Where I live, traffic is non-existant because there are no rail lines. I have to travel to see any rail activity. Closest point to me with any action would be Tampico, about a 3 hour drive straight up the coast. The busiest line in the country is KCSdeM, who carry the most traffic. You can see their route map here http://www.kcsouthern.com/SiteCollectionDocuments/system_map.pdf The second busiest (although the longest in terms of route miles) is Ferromex. El Paso is their main exchange point. I can't speak to traffic through Ojinaga/Presidio. Their route map can be seen here http://www.ferromex.com.mx/ventas/cobertura.html Third biggest, but limited to the southeast section of the country, is Ferrosur. Their route map is here (at least I hope the link works) http://www.ferrosur.com.mx/gxpsites/hgxpp001.aspx?1,1,8,O,S,0,MNU;E;2;6;MNU;, At the risk of straying off topic I'll give you a quick and dirty answer. Whether or not it's just an illusion, I at least feel safer down here. Most of what you hear about is exactly that, drug related crime (cartel vs cartel, cartels vs govt, etc). So if you're not involved somewhere in the supply/user chain, you have a great chance of never coming in contact with any of that. Wouldn't surprise me to find that some residents of wealthy Monterrey suburbs have hands that aren't totally clean. Regards Ed
So are KCSdeM, FXE, and FSR all Class 1 railroads, Ed? And what's that gray line on the map of Ferrosur? Are they planning an expansion? I think Time's point with the article was that now, the violence has expanded past the drug cartels, and the killings involve all kinds of people now. They talked about how PRI allowed drug trafficking, but regulated it, whereas the new party, especially now with Calderon, is going after the cartels, so the cartels move into different areas. I do know that the border is supposed to be a hard place, especially on the Mexico side. By the way, I have no idea what the town that my friend lives in Mexico is; all the other people I know with family in Mexico are from D.F.
FXE is definitely a Class 1. KCSdeM, if it were stand-alone, would qualify as a Class 1. Because it is a fully owned sunsidiary of KCS I'm not sure whether it is classed as a Class 1 by itself, or whether it's stats are passed through as part of the parent road. Ferrosur (FSRR) is a Class 2. Interestingly enough, The majority owner of FXE (UP owns 26%) also owns FSRR. They wanted to merge the two roads, but the government board that oversees/controls monopoly situations disallowed the merger. Still being fought in court (obviously KCSdeM is very much opposed to the merger.) The grey line in the lower half, which ends at the city of Oaxaca, indicates (probably) that FSRR recently gained control of this existing but out of service branch. Theoretically they were supposed to reconditionit and put it back in service, but not much action seen yet. I think the shorter grey line in the center is a similar short out of service branch that is supposed to be part of their netwrok. btw, since we've gone this far into Mexican railroads, I ought to point out that there are a few more. They include FTVM, FCCM, LFCD, CZRY and CGR. Go to this page to see links to each of those railroads' home page. http://www.mexlist.com/railways.htm FTVM is essentially a terminal and belt railway for Mexico City. CGR is essentially a rail-barge service between Mobile, AL and Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, Mex. FCCM was concessioned by Genesee & Wyoming, but they just announced they were terminating their contract, so the government is looking for another outfit to take over operation of that section of trackage. Regards Ed
Yup, that's impressive alright. And a lot drier than it is down our way. Of course, that's clear across the country from where we are. Ed
As you could see from the shot of the crane, it was getting really late in the afternoon. Just about sundown. But I was right about them moving the work train because something was coming. Heard the horn way off, and we waited as the train got closer. Finally it came up over the small rise just north of the yard. An AC4400-CW number 4564 along with C30-Super7MP 3809 bringing a long train of empty autoracks through town. Not the best shot due to the sun angle, but here it is anyway. To me, a train of autoracks is pretty boring. Give me a short mixed freight behind an old 2-8-0 anytime. But you take what you're given. Here's the last shot of the day, with just enough sun glinting off the new sides of one autorack to make the shot interesting. Next day, after a pretty full day of sightseeing in town (it's really a great place to visit), the kids were again ready to catch some rest at the hotel. I was sure the tracks passed closer to our hotel than the station itself (with our hotel room window open the night before, I could clearly hear the squeek of the wheels on tight curves). During the day, while up on the highest hill in town, I had a chance to use my binoculars to scout out the line and sure enough I figured out where we could fairly easily walk to it. So Fran and I set off for one last bit of railfanning. It may not have been the best spot in the world to catch trains, but at least we had the sun to our backs this afternoon. Wasn't too long before something came along. Here we have another AC4400-CW, number 4541, along with what I think is another ES44AC, number 4617, pulling a long northbound train made up entirely of gondolas loaded with taconite pellets. That heavy load, coupled with some serious uphill grades, required mid train helpers. Here they come, SD70ACe number 4001 and C30-Super7R number 3731. I figured that would be it for the day, but we had one last opportunity waiting for us. Regards Ed
