Called for Q13202 at 0:15, with CSXT 7580 & UP 3798, with 12 loads (short count, 26 by long count), with 43 containers, for 1223 tons, and 1780 feet. Well to start, we sit in the bullpen, for 2 two hours, before we even get a ride to the train, (the train its self, was a hour getting there). As I walk from the building to the van, I see my favorate loco, leading a south bound train, across Union St. It it train G85201, with CSXT 700 & MPEX 5000, heading for its 92 day inspection, after comming back from the Marquette Rail, on lease. Then its off to Stanley Tower, to get on board.
We are on board, at 02:30, and start to pull, but dont make it verry far. We stop at Dry Creek, at 2:28, and see the N92602 pass south, into Walbridge, with CSXT 764 & 762, with 101 cars. We start north again at 2:50, and shoot straight acrosss the NS no delay at Vickers. At Vickers, we pass the south bound, Y23002, with CSXT 2209 & 6425 with 45 cars, returning from the NS Homested yard. At Pickel Rd., we pass the Q22402, with CSXT 7843 & 8440, with 33 auto racks.
As we pass the Q224, we come to a stop, at Pickel Rd., at 3:00, so the dispatcher can let the Y33102, back out of the docks, ahead of us. We are back on the move, at 3:20. At Lower River Bridge, we see the Q32103, at 3:35, with CSXT 9037 & HATX 918, with 130 cars. At about this time, following behind the yard job, it got realy boring, and I got tired, so I lost track of times, but we pulled up to GTW, and sat there for a good while, and at 4:28, saw the Q23102, come by with CSXT 9031 & 4747, with 7 platforms (long count), with 20 containers, and 87 auto racks. After he went by, we pulled up to Ottawa River, and sat there, as we waited for the Y33103, to pull north on the main, and then back south on #2 track, so he could enter Boullvard Yard, and do some switching (you can only acess the yard off of #2 main, and the first cross over, that would have allowed him to cross over was back at Consaul St., witch would have required him, to back way out of the Docks, and head north, on DTC blocks, but he still would have been in the way of the two south bounds).
At one point aproxmatly 5:15, we see the Y331, shove south past us, with cab CSXT 900055, some cars, and a loco. We are on the move, at 5:22. We did not get held up the rest of the way, and at Delray, at 7:24, we see a south bound CP on #1 Detroit line, with CP 9608 & 9550, and along side on #2, was the 171, with NS ??65 & 6662. We arrive and head for the hotel and all the crazy Superbowl fans at the hotel after I grab a couple of shots at Livernois.
2-3-06
This is all I have to say about this trip.
And no I did not put that there.
Called for Q23103, at 22:30, with CSXT 8118, CEFX 3124, & CSXT 6093, with 87 loads, for 6512 tons, and 8425 feet.
As you can see in the photos, the 8118 an't in the lead.
Went to get on the power, and the 8118 the leader, was dead as a door nail. Dead battries, and as I found out later, when you tried to crank it, it has a short, and ends up shutting down all units connected to it. So after messing around, with switching out power, and building and air testing our train, we depart Rouge, at aproxmatly 2:30 (there were also other problems, but Im to peved off to talk about it now).
At 2:48, we pass the K38503, at P Company, with GCFX 3062 & HLCX 7139, and 68 cars. At Outter Drive, we pass the Q32603, with HLCX 6086 & 8139, with 77 cars. At 3:00, we pass the Q28703, with CSXT 8810 & 8034, with 10 auto racks, and that is it, until we got to Hallett. At Plymouth we lost another hour, as when she told us that we were waiting to turn the corner and head south, I went back to the 8118, and tried to finish some stuff the mech desk said to try, and it ended up shutting down all the units, and setting the alerter off, witch drained all air off the train.
At 7:52, we pass the Z24103, with IC 6130, 5254, & CN 5515, at Hallett, waiting to get on the AA with 82 cars. Next we pass the N91501, at Lower River Bridge, with CSXt 235 & 28, with 100 cars, at 8:04.
At Vickers, we pull to a stop, to see the 11M, head west, and the ???, head east, at 8:30.
The 11M had NS 9937 & 9141, with 148 cars. The ???, had a 9-40CW, and NS 9804, with 124 loads, 9 empties, (long count), with 175 containers, and 21 trailers. After that off to White & Ford Rd's to had off to the outbound crew.
P.S. When they have somthing good, (as in the GP40), they should leave it alone, insted of messing with it.
I think they just derate the horses to 2200 and call it good. So if it runs $h177y before, it runs $h177y after...and even worse because it's nuetured. To what? Save a little wear and tear on the engine? CSX needs to take lessons from BNSF and NS motive power-wise. NS is REBUILDING their GP38s and GP50s (not just repainting and chopping the balls off), while most of BNSF's 4-axle fleet is rebuilds from GP7/9's, GP30's and 35's! Too late for CSX to do that, all they have left are 38-2/40-2s and a handful of dying 4-axle GE's (minus the B40-8s). But of course with CSX getting rid of all of their smaller lines, they won't need 4-axles any more. Heck, in Michigan alone, they probably freed up around 15-20 4-axles!