In the afternoon of August 1, 1999, I arrived in Vancouver, Washington, having been riding a very late westbound Empire Builder that ended up being suspended in Spokane and then taking an Amtrak-chartered bus the rest of the way. My late arrival in Vancouver coincided with some interesting Burlington Northern Santa Fe freight traffic.
A westbound loaded coal train from the Columbia River Gorge made its way around the Vancouver wye to continue north towards Seattle. This coal was probably bound for the coal-fired power plant in Centralia, Washington.
As this train slowly made its way around the wye, we had enough time to get in the car and move to the railroad crossing on West 11th Street to get a better view of the train.
The lead locomotive was Burlington Northern Santa Fe #8826, a 4,000-horsepower SD70MAC that was built by the General Motors Locomotive Group in London, Ontario, in March 1999.
The second unit was Burlington Northern Santa Fe #9989, another 4,000-horsepower SD70MAC that was built by the General Motors Locomotive Group in London, Ontario, in December 1998.
This coal train featured a number of experimental "Trough Train" articulated aluminum coal hoppers. Designed by Burlington Northern and built by Johnstown America Corporation, a total of 23 of these 13-unit sets were constructed in November and December of 1994. Each set was 278 feet long and had a single axle at each end with a standard freight truck at each articulation joint, and no bulkheads between the intermediate units (hence the name "Trough Train"). With each set having a capacity of 28,740 cubic feet, a train of all 23 sets equaled the capacity of 146 standard coal hoppers with less length and weight. These cars were not successful enough for any more to be built, but they remained in service for a number of years.
While the long coal train passed by, I noticed Burlington Northern #2882 parked on the servicing tracks near the Vancouver depot. Originally built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in April 1964 as 2,500-horsepower GP35 #984 for the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy. After the CB&Q was merged into Burlington Northern in March 1970, it became Burlington Northern #2530. In March 1990 it was rebuilt by Morrison-Knudsen of Boise, Idaho, as 2,300-horsepower GP39M Burlington Northern #2882.
The coal train had a pair of rear-end helpers on the back end. Burlington Northern #9432 is a 4,000-horsepower SD70MAC that was built by the General Motors Locomotive Group in London, Ontario, in March 1994.
Note that the coal train was not made up entirely of "Trough Train" sets, but also included conventional 3-bay hopper cars as well.
On the rear end of the coal train was Burlington Northern Santa Fe #9892, a 4,000-horsepower SD70MAC that was built by the General Motors Locomotive Group and assembled by Bombardier in Mexico in July 1998.
The coal train was closely followed by another freight train, led by Burlington Northern #5566, a 3,000-horsepower C30-7 that was built by General Electric in December 1977.
Norfolk Southern #6652 is a 3,800-horsepower SD60 that was built by the General Motors Locomotive Group in London, Ontario, in November 1988.
The most interesting locomotive in this consist is Burlington Northern #7149, a 3,000-horsepower SD40-2 that was built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in February 1979. It was the second of two SD40-2s that Burlington Northern converted to DF40-2s that could be fueled by refrigerated liquid methane, or liquified natural gas (LNG), supplied from a fuel tender as an experiment in the early 1990s. The use of LNG had the potential for lower fuel costs, greater engine longevity, and cleaner exhaust emissions, but required extensively modified power assemblies and a new design of piston to maintain the engine's 3,000-horsepower rating. Larger flared radiators from retired SD45s were also installed on both units. An LNG fueling station was constructed in Staples, Minnesota, and the two DF40-2s were used in unit coal train service between Staples and Glendive, Montana. The experiments ended in 1996 and the two locomotives returned to regular service and their old diet of diesel fuel, though they retained the special paint schemes they received for the experimental program.
ATGX #5511 and #5513 are 3,000-horsepower C30-7s that were built by General Electric in April 1977 as Burlington Northern #5511 & #5513. They were retired in January 1999, sold to ATEL Leasing Corporation for lease service, and leased back by Burlington Northern Santa Fe.
No comments:
Post a Comment