NS Stack Train question

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lakeshoredave
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NS Stack Train question

Unread post by lakeshoredave »

I saw a westbound in Macedonia, Ohio on the NS Cleveland Line on Tuesday around 1900 hours with NS units 9789 and 7325 that was all EMP double stack containers going west that sounded like 24R on my scanner. Why was an even numbered train going west or was this a detoured move?

Railfan9
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Re: NS Stack Train question

Unread post by Railfan9 »

Down here in Cincinnati on the Norfolk Southern all westbound trains are even numbered like 216 (intermodal. Alanta Georgia, to Chicago Illinois.). So it makes since that the intermodal train if it was 24R would be a westbound.

Dan Cluley
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Re: NS Stack Train question

Unread post by Dan Cluley »

Typically East & North bound trains have even numbers, and West & South bound trains have odd.

So possibly these trains while headed West geographically, are actually Northbound according to the railroad?

Railfan9
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Re: NS Stack Train question

Unread post by Railfan9 »

That's odd because in Cincinnati its Westbounds and Northbounds are even number, and Eastbounds and Southbounds are odd. Case in point would be 170 Chattanooga, Tennessee to Conway, Pennsylvania (which would be a Northbound and its counterpart 169 Conway Pennsylvania to Chattanooga, Tennessee (Southbound). Norfolk Southern uses Timetable East-West.

bdconrail29
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Re: NS Stack Train question

Unread post by bdconrail29 »

It was probably 25R, which is domestic double stacks.
Brett

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Re: NS Stack Train question

Unread post by bdconrail29 »

Railfan9 wrote:Down here in Cincinnati on the Norfolk Southern all westbound trains are even numbered like 216 (intermodal. Alanta Georgia, to Chicago Illinois.). So it makes since that the intermodal train if it was 24R would be a westbound.
It does get confusing, but on the Chicago Line all westbound intermodal trains are odd numbered and all eastbound intermodals are even numbered. He probably saw 25R.
Brett

brc0227
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Re: NS Stack Train question

Unread post by brc0227 »

In Portsmouth the north and westbound traffic all have odd numbers. While the south and eastbound traffic all have even numbers. There are some oddball coal trains that don't follow that model. But most of the trains in Portsmouth do.

bdconrail29
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Re: NS Stack Train question

Unread post by bdconrail29 »

brc0227 wrote:In Portsmouth the north and westbound traffic all have odd numbers. While the south and eastbound traffic all have even numbers. There are some oddball coal trains that don't follow that model. But most of the trains in Portsmouth do.
Commodity trains follow a loaded/empty convention regardless of direction. For the most part. An example would be 415 eastbound from Detroit to Conway empty coker but the load is westbound symboled 414. There are some oddities to some still though.
Brett

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cbehr91
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Re: NS Stack Train question

Unread post by cbehr91 »

Railfan9 wrote:Down here in Cincinnati on the Norfolk Southern all westbound trains are even numbered like 216 (intermodal. Alanta Georgia, to Chicago Illinois.). So it makes since that the intermodal train if it was 24R would be a westbound.
It gets messy when intermodals and the 100 series manifests run northbound/southbound Central Division, then cross into the eastbound/westbound Lake Division at Cincinnati. In northbound/southbound territory even numbers are northbound and odd numbers are southbound.

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