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BNSF Railway
UNIT REEFER TRAIN ON TAP FOR MAY: In May BNSF Railway will begin running a weekly, 50-car refrigerated unit train for pro- duce and other perishables between Selma, Calif., and Wilmington, Ill., for McKay TransCold, a logistics company based in Edina, Minn. The train is expected to run loaded in both directions, moving California produce eastbound and foodstuffs such as meat, cheese, and frozen foods westbound. A second weekly round trip will be scheduled when demand warrants.
BNSF ORDERS TANKS FOR CRUDE: Breaking with the tradition of using privately- owned tank cars to move bulk commodities, BNSF Railway plans to order 5000 new, beefed-up tank cars for crude oil service that exceed the industry’s CPC-1232 standards set in 2011. The new cars will have much thicker body shells than the ones now used to move crude, along with full-height head shields, bet- ter-protected top fittings and bottom outlet valves, ceramic thermal blanketing, and valves to protect against over pressurization in a fire. Currently the bulk of crude oil move- ments are made using general purpose DOT- 111 tank cars which are being phased out due to the high rate of failures and leakage in de- railments. The cars involved in the July 2013 Lac-Mégantic disaster were all DOT-111’s.
CAF USA
BUSINESS IS GOOD: CAF USA, the North American subsidiary of Spain’s Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles, S.A., will add a 12,800 square foot test facility to its passenger car assembly plant in Elmira Heights, N.Y. The building will be used to test light rail cars now being assembled for the Houston, Texas, Metro system and is in addition to the recent 26,000 square foot assembly building dedicat- ed to the Houston project. CAF currently has four projects in house: an order for 130 View- liner II long-distance cars for Amtrak, the light rail vehicles for Houston, and streetcars for Cincinnati, Ohio, and Kansas City, Mo.
Canadian National
AMT BUYS DEUX-MONTAGNES LINE: On February 28, 2014, CN closed on the sale of the 21-mile Deux-Montagnes Subdivision to Montréal’s Agencé Métropolitaine du Trans- port. The line runs from Gare Central (Cen- tral Station) through the Mont Royal Tunnel to St. Eustache, Québec. While AMT will take over dispatching and maintenance, CN will retain freight operating rights.
B&LE IS BACK TO SOLID ORANGE: In March, Canadian National’s Bessemer & Lake Erie subsidiary returned to running pure sets of orange and black locomotives after SD40-3 No. 905 came back from wreck repairs in full B&LE colors. The locomotive sustained damage to the short hood and cab when it hit a log truck in an August 2013 grade crossing accident. SD40-2W No 5245, which filled in while No. 905 was recuperating (see January RAILNEWS), has gone back to CN.
Special NS Paint Scheme Commemorates Industry Group
NORFOLK SOUTHERN UNVEILED SPECIALLY PAINTED SD60E NO. 6963 at Washing- ton Union Station on March 12 to commemorate the 10th anniversary of GoRail, a non-profit grassroots organization dedicated to educating the public about the benefits of moving more freight by rail. Founded in 2004, GoRail mobilizes support for policies that would lead to more freight moving by rail and opposition to policies that would limit the freight railroads’ ability to meet growing freight demand. No. 6963 is the most recent SD60E rebuild and was upgraded from standard cab SD60 No. 6531 at the railroad’s Juniata Shops in Altoona, Penn. Chris Toth’s
NSdash9.com website says the locomotive has an interesting history: ex-NS 6531, HLCX 5972, CITX 5972, and UP 5972, it was built as C&NW 8004 in 1986.
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GG1 is Removed from Harrisburg Display
AMTRAK REMOVED GG1 NO. 4859 and an N6b wooden caboose from their longtime display site under the trainshed at the Harrisburg, Penn., passenger station on April 7, 2014. Owned by the Harrisburg Chapter NRHS, the equipment will be stored at a secure location while the train- shed and station are renovated; the project is expected to be completed in three years. No. 4859 powered the first electric passenger train (the Metropolitan) into Harrisburg on January 1, 1938, as well as leading the last Conrail freight powered by GG1s from Enola, Penn., to Edgemoor, Del., on November 22, 1979. The GG1 was pushed past Harris Tower (also owned by the Chapter) by Amtrak B32-8 No. 514; the motor and cabin car will be cocooned while in storage.
NORFOLK SOUTHERN CORP.
STEVE BARRY
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