PASSING TRAINS PT9; WC97

Last week, we saw the approach of a new train...

AP&W SD70MAC 8678 leads UP AC4400 5714 on an empty west-bound coal train, WC97.

The train passes through the yard with a string of leased hopper cars.

A look at one of the cars, showing the coal dust coating the insides.

And, that's it! Since all of the cars are the same, I didn't bother to photograph every one -although, in retrospect, I should have shot the last car -with the EOT device.

Next week, a look around town.

GC10NYC PT3

The conclusion of GC10NYC...

While most of the refrigerated containers have Thermo King refrigeration units, some. like this Cold Train Intermodal box have Carrier X2 units. The fuel tank for the reefer is below the unit.

A pair of EMP dry boxes, followed by more reefer boxes, including another Cold Train Intermodal box underneath a CP Rail box. Also seen are a XPO Logistics dry box and JB Hunt's unique "How Cool Is That" reefer.

How to tell if the intermodal train is hot? First off, the Gateway Cherokees are priority trains; they over-rule everything else! Second, the huge number of reefer containers -especially headed east with loads. But the biggest clue? A DPU (Distributed Power Unit) pusher on the rear!

1990, the Delaware & Hudson heritage unit, brings up the rear of the train. Adding the extra horsepower at the rear reduces stress on the couplers throughout the train, and helps control the slack action as well. While the three America units alone can handle the train, the extra push from 1990 helps raise the train speed by about 5mph, going from 50mph to 55mph. More importantly, it helps to keep train speeds higher as it travels through the mountains on its eastward journey -helping GC10NYC stay on schedule with a train of hot loads!

As GC10NYC leaves town, another train enters! Stay tuned next week...

GC10NYC PT2

GC10NYC continues...

As noted last week, there are a lot of refrigerated containers in the train. Here, an AXSUN box rides atop a NFI reefer, with a White Arrow reefer atop a Swift dry box. Tiger Cool Express reefers are behind them.

More Tiger Cool reefers and a Cold Train Intermodal unit, followed by a pair of White Arrow boxes, then begins the block of  C.R. England reefers.

The string of C.R. England reefer containers continue. This is the modern-day version of the classic reefer trains of the past -only with stacked 53' containers instead of strings of 40' ice-cooled reefers! Perishable traffic on the rails lives on!

A lot of western produce is travelling to eastern markets on this train, as shippers increasingly embrace the intermodal concept.

A pair of AXSUN containers and a Cold Train Intermodal reefer join the C.R. England units. And if you weren't sure this was a priority train from the large number of reefer containers, how about the string of FedEx Intermodal boxes behind them?

More next week, including a closer look at the refrigeration units on some of the containers.

PASSING TRAINS PT8; GC10NYC PT1

It's the Independence Day weekend! Time for the return of the America units!

Leading train GC10NYC, the New York-bound Gateway Cherokee, the trio of engines round the curve into town.

Set in their usual order, 1776, 1876 and 1976, the GE's do what they do best: pull fast intermodal trains!

As usual, the Gateway Cherokee has a variety of containers, including Swift, JB Hunt, and Hub Group.

The first pair of containers are more Hub Group, followed by XPO Logistics.

A CIE Intermodal refrigerated box rides atop a JB Hunt unit, followed by a pair of Swift containers. More reefers can be seen after that -a lot more as we will see next week!