The Longest Union Pacific Train - 1/10/10 

Union Pacific, United States. Run from 8 to 10 January 2010, consisting of 296 container wagons and hauled by nine diesel-electric locomotive spread through the train with a total length of 18,000 feet (3.4 mi; 5.5 km), from a terminal in Texas to Los Angeles. Around 618 double-stacked containers were carried at speeds up to 70 mph/112 km/h. 14,059 t.[19][20] BNSF, United States, 2010-3.03 km [21]

Beautiful The mother of all trains. Wish I could have been there.

This reminds me of the videos I have seen where Conrail used to move massive coal trains across Pennsylvania. Never thought I would see this here in California. Looks like they took four regular length trains, ran them together, made the air hose connections, got the "highball" and went for it. Great video. Thanks for posting this one. Mike in Fresno, Ca.

Imagine having to wait while in ur car at a crossover

296 cars and 9 locomotives 8 men crewing the train and roughly 592 tractor trailers worth of freight off of the interstates.... I bet you the teamsters are really happy about that :D By the way that was cool!! I wonder if any one that was at the grade crossing had a photo finish after having to sit there for over 4 min.

That was awesome. I have been around for over half a century and a train fan since I was very young,and that is one of the longest trains I've ever seen. Thank you

Very impressive. It looks like four trains hitched together to me, but for all, that it was quite a show, very lucky man, right place right time, right technique. Thanks very much

Here in Brazil we call these compositions "distributed" but because of the conditions but the railways are in 130 wagons with a maximum of 6 locomotives and the speed is only 50km / h. This distributed American and monstrous. Congratulations to the Americans!

I work in Long Beach. You better believe planning went into this. This wasn't a pile of garbage. This was an incredible amount of revenue freight that is moving for customers. The industry is trying to come up with new ways to meet the ever increasing pressure put on railroads by truckers. Not everything tried will work. Fortunately management on BNSF and UP are trying new approaches. Beats sitting still and watching independents drive off with our business.

This train is VERY long... but actually lighter than even a 110 car coal train, which weigh roughly 16,000 tons. Whereas this train was ~15,000 tons I believe. Intermodal trains are some of the lightest trains there are... I guess only roadrailers are lighter, since the trailers they carry aren't even on cars at all. So yeah, 9 locomotives weren't really necessary from a power perspective... hell on my subdivision, 16,000 ton coal trains can be moved by 2 modern diesels alone! Of course there's other factors. If you have 2 trains, one long and one short, that both weigh the same, then of course the long one will need more power to pull due to friction and drag and whatnot. Also with a train this long you'd never be able to move it with only locomotives on the head because you'd never be able to pump up the brake pipe to an adequate pressure all the way to the rear. The helpers are there to pump air and keep the slack manageable more than anything.

I got to see this live and up close...in the first car in line waiting at a crossing in Riverside, Ca. The train had to slow down there for a curve, I believe the limit is 35 for freight on that curve, and they were working on a couple of grade separation bridges in that area at that time as well, so it could have been even slower yet. I didn't think I was ever going to see the end of it, just a couple more engines, and more train...

They had engines in the middle of the train dude. that's how serious this shit is.

Greetings from Brazil!!!! This is a pure LOCOTROL concept!! We have a kind of Locotrol trains here, the only company who compares to this UP Train is the VALE. Great train!!!

This would tick impatient drivers off for sure. Awesome awesome awesome

4:26 That driver must be pissed off LOL!!

Hi Matthew, I work for U.P.S. and in the past we would see many more ups trailers on the trains, however the railroad is no longer able to meet the time constraints of our company, so now we are trucking stuff across the country. We can go from L.A. C.A. to N.Y. in 3 days where as A.T.S.F.R. is taking 4 to 5 days.

IMPRESSIVE!!! CONGRATULATION!!! THE BIGGEST TRAIN!!!!

Insane sight of heavy trains long before PSR is common.

@charlieb640 - According to Wikipedia (grain of salt), the tractive effort of a Big Boy was 135,375 pound feet. I don't think it would be unrealistic given that the Challenger has a TE of 97,350 pound feet and pulled a 143-car intermodal double-stack back in the early 90s; it didn't even break a sweat. No doubt the operating costs would have been astronomical...I wasn't being serious when I typed that. Despite it being a fantasy, you can't deny it would look amazing seeing a Big Boy pull that.

I like to see more long trains like this. I am used to seeing them on the Southern Pacific in Tucson, when SP ran before UP took over.

Thats one sweet horn! I think this video is really really cool!!! NICE:)

It's basically three long trains in one which adds up to about 200 cars. The way they balanced the power out for that train was well thought out and the right way to split the duty for a train that big. The axle count was most likely near the 1000 axle mark or more, Everything is bigger from Texas so there :p

Damn I never seen a long train like happy for 295 cars that is a super long Union Pacific train like the video thumbs up

I like train. I grew up in neighborhood surrounded by rail yards. Trains are cool.

