While traveling to/from Tucson last Thursday (01/20) and back yesterday (01/23) we witnessed an interesting phenomenon? Train after train stopped in siding after siding from Deming, NM to Benson, AZ. This all was happening at night but by shortly after dawn the line was running and seemed to be moving continuously all day. Relatively few trains seemed to be running through at night Thur. thru Sun. night. Is UP trying daylight crew schedules or alternating east & west traffic on the Sunset route?
No MOW work was going on at night. We're talking about from 2100 - 0100 hours. On Thursday we started west from Deming roughly 2130 and coming back east on Sunday night we left Benson ~ 2230 hours. There was a tamping train parked in a siding just west of Deming on Thursday night which did not appear to have been moved when we came back thru on Sunday night.
MOW windows are most often during daylight hours. I'd believe it had to be another reason. Boxcab E50
Saw the same thing on the Overland Route a week ago. We had to drive from Kalifornia to Utah and back. Saw numerous trains parked across Nevada, particularly on the way home (1/20 & 1/21). Motive power and everything just sitting in the middle of the plains.
Maybe the little mess UP had in their Roper Yard in Salt Lake messed them up. Has anyone heard about it? It shut down the Roper Yard from 0500 sunday to some time monday morning. They had a tanker full of acid literally disolve on them. It turns out that the rubber liner failed and the tank car was leaking acid out the sides. Lost about 7,000 gallons of acid on the ground. It was a full-blown hazmat emergency with up to 8,000 people evacuated and the main freeway through SLC shut down all day Sunday. It sure kept the news crews busy around here. Mark in Utah
Wait, you mean it's not NORMAL for all of UP's sidings to be full? Maybe those new solar powered ditch lights weren't the best idea after all? Not having benefit of a nearby map of UP's lines, does any of this traffic travel over the old T&P line across Texas? I know they are doing some major maintenance on those lines which might be the issue or at least a contributing factor. This is good news for my railfanning as a lot of traffic will be rerouted over the BNSF lines to Amarillo so I'll have plenty of subject available. Now if the weather will only cooperate...it's been great the past two days though. I can't wait to give the new camera a good workout.
Not a word. This is the first mention I've heard. Amazing that this didn't make any news up my way. Usually they splatter such incidents all over their broadcasts Boxcab E50
Update on melted tanker car.... The car was designed for sulphuric acid, and had a 7/16" rubber liner. Owned by Kennecott Copper, but leased out to Phillips Waste Disposal. Phillips filled it full of sulphuric, hydrocloric, acetic, and hydroflouric acid. Definately NOT designed for the other acids. Hydroflouric acid apparently ate away the rubber liner, allowing the steel to be eaten away. When everything was all done, one of the hazmat guys pushed his ball point pen through the side of the tank. Hmm, either he was REALLY strong, or the tank really took a beating. About $350,000 in cleanup costs, and everyone is already pointing fingers. Phillips told the sherrif 3 or 4 different stories as to what was in the tank. Wasn't listed on the manifest. The Roper Yard didn't open to full service until possibly late Monday, as they had to excavate everything and rebuild the tracks. The tanker was going fron Nevada to Ohio, and wasn't even supposed to go through Salt Lake, but UP screwed up and delivered it to Kennecott before being re-routed back on track.
Who's neck will go on the chopping block for this? Telling the sherrif 3 or 4 different stories doesn't help Phillips case.
Hemi, no, the Zephyr runs from Emeryville, CA to Chicago. The Sunset Limited runs through Benson on its way to LA or Orlando.
Drove from Ogden, UT to Echo yesterday. Saw TWELVE west-bound trains jammed up along a 25 mile stretch, and SIX eastbound trains crawling or parked along the same stretch. At lunch at the Cozy Cafe in Echo and talked to several crews who had their trains parked out front. This is what the guy said: "There are west-bound 18 trains all jammed up, and have been for the last 5 days. Never seen it this bad in over 26 years that I've work for the railroad. Some idiot in Omaha screwed up." It was virtually impossible to get any traffic past Weber canyon. By yesterday evening most of the trains had been cleared out. East-bound was going pretty good, but there were still 3 or 4 west-bound trains parked. Mark in Utah
