I have stood at the Austin Road crossing and marveled at how the BNSF engines seemingly defy gravity and march up the steep mountain with non-stop motion. A tribute to the men and machines that tackle this difficult ex-Northern Pacific mainline. Well done!
Thanks David. Very roughly, gross weight would be 125 cars at 140 tons plus 8 locos at 200 equals around 19,000 U.S. tons. 125 cars at 53ft plus 8 locos at 60ft equals around 7100 feet. The siding the empty descending eastbound is slipping into, behind the helper set, is 9700 feet long. Yes there are level crossings, one just downhill of the helper set where the siding ends, and one at the bend to the right. You can hear the horns blowing on each train as they approach it. Been stuck many times
Many thanks for the comment Scott. It was the railroads that opened up the American west in the 19th century and they are just as important today, especially given the congestion on the freeways. Great videos, my compliments.
Another outstanding work, Scott..That sure was a long grainer..You woulda thunk that it would have had a couple pushers on the end of it vs. the empty eastbounder having two...great railfan spot!!
@iusetano Thanks Hans. Appreciate it. Its a great spot to sit and wait. And there's lots of time from when you first hear the trains until they arrive so its easy to get set up.
I use to worry about my legacy, what I accomplish in my life until a friend of mine told me that my work had and continues to build America. That's right I was a Railroader and proud of the many years of blood, sweat and tears that I put in for 3 very different Railroads. The Denver & Rio Grand, Southern Pacific and the Union Pacific. It was a lot more than just a job but a way of life.
Nice, another awesome video!! I really like how you capture the engine sounds as there is no other back ground noises, like traffic, crossing bells, etc.... Your giving my subwoofer a good work out!!! Awesome work! Glad I found you and Subscribed WCR
@1998ChevroletS10 Apologies for the long delay in answering Yes that was one of the two regular helper sets based at Helena, both almost always consisting of 4 SD70ACe's. However I hear an SD40 has been added to both sets, although I don't know if this is a permanent thing. It used to be 5 ACE's, but they cut back to 4 and may be having powers problems. Thanks for watching
Absolutely. I used a Canon xf100 with the standard lens. It has a 10x optical zoom. I also used a Vinten Vision Blue tripod, which I feel contributed a great deal to the video. Thanks for commenting.
Another excellent video Scott. For us in Australia its amazing to see such huge trains being worked over such difficult terrain. Also our newest equivalent GE and EMD locos are muffled down and a lot quieter than those in your videos.
A great decision not to cut the video length the filming quality was first class. The main thing you did was tell a story and what a story you told great sound effects and a great show of trains. Well done!
I spent a good part of a day railfanning this piece of MRL and stood at the road crossing at Austin where the train blows for the crossing. The bridges up to the tunnel are also well worth photographing. I didn't think to come up to this hillside so I'm glad you did and shared it with us!
+Gerald Quinn I think MRL has done a bit of housecleaning security-wise, and I believe they keep the gate to this location closed and locked now. Same with the one to the east side of Skyline Trestle. A shame, but a reflection on the times I guess. Thanks for commenting.
This is a splendid video and looking at these empty coal trains and their tremendous length I would imagine a fully loaded coal train would be around 20.000 tons plus, no wonder you use 7 or eight locos to pull that lot, it speaks volumes for the power of these locos, over here in Australia we have long coal trains but I think our limit is 13.000 tons.
