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Drawbridge Changes One of the busiest NS drawbridges in
the South is located on the Tennessee River in Decatur, Ala. In addition to NS movements, CSX trains on its Nashville– Birmingham mainline use trackage rights over the NS bridge. Until recently, the bridge tender at Decatur controlled just this span. The Decatur facility has now assumed control of the North Draw drawbridge on Lake Pontchartrain, south of Slidell, La. This plan had been considered for several years, and if successfully executed, look for other Alabama Division drawbridge controls to eventually be centralized in Decatur. In addition to the North Draw, there
are two other drawbridges on the NO&NE District mainline between Meridian, Miss., and New Orleans. These are located near Pearl River, Miss., (West Pearl River), and north of New Orleans’ Oliver Yard (an industrial canal). Other drawbridges on the Division are located south of Jackson, Ala. (Tombigbee River), on the 3-B South District (Selma–Mobile), and north of Eutaw, Ala. (Warrior River), on the AGS South District (Birmingham– Meridian).
Terminals Repurposed Following the shutdown of most
Triple Crown
Triple Crown Service (TCS) RoadRailer terminals late in 2015, NS quickly began efforts to repurpose these facilities. In Atlanta, the former TCS site has been transformed into a Thoroughbred Bulk Transfer (TBT) facility. Located on the southeast side of the metro Atlanta area, this facility will complement NS’ Doraville TBT by offering an outlet closer to certain
markets and leveraging significantly more laydown room. Customers will also have access to sheds for product that needs to be protected from the elements, such as oriented strand board (OSB) and plywood. The site has 25 car spots and room to expand as market conditions warrant. Speaking of the Doraville site, work has
been completed on an 80-car expansion of this TBT northeast of Atlanta. Doraville now has 164 car spots, over 40 of which have state-of-the-art spill containment. Other improvements include lay down room as well as a track suitable for project cargo and heating rail cars. At the former TCS St. Louis area terminal in Mitchell, Ill., NS has carved out 35 car spots for a new TBT. Situated between Toledo and Cleveland along Lake Erie, Sandusky, Ohio, is yet another location where NS is leveraging a portion of an ex-TCS site. Thirty fully paved car spots have been allocated to this licensee operation. In addition to these former TCS sites, NS has established new TBTs at Elkhart, Ind., Taylor, Pa., Elizabeth, N.J., and Binghamton, N.Y.
Operations
Two manifest schedules recently abolished include Train 11T (Enola, Pa.– Elkhart, Ind.) and Train 17W (Elkhart– Canadian National/Kirk Yard, Ind.). After recently being reduced to a tri-weekly schedule, Train 286 has been abolished between NS’ automotive mixing centers at Shelbyville, Ky., and Fostoria, Ohio. This was largely due to the recent loss of some Ford traffic. As noted in a previous column, some of its connecting traffic had already been shifted to other trains.
UNION PACIFIC JONATHAN QUINLEY
Second Quarter Report On July 21, Union Pacific reported
2016 second quarter net income of nearly $1.0 billion, or $1.17 per diluted share, compared to about $1.2 billion, or $1.38 per diluted share, in the second quarter 2015.
Operating revenue of $4.8 billion was
down 12 percent in the second quarter of 2016 compared to the second quarter of 2015. Second quarter business volumes, as measured by total revenue carloads, declined 11 percent compared to 2015. Volume declines in coal, intermodal, industrial products, chemicals, and automotive more than offset growth in agricultural products.
Last Rio Grande Unit Assigned to Texas
There were only two GP60s in Denver
& Rio Grande Western paint left running on the UP as of early July, but one was put into storage at North Little Rock Jenks shops in the middle of the month. UP No. 1081 (ex-DRGW 3155) has now been shelved, leaving UP No. 1900 (ex- DRGW 3154) as the last to be running. No. 1900 has spent months working
out of Mount Pleasant, Texas, on the LWH40 job to Texarkana, Texas, and return. It was damaged when it hit a tree a few months back but has returned to its normal LWH40 assignment after being repaired at North Little Rock. The 1900 leads for half of the trip, providing Rio Grande fans with one last hurrah for the classic black-and-gold paint scheme.
New Paint for CMQ
On July 29, Central Maine & Quebec Railway (CMQ) took delivery of its first of eight rebuilt GP38-3 locomotives in the company’s new corporate paint scheme. CMQ No. 3912 was originally built in 1969 as Penn Central No. 7791, and was completely rebuilt and overhauled at the CAD Railway Industries facility in Lachine, Que. The new scheme is designed to pay homage to the railroad’s Canadian Pacific heritage and to establish a new identity for the company. This new paint scheme will be applied to the remainder of the locomotive fleet.
PHOTO BY KEVIN BURKHOLDER
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