SHPX#206017 {Railroad Adventures - Vermont Marble 2003} [ February 20, 2006, 01:33 PM: Message edited by: Stourbridge Lion ]
Railroad Adventures - Georgetown Loop Railroad [ February 20, 2006, 01:35 PM: Message edited by: Stourbridge Lion ]
Alan, how do you know they are empty? it is not like they are ships riding higher in the water. I'm sure there is a logical answer. Hmm, wonder if it is the direction they are going.
Generally, the springs in the trucks will be compressed, versus unloaded cars with uncompressed springs. Granted the difference is slight, but you can tell, if you know what to look for. Ineresting weathering pattern on this one:
Steve, over here they generally run in block (unit) trains, so you get regular flows that are loaded one way, empty the other. With Alan's pic, the train will probably be returning to the big industrial area at Immingham (Grimsby) on the East coast. Darren, they have top hatches for loading, and cross-pipes at the bottom for unloading. The stains on the sides show the position of the hatches, but I can post some better pics this evening. With lower clearances over here the hatches and walkways can't stick up above the tank in most cases as they do on US cars.
The tanks I photographed were on 6E54 Kingsbury-Humber empty tanks. Passes Lincoln around 2 pm. Headed by a Freightliner class 66. You can also tell by the sound when tanks are empty - sort of hollow sound
Nope, not yet, but I must get there whilst any 60's are left running Just waiting for the weather to cool off a bit
Down to 33 in use now. Two more booked to be stopped in the next few days... Lots of rumours about re-activation though, EWS moving 66's to work on new traffic in Europe and 60's being brought back in to cover, or repowering options for them...the Iron Ore trains through Barnetby are still a regular duty as far as I know though. Anyhow, here's a couple more tank shots: Top down shot of a diesel fuel TTA China clay (Kaolin) tank
Alan, don't leave that Barnetby trip too late! There's an additional 5 class 60's booked to be switched off this week, that will take it down to only 26 in use! Rumours are going round today the rest will be out of use by the end of the month!
Here's a little sumthin' that I found sitting at the old Grenada, California depot. It has been sitting here for at least 21 years because it was there when I moved to Siskiyou County in 1984. The word is, the tank is full of herbicides which are no longer lawful to use. I guess it would cost too much to have it drained and the contents transported via truck to a haz-mat disposal location. Note there are no identifying marks on the car to determine who it belongs to. Most of the markings have been either sanded, scraped off or sprayed over with gray paint. Considering how long it has been sitting in one place, there's very little graffiti on it. Maintenance on the tank was last performed in 1977 ! It looks like it has Bettendorf trucks and it does have friction bearings. I have several photos taken from various angles of this car, which I shall post in my album later on. I think this would be a wonderful car to scratch build.
