# MISC | Freight rail capital of the world?



## ChicagoSkyline (Feb 24, 2005)

Just checking out the new beta Windows Live: for some of the largest chicago rail yards! :cheers: 
Cicero clearing yard:
http://local.live.com/default.aspx?...l=14&sp=aN.41.767823_-87.756944_Rail yard #1_


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## ChicagoSkyline (Feb 24, 2005)

*TRAINS Magazine's Top 10 train-wacthing spots in the railroad capital*

*TRAINS Magazine's Top 10 train-wacthing spots in the railroad capital * 
_by J. David Ingles and Kevin P. Keefe _ 

If you want to know railroads, you’ve got to know Chicago. And TRAINS Magazine takes you there in its July 2003 Special Issue. 

You’ll see how 500 freight trains a day thread their way through the city, check in at the 30 active interlocking towers, pay homage to the city’s six great passenger stations, and understand why Chicago’s role as the nation’s railroad capital will only grow larger in the years to come. 

And if you want to see it all for yourself, here are TRAINS Magazine’s "10 Best" hot spots for Chicago train watching, as nominated by the magazine in its July 1993 issue. 

The criteria were fairly simple: Each location had to be accessible to the public, with good vantage points that would not require trespassing on railroad property. Accessibility via public transportation was desirable but not necessary (and all but three are). Each one had to feature a variety of railroads or styles of operation; and collectively, should include most of Chicago’s line-haul railroads. And each spot had to be busy. You’ll easily find others of your own, but the message is simple: Head for Chicago and enjoy the show! 

Roosevelt Road 
The best Chicago skyline views with trains are available from Roosevelt road (12th Street), which spans the multi-track routes of Burlington Northern Santa Fe, Amtrak, and Metra’s Rock Island District south of downtown. 

Trains and yard moves keep action seemingly constant at this passenger-train only location. The Roosevelt Road bridge has ample sidewalk room, although it might be wise to be with at least one companion at what can be a conspicuous location. Roosevelt Road is a hearty walk from Union Station—go south along Canal Street. Parking is available on Canal Street, just off the viaduct to the west of the BNSF tracks. 


Elmhurst 
Anywhere on Union Pacific’s West Line—the former Chicago & North Western Overland Route for old-timers—can be a good spot. But those west of Proviso Yard, UP’s hub, have more main line freight action. One favorite is the pleasant suburb of Elmhurst, just west of Proviso. UP freights go slow here, either accelerating in departure or decelerating for arrival. If you want more speed, other good spots include curves in Glen Ellyn and Wheaton; the EJ&E diamonds (with tower) in West Chicago, also known as Turner Junction and the end of a BNSF branch from Aurora; and the Fox River bridge in Geneva. Metra runs 59 trains each weekday on the West Line.<br> 

The Elmhurst Metra station is at York Road in the city’s central business district. To drive to Elmhurst, exit from the Eisenhower Expressway (I-290) at St. Charles Road, go west to Poplar, then north to the tracks (just east of the depot). From the Tri-State Tollway (I-294), exit at North Avenue/Lake Street (Illinois 64/U.S. 20) and go west to York Road, then south to the tracks. 


Rondout 
Rondout, a storied junction 32 miles north of Union Station, offers variety on Canadian Pacific’s ex-Milwaukee Road main line to Wisconsin and the Twin Cities. An active interlocking tower guards the crossing of Elgin, Joliet & Eastern’s main line to Waukegan, and the divergence of Metra’s Milwaukee District North Line onto the Fox Lake branch. 

Amtrak’s 14 Chicago-Milwaukee push-pull trains, plus the Chicago-Seattle Empire Builder, roar through Rondout, and Metra has 58 weekday North Line trains through the junction, although Rondout is no longer a Metra stop (Libertyville is the closest). CPR runs most of the freights through here; EJ&E fields a local, and Wisconsin & Southern comes off the Fox Lake branch nightly with a freight from Janesville, Wis., bound for Belt Railway’s Clearing Yard. One public vantage point is the old North Shore Line’s Mundelein branch bridge, now part of a trail, which spans the CPR. 

Rondout is about halfway between Libertyville and Lake Bluff on Illinois 176. To reach Rondout from the northbound Tri-State (I-94), exit at 176 and go east. 


Highlands 
Burlington Northern Santa Fe’s street-level, three-track “raceway” is Chicago’s busiest main line, when freight and passenger train volumes are combined. Just as with the UP West Line, anywhere on BNSF between Cicero and Eola yards can be a great train-watching location. This stretch encompasses 23 miles, from the Metra station at La Vergne to the yard at Eola, on the east side of Aurora. Perhaps the most serene spot is Highlands station in eastern Hinsdale. It features a park, a charming stone depot, and a narrow street “rainbow bridge.” 

Metra fields 94 trains on weekdays, although only a handful stop at Highlands; most call at nearby Hinsdale. Amtrak’s Southwest Chief, plus the California and Illinois Zephyrs also ply the route. 

Among other raceway favorite raceway vantage points: La Vergne, in Berwyn, the west throat of BNSF’s Cicero Yard and where the Canadian National’s Freeport Sub bridges the BNSF main line; Riverside, site of a picturesque city water tower and depot; La Grange Road, not far from where the Indiana Harbor Belt ducks under BNSF; and Lisle and Naperville, towns at each end of a long S-curve. 

To reach Highlands, exit the Tri-State (I-294) at Ogden Avenue (U.S. 34), go west to York Road, then south to Chicago Avenue (47th Street) just across the tracks, then east to the park. If you’re going by auto, Ogden Avenue generally follows the BN through the suburbs. 


Joliet 
Trains of seven railroads can be seen from the platforms of Joliet Union Station, 40 miles from Chicago. The building, refurbished in the early 1990s, is above street level at the southeast corner of downtown in this industrial city of 77,000. It is the terminus for Metra Rock Island District and Heritage Corridor trains (three each weekday rush hour), and it serves Amtrak’s six daily trains on the route to Springfield, Ill., and St. Louis. 

As with half our Chicago Hot Spots, diamonds are a train-watcher’s best friend at Joliet. But only one Rock Island track is left to cross the four that split the depot and the interlocking tower, which is still in use. BNSF’s busy former Santa Fe main line to Kansas City claims two of the four east-west tracks. Union Pacific trains to St. Louis use the other two, as do occasional Canadian National coal trains bound for the nearby Plaines Power Station. UP track ownership changes to CN a few blocks north of the depot, but a CN switch job goes through the junction. On the Rock Island, CSX runs two weekday freights, usually at night; Iowa Interstate sends two through daily, east in the early morning, west in the afternoon. 

Elgin, Joliet & Eastern’s yard and back shop are a mile or so northeast of Union Station; the J’s main line passes over the BNSF and CN north of town and crosses Metra at grade a mile east of union Station. A view of the J yard is available from the overpass on Jefferson Street, U.S. 7. 

To reach Joliet Union Station from I-80, exit at either Illinois 53 (Chicago Street) or Richard Street and go north until you pass under the Rock Island. 


Homewood 
Homewood is a south suburb at the north end of a stretch that offers the best Chicagoland viewing of Canadian National’s former Illinois Central main line. Through the city and close-in suburbs, the CN main is elevated above street level. At Homewood, it comes down to grade level except for street underpasses and the EJ&E railroad underpass at Matteson. So, anywhere from Homewood station south six miles to University Park, where the Metra Electric line ends, is about equal. Metra Electric, formerly IC’s operation, runs on the westernmost two tracks of CN’s multi-track right of way. 

Homewood is also at the south throat of Markham Yard, no longer CN’s primary freight facility (that’s now Glenn Yard in southwestern Chicago) but still very much in use, with the Moyers Intermodal Terminal occupying land once used for carload switching. 

Markham is also the site of CN’s large Woodcrest diesel shop. Homewood is a Metra Electric stop, and is Amtrak’s suburban stop for the Illini and City of New Orleans. Norfolk Southern runs three or four trains a day on trackage rights to Decatur, Ill. Metra Electric runs hourly off-peak service Monday through Saturday, and every two hours on Sundays. 

The Tri-State Tollway (I294 and I-80) passes over Markham Yard. To reach Homewood from the west, exit the Tri-State at Dixie Highway. Go south until you pass under the IC, then turn right to the depot. From the east, exit the Tri-State at Halsted Street, Illinois Route 1. Go south a mile to Ridge Road, then west two miles through the Homewood business district to the tracks. 


