THIS MONTH’S TOP NEWS STORIES AND PHOTOS
Blizzard Conditions Test Transit
The effects of winter’s first blizzard of the season were felt from Virginia up through the Connecticut coast over the weekend of January 23-24. Transit agencies up and down the eastern seaboard suspended service in anticipation and prepared for the worst. Amtrak AEM-7 No. 919 rushes through Edison, N.J., with Train No. 195 en route to Washington, D.C., at the height of blizzard conditions on January 23, 2016. Amtrak services up and down the coast were modified and suspended throughout the weather event, and slowly returned to normal levels the following week. PHOTO BY ROB PISANI
BNSF RAILWAY SAYRE KOS
Power Briefs
In December 2015 BNSF received ET44C4s 3884, 3888-3891, 3895-3904, 3906, and 3910, completing the order for General Electric locomotives 3839-3999. Also in December, BNSF 4225-4227 were seen testing near GE’s plant in Fort Worth, Texas. These three locomotives are Tier 4 credit user ES44C4s, not pure Tier 4 emissions locomotives. BNSF continued to receive rebuilt GP39-3Rs in December, including BNSF 2596-2600 from Relco at Albia, Iowa, and BNSF 2575 from National Railway Equipment at Paducah, Ky. More AC44C4Ms continued to spring
up on BNSF’s network at the end of 2015. These locomotives are Dash 9-44CWs that have been converted at GE’s shop at San Luis Potosi, Mexico, and use A-1-A trucks like those on ES44C4s and ET44C4s. December deliveries included 599, 605, 612, 613, 615, 617,
6 MARCH 2016 •
RAILFAN.COM
and 619. Currently, there are 20 rebuilt AC44C4Ms working, numbered 599-619. As of January 1, BNSF had 1,032 locomotives stored, or “Laid Up Good Order,” across its network. When the railroad needs to store power, it typically parks these locomotives at Alliance, Neb.; Northtown Yard in Minneapolis, Minn.; Topeka and Kansas City, Kan.; Galesburg, Ill.; Barstow, Calif.; Fort Worth; and occasionally, Los Angeles and Chicago. Presently, locomotives are stored in all these locations, as well as more unusual locations, like Oklahoma City, Okla., where 92 locomotives are stored, and Amory, Miss., where 19 are stored.
Crude Traffic Increase
While crude traffic dropped off significantly in the second half of 2015 and crude oil cars are stored all across the nation, BNSF bucked the trend ever so slightly by adding one crude oil train between Canada and Texas.
This new train moves off the Canadian Pacific/BNSF connection at Noyes, Minn., to McCamy, Texas, via Fargo, N.D.; Willmar, Minn.; Sioux City, Iowa; Lincoln, Neb.; Kansas City, Kan.; Canyon, Texas; and south to Lubbock. Out of Lubbock, the loads run southeast to San Angelo Junction where BNSF hands the train off to Texas Pacifico for final delivery to McCamy. The first train, Train U-CPXPMC0-01, operated with BNSF ES44C4 8205/CP AC44CW 8533 and CP ES44AC 9379/BNSF ES44C4 7178 rearmost as distributed power.
CANADIAN NATIONAL SAYRE KOS
Jasper National Park Derailment
On December 10, a loaded 170-car
unit grain train derailed 12 cars near a tunnel at Bedson Ridge, the eastern boundary of Jasper National Park in Alberta. An unknown amount of grain
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