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Bredenbury, and 15 minutes added at Foam Lake, Sask. Train 401 (Sutherland–Coquitlam, manifest) now departs at 12:00 p.m. and is no longer required to lift traffic at Ex- shaw, Alb., for Golden, B.C. One hour of station time has been removed at Ex- shaw. Train 411 (Winnipeg–Moose Jaw, Sask., manifest) has had 60 minutes added at Brandon, Man., but no longer handles the manifest traffic block from Brandon to Regina, Sask. Symbols 942 and 943 have been intro-
duced for new NS trackage rights trains running between Binghamton and Me- chanicville, N.Y.
CSX TRANSPORTATION CHASE GUNNOE
Training for First Responders
In March CSX presented a $25,000 grant to the Hazardous Materials/CBRNE Training Facility in York County, Va., to enhance training for Virginia’s firefighters and other responders. The grant funds will be used to purchase equipment to expand and improve existing training facilities’ rail related hazardous materials capabilities as well as improving and enhancing current and future railcar props (on-site railcars for training); installing lighting and electric connections to accommodate night training; expanding capacity in classrooms; and sustaining the facility with continued maintenance, CSX said in a recent press release. The Hazardous Materials/CBRNE Training Facility provides hands-on training opportunities for first respond-
CSX Saginaw Sub Signal Replacement
CSX has started signal replacement on the Saginaw Sub between Romulus and Plymouth, Mich. The fi rst areas to see changes were at Romulus where the CSX Saginaw Sub crosses Norfolk Southern’s Detroit District. The old Pere Marquette cantilever signal is seeing its last days as CSX GP40WH-2 No. 9969 leads its two-car W003-25 geometry train (Holland, Mich.- Toledo, Ohio) south through downtown Romulus on March 30, 2015. The new signals between mileposts CC 92-102 were cutover on May 4.
PHOTO BY JONATHAN QUINLEY
ers on how to safely handle hazardous materials, specifically rail hazardous materials such as crude oil.
Locomotive News
In late March, an agreement between CSX and Norfolk Southern resulted in the trading of 12 SD80MACs from CSX to Norfolk Southern in exchange for 12 SD40–2 locomotives from NS to CSX. The 12 SD40–2s from Norfolk Southern were delivered to CSX’s Huntington Locomotive Shops in March for renumbering and patching. The locomotives received CSX’s yellow “Boxcar Logo,” but otherwise were not repainted. The unique patch jobs are being renumbered into CSX’s 8900-series.
Fostoria Tower Closed
On March 30, CSX closed Fostoria, Ohio’s well-known F Tower with train operations being transferred to the railroad’s Indianapolis Dispatching Center. The interlocking, which guided movements across the railroad’s former B&O mainline between Greenwich and Deshler, witnessed the passage of as many as 100 trains per day. There has been no information made available about the future of the structure itself.
KANSAS CITY SOUTHERN DANNY JOHNSON
Oil Trains Increase
As previously reported, an oil refining customer in Tuscaloosa, Ala., has been using KCS to deliver Bakken crude oil
for conversion into gasoline, diesel fuel, and other petroleum products. In early March, observers noted an increase and an additional routing for these trains. Initially, the crude oil trains to the Tuscaloosa facility originated in the northern plains on CP rails and were turned over to KCS, with CP power running through for the trip to Artesia, Miss. The trains travel the final 85 miles between Artesia and Tuscaloosa over Al- abama Southern Railroad. These trains have been carrying symbols O-KCAR (Crude oil unit train, Kansas City, Mo.– Artesia) and O-ARKC (Crude oil unit train, Artesia–Kansas City) for the load- ed and empty trains, respectively. Ob- servers had noted that these trains were on roughly a three-week rotation, with a loaded train being sent to the refinery approximately once every three weeks. Around March 10, the typical pat-
tern for these trains changed, and KCS received a crude oil unit train from CN in Jackson, Miss. This particular train carried the symbol O-JAAR (Jackson– Artesia) and O-ARJA (Artesia–Jackson) for the loaded and empty movements, re- spectively. Then, on March 16, a second crude oil train with CP power carrying symbol O-KCAR was seen on KCS in Louisiana, bound for Artesia.
Texas Subdivision Improvements
On March 17, KCS announced an $18 million investment in the Texas Subdi- vision to improve capacity and service, as well as increasing the safety level for traffic on the route. According to KCS, approximately 80,000 crossties and six miles of rail will be replaced. In addition,
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