outside Union Pacific.
And Thanks for finding the info. It was a test for BNSF too. I wonder why the UP move was under reported?
One point I found interesting from the first post was that it took only two days to make the 2200 mile run. That seems quick. It takes two days to run the juice train from Fla. to NJ and that's about half the distance. Would love to hear what you all think about the speed.
Well, it did get special permission to run 70MPH. Which is probably the only way it would get dispatched on the transcon. They brake for no one. What's BNSF's normal run time LA to Chicago?
on one of my commercially available dvd's there's a canadian national train with 8 or 9 locos in front and 280+ cars following. hoppers, box cars, tank cars,... no mid or end train units. i assume this train was well beyond 10'000 ft. if i find the time i will dig out the dvd.
I was waiting to leave Barstow a few years back, and a baretable came in out of Needles. The LA crew got on and the trainmaster asked how long they were. The train was 13,000 ft and had the whole east end of Barstow fouled.
Man I would love to see that. just because it is something other than a long coal train. In Australia Pacific nation recently began running a daily coal train in South Australia that is about 12540ft long (3.8kms) it is said to be the longest regularly scheduled train in the Southern Hemisphere. Doesn't CP often run 10000ft plus intermodals??
????? 10,000Ft container trains are a common occurrance in the Vancouver BC area for CN. Cn104/Cn105 are usually around 10,500ft with 3 or 4 CN locos (CN locos are neglected junk most days) Some days I really hate the CN/CP coproduction in Vancouver. CP usually keeps it trains under 8000ft
