All, The one day I choose to stay home, my folks ran into a most interesting train just north of town. Came across a northbound unit train of wind turbine blades. They get the loaded train, while I got the southbound empty a while back. Mom was able to get several photos, but no video, since she could not recall how to take video, until after the fact! Anyway, does anyone know where this train might be headed? Also heard that this same train may have been involved in an accident a bit later in the day. Car turned into the train, so I've heard. Anyway, any information appreciated. Thanks.
Hi Keith, I see them all the time, they originate out of Vestas in Windsor, CO (just east of my work at Carestream Health, Inc). They usually sit along 257 south of Windsor for a day or two. Next time I see one and it is light out, I'll grab a few photos and post them here.
Blade trains come through Montana as well. With so many such projects ongoing, seemingly everywhere these days, they might be going many places. And, like Keith, I cannot seem to be in the right place to catch one with loads....
I don't have any photos to post, but I've seen 3 or 4 come thru this year. Here's a link to our club site that has some pics one of our members took http://www.mtntrak.org/Railfan%20Pages/Winds.htm . His house sits right across from the passing siding in Belgrade, so he see's a lot of interesting stuff......my house sits just as close, but on my side of town, it's mainline, so I just see everything on the move.....usually at about 50 mph.
I THINK Portland & Western used to originate Blade loads in Hillsboro, Or. which got passed on to BNSF. Don't quote me on this, because it's been a while so I may be wrong. I do know that P&W regularly had modified Flat cars for blade loads in the Beaverton/Hillsboro Area. I think the P&W was moving smaller units though, because they seemed to be using modified 85' or 89' flats.
Sounds like the UCPSPAS, it just got onto MRL in the wee early morning hours this morning 11/23. As of 1200 it arrived in Missoula.
Actually it is not as big a deal as you would think. There are two gantry cranes that straddle the rails. The blades have wheels attached at the root and tip and a semi tractor tows it next to the rails under the gantrys. The pick it up and mount it onto the flatcars. The Vestas plant in Windsor, CO makes blade lengths from 65' to 120'. The 120' blades are just huge, taking up two flat cars. I will go over to the plant and get some photos.
Please do get some photos. I was thinking these parts were much more precise and fragile than they apparently are.
Interesting stuff. But, the train my folks saw was at Highland, between Longmont and Berthoud. And the video I got a while back of the empty cars was shot at the north end of Longmont Siding. So, what me and the folks saw is coming from the south. I chose not to go, since I had other things I needed to try and get done instead. Oh well.....
Wind Turbine Blade Train Photos On my way home this afternoon, I got stopped in Timnath, CO for a blade train. The train had left the Vestas plant in Windsor, CO and was headed for the Ft Collins, CO yard. I was too far away to get good photos, so once the train cleared, I ran over to a spot on the east side of Ft Collins, to get some photos. Sorry for the quality, they were taken with my Iphone 3GS. I need to take my DSLR to work with me and swing by the Vestas plant and get photos of them loading the blades. If I counted correctly, there were 36 blades in the consist and the SD-40 was easily pulling it.
