I'll have to make sure to take notes when the next 'dirt train' goes out. Lately they have been runniing one about every two weeks. This is an interesting bit of track, as it's pretty much at the 'end of the line'. CSX does a LOT of maintence on this stretch, and it may well be one of the best maintained sections in the US. Sure wouldn't do to have a load of radioactive dirt spilled all over the place I have noticed that the cars seem to be very well maintained too. I guess that part of it can be put down to the fact that they are dedicated to just one job, and that they aren't on the job continually like 'normal' cars. I'll try to get some pictures of the next train, and get them scanned. Pics probably won't be the best quality, but I'll at least do the best that I can, especially of the cars since they are probably fairly 'unique' since they were made for the sole pourpose of carrying radioactive dirt.
Well now, Things are getting 'interesting'. I saw that CW 40-2 and Road Slug combo again today. The CW is #6491, and the Slug is #2320, and I did notice the extra connections between the two. What is interesting is that I usually see a GP-38 making this little run. It's at the VERY end of the line, and they usually run on Mon, Wed, and Fri, taking some tank cars to a small chemical plant. Usually there aren't more than 6-12 cars on the train, and I can't see that it would need THAT much power to do that. Must be some explaination. If I remember correctly, that line runs from Richmond IN, to Fernald Oh. Way back, it was a B&O main line that ran into Cincinnati. Any one have an idea as to why they used that combo for such a piddlin run?
The unit you saw, #6491 should be a GP40-2 "parent" with its road slug. It looks like a lot of power, but think of it not as 2 diesels, rather one 8 axle, 3,000 hp unit... the road slug spreads the power out between the two units, since it has not prime mover. It gives good low speed pulling power. Harold
Saw a road slug in Kennesaw a couple of weeks ago and thought it looked familiar. Well, it was because it's the same unit Harold posted to start this thread. So, here's my shot of this unit. Enjoy!