I stopped the video and looked at it a little closer. It's just an old Santa Fe unit that looks pretty faded and dirty. Need to put on my glasses when I watch thees things. LOL
Just wondering, but the back end of the second unit of the grainer looks like its been in a fire or something. Gotta get my dad to see this stuff. He's a retired BNSF dispatcher. Well....... maybe not. It might give him flashbacks. LOL
Great video. You could have even run longer for me as there was another train coming down behind the empty coal train. This brings back memories for me when I was a young diesel mechanic in BC. We had 2 16V71T’s running the exhaust fans at the Connaught Tunnel in the Rogers Pass on the CP main line. Spent many a day up there on engine change outs and repairs at all hours of the day. If one of the engines went down we had to get there to fix them and it was a good 4 hour drive from our shop in Kamloops. The Connaught Tunnels is 5 miles long and the big squirrel cage fans pushed the exhaust out of the tunnel. Back then (late 70’s) the heavy coal trains were running 3 SD40-2’s on the front, 3 more with a robot car in the middle and then they would add 6 more at Rogers Station to push them up the east side of Mt McDonald into the tunnel. CP finally built the 10 mile Mt. McDonald tunnel to reduce the grade for all the heavy westbound traffic and the lighter eastbound trains continued to use the Connaught Tunnel. Once again thanks for the good video.
I don't know if you will get this message but I grew up in Austin. My dad was the Signal Maintainer from Helena to Blossberg Tunnel. We moved there in 1953-4 and dad moved to Helena to take the section from Helena to Lombard. He had 43 yrs with Northern Pacific and then BNSF. These videos are very nostalgic to me. Our house was the Signal Maintainer house that used to be where the crossing in Austin is now. It was split down the middle for his helper. Barb Grimes Lincoln, MT
How long are those trains and how heavy? I am guessing the must be about 2 miles long and around 16 000 tons based on my experience as a loco fireman with WESTRAIL in Australia years ago. Just as well there isn't a level crossing in the middle of that crossing..., I'd hate to be in a TAXI waiting to cross to the other side after that effort. Great Video. David
Cool to see that old Santa Fe loco there. I’m not good at recognizing individual models but I liked it. Actually liked the whole video. This guy puts out great ones.
Someone must have had to work out how long the passing road is and how many cars such a road could accommodate both ways at once. I assume there must be some radio or communication system to tell the prime movers at either end and middle when to start and stop.
+Ray Evans The locos at the front and rear are controlled by the engineer in the lead loco. The middle ones are manned separately and operate on radio directions by the engineer in front. Thanks for watching
Hi Haisano. Yours was a question I had: How could the helpers make it into the siding then the eastbound freight occupy the same block. Wish I had an answer but hopefully someone more knowledgeable can inform us. Thanks for commenting
Dispatchers can "talk" a train by a stop signal, when they do, usually whatever was talked by proceeds at restricted speed. I also believe MRL uses intermediate signals, signals in the middle of a siding or mainline section to allow more options on train control.
What is that lovely pale blue car sat in yard at 9:53? P.S I'm in UK and we don't have any freight trains these days as we import everything and use road transport but when I was little the whole UK was mad about trains and we we used to sit by the tracks watching the old steam trains chugging by with long lines of 10ton coal trucks.
+Rose White According to my car-buff buddy, that is a 1970-1973 Chevy Camaro. Good eye !! I'm from UK also, East Kilbride near Glasgow. Moved here in 1980. Loved trains over there also. My first experience over here was an SP train with SD45T tunnel motors absolutely thrashing its way up Donner Pass. Unforgettable. That was me hooked. Thanks for commenting.
OK, here's the dumb question of the week. How do they bend the rails for the curves as I've seen them made and they come out straight? How many cars are they pulling?
The ridged-ness, hardness, or however you view it, is a perception of the mind. Anything in length, at some point, will start to bend. This is true of the continous welded rail and it is locked in place with wood or concrete ties and their associated hardware. I have worked as a railroad employee for BN and am currently employed in metal fabrication for the last 21 years. P.S. not a dumb question :o)
TJ Yumoto These shots were taken at Austin, Montana. Follow the railroad tracks northwest out of Helena for about 12 miles and you will be there. Its the first of two hairpin turns at that point. If you mean the exact spot, cross the tracks at Austin and drive 1/4 mile further up the hill then take a right on a small dirt road and follow it to the tracks. Climb the hill and you're there. Thanks for watching.
