Tuesday I noticed this GP39-2 in Hearne, Texas. Turns out is an EX MKT locomotive #382 that they acquired from Kennecott Copper and rebuilt from high-cab configuration. Here it is in Eureka Yard, Houston, June 1987.
CN/GTW herd (and an outlier, probably run-through power from a coal train) tied up at Tunnel yard in Port Huron, MI in the late 90s
From way back in June 1983 - VIA LRC crossing the CN overpass over route 223, heading for the Richelieu river bridge in Beloeil, QC: The Richelieu river bridge was the scene of many a CN publicity shot. This photo by my Dad, Roger.
Adam Savage of The Mythbusters has a RHD drive one from NZ. I remember someone stole it and then got it stuck in some mud. I keep trying to get Adam to do a walk around of it.
Last week, after dropping a trailer at a customer in Stockton near the BNSF intermodal facility, I caught Kansas City Southern of Mexico SD70ACe 4081 in a BNSF consist:
This is a sign of the times. The stacks of containers waiting for trucks to haul off the massive stock of inbound freight at Logistics Park Chicago. 7000 feet of 3 high stacks times 2 with the sun rising through.
Wow, great shot. They must be completely out of real estate -- the containers on the left are set atop two tracks.
I can see they are also on timbers, to keep them off the rails. There is a dire shortage of truck drivers these days. We are importing them from all around the planet.... Still not enough.
I just read that both BNSF and UP are severely restricting Chicago-bound container traffic until the count of loaded units on the ground there begins to subside. They added that the number of empties that should be returning to the terminal are low in number too. I didn't know about a driver shortage @BoxcabE50 , but it makes a lot of sense. That, and manufacturers and distributors are having a difficult time hiring workers.
Too true here. (Although rail served industry in my area is minimal these days.) Employers are begging for workers. Have raised wages a whole bunch in the past six months, along with sign on bonuses. Media is full of help wanted ads, and there are signs along the streets, everywhere. Yet some folks are still riding the unemployment line. Our governor just announced a plan to get people off their fannies and back to work, through toughening unemployment benefits requirements.
One of our facilities receives a fair amount of container traffic out of Europe through several southeastern ports. What we are hearing from the ports is that in addition to a shortage of drivers is that there is a shortage of available 40 foot container chassis. Most of our stuff moves OTR because the ports are all less than 400 miles. The shipping companies tell us that on a short haul like that, it is cheaper to stay OTR than put it on the rail to Atlanta and that even with the backlogs, it would be slower as well. Not so sure I buy into the slower part right now.