Super Long Freight Train

Shop deals on ebay
Advertise with us
shop deals on amazon
Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum

Help Support Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
leemell

leemell

Conductor
Joined
Oct 5, 2009
Messages
1,549
Location
Los Angeles, CA
UP is testing a 3.5 mile freight with nine engines, some embedded in the train. LA Times:

"Safety, traffic concerns raised when 3.5-mile-long freight train rolls through L.A. BasinJanuary 12, 2010 | 1:16 pm

An apparently unprecedented super freight train -- extending some 3½ miles -- rolled through Southern California over the weekend, catching state regulators off guard and prompting concerns about potential safety risks and traffic delays, The Times has learned.

Union Pacific said the train was a test of equipment and ways to improve operating efficiency, but that the company does not have plans to run such trains regularly.
Click to expand...
Here is the direct link:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010...h-la-basin.html
 
Last edited by a moderator:
leemell said:
...Union Pacific said the train was a test of equipment and ways to improve operating efficiency, but that the company does not have plans to run such trains regularly.
Click to expand...
Note the key word "regularly". There are no rules or regulations regarding the length of a train.
 
An article in today's LA Times is about rail shipments down 20% last year, "the worst year in decades"

Interesting to see the contrast day to day.
 
PetalumaLoco said:
leemell said:
...Union Pacific said the train was a test of equipment and ways to improve operating efficiency, but that the company does not have plans to run such trains regularly.
Click to expand...
Note the key word "regularly". There are no rules or regulations regarding the length of a train.
Click to expand...
I would assume that railroads themselves would have rules or regulations about train lengths and weights, based on track profiles, siding lengths, and the like. Otherwise, I would assume that as long as the trains can be operated safely, there is no legal limit to their length. In theory, on a double- or multiple-track mainline, a train could be of infinite length.

What are the longest passengers trains in the world? I would assume the Auto-Train is the longest Amtrak train.
 
IIRC for trains that operate with a passenger symbol the Auto Train is the longest in the world. However there are longer trains than Auto Train in terms of cars that people can occupy.
 
leemell said:
UP is testing a 3.5 mile freight with nine engines, some embedded in the train. LA Times:
"Safety, traffic concerns raised when 3.5-mile-long freight train rolls through L.A. BasinJanuary 12, 2010 | 1:16 pm

An apparently unprecedented super freight train -- extending some 3½ miles -- rolled through Southern California over the weekend, catching state regulators off guard and prompting concerns about potential safety risks and traffic delays, The Times has learned.

Union Pacific said the train was a test of equipment and ways to improve operating efficiency, but that the company does not have plans to run such trains regularly.
Click to expand...
Here is the direct link:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010...h-la-basin.html
Click to expand...
There is an article is today's LA Times about a rail fan who got some pics and video of the the train. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-mo...,0,182927.story

His web site is www.chasingsteel.com.
 

This video is shorter than the one linked above.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
It should be able to. It's a train after all, and it was probably moving over the DD's fast enough that you'd get a reading.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top