Blue Island 
The junction that offers the biggest variety of freights at any single Chicagoland site, and one of the busiest, is “Blue Island crossing,” one of two Hot Spots in Blue Island, a gritty southwestern suburb of 21,000. The other is Vermont Street, one of two Metra passenger depots. 

B&OCT’s main line from Pine Junction, Ind., splits here, with one leg headed north to Chicago and the other leg, jointly owned with Indiana Harbor Belt, running northwest around the city. Slicing across is Canadian National’s former Grand Trunk Western main line. All cross Broadway at grade, protected by the watchman’s tower. Also visible are two of the five imposing truss bridges over the Calumet Sag Channel Canal, which add a ruggedly photogenic element to many pictures. The interlocking tower is out of sight across the canal to the north. 

Trains from at least 8 railroads pass through this junction. Metra’s Rock Island District crosses overhead near the diamonds. An interchange ramp track is used by Iowa Interstate and CSX trains off the Rock Island to reach their yards. Chicago Rail Link occasionally sends a local out to the Rock. 

Vermont Street is parallel to Broadway but north of the Sag Channel. The two Metra depots — across the tracks from one another — are a half-mile northeast of Blue Island crossing (but a longer and indirect walk). The Rock Island District depot is at the divergence of the Suburban Line from the Main Line. Nearby is the tiny, two-track outer terminus of the Metra Electric’s Blue Island branch. Besides all the Metra trains (there is no Sunday service on the Electric here), freights of Iowa Interstate and Chicago Rail Link, a switching line with freight rights on most of the former RI track in Chicago, go through here. 

To reach Blue Island, use the 127th Street exits from either the Tri-State Tollway (I-294) to the west (the exit is marked for Cicero Avenue, Illinois 50), or I-57 to the east. Go to Western Avenue, then south to Vermont Street; Western Avenue’s connection with Broadway is via street ramps, as Western passes over Broadway as well as the Rock Island District on the same overpass. 


Dolton 
Dolton (pronounced Dahl-ton), five miles east of Blue Island, is the most interesting junction in the southeast suburbs. It is where the IHB and B&OCT (CSX) double-track main lines cross Union Pacific’s north-south double-track main. A half mile west of Dolton, the B&OCT and IHB routes pass under the elevated Canadian National (ex-Illinois Central) main. 

On an average day, Dolton sees more than 40 freights from five railroads: IHB, CSX, UP, CN, and CPR. East of Dolton, IHB and B&OCT parallel each other for a mile before separating for State Line and Hohman Avenue junctions, respectively. 

Dolton’s tower, south of the IHB, is aligned along the former Pennsylvania “Panhandle” line, now abandoned. CSX trains coming up on UP’s ex-C&EI main from the south leave the UP at Dolton to access Barr yard. These include the few trains off the Monon, which run on CN and UP via Thornton Junction, a crossing 3.4 miles south of Dolton. Some CN run-through trains also go this way. 

CPR trains through Dolton include the 500-series, which operate on CSX to Detroit and Canada, as well as those going south on CSX to southern Indiana. 

From the Metra Electric Riverdale station at 138th Street, a moderate walk of less than a mile through a residential area east on 138th, then southeast on Lincoln, brings you to the junction. To reach Dolton by car from the Calumet Expressway (I-94), exit on Dolton Avenue west to Lincoln, then northwest to the IHB grade crossing. 


Porter 
Perhaps the most pastoral yet busiest spot in Indiana’s portion of Chicagoland is Porter, a junction dominated by Norfolk Southern and Amtrak. Porter is a small town of 3000 next to the larger community of Chesterton. The junction, 40.6 miles from Chicago Union Station, is where Amtrak’s Michigan Line passenger route splits from Norfolk Southern’s main line, the former New York Central, to Elkhart Yard and points east. At the same point, which used to have diamond crossing, CSX’s ex-Conrail freight branch off the Indiana Harbor Belt from Blue Island converges. This branch and the Amtrak Line comprised the original Michigan Central route to Detroit. 

The junction has been remotely controlled since March 1985, after which PO (Porter) Tower was razed. Now it’s just “CP 482,” for “controlled point” and the milepost from Buffalo, N.Y. 

Just east of the Amtrak switch, in the same junction, CSX’s former Chesapeake & Ohio route to Grand Rapids also diverges. Trains of CSX and Canadian Pacific, plus Amtrak’s Pere Marquette, use this line to the east and NS’s main line to the west. 

Amtrak runs 12 trains a day through Porter. Most are on the Michigan line: three Detroit/Pontiac trains each way plus the International for Toronto. The overnight Lake Shore Limited and Capitol Limited use NS’s main line. 

The junction is just south of Interstate 94. Exit Indiana 49 south, go into Chesterton, and just beyond the Conrail tracks, take Broadway west into Porter to 18th Street, then north to the tracks. 


Hammond 
Three separate locations, each a busy Hot Spot in its own right, are in Hammond, Ind., a blue-collar city of 85,000. They are the Amtrak depot and two junctions with towers, State Line and Hohman Avenue. 

The Amtrak station “Hammond-Whiting,” in Hammond’s Robertsdale neighborhood on Conrail’s main line at the lakeshore, sees 14 Amtrak and over 40 Norfolk Southern trains a day. An EJ&E branch runs parallel to CR north of the depot. It’s seldom used by its owner, but you’ll see the switchers of little South Chicago & Indiana Harbor (former Chicago Short Line) on it. The Amtraks are the same as at Porter (18 miles to the east), with the addition of the Three Rivers. To reach the depot from the Indiana Toll Road or Calumet Skyway (I-90), at the state line, exit on eastbound Indianapolis Boulevard, U.S. 12-20-45. Go to Calumet Avenue, then north to the tracks. A day at Hammond-Whiting was featured in September 1985 TRAINS. 

Four miles south of the Amtrak depot on Hohman Avenue is South Shore Line’s Hammond passenger station. (Go south on Calumet, U.S. 41, to Gostlin Avenue, then west a half mile.) 

Another three blocks west of the depot, via Gostlin, Dearborn, and Brunswick streets is State Line Tower, hard by the Illinois border. Where once you could see Erie Lackawanna, Monon, Chesapeake & Ohio, and Wabash, as well as predecessors of today’s occupants, now only two main lines cross: CSX’s ex-Baltimore & Ohio to Garrett, Ind., and points east, and Norfolk Southern’s ex-Nickel Plate line to Fort Wayne and beyond. 

The South Shore is a city block north of the tower, and that line, NS, and CSX each are crossed by a north-south Indiana Harbor Belt branch used about five times a day. CPR haulage trains and the occasional EJ&E switch job run on CSX. South Shore schedules 37 passenger trains each weekday, and has a few diesel-powered freights. 

To get to State Line from the east, use the Calumet Avenue (U.S. 41) exit on the Indiana toll road, I-90. From the west, off the Calumet Expressway (I-94), exit at 130th Street east to Burnham Avenue, then go southeast along the South Shore past the Hegewisch depot to the state line. 

South of State Line Tower a mile along the Norfolk Southern is Hammond’s third Hot Spot, Hohman Avenue Tower, just north of the downtown district. Here, with diamonds in a street intersection that’s guarded by gates controlled manually from the interlocking tower, NS crosses the old Michigan Central route, used by IHB and CSX freights to or from Blue Island (Ill.) yard. 


Ten alternate Chicago hot spots… 

So, we cheated — we’ve given you more than 10 top hot spots. Add the extra one in Blue Island to Hammond’s three, and you get 13. Actually, we’ve mentioned dozens if you’re liberal on the CN&W and BN routes. Enjoy all of them, and more, in the Railroad Capital. 

And before you stroke that keyboard to tell us of your favorite Chicago train-watching spot that wasn’t included in our “Top 10,” allow us to mention our “Second 10.” Some lack the easy public accessibility that we made a requirement for the “first team.” From north to south: 

Deval Tower, Des Plaines: The active interlocking tower (Deval is short for Des Plaines Valley) sits amid three sets of diamonds where UP’s Northwest Line, UP’s freight cutoff for Wisconsin trains, and CN’s Wisconsin Central all cross. 

Tower B-12, Franklin Park: Controls the crossing of CN with Metra’s Milwaukee West Line, also a route for CPR through freights to and from Milwaukee. The junction marks the north end of Indiana Harbor Belt, and you’ll see transfers of several roads, including BRC and CN. 

River Forest: A station on UP’s West Line, just west of CN’s ex-WC bridge, which crosses over UP. UP intermodal trains and transfers of several roads can be seen. 