As much to keep busy as anything else, we wandered along the mainline in the direction of the yard and station. I didn't really expect to catch another train in the short amount of daylight we had left. But then we heard a horn, coming from the same direction as the train that had just passed. I thought it was strange to have another train coming down the mainline so close behind, but we got ourselves in position in any case. Finally it came around the curve, our old friend the work train from yesterday. Pretty much the same consist. And it still had C30-7 number 3586 on the front end. Here's another one as she came right past us. This is one of Fran's first railfan pictures. She's getting the hang of it. As the back end came by, we could see that SD40-2 number 3185 was still pulling (or pushing?) up the rear. I'm still not clear why such a short work train warranted two locomotives, but I took photos anyway. As he went by I almost instinctively motioned for him to give us a blast on the horn, and he obliged. And as it headed out around the curve I snapped off one last shot. Losing light but still worth posting. And that was it. Next morning we bought the last of the souvenirs, checked out of the hotel, and headed back down the highway towards home. We passed a couple of crossings on the trip home, but nothing worth photographing. But it was a great trip. Hope you enjoyed some of the photos and play-by-play. Best regards Ed
Have some really cool trains down there Ed, especially the Super 7s on the FXE! Are those ex-NdeM? How long did NdeM exist? And did it ever control all of the country's railroads? So, essentialy, KCSdeM and FerroMex are the big dogs, like BNSF and UP in the west U.S. and then FSR is a powerful regional player in the south? Who carries the most intermodal, KCSdeM or FXE? And everything else is a shortline? Seems a little boring! Just one more thing for now, KCSdeM was once TFM, right? And TFM was TransFerroraviaMexicana (literal English translation, Trans-Mexican Railways).
Yes they are (or at least they are ex-FNM). Some are still in their pre-privatization two tone blue "Smurf" paint scheme, and just patched with new numbers. Some have been repainted in FXE colors. Once agian I'll try to shoot off a rough answer (without resorting to notes), so some of the years/facts may be off a bit. NdeM was established around 1908 with the joining of several of the biggest rail lines in the country. They gradually aquired other smaller lines. The system was actually nationized in 1938. Finally around 1948 they aquired FCI (Ferrocarril Interoceanico) which was the original rail line in the country (Mexico City to Veracruz) which had been operated by a British firm since its inception. At that time virtually all the rail lines in the country (except some small industrial lines) were part of Ndem (Nacionales de Mexico). That entity had small reorganization around the late 70's and was then called FNM (Ferrocarriles Nacionales de Mexico) although that was really its name all along. It also got that new blue color scheme at that time. The lines were privatized around 1996 or 7. The November 2003 issue of trains has a great lead article about the Mexican railroad system and the three main players. That's about it. I don't have firm data, but my guess would be KCSdeM. Note also that they are expanding their operations at Lazaro Cardenas (their port on the Pacific Ocean side of the country) in expectation of a continued increase in container traffic. Yes and close. TFM was Transportacion Ferroviaria Mexicana, or Mexican Rail Transportation. KCS was always the majority stockholder in TFM since privatization. Here's a Wikipedia article on TFM http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grupo_Transportación_Ferroviaria_Mexicana Best regards Ed
Ed, Love the photo essay of the convention and rail fan trips! Looks like a good time was had by all! Thanks, Ryan
I know SOO and GTW, though subsidiaries of Canadian roads, are considered US Class 1s in their own right.
Matthew, crime in Zacatecas is something I rarely worry about. Ed can speak more for Veracruz, I've only been there once. Trafic frequency varies according to location, but in Zacatecas mornings, there usually four Southbounds, then afternoons you see Northbounds. Though it can vary, I caught a great mixed Southbound at 1 am last week there led by a new GEVO. Ed, fantastic! You got pics of that work train Zacatecas, you dog!<g>....I rolled into Zacatecas at 1 am last Wednesday, and I saw 'em parked at the station, but by the time I got my sorry butt out of bed, I heard the toots and they split town to go north of Fresnillo that morning. The night shot of Ags station is great. Surprised to hear about the security guards at the statioon in Zaca. Funny thing is that Wednesday afternoon I was taking pics of 'em, and at midnight I ran int Reuben, who was the security guard there last year, and we chatted all over again, I also got some shots of him using my tri-pod with b/w film. They have always let me run around that place willy-nilly, but as you can see, the best place to get shots of freights is from the new overpass, I really dig it. Ed, more, more!!!!!!! It was fantastic seeing you and Fran! Sincerely, Tony
