Hello Everyone: It has been awhile since I been out trackside again in sometime. Well I headed out to Alabama to Railfan the bottom end of the CSXT NO&M Sub on 8-31-2014 and here is what I got. Enjoy Video link: Picture link: http://csxboy187.rrpicturearchives.net/archivethumbs.aspx?id=104140 Enjoy! Aaron Gulfport, MS
That first CSX train, what commodity are they hauling in those containers? I didn't see any placards, so something bulk...?
Ken, the first train's load looked like wind turbine generator housings. The occasional flats with multiple blobs appeared to be carrying propeller hubs, probably one hub per generator. I don't know where Aaron took those videos or what direction the train was heading, but I'm guessing that train was going from the manufacturer, possibly GE or Westinghouse, to a turbine farm out west....? BTW, Aaron, that was a fantastic catch, at least one-in-a-million....good going.
Nice video. Really taken by all the tank cars, as it seems more often I'm noticing and appreciating the different weathering patterns on those. With the turbines, did it appear to anyone else that the housings/generators didn't have any readily apparent tie-downs? The rotor hubs seemed chained in place, but the housings looked to just be set down. Or maybe I need to wear glasses to watch... And I loved the "photographer on your left" comment!
I assume the generators were secured at their bases, so no tie downs would be visible without close inspection. When KCS delivered a 300 Ton transformer after Hurricane Katrina, there were weld points on its base that were welded to the car. No other tie downs were visible. Here's a photo of installed GE wind turbines. They're a distance away, but you can see the generator housings and propeller hubs are similar to those in Aaron's video.