Tower A-2, Western Avenue: A good Metra spot. The Milwaukee District crosses the UP West Line, and it’s at the eastern throat of both Metra coachyards, California Avenue (UP) and Western Avenue (MILW). Amtrak’s Chicago-Milwaukee trains pass through here, too. We chose this spot for Metra rather than Mayfair Tower, six miles north, where the Milwaukee North and UP Northwest lines cross, because Mayfair is not as accessible for visitors. At A-2, the Milwaukee Western Avenue station platform is handy. 

Twenty-First Street: The southerly of Amtrak’s towers near Union Station, is where Amtrak’s routes to Joliet and the East Coast divide. Canadian National’s freight link crosses here. The tower is just south of Amtrak’s tall Chicago River lift bridge, itself an engineering landmark. Every Amtrak Chicago headed east of Chicago crosses the bridge, as do Metra Heritage commuter trains, and NS and UP freights. In the mornings, you can watch the action from a city park along the Chicago River, sandwiched between the Amtrak lift bridge and the CN tracks. 

Panhandle Crossing, or Brighton Park: A noninterlocked junction where CN’s Joliet line (Metra Heritage) crosses two parallel north-south lines, B&OCT (CSX) and NS. Transfers of many railroads go through here; a cabin with semaphores guards the crossing. 

Lemont: In this Chicago suburb, BNSF’s ex-Santa Fe main line crosses the Sag Channel on a sharp S-curve. The track is very close to CN’s Joliet route, also used by UP road freights. The restored stone depots in Lemont and nearby Lockport, the oldest in use by Metra, were built in 1853 and 1863, respectively, by Chicago & Alton. 

Thornton Junction: Located in the south suburb of South Holland, the crossing of CN’s ex-GTW main and the joint UP-CSX line, also used by CPR’s Indiana freights. The tower has been razed. 

Fort Wayne Crossing: West of Valparaiso off Indiana 130 is the diamond of CN (Grand Trunk Western) and NS (Nickel Plate). Parallel to NS is CSX’s old PRR main line, once the route of the Broadway Limited. The junction is named for PRR predecessor Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago.


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## Bertez (Jul 9, 2005)

Chicago is amazing.......how many tracks are there??


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## ChicagoSkyline (Feb 24, 2005)

Bertez said:


> Chicago is amazing.......how many tracks are there??


You are kidding right! 
But I will try to find the total miles of tracks that are in chicago metro or greater chicago! :cheers:


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## DonQui (Jan 10, 2005)

ChicagoSkyline said:


> You are kidding right!


Why is he necessarily kidding?

:sly:


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## ChicagoSkyline (Feb 24, 2005)

*Freight boom benefits Chicago; tie-ups show infrastructure needs*

_By Greg Burns
Tribune senior correspondent
Published March 27, 2006_

As a 1 1/2-mile-long freight train rumbled past a towering stack of green containers marked "China Shipping" last week, Neil Doyle, aboard his CenterPoint Properties helicopter, swooped in for a closer look.

"That line right there is L.A. to Chicago," he told a pair of Wal-Mart executives riding with him just above one of the world's busier train yards in far southwest suburban Elwood.

After generations of job cuts, consolidation and retrenchment, an old industry is growing anew. Railroads have become hot properties, hauling not only the familiar cargo of coal, grain and domestic products but also the mountain of goods pouring into California ports from Asian factories.

Huge investments in tracks, locomotives, electronic switches and sprawling facilities such as the Elwood hub at the former Joliet Arsenal suddenly make good sense as demand surges and railroad stocks soar.

Chicago stands to reap benefits. Railroads practically created the city in its early days, and it remains the point where East meets West and all six major freight lines come together before heading off again.

An estimated one-third of U.S rail cargo, from corn to clothing, flows through the tangle of track that covers the map of Chicago and its collar counties like spaghetti--creating notorious traffic jams along the way. Trains that take two days to arrive from California might take another two to go a few miles through the Chicago bottleneck.

The industry's boom underscores the need for better infrastructure, but it also raises questions about how much taxpayers should chip in. An ambitious public-private plan that targets the worst of Chicago's train-track entanglements got only a fraction of the federal funding its boosters expected in last year's pork-laden transportation bill.

While the project would help the public by shortening commuting times, improving safety at intersections and reducing exhaust emissions, the $1.5 billion cost presents a big barrier.

"Railroads are the primary economic beneficiaries," said John Gates, retired co-chairman of CenterPoint, which is developing the Joliet Arsenal site. "It's a difficult project for the public sector."

For years, the railroads have threatened to divert traffic from the area to avoid its congestion, but those threats ring hollow in the face of recent investments confirming Chicago's status as the centerpiece of the nation's rail system.

In a matter of months, CSX Corp. is expected to announce plans for another big hub in southern Cook County, industry sources say. That's on top of Union Pacific's giant new hub in Rochelle, Ill., and less-conspicuous local projects undertaken by other lines as well.

At the Joliet Arsenal site run by BNSF Railway Co., which includes the old Burlington Northern and Santa Fe lines, expansion continues on a vast scale.

Last week, Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez toured the facility, telling a hometown crowd, "You've got a great advantage." He also voiced confidence in the economy despite the loss of manufacturing jobs in the face of overseas competition.

"This is the future," said Gutierrez, former chief executive of cereal-maker Kellogg Co. "It's all about trading with the rest of the world. This is the best example I can think of."

Construction expands facility

Outside the warehouse where he spoke, construction hummed at a 3.4 million-square-foot Wal-Mart distribution center slated to open this summer. At the rail yard surrounding it, BNSF expects to handle 800,000 containers this year, up from 275,000 in 2004. It might do a million next year, said John Clement Jr., the railroad's senior manager of hub operations.

"We are ahead of the growth," he said. "We know what's coming. We're going to spend the money so we can be there for ourselves and our customers."

The Association of American Railroads expects that this year the major freight lines will invest a record $8.2 billion in new track, buying equipment and improving infrastructure, up more than 20 percent from a strong 2005.

It's a historic shift after many decades when railroads couldn't make enough money to cover their cost of borrowing it, which discouraged capital spending in one of the more capital-intensive businesses.

"My railroad for the first time in maybe half a century will earn its cost of capital," noted Chicagoan Robert Krebs, retired chief executive of BNSF. "It's a vibrant company now."

Though some believe the current railroad boom represents the peak of an economic cycle, others see a longer-term change. After 90 years, the railroads finally have run out of excess capacity. That in turn has restored their ability to raise rates, according to James Valentine, a research analyst for Wall Street giant Morgan Stanley.

"These positive trends in pricing and better returns are likely to continue for years, maybe decades," Valentine said.

Because "all roads lead to Chicago," he added, the region will get a generous slice. "It should receive a disproportionate benefit from the railroads' resurgence."

To a degree, the industry owes today's recovery to a drastic deregulation plan implemented a quarter-century ago.

The 1980 Staggers Rail Act came in the midst of severe financial troubles for the industry.

The government had prevented railroads from setting their rates, closing unprofitable tracks and consolidating networks. Service was terrible, and long-haul truckers gained market share.

Deregulation went hand-in-hand with additional consolidation. Major freight lines once numbering in the dozens combined into the mere half-dozen left today. Employment plunged from 458,000 when Congress approved Staggers to 165,000 as of 2005.

That difficult period left scars, including strained relations with workers and ultracautious management.

Over time, the railroads have increased efficiency by adopting so-called intermodal systems, which enable freight to move from point of origin to distribution destination without being removed from a trailer or giant container. It is more reliable and cheaper than transport over long stretches of highway.

Demand for the coal used to fuel power plants grew as well, and grain shipments remained a steady and important source of railroad profits.

The promise of continued growth makes straightening out Chicago's rail network all the more urgent. But the region's $1.5 billion public-private plan lost its political champion with the retirement in January 2005 of Rep. William Lipinski, a Chicago Democrat known for his transit clout. Just recently the plan suffered another blow when Canadian National Railway Co. withdrew from it.

Because none of the plan's initial construction projects would benefit its line, CN could not justify putting up money for it, a spokesman said. It might rejoin later, he added.

Indeed, the plan is far from dead. The $100 million in federal funding it managed to obtain, coupled with support from the other five railroads, has paid for mapping, surveying and engineering work in anticipation of eventual funding.

Yet it could be stuck in neutral for some time.

Not a priority

"The state has higher priorities, the city has higher priorities, the railroads individually have higher priorities, and it's still needed," said Jim LaBelle, deputy director at Metropolis 2020, a civic group backing the measure.

