BNSF Railway Tests CSX Tier 4 Units
CSX ET44AH No. 3268, a new Tier 4 compliant locomotive from GE, is seen on the rear of a BNSF Railway empty crude oil train at Lincoln, Neb., on October 19, 2015. Running as a DPU (Distributed Power Unit) on the Hastings Sub, BNSF is testing a group of four locomotives destined for CSX. One of the most prominent spotting features is the bump above the rear exhaust grid.
PHOTOS BY DARRELL D. WENDT
NS’s Pocahontas Division, the railroad is seriously considering almost any option that will help reduce its cost structure in light of the lost revenue. Reportedly this
includes potentially eliminating
the Pocahontas as a separate operating division and reassigning its routes to neighboring divisions. This could also be part of a much larger restructuring that reduces the number of operating regions on NS from three to two.
One significant change implement- ed during the first week of October was the rerouting of most through coal traffic from the south end of the Poca- hontas Division’s Princeton-Deepwater District. This involves 48 miles of for- mer Virginian Railway mainline track- age from Elmore,
W.Va., to the connec- tion with the Bluefield-Roanoke, Va., mainline at Kellysville,
W.Va., Traffic normally routed via this line over the steep Clarks Gap grade is instead being routed west of Elmore via the Guyan- dot River Branch to Gilbert,
W.Va., and then via the Gilbert Branch to the Wil- liamson-Bluefield mainline connection at Wharncliffe. Many years ago, NS had installed a signaled wye connection at Wharncliffe to enable such moves, but never proceeded with shifting traffic from the Clarks Gap routing. Now with the depressed markets for both utility and metallurgical coal from the mines supported through the Elmore yard, NS made the decision to remove most traffic from the Clarks Gap line north of Princeton.
When one considers the amount of traffic that had been running recently between Elmore and Kellysville, it is understandable how it can be justified, especially in light of depressed coal load- ings over the entire Pocahontas Division.
10 DECEMBER 2015 •
RAILFAN.COM
During a one-week period in September, NS ran a total of 19 trains to and from the line via Kellysville, for an average of fewer than three movements per day. This seven-day sampling included five export coal trains destined to Norfolk (all running as Train 810) and three re- turning empty movements from the port (Trains 813, 817, and 821). There were two movements of utility coal (78M to Clover, Va., and 754 to Belews Creek, N.C.), and five returning empty move- ments (four 755s from Belews Creek and one 721 train from Clover).
In addition to one work train, there
were also two loaded stone train moves and one returning empty stone train. These handled scrubber stone from a Princeton loadout to utilities such as Duke Power’s Belews Creek plant. Load- ed moves typically run as Train 68R and empties return as Train 69R. These trains will continue to operate as usual over the District east of Princeton.
Storm Damage Southeast
NS was not exempt from the storm damage and widespread flooding inflicted upon South Carolina during the first week of October. Although the Piedmont Division’s
Atlanta-Charlotte mainline
was not significantly impacted, several other key routes were knocked out of service. By October 9, NS had restored operations on most routes, including the R Line South (Columbia, S.C.-Augusta, Ga.), the R Line North (Columbia- Charlotte, N.C.), and the SC Line (Columbia-Charleston). The most severe damage was inflicted on the W Line between Columbia and Spartanburg,
resulting in bridge repairs that required until later in October to complete. While out of service, traffic from this line was detoured via Charlotte.
Central Division Improvements
On October 12, NS cut in a new
extension of double track north of the Toyota support yard at Delaplain, Ky. The north end of double track at Rogers Gap has been shifted north by 1.5 miles, and the crossovers at Delaplain have also been shifted slightly to the north. In addition to helping facilitate meets, the extension will also enable northbound automotive trains to work the yard without fouling the single-track main north of Rogers Gap. With the change at Delaplain, NS will have retired the final set of crossovers on the Cincinnati- Chattanooga mainline protected by searchlight signals on center-sill bridges.
Lamberts Point Jobs Cut
During October, NS cut 39 jobs at its Lamberts Point, Va., coal transloading docks due to the decline in export coal volumes. During the first nine months of 2015, export tonnage was off by more than one-third when compared with the same period of 2014. Even with the layoffs, NS continues to employ more than 500 workers at its Lamberts Point facility. Pier 6 is the center of the transloading terminal, which remains the largest coal exporting facility in the Northern Hemisphere, with direct rail access dating back to 1866.
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