I counted 296 cars and nine locos. 620 double stacked containers. By my calculations, it's around 3.5 miles, give or take. Also, by using that sign as a reference, and the time between cars, I estimate it was traveling at 60 mph. All these numbers are close but it's hard to make perfect claculations from just one viewpoint.

That pissed off driver at the end was a nice touch. They're trying to figure out ways to beat the deep draft container ships after the upcoming Panama Canal expansion. The computers are built to handle 7 remote consists, and the company is pouring money into new track, so get ready to see this a lot.

Mouth hung open!! The record for number of cars I'd seen in a train video was previously 160. That has been blown away. This train had 295 cars in it!!

Jesus Christ! 3 engines + 99 platforms + 2 engines + 98 platforms + 2 engines + 98 platforms + 2 engines. = 295 total platforms and 9 engines. Cool video!

Not only that, the weight of a stack train is basically the containers themselves not the actual train (the well cars). The well cars are pretty much hollow shells with wheels. Their is little to no slack do to the articulation between so many cars and the lighter weight compared to other cars/loads. This type of train is ideal for this type of test, not to mention that these containers need to be moving at all times.

I counted 9 locomotives, 295 cars and just over 600 containers. Each train had at least 95 cars in the set between locomotives. That is one long train! That's a lot of trucks off the road with those 600+ containers on the rails.

this is the mackdaddy of all freight train intermodal consists!!!, nice job!!!!

WOW this is great Counted 298 Double stacks and 7 Engines Awsum !!

I have never gotten so excited over a stack train before.

As a former employee of the CNW(Cheap and Nothing Wasted), I'm not going to tell you what we thought UP meant. They do know how to run a railroad.

That is so crazy. Can't wait till it starts coming over the hill.

Awesome ROLLIN DOWN THE RAILS

Holy Shit!!! Did I count 10 engines to move that many cars? I lost count. Geezzzzz.Great timing if you knew it would that long.

I like this. And in addition to having displaced locomotives pulling/pushing the train while in motion, it also helps coming to rest. Controlled consistent action.

Was this that 'experimental' drag that everyone was worried about? I remember seeing an aerial shot of it on FoxNewsNZ, the locals along it's route were up in arms over such a dangerously long train passing through their communities if one ever got out of control....Wow that's impressive by the way, and I thought our 1km long freight trains were impressive enough.

The slack on that train must be hell to control! Great catch man.

@alladinmoua You summarized it quite well. A train is only as strong as the strength of the drawbar pulling the most train weight. I've seen many instances when drawbars are just simply pulled out of the car. Normally this is do to "train handling" and not overall train weight. I never worked in the mountain district on UP (SP) but I've talked with many who have. Amazing terrain. Have a good one.

A total of nine engines?! Holy horsepower! And I've never seen engines embedded in the train like that.

I loved this video ,I have never seen this long a train before. Excellent video!

Beautiful train I wish I was there to see it. That is the king of all trains. Thats is the longest train in the world.

OOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHH I won´t sleep tonight!!!! I´ve never seen this!!! like here in Spain, no more than 750 meters, and more than 500 meters in special trains!! Greetings!!

I bet waiting at the crossing would be a nightmare. XD

Sometimes they build trains like this take them to a crew change point and separate them so that the DP units become the head end power for the rear section that's headed to a different destination. Saves crew costs between some terminals. The secret is "Don't look back"

Nine units, three front, two 1/3 back, two 2/3 back and two on the tail -- that is distributed power. They have worked out the kinks -- I expect to see more of this. Labor is the biggest cost and these trains save on labor.

We got 295 also. That was a very long double stack. Doing a good track speed to pass by in under 5 mins. good catch!

aww why isnt it your best shot snuffy? its great. a rare catch too. the length is just crazy. non stop stacks of containers!

great video! read about this train and the local gov's were pissed because UP didnt inform them of this test train

INSANE! I wonder how long it'd take to stop at that speed if the brakes were thrown into emergency all at once.

Two more locomotives carrying another load at the same time ?that's crazy!

Imagine if passenger trains were this long. Engineer: "we will be arriving in Los Angeles shortly." People in the last car: "but we're still in San Diego!"

Cool Clip. I read an LA Times article saying this had 9-locomotives, I saw the 3 in the front 2-middle and 2-end, the article also said it was 9-football fields long....Again....Thanks for the Post!! Awesome!!!

Thats some serious haulage there. Great catch mate

I've heard BNSF and CP do something similiar on higher priority manifests going on the Transcon, they will place loaded cars in the front of the train, then have a group of locos in the middle and then empties on the rear, thus your dpu's are not pushing on empties they are pulling them.

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

You guys run some bad ass trains in Brazil....and you are getting better at it. Dramatic improvements and it's good to see the investment Brazil is making in this mode of transportation. Brazil is going to be a world power in far less time than many people think. Be safe.