Meantime, out at the Joliet Arsenal site, BNSF's Clement is doing what he can to keep up with demand. He is adopting electronic systems for speeding the flow of some 2,500 trucks that visit the facility each day, using a software program designed specifically for rail-yard management. Also on the way: global positioning system technology for tracking the thousands of containers piled high on the sweeping expanse of blacktop Clement calls "the parking lot."

The other railroads are on the move too. CSX expects to add 3,500 to its 30,000-plus workforce this year, said spokeswoman Kim Freely. It is increasing capacity by adding 10,000-foot sidings every 15 miles or so on its Chicago-to-Florida run, which will enable slower trains to pull over as needed. Freely confirmed that CSX is looking for a new intermodal site south of the city but declined to elaborate or comment on timing. It has two such sites in the Chicago area.

One emerging threat: Re-regulation. Some coal and chemical shippers, feeling burned as the railroads flex their newfound power to raise freight rates, have started complaining to Congress. It's a struggle that has flared on and off for more than 150 years, and it could flare anew as these old companies continue shifting into a higher gear.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-0603270146mar27,1,4786120.story?coll=chi-business-hed


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## ChicagoSkyline (Feb 24, 2005)

*Plan aims to unclog Chicago rail congestion - Industry Today - Brief Article*

_Railway Track and Structures, July, 2003 _ 
Local dignitaries and top railroad executives gathered on Chicago's southwest side to unveil a $1.5-billion plan to rejuvenate the area's freight rail system. Senator Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), Congressman William Lipinski (D-Ill.) and Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley told the dignitaries assembled near a Belt Railway of Chicago grade crossing that would be grade separated under the project that the plan was the result of more than two years of discussions involving city, state and federal officials' and the railroads.

The project includes: replacing approximately 25 grade crossings with overpasses or underpasses; creating six rail-to-rail "flyovers" separating passenger operations from freight operations; improving deteriorated or unsightly railroad viaducts; and converting the St. Charles Air Line route on the city's near south side to public use.

Engineering work is currently under way, although federal funds have not yet been secured. The freight railroads and Metra will contribute about $230 million to the project. Actual construction is expected to begin in 2005 and continue for six to 10 years.

http://www.looksmartpittsburgh.com/p/articles/mi_m0BFW/is_7_99/ai_107041659#continue


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## ChicagoSkyline (Feb 24, 2005)

*CREATE: Past, Present, and Future*









_
by Alex Blei, Transportation Research Assistant | February 21, 2006_

Almost everywhere you look, the movement of freight across the Chicago region is being stalled, sidetracked or otherwise delayed by an assortment of bottlenecks, most the result of overloaded or obsolete road and rail systems. 
Moving freight across the Chicago region by rail ?a passage made by nearly a third of the nation's total rail shipments ?typically takes two days or more, with train speeds averaging between 6.8 and 12 m.p.h. Cross-regional truck speeds, now in the 10 to 15 m.p.h. range, have also been in decline, especially along the Interstate 80, 94 and 294 corridors, portions of which are loaded beyond capacity most weekdays. 

But it is not just freight shipments that are being delayed by mile-long back-ups of tractor-trailers at tollbooths and interchanges, or by trains blocking too many of the region's 1,953 at-grade crossings. This is everybody's headache. Freight system hang-ups, for instance, contribute to unreasonably long automobile commuting times in the region, which have been cited as the third worst in the nation. 
At stake, then, is not just the future of an $8 billion regional shipping industry that employs 117,000 Chicagoans with an annual payroll of $3.2 billion. Freight problems affect the daily lives of all eight million of us who live and work in northeastern Illinois , whether the impact is measured in excess commuting time, worsened levels of air pollution, missed school classes and business appointments or delayed shipments to businesses. 
And yet, while the Chicago region's need for additional airport capacity has been debated extensively in public and governmental forums, little attention has been paid, outside shipping industry circles, to the problems of our freight network. It was this lack of awareness that prompted Business Leaders for Transportation, which represents more than 10,000 employers across the Chicago region, to get involved with CREATE, the Chicago Regional Environmental and Transportation Efficiency project. 
Once upon a snowstorm, CREATE is born 
CREATE's formation begins in early 1999, when 2 ?feet of snow and 16-below-zero temperatures paralyzed Chicago 's freight rail service. Even though rail congestion had become an increasing problem for Chicago , nothing exposed its rail network's weakness quite like the blizzard of 1999. Three months passed before trains were up to full speed. 
In response, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) created the Chicago Planning Group (CPG), whose members represent each of the Class I freight railroads servicing the Chicago region. CPG studied potential rail improvements should future disruptions arise; but lacking adequate evaluation techniques, its plans stalled. Subsequently, CPG commissioned the development of a computer model to simulate freight and passenger traffic in Chicago . 
In late 1999, however, before delivery of a computer model, CPG created the Chicago Transportation Coordination Office (CTCO) to resolve operational problems without capital expenditures. Improved coordination and cooperation among the railroads did much to reduce delays, but CTCO recognized that maximizing freight movement in Chicago would require the construction and reconfiguration of railroad track, and necessarily, a significant capital investment. 
The much-needed computer simulation of Chicago 's rail network arrived in 2002, providing CTCO the necessary tool for analysis. Simulations pointed out congestion prone-areas that contribute to overall system inefficiencies. More importantly, though, the model illustrated how specific changes to the existing system would affect the entire rail network. 
In 2003, when working groups decided on a set of changes agreeable to all parties, the Illinois and Chicago departments of transportation (IDOT, CDOT) ?project partners from early on ? signed off on a revised plan, the Chicago Regional Environmental and Transportation Efficiency Project ?aka CREATE. 
As CREATE provides local, regional, and national benefits for the economy and the environment ?as well as important savings for infrastructure spending ?project partners are targeting all levels of government to secure funding. CREATE's backers had hoped to secure the largest chunk of funding, $900 million, in the 2005 federal transportation bill, but any hopes of fulfilling this goal must wait until 2009, when the next federal transportation bill rolls around. In this bill, CREATE received only $100 million in federal funding. 
Despite a substantial funding gap, CREATE's inclusion in the transportation bill signals a historic shift for U.S. transportation funding. For the first time, a national freight rail venture is a recipient of federal aid. 

Why CREATE Matters 
As the nation's rail hub, Chicago accommodates 37,500 railcars on 2,796 miles of track daily. The number of railcars is expected to increase to 67,000 per day by 2020, however, and existing rail infrastructure will be unable to cope with future demands. 
In fact, present demands tax Chicago 's rail system to its limit. Freight and passenger rail manage to coexist on shared track, but mounting delays pose the threat of freight rail's opting for the highway. But even this may be an unviable option. The resulting demands on local roads and highways would overwhelm existing infrastructure while adding to road congestion and dirtying our air. 
The CREATE Feasibility Plan maintains that with multiplier effects, failure to complete CREATE would entail the loss of 5 million jobs nationwide, $782 billion in output, and $217 billion in annual wages associated with Chicago's rail network. Additionally, delays to Metra, Northeast Illinois ' commuter rail, may force people onto the highway, stressing an already burdened system. 
It comes as no surprise that the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission (NIPC), includes CREATE as an important objective in its 2040 Regional Framework Plan . NIPC, the official comprehensive planning agency for Chicago 's six-county metropolitan region, endorses CREATE as necessary for relieving the freight bottleneck that approaches a crisis stage.

http://www.metroplanning.org/businessleaders/articleDetail.asp?objectID=3146


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## ChicagoSkyline (Feb 24, 2005)

http://www.catsiatf.com/linkfiles/material/trains.html
Scroll---------------------------->

























Capping three years of negotiations, the railroad industry and the City of Chicago announced on June 16 a $1.5 billion plan to improve Chicago's railroads. 


Chicago has more rail traffic by far than any other terminal in North America, but it doesn't handle it efficiently. Though efficiency has improved recently, due to better management, the railroads are bumping up against inherent constraints of an antiquated plant. *The number of freight cars traversing Chicago grew from 28,500 per day in 1998 to 37,500 now, and is projected to be 67,000 in 20 years.* "You've got an 1890 infrastructure supporting a 2003 freight system," says city transportation commissioner Miguel d'Escoto. "It doesn't work." 

