Actually, the freights have been running since Wednesday, but only at night....and at 50 mph! However, this afternoon a mixed freight came through, and before I could grab the camera..sorry guys. What is most confusing is that I'm not sure if it was a CSX freight. It was led by a UP SD-70 of some configuration, then a NS -9 (or -8?), and finally a GE Demo (or lease) unit..... Has CSX sold this Sub without us hearing about it.....??????? BTW, that roadbed is S-O-O-O smooth...no rocking, banging, vibration...just a steady purring of steel wheels on steel rails!!!
From all the past photos Harold has posted, I'd have to agree with him. Sounds you saw a CSX train.... Boxcab E50
Around here any more, the only trains running their own locomotives seem to be the KCS and Amtrak. BNSF and especially UP have such a mix of power, you never know who is who. And you can't always tell by which track they are on either. The BNSF runs a lot of stuff out of Houston on the UP Sunset Route until they get to Rosenberg where they switch over to the old Santa Fe line heading north. But then the UP heads a lot of west bounds up those same old Santa Fe tracks also until they get to Sealy where they pick up the old MKT line heading west.
Russ, I have to disagree with your Amtrak statement, well for one occurance that I know of....... Five or more years back, after Amtrak had taken delivery of a good number of P-40's, the "Suits" decided to assign P-40's to the Sunset...permanently! This allowed them to drop the Pensacola, FL refueling stop needed for the F-40's, and to cancel the contract with a local oil company. BAD Decision!!! So happens that one day down in Sanford, all P-40's were either assigned or Bad-Ordered. Whatever, this left Sanford with not one, zilch, P-40 to assign to #1, the westbound Sunset. Happily, there was one remaining F-40 in cold storage, so guess what....it was assigned to #1 that afternoon. To make a long story very short...the F-40 was NOT refueled in Pensacola, but tried to make it all the way to New Orleans...BAD DECISION. It ran absolutely dry in the middle of a residential area in Gulfport, MS, about a 1/2 mile west of my house. I didn't mention that this occurred during the day in mid-July with temps in the low 90's. What you have is one F-40, bone dry on fuel, with no HEP, nine Superliners with no opening windows, and 100 or more P-O'd folks who were not allowed off the train onto the ballast. Another BAD DECISION!!!!!! It took about 4 hours for Amtrak to negotiate with CSX to get a GP-40 (without HEP capability) from Pascagoula, couple up, drag #1 back to Beauvoir siding (~4 miles), swap ends, and start hauling #1 about 100 miles to NOUPT, requiring another 2-1/2 hours. Remember, you're talking about 6-7 hours total with NO HEP, NO air conditioning, NO diner service, NO microwaves, NO ice, NO cold beer, and more the a few upset patrons..... Amtrak's response...."OOOOPS!"
Hank, Glad your seeing traffic again. I know it was a long dry spell. I too have seen Amtrak trains running with other power. Mostly due to equipment failures. One never knows what to expect these days.
I'm now seeing a bunch of mixed merchandise both day and night, mostly covered hoppers, some tanks, and a few boxes, but no containers. Before K about half the daily trains were double-stacks, but I haven't seen any since freight resumed last week. Is there anyone with contacts inside CSX Operations that can shed some light on this?
Were those previous stackers heading to, or from any ports? Could some ports or facilities still be out of service? Boxcab E50
Ken, the stack trains were going between Jacksonville and the Port of Los Angeles, bypassing the Panama Canal. Most major international shippers have found that the fees charged by CSX and UP for the Sunset Route are much less than the fees charged by Panama for transiting the Canal.
Like Boxcab said, it may be that the containers are staying on the ships and transiting the Panama Canal for now. The other thing may be that CSX has found that they like the new routings better. This often happens when detours occur.
Richard, you have a good point. CSX has yet to announce their decision whether to abandon the NO&M Sub (expected in a few weeks). It's possible that the stacks are running on CSX from Jacksonville, through Montgomery, AL to Meridian, MS, where they are turned over to KCS through Shreveport, LA and on to Dallas, from there to LA via UP. (no facts, just a guess) The mileage may be a little more, but the congestion and delays through the yards around New Orleans, and over the Huey P. Long Bridge were killers before Katrina, and probably worse now. I imagine that the delays getting through Houston are just as bad.
