In preparation for Hurricane Florence, beginning on Wednesday and Thursday, I see that Amtrak will annul or shorten routings for most of its trains operating in NC and SC. This makes good sense. NS and CSX too will temporarily embargo service in affected areas as well. They closed public schools inland in our area, so as to provide shelter for evacuees from coastal areas.
Weather channel is forecasting that inland rainfall from the remnant low pressure system may become a major problem. Present projections estimate 12"+ of rain for the area between Raleigh and Roanoke.
Wow, that's a lot of rain. The footprint of these storms is huge. Hurricane Florence seems to have turned a bit further north:
Hardcoaler, I know you are on the southern edge of the area so hope it stays north of you and be safe. Is going to be interesting to see how operations are affected by this. Thinking we might see some extra traffic through Atlanta this weekend as some of the north south freight is diverted inland a bit to circumvent the storm.
Thanks for your prayers y'all. Latest track has it turning squarely into SC after making landfall near Wilmington, NC on Friday morning. Interstate highways are reversed to provide four lanes for evacuation of coastal areas. Stores are jammed where we are a few hundred miles inland. I can't help but have some worry; our neighborhood has thousands of tall trees. I'm hoping that its strength rapidly diminishes as it makes its way across the region.
One of my sisters lives in Wilmington. She said it wasn't too bad where she is a few miles inland. No power right now. She is in commercial real estate and has some properties to keep an eye on.
Rick, my prayers for your sister, and the rest of your family. Having lived through the strength of Katrina, Camille, etc., I sympathize with your anxiety.
As of Sunday morning steady rain continues at our home which is several hours inland from the coast in SC. The winds have thankfully lessened. Forecast is for rain all day, but nothing extreme. Our area was blessed with little damage and very few power failures. I have many hours of lawn cleanup ahead, but I’ll happily accept that in exchange for what we could have faced. Thanks for everyone's thoughts and prayers throughout.
A washout on CSX's main between Hamlet, NC and Monroe, NC at Lilesville, NC wrecked what's believed to be Q583 last night. This is the former SAL main to Atlanta. Only minor crew injuries thank heaven. We've had massive volumes of rain with Hurricane Florence's passing. LILESVILLE (ANSON Co#3),NC: *HAZ-MAT* US 74 & RR. CSX TRAIN DERAILMENT DUE TO TRACK WASHOUT. RRT7 ON SCENE DOING INITIAL ASSESSMENT. 3 ENGINES ON SIDE LEAKING DIESEL FUEL. 4TH ENGINE UPRIGHT BUT OFF TRACKS. 5TH ENGINE IS BRAND NEW, STILL WRAPPED ALONG WITH 4 OTHERS. MULTIPLE RAIL CARS POINTING STRAIGHT IN AIR PER RRT. ACCESS ISSUES TO THE LEAKING ENGINES. GOING CAR BY CAR VERIFYING CONTENT ATT. [20:53,CFP]
Are they perhaps running any track patrols ahead of trains? Just as an extra set of eyes? Cost is much less than cleaning up after.....
I'm uncertain, but I'll bet that Hi-Railers have been out in force. I wonder if there are methods to ascertain the stability soil under a roadbed? Maybe they can only look for hints of rail dips and misalignments. I'll bet slow orders are in force throughout the Carolinas.
BNSF used helicopters in the Houston area even as Harvey was still winding down a year ago. A friend of mine who takes photos under contract for BNSF was asked to ride along. When the railroad execs on board ran out of memory on their cell phones they were glad to have him along with all his professional gear. He said it was the wildest ride he had ever been on, dodging rain bands and radio/TV transmission towers. They were out east of Houston and all had to take a leak from all the coffee they were drinking. They set down on the RR right of way near a road crossing. Just as they had got out of the chopper and lined up, a string of cars came down the road and stopped to see what was going on. Time to hold it again and find a more remote location.
In the late '70s when I spent a summer working for the AT&SF, a U.S. Forest Service helicopter collided with one of our trains. The pilot was absorbed in his work and failed to recognize that his chopper was too close to the track. I can't recall the other details, but thankfully no one was hurt. Trains Magazine picked up the story for its News Wire column because it was so unusual.