The consequences of what would happen without improvements led Mayor Richard M. Daley to write Surface Transportation Board chairman Linda Morgan in December 2000, seeking her help in solving the effects on city street traffic, noise, air pollution, and emergency vehicle response times. The STB helped the city convene a task force of Chicago's trunk-line railroads and belt lines, Metra, Amtrak, and the Illinois Department of Transportation. 

The task force considered future rail traffic and what is required to reconcile it with the city's livability. The railroads met last year at a Norfolk Southern facility in North Carolina. Each presented its three "most-needed" improvements-which could be on someone else's railroad. More than 80% of the proposed improvements were included in the plan. 

"This is a very unusual agreement," says one Class I official who participated in building the plan. "Getting six Class Is to agree on a complicated plan, all at once, may be unprecedented in history. I don't think it would have been possible without the mergers, which reduced the number of players and gave each of them a much broader perspective." 

The plan, called the Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency Project ("CREATE"), selects for improvement five primary railroad corridors with a total length of 122 miles [see map, following pages]. Four corridors would be used primarily by freight trains. The fifth would improve Metra's Southwest Service over the former Wabash.CREATE calls for construction of 50 miles of new track and 364 new switches, most on existing rights-of-way, though two significant new sections cut through residential neighborhoods. Most of the 25 rail-highway crossings to be grade-separated were selected to improve train movements, for instance, by avoiding having to hold a train well short of an interlocking to stay off a busy street crossing. 

While a centralized dispatching center for the Chicago terminal is not included, signaling enhancements would enable dispatchers to monitor intersecting lines on their own screens. Ten staffed interlocking towers, including A-5, B-17, Blue Island, Gresham, Deval, and Kensington would be automated. 

Computer models project the improvements would increase average freight-train speed through Chicago from 9 mph to 13 mph or more, reducing delays 63% and saving 375 to 450 train hours per day. Construction is expected to take six years and employ more than 1000. 

The unanswered question is money-full funding has not yet been obtained. The six Class I railroads have committed $212 million of the $1.5 billion, an 
average of $5.9 million per railroad per year for the life of the plan. Metra plans to contribute a substantial but yet undetermined amount. The rest of the money will have to come from local, state, and federal funds, which proponents hope will be provided in this year's federal transportation funding bill. 

Primary proponent for inclusion of CREATE in that bill is expected to be U.S. House will be Rep. William Lipinski (D.-Ill.). But Lipinski is already criticizing the railroads' funding commitment as inadequate. 

"These improvements are worth more to the railroads than $212 million," Lipinski remarked a few hours after the plan was announced. "I assume they will ultimately be willing to pay whatever price is deemed fair." 

Congressmen from other areas may perceive the plan as a giveaway to privately owned railroads. 

Daley's concern is that if the railroads have to pay more, they may walk away. 

"They could say, 'We don't have to participate. We pay our taxes,' " Daley said. Association of American Railroads President Edward Hamberger defended 
the railroads' commitment as "real money" and pointed out that railroads had spent $1.2 billion on capital improvements in the Chicago area over the past five years. 

With the federal deficit projected to break records and the Bush administration loath to impose new taxes, competition for available federal transportation dollars is likely to be fierce, and there is no assurance Lipinski will be able to bring the needed money home. 

Beltway Corridor: Basically the Indiana Harbor Belt-Baltimore & Ohio Chicago Terminal joint main line between Tower B-12 in Franklin Park and Blue Island, it suffers from inadequate connections with major freight routes radiating from the city. CREATE will add a second connecting track with UP at Provo Junction, along with a third UP main track around Proviso Yard, to reduce delays and allow freights to run during Metra rush hours. 

The BNSF connection at McCook would be similarly improved. Centralized traffic control would be added on IHB between CP Hill (Bellwood) and CP La Grange, and on B&OCT between McCook and the connection with BRC at Argo. B&OCT would gain a third main track between 123rd Street (Alsip) and 
Francisco (just west of Blue Island). 

A key objective in this corridor is to improve access between BRC's Clearing Yard and the UP-CSX joint line heading south from Yard Center (the former 
Chicago & Eastern Illinois). A realignment of the Blue Island interlocking, with new connections, would enable UP and CSX trains to use the B&OCT or CN 
(Grand Trunk Western) interchangeably to reach Clearing. The Beltway would be extended over CN from Blue Island to Thornton Junction, where a new 
connection to the former C&EI would be built to let trains bypass busy Dolton. 

East-West Corridor: This covers the length of the BRC from Argo to Rock Island Junction near the lakefront. Due to the interlockings at 80th Street, 
Belt Junction, and 75th Street, the highway crossing at Columbus Avenue, and Metra movements, just one train at a time can move over the current plant 
between Hayford and 80th Street. A second connection between B&OCT and BRC would be built at Argo, and two main tracks would be constructed through Clearing, where none exist today. 

The Columbus Avenue crossing would be grade-separated, and flyovers for Metra would be built at the 75th Street and 74th Street interlockings. Belt Jct. interlocking would be eliminated. 

Western Avenue Corridor: This corridor consists of the parallel NS (ex-New York Central), B&OCT, and ex-Pennsylvania Railroad rights-of-way running 
north and south along its namesake street. The NS and B&OCT trackage would get CTC signaling; hand-thrown switches at Ogden Junction would be powered. 

The diamonds at Ash Street would be removed, and Brighton Park would become a flyover, enabling Amtrak Chicago-St. Louis and Metra Heritage Corridor 
trains to soar over three busy freight lines. A new connection in the northwest quadrant of Brighton Park would give BNSF a direct route between Cicero and Corwith Yards. A new NS main track through Ashland Avenue would expedite movements on and off the corridor. 

Central Corridor: This corridor will allow the St. Charles Air Line to be abandoned, long sought by the Daley administration. The Air Line's elevated tracks divide the South Loop neighborhood where the mayor currently lives, and it impedes real estate development. Extending from South Wye Junction at 18th Street near the lakefront to Union Avenue about a mile to the west, the Air Line carries Amtrak's City of New Orleans and Illini, plus freights serving CN's Illinois Central lines. Operations are complicated by the crossing at 16th and Clark of Metra's Rock Island District commuter line, and the route will not clear double-stack cars. 

In 1999, the city and Illinois Central reached an "understanding in principle" eliminate the Air Line and reroute IC and Amtrak trains onto a new route through Englewood and Brighton Park [pages 26-27, June 1999 Trains]. This understanding, which led to withdrawal of the city's opposition to CN's corporate acquisition of IC, has with small changes been incorporated in CREATE. 

Northbound from Markham Yard, CN (IC) trains would be diverted onto the "Nickel Plate Connection," a dormant structure at Grand Crossing that once linked NKP's main line to the New York Central for access to LaSalle Street Station. The Central Corridor would follow the PRR route through Englewood, which would be grade-separated from Metra's Rock Island line, to a connection at 45th Street with the former Chicago & Western Indiana main now run by Metra. 

A new connection at "the Pepsi curve" (for the adjacent plant) will turn west onto CN's unused elevated line along 49th Street. Another new connection 
(tentatively called CP Damen) would join the Central Corridor with the 49th Street Line west of the Western Avenue Corridor. Two new main tracks would 
be constructed for CN's use from CP Damen to Brighton Park, and one to Ogden Junction. 

From Ogden Junction west, the Central Corridor would follow the CSX (B&OCT) elevated Altenheim Subdivision, the eastern portion of which is out of service owing to viaduct problems, to a connection with CN's former Wisconsin Central at Forest Park. CN's IC trackage northward along Lake Shore Drive from Grand Crossing to South Wye Junction, plus the Air Line, would be abandoned, with the Air Line converted to park, residential, and commercial use. The Metra Electric main line, also used by South Shore Line, would remain in place. 

Passenger Express Corridor: This corridor requires construction of flyovers at Englewood, 74th Street, 75th Street, and Chicago Ridge, achieve Metra's 
goal of shifting Southwest Service trains from Union Station to La Salle Street Station, and eliminating freight train interference that afflicts this Metra route. The improvements would reduce the number of railroad diamond crossings on the route to one-the moderate-volume CN (GTW) at Ashburn. 

-Michael W. Blaszak


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## ChicagoSkyline (Feb 24, 2005)

_3/23/04 Remarks Prepared for Delivery By Federal Railroad Administrator Allan Rutter Before the National Industrial Transportation League Transportation 2004: Policy Forum Washington Perspectives 
Arlington, VA_

· A project worth highlighting in this regard is coming together in Chicago—a part of the country of great interest to shippers and carriers alike. 

