Rail roads and their tracks.

   / Rail roads and their tracks. #1,931  
We used to haul new wheelsets out of the Pittsburgh area to Progress Rail's facility in the Gary area. We had to nail down 2X4s on the floor for them to set on, and were pretty tricky to chain down. Each wheelset weighed over 2,000#.
There is a Progress Rail truck loaded with wheelsets that parks at a Speedway station in Goshen almost every weekend. The trailer has some special modifications that make it a little safer to haul them, like a pair of vertical bars at the front of the trailer so they can't roll off the front, and groves in the trailer floor for the wheel flanges to set in.

I have seen truckloads of wheels on a trailer like that going down I81.
 
   / Rail roads and their tracks. #1,932  
One of those things that makes you say Hmmmm.....

Seeing a truck hauling RR wheels on the highway. Why isn't it on a train? Hmmmmm......
I asked them once, they said we could get them delivered overnight, by rail it took 3 or 4 days.
Also, it would have taken special cars that could only be used to haul wheelsets, to be able go get enough on a car to get close to a full load, weight wise.
Keeping one layer on a truck was bad enough, stacking them up 4 or 5 layers high and keeping them on the car would have been a real challenge.
 
   / Rail roads and their tracks. #1,933  

Bruce
 
   / Rail roads and their tracks.
  • Thread Starter
#1,934  
When I lived along a main line, we commonly seen rr wheel assemblies loaded on cars passing through town.
 
   / Rail roads and their tracks. #1,935  
Apparently, Progress Rail doesn't have any of those cars, as I've never seen one.
NS might, but I've never seen one of those either, but then I think one of their main repair shops is in Altoona, PA.
 
   / Rail roads and their tracks.
  • Thread Starter
#1,936  
Engine we seen in Tower MN recently. This hauled Vermilion iron ore down to Superior WI, Two Harbors and Duluth MN during its life. May have hauled taconite down as well in its later years. The range switched from hematite to taconite after WWII.
P1060816.jpg
P1060813.jpg
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P1060815.jpg
 
   / Rail roads and their tracks. #1,937  
Tragedy in Missouri. Amtrak train collision with gravel truck. Several fatalities and many hurt. All seven cars laid over. This is just a few miles from my farm. It’s the main line from KC to Chicago.
 
   / Rail roads and their tracks.
  • Thread Starter
#1,938  
Tragedy in Missouri. Amtrak train collision with gravel truck. Several fatalities and many hurt. All seven cars laid over. This is just a few miles from my farm. It’s the main line from KC to Chicago.
Please post pics if you can.
 
   / Rail roads and their tracks. #1,939  
   / Rail roads and their tracks. #1,940  
I don’t have good service right now. I have a picture, but can’t get it to post. My son is a BNSF engineer and runs that line.
 
 
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