RailRoadFan.com

Reason they are trucked is the same reason they rubber tire trailers from Chicago to Detroit (and back). Faster and more reliable then keeping it on the rail all the way there. Not every manufacturing plant has rail service, and if their volume isn't enough to get more then a couple cars a week, th...

I find myself very confused by the movement of steel coils in the Chicago/Detroit area. Whenever I am on I-94, I see swarms of trucks that look like this, although they often have more axles: http://www.hankstruckpictures.com/pix/trucks/macneil/2004/jan/orange_covered_wagon_w9.jpg I have always assu...

One police officer fell off a patrolling speedboat and drowned, however, because neither the officer nor colleagues knew how to swim, a police spokesman told AFP. FAIL In all reality, the MSC Chitra is a little baby (around 2000 TEU) container ship, should have negligible impact on the US supply ch...

Plasser and Theurer FTW!!!

betelguese

SMRGUY wrote:It looks like they are putting in the ties that me and short haul have been replacing on the SMRS

Yes, this reminds me of the SMRS in so many ways. But why are they all standing around when they have 2 backhoes just sitting there. They're not county workers, are they?

They have been doing some pipe work in hinman. Steam or something. The pipes would most likely be for the ADM facility that shares the yard there. They use steam by piping it into the tank cars to heat up the corn syrup so that it flows out easier. I doubt that the rail train/ballast was for pipe w...

I wonder if someone is pissed off at CN for some reason and doesn't want to admit they exist. I doubt that Railamerica is pissed at CN, and if they are, than exclusion from a map is really no solution. Besides, RA openly acknowledges the CN's existance on their I&O and MMRR maps, although the MMRR ...

Thanks for this information CSX_CO. I wasn't aware of how common the HMA (Hot Mix Asphalt) underlayment was, I assumed it was a geotextile or geogrid in most situations, and the HMA was only for the worst of soils.

Makes you wonder doesn't it :lol: Hopefully HESR can find the guy who made this and weed him out quickly. Cranio-rectal inversion is a contagious disease, and you don't want your road crews, signal maintainers and engineering staff infected. Of course, it may be a Railamerica guy who does these map...

AARR wrote:

CSX_CO wrote:KBS crew I saw 2 summers ago hopped off the engine in flip flops, wife beater, and shorts to do their switching.

You're not kidding, are you? The shorts don't bother me too much but flip flops and tank tops on the railroad...isn't that asking for trouble?

I've also heard of slippers being worn

I was just on the Huron and Eastern's website, and happened to notice something odd about their system map: http://www.railamerica.com/Images/HESR_lr_d_15Dec.jpg I had no idea that the NS ran through Flint to Port Huron!!! Is this because of the FLINT INTERMODEL TERMINAL???? Since when does the GLC ...

They'd be better off buying new ties, and just getting a weed spraying outfit in. Not that they can afford either. Practice Safe CSX The SMRS (Southern Michigan Railroad) has a weed sprayer mounted on a speeder cart, and operates on zero freight revenue, so it's hard to believe that these guys can'...

Working Tracks 4 (8,000 ft. each) Supporting Track 6 (48,000 ft. each) Switching Yard 6 (48,000 ft. each) What??? What good is 48,000 feet of track for switching? This has to be some kind of error. On the blueprint, it says 7000 feet of switching leads. On another note, is it common to have switchi...

http://tinyurl.com/26pw5oc Good News: Intermodal and bulk carloads swell to new heights on major rail lines Major U.S. freight railroads hit their highest load levels of 2010 in intermodal as well as bulk carload shipments during the week ending July 31, the Association of American Railroads said. ...

Nice pictures Brent. Although I'm biased toward pictures with industries in them I like the one of the engine on the bridge. Judging by the condition of the rest of their infrastructure, I would be quite frightened to be that close to that bridge, although it might be the one thing that is required...

What does JM receive in covered hoppers? If this is an insulation plant, I'm guessing silica sand, which is melted down to make fiberglass. If it's not sand, than it is probably limestone or soda ash, which are mixed with the silica to lower the melt temp. It could also be recycled glass, but I dou...

I wasn't aware of this, because I wasn't really into railroads at the time that this was going on. But now that you mention it, I guess that it wouldn't be too much of a hassle to re-route some of the traffic down to Toledo and onto the Chicago line, if that line can handle it, which I doubt. But wh...

feel That the state of Michigan could use another true Class one's presence since the NS wants out so badly. I don't think NS wants out of Michigan. They have a lot of automobile-related (and other) traffic on the former Wabash line and on the Detroit Line. Unless I am wrong, I believe that you are...

Granted-tomorrow finds you in the state penitentiary, although you have no idea why you are there. You promptly wish that all the big strong men in there did not want to be so "friendly" with you.

I wish that I knew why people take such stupid things so seriously on a very regular basis.