· Every day, about one-third of all freight rail traffic in the United States converges on Chicago. This includes five hundred freight trains with 37,000 cars and 20,000 intermodal containers. Toss in the 700 daily passenger trains and congestion becomes a major issue. 

· This congestion not only has a regional impact. It can, and does, adversely affect the movement of freight on a national level. 

· Government and railroads in Chicago have been innovative in their approach to freight and transportation policy by coming up with a plan to address the congestion problem. This builds on efforts by former STB Chair Linda Morgan to engage the railroads in considering coordination for common purposes. 

· Called CREATE—the Chicago Regional Environmental and Transportation Efficiency program—it can become a national model for public-private cooperation. 

· The $1.5 billion project involves the City of Chicago, the State of Illinois, and six Class 1 railroads. The railroads will pay for the business benefits they receive from the improvements and the governmental agencies will pay for the public benefits. 

· The plan calls for the creation of five rail corridors, including one for passenger trains. Also included are 25 highway-rail and six rail-rail grade separations. 

· This has obvious benefits for congestion reduction and the efficient movement of freight across the nation--particularly as freight rail volume is expected to increase in Chicago by as much as 80 percent by 2020. 

http://www.fra.dot.gov/us/content/1435


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## ChicagoSkyline (Feb 24, 2005)

*Supply Chains Face Peril As Rail Freight Capacity Nears Limits*

_Mark Bernstein 
November 1, 2004 _ 

_If infrastructure can't grow, what's the answer? Public-private partnerships and imagination. _ 

The major public-private partnership now up and running is the $2.4 billion Alameda Corridor, a below-grade 20-mile rail express line that connects the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach with the rail network east of Los Angeles. Opened in April 2002, the Alameda Corridor has greatly speeded freight movement by eliminating some 200 rail and traffic crossing points. 
The largest comparable development pending is a $1.5 billion project in Chicago, known as CREATE-the Chicago Regional Environmental and Transportation Efficiency. Its five-year aim is to boost efficiency by unscrambling the rail lines in the nation's busiest rail gateway, which now handles 37,500 freights cars a day (the figure is expected to rise to 67,000 in 20 years). The plan will create five rail corridors, one being dedicated to passenger service. It will eliminate rail-rail "flyovers"-that is, points where lines cross, forcing one train to halt and wait for another-and provide grade separations at 25 rail/highway crossings. The six Class I freight railroads that service Chicago have committed $200 million to the project, with the rest coming from public sources expected to be committed this fall. The public expenditures are justified by expected speedier traffic flow for motorists, lessened air pollution, decreased highway construction costs and other benefits the project is expected to bring.

The project reflects a total systems view. As a rail hub, Chicago is "increasingly interrelated not just with Illinois and the Midwest, but with the rest of the United States and the international marketplace." Chicago sits at the crossroads of two major transportation lines, Los Angeles to New York City and Detroit to Mexico, and as such "has become critical to the competitiveness and efficiency of businesses throughout the nation." 

Projects like the Alameda Corridor and CREATE are cumbersome undertakings. The Alameda Corridor involved two decades of planning, five years of construction and the sustained cooperation of the ports, governments at all levels and the railways. Such undertakings are also expensive. One study identifying the rail infrastructure needs in the Northeast came up with a $6.2 billion price tag. And, these undertakings have their critics. The Alameda Corridor, for instance, was designed to carry up to 150 trains a day, but averages between 35 and 40. 

Cost and complexity, says the Association of American Railroad's Tom White, are two reasons why there are no other large-scale public/private partnerships pending. Ventures such as the Alameda Corridor and CREATE involve "a very complicated process" with multiple municipalities, highway authorities, planning bodies and the railroads themselves, each with its own agendas. "You have to develop pretty good numbers that demonstrate the benefits," White added, "both to justify the public portion and to determine who's going to pay what share." There could be another reason: one railway official pointed out that until 1980, the railroads were heavily regulated. The consequence, he added, was that they were "skittish" about partnership with their former masters.

If there seems limited promise for growth domestically, one alternative for railroads is to look world-wide for expansion opportunities. Trade is international, and public-private partnerships can be likewise. In June, Matt Rose, Chairman, President and CEO of Burlington Northern Santa Fe, traveled to China where he signed a five-year agreement with the Chinese Ministry of Railways, whereby BNSF will provide technical and other assistance to help develop China's railroads and, not incidentally, develop ties between China and BNSF.

BNSF's Asia-related business has doubled in the past six years, reaching $1.3 billion in 2003. About two-thirds of that growth has come from China. Nearly the size of the United States and with four times the population, China is woefully under-serviced by railroads, with only 45,000 miles of track, compared to 142,000 miles in the U.S. To address its shortcomings, China has committed the enormous sum of $242 billion to rail development between now and 2020. 

Plans include major development of double-stack container capability. Rail intermodal has been slow to develop in China, said Fred Malesa, BNSF's Assistant Vice President for International Marketing, "because of infrastructure constraints-bridges, tunnels, lift facilities, difficulties in tracking containers." Among other tasks, BNSF will assist with the design of rail terminals and double-stack capabilities. The technical exchanges began this October, with key figures from China's Ministry of Railways for planning, discussions and a visit to BNSF's technical training center in Kansas City. 



Taking opportunities where you find them 

Back in North America, steps-not as large perhaps as CREATE, but certainly pointing in the right direction-are being taken throughout the system to eliminate obstacles and speed flow. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has opened the first phase of "Express Rail Port Elizabeth," which will raise lift capacity at that site from 230,000 to 350,000. Norfolk Southern is working to remove obstructions on its Norfolk-Columbus, Ohio line, to permit its use for double-stacked trains. Once accomplished, it will let freight that now travels through Harrisburg, Pennsylvania take a direct route to Chicago. BNSF is raising lift capacity at its Logistics Park, Chicago, to 500,000 units annually, and expanding capacity elsewhere.

http://www.worldtrademag.com/CDA/Articles/Rail/54f682712aaf7010VgnVCM100000f932a8c0____


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## DonQui (Jan 10, 2005)

:spam1:


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## ChicagoSkyline (Feb 24, 2005)

*On shared track who pays for what? - Chicago, Illinois, railroads work together*

*Railway Age, Oct, 1999 by Tom Judge*

Metra and BNSF have learned how to amicably divvy up m/w and signal costs on the 35-mile Chicago/Aurora "racetrack."

If you have 160 freight and passenger trains operating around the clock on a 35-mile stretch of track, you face some tremendous operating, signaling and m/w challenges. Now add in the fact that three different entities--one public, one private, and one public/private--must figure out who pays for what and you could have constant, contentious bickering.

But not in Chicago. The original formula for allocating costs, negotiated more than 20 years ago between Metra and a pre-merger Burlington Northern, is still in effect. Thanks to good communications and lots of understanding, Metra and today's Burlington Northern and Santa Fe are able to get the needed work done without constant hassles. Every weekday, BNSF, under contract to Metra, carries approximately 58,000 riders on that line, 30,000 in the morning rush hour and 28,000 in the evening, with 92 revenue trains and 10 equipment moves.

BNSF operates approximately 50 freight trains daily, about 60% of them intermodal trains. The railroad also has major yards at Cicero and Eola and a smaller facility at Western Avenue in the City of Chicago along the line. Amtrak adds another six trains a day, one each way for the venerable California Zephyr and two each way for Chicago-to-Quincy, Ill., service.

HOW THE FORMULA WORKS

"We pretty much follow the original fixed facilities agreement negotiated back in the early 198Os," says Bill Tupper, chief engineer, Metra. "The basic split for track work is based on gross ton miles. For signal work, it's based on train movement. West of Cicero, the gross-ton-miles figure is in the 70% range for BNSF, perhaps higher now. Whereas that number is almost reversed for train movements. So if it's a signal improvement, we pay more. If it's rail, tie, ballast, turnouts, and so on, they pay more." There are variations within that. An example is a project set for next year: the Lisle crossovers.

Originally installed in the late 70s, they're up for renewal now. "Metra is paying 100% of the cost of this project," Tupper notes. "The only reason for those crossovers is to allow our Naperville express trains to get onto or off of the middle track. A freight train may use the crossover occasionally to get around something else, but the basic purpose is to aid commuter trains.

Rest of article.....


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## DonQui (Jan 10, 2005)

Oh for Christ's sakes now you are posting the same damn articles in both threads!

:spam1:


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## ChicagoSkyline (Feb 24, 2005)

DonQui said:


> Oh for Christ's sakes now you are posting the same damn articles in both threads!
> 
> :spam1:


On my ignore list you go!


