Not trying to be condescending but, Not all tank car commodities have to be placarded. Many commodities are classed N9 which are non-placarded cars (loaded or MT) with a placement restriction not to be placed next to a shift-able load. Looking at the spring packs of both these cars they appear to be loaded to me. Tank cars that require placards have to have them displayed for loads or residue last contained. Cars not displaying proper placards (missing on ends or sides) are not to be picked up en-route (FRA Hasmat). The car placarded 2078 has placement restrictions, but I dont have the charts in front of me to see what they are. There is a bunch more and others may want to elaborate more but you get the general idea.
I'm assuming something like corn syrup wouldn't be placarded. I don't see much of a danger in that product. If the load isn't marked on the car, how do the customers or railroads know what is inside?
That's a good question. Usually cars that are intended for a single use are labeled for *** loading only. Like Sulfuric acid cars are clearly placarded and labeled for that loading, Syrup cars are not placarded but clearly labeled for that loading only. Every thru train has a complete list of every car and what the lading is as well as the consignee, it's location, the cars total tonnage, cumulative axle count, which also indicates it's placement in the train. Also in this wheel report are first responder hazmat instructions. Each carrier has a slight variation of this info.Needless to say it doesn't take long for a pile of paperwork to appear for each train if there is a bunch of hazmat on it. The consignee or customers know what is in every car they order and its routing, there is a huge amount of info on the cars on every train and this is communicated. Now that is not to mean there aren't mistakes made. There was a tank car of diesel pumped into a huge tank of gasoline one time, next thing you know they loaded that entire bulk tank into cars and right back to the refinery it went. Bet that cost them a little.
This particular car may also be headed to Miles City's Transco facility for repairs and or upgrades or just scheduled maintenance. But, it does appear to be loaded. If only I knew some traincrew....that would actually visit with a "foamer."
On Saturday, my family and I hiked a portion of the Point Lookout Trail in western NC that closely parallels the western end of NS's storied line between Old Fort and Asheville known as the Loops because of its many curves. This is rugged and remote country in the Blue Ridge and the line also features many tunnels. We didn't see any trains, but found a bench placed by NS to honor a fallen track supervisor who lost his life in a violent mudslide in May 2013. I remember the incident. He and a coworker were inspecting the line after torrential rains and at 2AM they arrived near this spot. Mr. Drewnoski exited his hi-rail truck to take a closer look at the track structure and was swept away by the sudden slide. The hi-rail was also swept down the mountain with the other man inside, who survived. Such a sad event. Kudos to NS for providing a permanent and useful memorial. The mainline is to the right, 30 FT up an embankment.
Visiting the Loops east of Asheville, the top photo is Burgin Tunnel and the second photo are what I think are the McElroy Tunnels. The railroad was very quiet, quite the change from just a few years ago. Loss of coal has reduced tonnage on this line and to reduce costs, NS has reworked routings to send a number of trains via Roanoke, VA instead of using this line.
Looks like some mighty "hunters" discharged their guns using the the tunnel portal as a target. I guess it is better than signals. Idiots.........
Agreed. To stay safer, I wore a hi-vis shirt for our hike. I didn't hear any gunshots on Saturday, but a few miles further east on this line I have met hunters in the past. Some years ago while hiking the NYO&W right of way in rural NY, I heard shots close by and decided it was time to quit my exploring and return to the car.
Houston Union Station in 1975. Houston Belt switcher moving cars that belong to the Gulf Coast Chapter, NRHS.
In late 1945, the New York Central placed an order with the Budd Company for 11 identical 6 bedroom, buffet lounge cars. Because off all the new car orders right after WWII, they were not delivered until the spring of 1949. These Budd cars were built to the Pullman Plan 9505. The "Stream" series cars were built for service on the New England States, Ohio State Limited and the Southwestern Limited. They ran behind the full length dining cars to give first class passengers a place to have a drink while they waited for their table in the diner. It took 7 cars to protect these trains while the other 4 cars were assigned to general service. This one now sits in the ASTA yard in Cedar Park, Texas.
Saw this heavily used ex-ICG haopper this last week, And this hopper of faded, but unusual for me, origin,
Shot in the rain last month is the CNJ's RA Tower (later renamed BOYD in 1972) in Raritan, NJ. It's large because in 1967, the CNJ added office space for the Superintendent and a Dispatcher's office that controlled about 30 Miles of mainline from here east to Elizabethport, NJ. The structure seems to be used for signal maintainers and perhaps NJ Transit crews these days. That boxy grey structure on the front is an unfortunate modern-day appendage.
