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UNION PACIFIC KEVIN SNYDER
East Minneapolis RoadRailers
On September 18, 2015, Norfolk Southern Corp. announced it would downsize its Triple Crown Services (TCS) truckload shipping subsidiary. TCS’s RoadRailer service to East Minneapolis, Minn., which uses UP routes west of Chicago, was impacted by the mid-September announcement and it was anticipated this service would be completely abolished by mid-November. While NS has indicated that some services once provided by RoadRailer will transition to containers, it is not clear that the East Minneapolis traffic will change over to intermodal containers. One point that would prevent operation of containers in this corridor concerns clearances on the Milwaukee Subdivision north of St. Francis, Wis.,
where cars 19 feet above head of rail or higher are prohibited, including double stack containers. RoadRailer service over UP between Chicago and East Minneapolis began in July 2004. In recent years, the service operated four days per week between Chicago and East Minneapolis.
Texas Floodwater Damage Repaired
Union Pacific repaired and reopened its route north of Corsicana, Texas, following damage from a flash flood event on October 24. A 64-car train traveling from Houston to Midlothian derailed when heavy rains casued Chambers Creek to rise and washed away the tracks, putting the locomotives and 46 freight cars on their side. The two crewmembers swam to safety and were unharmed. Repairs were completed and the line was opened just four days later.
PTC Deadline Extended to 2018
After warnings of freight and passenger service shutdowns by America’s railroads facing stiff financial penalties for not having a fully functioning Positive Train Control (PTC) system in place by the end of the year, the Obama administration signed a last-minute deadline extension into law at the end of October. As a rider on a stop-gap infrastructure funding bill (H.R. 3819), railroads now have an additional three years to build upon progress made to date. The 2008 mandate from Congress requires more than 60,000 miles of track to be part of the new PTC network. The extension allows the railroads to install, test, and validate the new technology which relies on a system of wireless communication. While falling short of the original 2015 deadline, the railroads have made significant progress, spending more than $5 billion to date. —O.M.V.
Fall Foliage on the Boston & Maine
Late Season
Amtrak operated its annual Autumn Express excursion train on a different route this year, from Albany, N.Y., to East Deerfield, Mass., and return. Amtrak P42DC No. 822 and P40DC No. 145 in matching Phase III tribute paint led an 11-car train over trackage owned by Canadian Pacific Railway and Pan Am Southern. The special is seen crossing the Hoosic River at Schagticoke, N.Y., with plenty of foliage for the train’s passengers to enjoy on October 24, 2015. This route was once part of Boston & Maine’s mainline connecting the Capital District gateway with New England, hosting its last regularly scheduled passenger train in 1958. PHOTO BY KEVIN BURKHOLDER
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