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## Manila-X (Jul 28, 2005)

Freight capital? Definitely Chicago


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## ChicagoSkyline (Feb 24, 2005)

_Ike Evans - AAR Legislative Conference - Nov. 8, 2004_

The best example is what’s going on in Chicago, which has been the hub of America’s railroad industry for more than a century. Some $350 billion of freight moves through Chicago every year.

There are projections that the volume of traffic to be handled at this gateway will grow by 80 percent over the next two decades. To meet this demand, we are joining with the various government entities to create five rail corridors – four for freight and one for passenger. The project is expected to take six years to complete and will cost $1.5 billion.

The direct public benefits include reduced traffic congestion, less air pollution and more efficient commuter rail service. What railroad customers receive is reduced transit times in moving through Chicago, thus better service.

http://www.uprr.com/newsinfo/speeches/2004/aar_legislative.shtml


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## ChicagoSkyline (Feb 24, 2005)

*TRAINS Magazine July 2003*

If you want to know railroads, you’ve got to know Chicago. And TRAINS Magazine takes you there in its July 2003 Special Issue. You’ll see how 500 freight trains a day thread their way through the city, check in at the 30 active interlocking towers, pay homage to the city’s six great passenger stations, and understand why Chicago’s role as the nation’s railroad capital will only grow larger in the years to come.

It’s all here, with insightful articles exploring Chicago’s past and present, photographs spanning over a century from 1895 to 2003, and large fold-out maps that let you chart the progress of Chicago’s trains and rail lines. Read on!


City of Railroads
From the moment its topography was formed, Chicago was destined to become the greatest railroad city on Earth. And once the first rail was spiked down, it took a lightning-quick 26 years for the city to achieve its status as America’s railroad capital. We show you how Chicago came to be, why railroads flocked there, and why today’s railroads cannot avoid Chicago.


City of Interchange
Five hundred freight trains, and 700 passenger trains converge on Chicago’s 893 rail route-miles every day. How do they all get through? We show you, with blow-out maps and track layouts, and a comprehensive account of today’s operations in the Railroad Capital.


City of Stations
New York has two, Los Angeles, just one. But Chicago boasted six glorious passenger stations, each with their own character and beauty. Get to know them all in this photo essay.


City of Towers
More railroads crossed each other more times in Chicago than anywhere else in America. Someone had to keep all the trains moving! We visit Chicago’s most notable interlocking towers — which, surprisingly, have vastly different purposes and functions — and delve into how they work, and what it takes to keep the city fluid. Supported with tables detailing the 180 towers staffed in 1913, and


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## EdZed (Mar 29, 2005)

SPAM FTW!!!!!!
Its not even worth reading this thread anymore.


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## ChicagoSkyline (Feb 24, 2005)

EdZed said:


> SPAM FTW!!!!!!
> Its not even worth reading this thread anymore.


Does your comment regarding to freight rail at all? :sleepy:


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## ChicagoSkyline (Feb 24, 2005)

*Illinois hustle bustle — Part 1*

_A commitment to the customer and the schedule keeps BNSF’s Chicagoland intermodal yard at Willow Springs humming with activity. 
by Matt Van Hattem_
Complete article 

TRAINS Magazine visits Chicago, the Railroad Capital, in its July 2003 Special Issue. You'll see how, and why, Chicago captures one-third of America's rail traffic on a given day. Featuring blow-out photos, detailed maps, and in-depth articles covering every aspect of Chicago railroading! 

Below, learn more about how Chicago has cemented its status as the nation's railroad intermodal hub, by going inside a busy intermodal yard. 

You can feel the heat rising from the asphalt beneath you on this humid summer evening. But your attention is directed elsewhere, at two men in reflectorized vests who—without saying a single word to each other — lift a 40-foot truck trailer into the air and place it squarely on a nearby railroad flatcar. 

From inside the small control room welded to the bottom of a towering overhead crane, the operator watches the subtle hand signals of his partner, who’s standing directly underneath the swaying that’s trailer slowly dropping toward him. Watching the trailer’s descent, the groundsman gestures to his partner, and the crane operator swings the trailer over ever so slightly. It comes to rest perfectly on the narrow spine car. The groundsman confirms the trailer is in place and secures it on the flat. 

Well done. But while that nice piece of choreography took place, a small truck drove beneath the crane, past the groundsman, and unhitched another, identical-looking 40-foot trailer. 

And so it goes at Burlington Northern Santa Fe’s Willow Springs Intermodal Facility in Hodgkins, Ill., where every 80 seconds a trailer is lifted on or off a flatcar. 

Situated in a broad valley on the west bank of the Des Plaines river, 17 miles southwest of Chicago, the yard stretches a little over two miles, yet it’s only one-third of a mile wide. 

On an average day, 950 trucks drop trailers off at Willow Springs, with an equal number of units leaving. 









A groundsman watches while an overhead crane lowers another truck trailer onto a flatcar at BNSF’s Willow Springs intermodal facility.









The Willow Springs terminal stretches over two miles in length, with space for 3,000 trailers.









BNSF GP35 No. 2579 drills a cut of flatcars at the east end of the Willow Springs yard.









Inbound train Z-KSKWSP9 pulls through the Willow Springs running track, where it will drop off its TOFC loads.









A Willow Springs crane operator keeps an eye on the signals from a nearby groundsman and a hand on the controls.


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## ChicagoSkyline (Feb 24, 2005)

*Illinois hustle bustle – Part 2*

I found this issue quite interesting, because I used to work in UPS's Hub in Hodgkin near Chicago!  

_At Willow Springs, BNSF and United Parcel Service hand off shipments like runners passing the Olympic torch. 
by Matt Van Hattem _ 
Read complete article 

The sense of urgency is almost tangible. 

The air is warm from the heat given off by giant machines. There’s an underlying din, punctuated by a rhythmic ka-CHUNK, ka-CHUNK from the endless stream of packages clattering across rollers, riding swift conveyor belts, and sliding down chutes into the hands of eager trailer loaders. 

The impression you get when you’re inside United Parcel Service’s Chicago Area Consolidation Hub — or CACH — is that you’d best stay out of the way, because these bundles wait for no one. 

Meanwhile, across the street, the feeling of urgency is no less palpable at Burlington Northern Santa Fe’s Willow Springs Intermodal Facility. A procession of trucks marches in and out of the gates, while operators working the overhead cranes maneuver trailers on and off railroad flatcars with the finesse of a puppeteer balancing the strings of a marionette. 

It’s no coincidence these two busy operations are located right next door to each other. Half of the million-plus packages sorted each day at UPS’s CACH facility come in by rail through BNSF’s terminal. 

“The original plan was for a joint Santa Fe and Conrail facility to serve UPS,” says Alan Copeland, the senior manager of Hub operations at BNSF’s Willow Springs terminal. “UPS knew we were going to build here when they started, and we knew they were going to build when we started.” Both facilities opened in 1995. 

Here in Hodgkins, Ill., 17 miles southwest of Chicago, the railroad and customer coordinate their plans to make sure that impressive sight streaking across the Mojave Desert at 70 mph two days later all comes together. 

To UPS, BNSF is more than just a customer. They’re a service partner. “They’re part of the whole UPS chain,” explains Mike Johl, the Community Relations Manager at CACH. “They understand that every package in every trailer on every train that they move for us is guaranteed. And we work in partnership with them to make it happen.” 

BNSF’s Copeland agrees. “It’s teamwork, it’s communication, it’s coordination. Keep everybody informed and everybody shares in the good fortunes we have.” 









A United Parcel Service trailer is loaded onto a flatcar at BNSF's Willow Springs Intermodal Facility. Some 745 UPS trailers are transloaded here each day.


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## ChicagoSkyline (Feb 24, 2005)

WANCH said:


> Freight capital? Definitely Chicago


Hey, WANCH, HK is the busiest intermodal hub in the world follow by Singapore and Chicago! :runaway:


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## EdZed (Mar 29, 2005)

ChicagoSkyline said:


> Does your comment regarding to freight rail at all? :sleepy:


It would if this thread actually had a discussion. This thread feels like your here to post everything possible that deals with Chicago freight. So change the thread title to Chicago Freight or stop spamming the the tread.


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## ChicagoSkyline (Feb 24, 2005)

EdZed said:


> It would if this thread actually had a discussion. This thread feels like your here to post everything possible that deals with Chicago freight. So change the thread title to Chicago Freight or stop spamming the the tread.


