# Super Long Freight Train



## leemell (Jan 13, 2010)

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.


Here is the direct link:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010...h-la-basin.html


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## PetalumaLoco (Jan 13, 2010)

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*.


Note the key word "regularly". There are no rules or regulations regarding the length of a train.


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## Rumpled (Jan 14, 2010)

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.


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## DET63 (Jan 17, 2010)

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*.
> ...


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.


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## battalion51 (Jan 17, 2010)

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.


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## Bob Dylan (Jan 17, 2010)

battalion51 said:


> 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.


Is the Auto Train longer than The Canadian in the summer? It's really a long train during the tourist season! (Summer! :lol: )


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## battalion51 (Jan 18, 2010)

I don't think they're pulling an average of 40-50 cars a day on that "thing."


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## leemell (Jan 18, 2010)

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
> ...


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.


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## DET63 (Jan 18, 2010)




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## DET63 (Jan 18, 2010)

This video is shorter than the one linked above.


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## Bob Dylan (Jan 19, 2010)

DET63 said:


>


Now there's one freight that won't be put into the hole to let an Amtrak train by! UP scores again!


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## Green Maned Lion (Jan 19, 2010)

This is clearly Union Pacific's mechanism for petitioning Missouri for double tracking over the entire KCY-STL line.


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## Lady_Penelope (Jan 20, 2010)

IDILBF-08 - Lead unit is the UP 7454 (Train is DP'ed 3x2x2x2)

295 Loads - 0 Empties - 15,498 tons - 18,061 Feet


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## Green Maned Lion (Jan 21, 2010)

Lady_Penelope said:


> IDILBF-08 - Lead unit is the UP 7454 (Train is DP'ed 3x2x2x2) 295 Loads - 0 Empties - 15,498 tons - 18,061 Feet


I wonder if the defect detector could handle the axle count?


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## battalion51 (Jan 23, 2010)

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.


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## DET63 (Jan 23, 2010)

jimhudson said:


>


Just hope two of those freights never meet on a single-track line. Can you imagine if they had to do a double saw-by?


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