the BNSF train over at Reunion. At the Forest Avenue crossovers is an interesting stencil left by Union Pacific track crews. The white stencil, painted on the side of the rail reads, “K 141 500 MGT.” “K 141” indicates the weight of the rail, which is 141 pounds per yard — a bit heavier than the 136-pound rail common in the U.S. “500 MGT” stands for 500 million gross tons of accumulated traffic weight as the useful life of the rail. In other words, when approximately 500 million gross tons of weight have rolled over the rail, it should be replaced. The dispatcher frequently uses the Forest Avenue double crossovers, perhaps more than any other in the downtown area, and it’ll be interesting to see how long the current rail remains in service. Although the downtown stretch of the Dallas Sub sports 136-pound welded rail
and has only two public grade crossings — at Forest Avenue and nearby Lenway Street — the speed limit is 40 m.p.h. The reason for this may include the many curves, some fairly tight, in this section of track, and the speed limit allows trains to flow seamlessly through crossovers when the dispatcher chooses to switch mains. Another factor is when DGNO trains are occupying a mainline track, the conductor or brakeman is often on
the ground next to the adjacent main, requiring operating caution. Lastly, this area can see significant congestion — and sometimes it can be an outright bottleneck — and trains doing 40 m.p.h. or less are much easier to stop shy of a red signal than one doing 60 or 70. The party that controls the “downtown” track is UP’s Dispatcher 27, broadcasting on AAR Channel 69 (161.145). Eastbound BNSF trains at
RIGHT: On January 11, 2014, Dallas, Garland & Northeastern RP20BD genset No. 145 leads a long transfer freight from UP’s Miller Yard past the junction at Forest Avenue headed for its own Mockingbird Yard. No. 145 leads a matched set of three recently acquired gensets from Railpower Technologies. BELOW: On the morning of November 17, 2012, an eastbound UP manifest passes the new Margaret Hunt Hill highway bridge. The freight is crossing the Trinity River flood plain, which runs just west of downtown Dallas.
32 SEPTEMBER 2016 •
RAILFAN.COM
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