There was only one crew on that train, possibly one on the helper on the rear. The mid train units were being operated by the engineer on the lead locomotive. Its called distributive power...and the BLET (locomotive engineers union) is part of the Teamsters, so they don't care.

Awesome Buddy Thanx Brendan

@galovergirl711 It has always been a 'concerted group effort'. Railroads have almost always taken freight to warehouses or distribution centers where trucks in turn delivered to final destinations. In the 1800's it was steam taking freight to warehouses where horses moved the product to the end. Good observation

I heard a CSX dispacter in Richmond say he saw 500 car coal trains (yes, loaded) with mid - train helpers when he was young.

DANG that was long! I wonder how far the traffic was backed up at the crossing!

Holy COW!!! That sure was HUGE!!! Won't see that anywhere in my area! But I'd gladly sit and wait for it to go by :-)

Totally awesome dude! Thanks for sharing. Really held my breath for long as it took to pass......I can pass out now. Only an orgasm is better. Serious motive power always enjoyed by us railfans. thx again.

@cisan The reason they are in the middles is because they pick up the slack. Essentially, if you tried to pull the train from only the front, you're rip the couplers right out of the train. The middle units relieve the pressure on the couplers to an acceptable limit. Also, most locomotives can run in multiple with only one crew operating from one cab. These CERTAINLY would have that capability, being some of the newest stuff around.

2P+100W+2P+98W+2P+99W+2P O ILE SIĘ NIE POMYLIŁEM W OBLICZENIACH ;p TO JEST MOC !

a good reason to come late at school

Beautiful

Awesom Train video

Not only that, locomotives evenly distributed along the train help pull evenly helping prevent derailment. If not the train would be vulnerable to derailment at either half of the train to 3 quarters of the train without the DPU's. I beleive I read it was 3+98+2+98+2+100+2 (Plus/minus 1)

Saw a lot of these in Vegas. Two, three sets of locomotives with 200+cars.

Great video... those car drivers must've been ticked

@Atlantique325 Railroads in Brazil are really coming along. You guys are moving amazing tonnage.

Damn, nearly 400 double stacked cars? I sat here watching this video waiting for my gf and kinda lost count. I know it was like, for every 100 cars, there were 2 locomotives. INSANE!

@singwith No the only real similarity to a train is the locomotives and cars. What difference does the contents make to the length ?

this is better than anything ive caught

On Sunday January 10 2010 a long Union Pacific crossing Maple Ave Montebello California

Well I think I just saw all of America moved, lol. Nice Train!

Wow! That's one long U.P. Awesome video of it.

296 welds 108 cars 9 engines 854 axles 46 five piece 3 3 piece 59 1 piece ( singles )

There is an O gauge record of 751 cars and ten engines, for a total length of 685 feet. Naturally, it had to be done outdoors, but this particular train could be done--all you need is the space and the funds to buy all those cars :).

Very good video! Thanks for sharing. FYI, last year Feb, China finished the test using 4 electrical locomotive engines to drive 320 wagons loaded with 30,000 tons of coal, about 4000 meters long. Usually in some western parts of China they are using 4 engines to drive 204 wagons to transport about 20000 tons of coal, total length is 2600 meters.

I'm sure some people at the crossing gates weren't too thrilled LOL. Nice catch Snuffy.

Dang! this is the same train that slug96 caught. Very nice.

@alladinmoua true to some extent although some of these trains are not all that heavy. However, another advantage of mid consist power is that they can broken up quickly. Some of these big trains are not brought all the way in to the port in this length. The trains are broken up out in the desert based on the position of the mid consist units.

holy cow that must take forever to stop. My grandfather used to work on the Ontario Northland Railroad and he said their coal trains would take 30 miles to stop.

@iceman977th The horsepower actually doesn't pump air per se. It does provide electricity to operate air compressors that in turn produce air pressure. Basically only so much air is going through the pipes at any given time no matter how much horsepower

Awesome could mould 300 cars to all set for a real record. Superb.

Why not. Billing accuracy for railroads in North America is highly automated and far more accurate than it used to be. With EDI 404/417 messaging being almost completely universal now among railroads and customers the old issues associated with lost cars or cars without billing is very rare.

Sweet catch!!!!!!

awesome vid

It's gonna take about 5 years to off load all those containers. lol!

April 2010 Trains Magazine has a piece on page 14 on this 18,601 foot monstrosity.Have never seen 2 pairs of diesels spread among the train like this.9 diesels and maybe 295 cars

this gives new meaning to "moving america"

Never seen one that long. mazing. Most I've ever seen is about 130 cars with 4 engines, 2 front and 2 rear.

Wow that's some long train. I've seen a 2 mile BNSF stack train but not a 3 mile train. 10/10 awesome!!!!

Wow! Thats just crazy! Alex

That is a MONSTER !! This Iron Leviathan navigating California with all it's prohibitive curvature and gradient was a sight to see. Great Post !!! Great Catch !!! How often do see something like this !!! What was the this ? A transfer move to a nearby L.A. Port?