Rail roads and their tracks.

   / Rail roads and their tracks. #1,231  
Chicago is the perpetual choke point for rail traffic from coast to coast. I read that a freight train traveling from either coast to the other will spend 1/3 of it's time in Chicago. I've also read that average freight train speed through Chicago is about 9mph. There's something like 7 major rail lines all converging in that city, and they have to cross and share tracks, as well as grade crossings. Also, 1/3 of the country's population is within 500 mile drive of Chicago, so it's a major point to load and unload trains for truck distribution.

It's just a mess.
 
   / Rail roads and their tracks. #1,232  
Snapped a few pictures of the tremendous Intrepid potash mine and rail service to it in Moab. The rail service comes into town and quickly enters an amazing tunnel and emerges out the other side near the Colorado river by Dead Horse Point.
Evaporation lagoons
1627913704628.jpeg

Hopper cars waiting to be loaded with potash
1627913547364.jpeg


1627913602270.jpeg

Railroad on left along canyon wall leading to potash mining facility
1627913751290.jpeg

The way it was explained to me (simplified) they pump water into the ground and it returns as a brine like solution which is gravity fed to the ponds and dyed blue to speed crystallization. After about 300 days, it returns to a crystal pellet-like state and is then loaded into the giant warehouses, then conveyors run it to the rail cars.
The US produces about 2% of the worlds potash and this mine accounts for 60% of it. The Intrepid mine makes about 1000 tons of potash per day!

Aerial view of evaporation ponds. That is the actual colors of them!!
1627915112357.png
 
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   / Rail roads and their tracks. #1,233  
Too dry for me out there. I find it amazing that out there people have 'water rights'. Here where we live (and you), water rights are totally alien.
 
   / Rail roads and their tracks. #1,234  
MossRoad said:
The publisher of our local newspaper back in the 80's had a caboose in his front yard. It was pretty neat.
Click to expand...

Place near me has a caboose on a section of track, they hold weddings there.
 
   / Rail roads and their tracks. #1,235  
And I always thought they smoked it to get potash.
 
   / Rail roads and their tracks. #1,237  
Back to tracks...

This photo is at the Grant Smelter in Denver in the early 1900's. The track is a combination of standard gauge and 3ft narrow gauge.

3-way-dual-gauge-Grant-Smelter.jpg


Link to source:
digital.denverlibrary.org

CHS-B1501

digital.denverlibrary.org digital.denverlibrary.org

Bruce
 
   / Rail roads and their tracks.
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