CSX Plymouth Sub Longest Trains (200+ cars)

[Saturnalia]

This thread serves to keep track of the longest trains ever on the CSX Plymouth Sub, by car count. We're keeping only the top 10 now, after we passed two dozen trains which taped out over 200 cars!

Original Messages:
With Q335 going on a hot streak of impressively long trains, I have compiled the listings of the longest Q335s into a concise list, one which I will continue to update based on the Train Location Updates (no need to remind me, I read that forum religiously). We've added in the longest Plymouth Sub trains on record to this table, with a 1985 empty coal train on the list at 206 cars. Basically, this will list every train on the Plymouth Sub of 200 cars or greater.

Champion: 237 cars
- Oct 15, 2017 - Q385-14. 116, 55, 5277

2nd Place: 232 cars
- Nov 08, 2017 - Q385-05. 219, 817, 541. 6 Intermodal Platforms + 226 mixed. 938 axles, 14,235'

3nd Place: 227 cars
- Oct 10, 2015 - Q335-09 3092, 318, 2630

4th Place: 225 cars
- April 19, 2017 - D70719. 7747, 7758, & 3339 - was 13436 feet by mulliken, and longer at 13531 at clarksville.

5th Place: 220 cars
- Jun 2, 2015 - Q335-01. 5433, 664, 4044, 8505

6th Place: 219 cars
- Apr 4, 2017 - D707-04. 8624, 3263, 7868

7th Place: 217 cars
- Feb 19, 2018 - Q385. 5428, 893, 5275

8th Place: 216 cars
- Sep 24, 2017 - Q335-23. 541, 31

9th Place: 212 cars
- Apr 11, 2015 – Q335-10. 982, 4003, 7731, 8500

10th Place: 211 cars (twice)
- Nov 09, 2017 - Q384-09. 541, 817, 9 - 109 mixed, 102 intermodal, 630 axles, 10,380'
- Sep 27, 2015 - L335-26. 9, 4547, 2761

Honorable mentions:
209 cars - May 08, 2015 – Q335-07. 214, 7867, 7612, 8523
207 cars - Oct 22, 2015 - Q335-21. 728, 717
206 cars - May 15, 2015 - Q335-14. 7889, 7537, 8129, 8790, CN 8915, 8449, 1511
206 cars - Oct 10, 1985 - Doubled-up Eastern Coal Empties.

+ many, many more at 200-205 cars...too many to keep track of

*Note: All locomotive numbers are CSX unless specified before each individual number

[GreatLakesRailfan]

Shouldn't this be in the railfanning information forum? I'd be afraid it would get lost in the Michigan Forum...?

[MQT1223]

Besides the #1 on the list, why is it that 99% of the trains listed have happened to be in 2015???

[atrainguy60]

Besides the #1 on the list, why is it that 99% of the trains listed have happened to be in 2015???

Probably because of the Chicago cars that were added onto Q335 recently.

[redside20]

Shouldn't this be in the railfanning information forum? I'd be afraid it would get lost in the Michigan Forum...?

yes

[Saturnalia]

Besides the #1 on the list, why is it that 99% of the trains listed have happened to be in 2015???

Probably because of the Chicago cars that were added onto Q335 recently.

Exactly

[AARR]

MQT - How do you know these are the longest trains? I like that you've documented it but I'm curious how you know there haven't been longer ones you're not aware of?

[Saturnalia]

MQT - How do you know these are the longest trains? I like that you've documented it but I'm curious how you know there haven't been longer ones you're not aware of?

Well, anything THIS long would be memorable. With BL2 taking constant notes since the 1970s, it is highly doubtful anything 190+ cars has slipped by without his knowing. IDK if he is going to look for it, but that 216-car coal train is in his notes somewhere in the 1970s or 1980s.

Given the impractical circumstances of running these long trains over a once-busier subdivision, and the improbability that there'd be any reason to, I feel 99.5% confident that this is THE complete list. Potentially more examples of those doubled-up coal trains ran, but doubtful.

I believe that this list is as close to certain as we can really ever get, and we have a lot of data and circumstances going towards this conclusion.

[CSX_CO]

So more probable than not...

[Saturnalia]

So more probable than not...

significantly more likely than not.

EXTREMELY likely that this is a complete list. NEAR certain.

[MQT1223]

This is beginning to look like one of THOSE threads again...

[CSX_CO]

This is beginning to look like one of THOSE threads again...

Apparently you don't follow the NFL....

[AARR]

MQT - How do you know these are the longest trains? I like that you've documented it but I'm curious how you know there haven't been longer ones you're not aware of?

Well, anything THIS long would be memorable. With BL2 taking constant notes since the 1970s, it is highly doubtful anything 190+ cars has slipped by without his knowing. IDK if he is going to look for it, but that 216-car coal train is in his notes somewhere in the 1970s or 1980s.

Oh yes, BL2 has been taking detailed notes of nearly every train that has gone through Howell. He's a pretty good source.

[redside20]

Because our man BL2 is an original and is good at what he does. And didn't CN write the book on landbarges?

[trnwatcher]

These trains are listed by car count. I'd be interested in seeing a list of trains by actual train lenght. I know some of the CP/Soo trains back in the day might have gotten into the top 10.

[CSX_CO]

Because our man BL2 is an original and is good at what he does. And didn't CN write the book on landbarges?

I think it was an IC thing. Two sd40's on their flat railroad and whatever Markham and champaign had.

[redside20]

Tonnage for tonnage. How do 190 car trains on the CSX Plymouth Sub compare and fare to something like the old school N& W which would operate with huge trains in the 30s, 40s,50s with manned mid train helpers, over grades, and with steam power no less.

[redside20]

Because our man BL2 is an original and is good at what he does. And didn't CN write the book on landbarges?

I think it was an IC thing. Two sd40's on their flat railroad and whatever Markham and champaign had.

Oh yeah I forgot about that. Our man hunter harrison was the president of the IC way back when.

[MQT1223]

Tonnage for tonnage. How do 190 car trains on the CSX Plymouth Sub compare and fare to something like the old school N& W which would operate with huge trains in the 30s, 40s,50s with manned mid train helpers, over grades, and with steam power no less.

Your comparing trains that are anywhere from 60 to 80 years apart. The car counts could be higher, but the lengths could be shorter. Rolling stock is taller and longer then it used to be. Old school is right N&W is right you can't compare that to now, and considering like what 3001 said the longest documented trains on the Plymouth Sub were coal trains in the 1980's. By then the cars had peaked in size except for a few exceptions. I'm not sure about what things were like on the PM or C&O during the steam era, but I don't think the Plymouth Sub has ever been a line that has had really long trains traverse it's rails on a regular basis.

[Saturnalia]

I don't see any reason for the C&O or CSX to ever run anything close to 190 cars, except those light coal gons, apparently on just one occasion. There just wasn't the traffic to move otherwise. Plus how could they have run trains this long? The subdivision was actually busy! Today they get away with it because they don't have traffic to contend with.

There is now way PM ever ran anything near this long. I'd be surprised of they ran much of anything over 100 cars, if they even made 100 cars. That was up to 1947, and again, they didnt have that sort of traffic to move.

CSX does it now because they can physically, operationally, and they have the traffic to do it.