Please, I said post anything realted to the freight rail of the city that you consider as capital of the world on the first page of this thread, Did you also miss that too? 

BTW, I am just trying to support my views with some facts. I hope that you would too if you have another city in mind!


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## Tubeman (Sep 12, 2002)

A couple of Google Earth images of London Yards...

Harlesden










Neasden (Mostly LUL depot, but some freight facilities)










Old Oak Common / North Pole










Stonebridge Park (mostly freight, but also bakerloo Line depot at north end of site)










^
All 4 within about a mile of each other in NW London


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## Tubeman (Sep 12, 2002)

Some others...

Hither Green, SE London










Hornsey, N London










Temple Mills, E London


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## Momo1435 (Oct 3, 2005)

Hamburg Maschen Yard, the biggest hump yard in Europe.

It was opened in 1977, It is 7km. long and 700m. wide it has a capacity of marshaling 8000 wagons a day.


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## MattDEN (Oct 26, 2002)

Actually, I hate to rain on the parade, but...

*Kansas City* is expected to surpass Chicago in interchange traffic, if it hasn't already. The collapse of the CREATE Plan (Canadian National pulled out) only means continued growth for KC.


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## Jue (Mar 28, 2003)

MattDEN said:


> Actually, I hate to rain on the parade, but...
> 
> *Kansas City* is expected to surpass Chicago in interchange traffic, if it hasn't already. The collapse of the CREATE Plan (Canadian National pulled out) only means continued growth for KC.


I'm not surprised, though I thought Nebraska had the upper hand on Kansas.


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## Tubeman (Sep 12, 2002)

That yard in Hamburg looks HUGE

Surely it surpasses anything in Chicago?


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## strandk (May 17, 2004)

According to the data about all rail freight shipments (2002) in USA published by Department of Transportation, inbound shipments were 195311 and 179651 thousand Tons for Texas and Illinois respectively and outbound shipments were 112756 and 116462 thousand Tons respectively. This data shows that Texas is very active about rail freight transportation as much as (or even more than) Illinois. Then it is very possible that several cities such as Houston and Dallas handle freight rail transportation as much as Chicago. Anyway as I wrote before in the original thread, freight rail transportation networks serve for nations rather than locals. The best description should be that USA has the most extensive rail freight transportation network in the world and that there are several key transportation hubs in Illinois, Texas, and so on.


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## Jue (Mar 28, 2003)

strandk said:


> According to the data about all rail freight shipments (2002) in USA published by Department of Transportation, inbound shipments were 195311 and 179651 thousand Tons for Texas and Illinois respectively and outbound shipments were 112756 and 116462 thousand Tons respectively. This data shows that Texas is very active about rail freight transportation as much as (or even more than) Illinois. Then it is very possible that several cities such as Houston and Dallas handle freight rail transportation as much as Chicago. Anyway as I wrote before in the original thread, freight rail transportation networks serve for nations rather than locals. The best description should be that USA has the most extensive rail freight transportation network in the world and that there are several key transportation hubs in Illinois, Texas, and so on.


Illinois has only one large city; Texas has several. Not one Texas city matches Chicago in volume, but after the "Port of Dallas" (a titanic truck/rail intermodal terminal) is complete, DFW may claim the crown.


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## General Huo (Jan 4, 2005)

China has current world largest freight rail transportation in tonnage. The reasons are very simple and straightforward.

China is much relied on coal as primary energy, it has 1/3 of worlds total production. it primarily relys on rail transportation to move from north and NW China to South and SE part of county, plus all other raw materials moving around in China, mainly rely on rails.

USA and europe do not rely that much on freight rail, comparing to China. they do more on roads and airplane.

last year in 2005, China has total rail freight transportation of 2.7 billion tons and rail fright turnover is 7832.98 billion ton-kilometer.

Zhengzhou is located at the center of Chinese rail network, especially fro coal transportation. HK/Shenzhen is nothing close to it.


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## MattDEN (Oct 26, 2002)

FYI, the LARGEST freight classification yard in the world is in North Platte, Nebraska. It is Union Pacific's Bailey Yard, and is the town's largest tourist attraction.

Every large and mid-sized city has rail freight yards, to serve local industry and to build trains/take trains apart either for local customers or to send incoming cars to a new destination.

Chicago has historically been the railroad center of the US, but is slowly losing its title because the city has maxed out in capacity, many local industries and regional rust belt factories have been closed, and Kansas City has been gaining popularity as an alternative to Chicago.

Dallas is nowhere near being any sort of rail capital, no matter how big an intermodal yard they build.


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## Yardmaster (Jun 1, 2004)

General Huo said:


> China has current world largest freight rail transportation in tonnage. The reasons are very simple and straightforward.
> 
> China is much relied on coal as primary energy, it has 1/3 of worlds total production. it primarily relys on rail transportation to move from north and NW China to South and SE part of county, plus all other raw materials moving around in China, mainly rely on rails.
> 
> ...


I'm not picking on China here, but I always try to read things critically, irregarless of where they come from.

If the figures above are correct (and I'm sure the Chinese railways carry vast amounts of freight immense distances) on average each tonne of freight transhipped by rail was moved almost 3,000 kilometres. I know China is a vast country, but that doesn't add up.

In my part of the world (Australia) the busiest freight terminals are no-where near large cities: they're at Hays Point Queensland, and in the Pilbara, Western Australia, where we load vast quantities of iron ore and coal onto ships bound for Japan, Korea, and the PRC.


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## General Huo (Jan 4, 2005)

Yardmaster said:


> I'm not picking on China here, but I always try to read things critically, irregarless of where they come from.
> 
> If the figures above are correct (and I'm sure the Chinese railways carry vast amounts of freight immense distances) on average each tonne of freight transhipped by rail was moved almost 3,000 kilometres. I know China is a vast country, but that doesn't add up.
> 
> In my part of the world (Australia) the busiest freight terminals are no-where near large cities: they're at Hays Point Queensland, and in the Pilbara, Western Australia, where we load vast quantities of iron ore and coal onto ships bound for Japan, Korea, and the PRC.


A typo. it should be turnover 2073 billion ton-kilometer.

the fact still holds.


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## Yardmaster (Jun 1, 2004)

General Huo said:


> A typo. it should be turnover 2073 billion ton-kilometer.
> 
> the fact still holds.



This reduces the average haulage distance to about 750 / 800 km which is still a bit much for China. Are you sure there aren't any other typos? 

I haven't examined this thread in detail ... there may be other mistakes here. Quoting sources would make it easier to check.


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## Dampyre (Sep 19, 2002)

Chicagoskyline has one heck of a hard-on for freight stats. :lol:


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## Yardmaster (Jun 1, 2004)

General Ho is never-the-less totally correct. China has four to five times the population of the USA (and fifty times the population of my country). 

As he says, they move the freight by rail. Thank God! If China moved it's freight the way that this country does, not just my grand-daughter but my daughter would be up to her ankles in sea-water ... before she had time to think.


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## ChicagoSkyline (Feb 24, 2005)

The Cebuano Exultor said:


> What is a URL?


The link for your saved image on the web!
something like below:
http://www.zhengzhou.gov.cn/adminsys/shipinfile/2005052444627.jpg

copy the above url link by following the image post instruction that I show you for your next post. Lets see!


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## The Cebuano Exultor (Aug 1, 2005)

*You know what...*

You know what, I think that won't work because I'll only be stealing pictures from Nemo (Dutch forumer). I think it would be easier for you to check out his thread ***********Port Of Rotterdam*********** thread in the maritime sub-forum of the Infrastructure and Mobility Forums.  

I'm really sorry for the trouble. But here are the posts you should see:

Post # 5 (go to the 15th pic)
Post # 48 (5th pic--see the diagram...there is the pointer/arrow that says that these coal is being transported via freight trains [Fully Automated Train Station].

Feel free to explore the rest of the thread and you'll see that Rotterdam port should have a large freight infrastructure to move all those cargoes (TEUs, Coal, Petrochemicals, Refined Petroleum, etc.) throughout Europe.


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## ChicagoSkyline (Feb 24, 2005)

^^^
Ok, that works too!  
I will link some related pics of Rotterdam rail yards for everyone to see here, thanks! :cheers:


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## Momo1435 (Oct 3, 2005)

Rotterdam is not as big in railtransport as some of the other European harbours. This is mostly beacause of the river Rhine which provides a lock-free inland route to far into Germany. Also the Dutch railnet is heavily used by passenger trains, the get priority over freight trains. Kijfhoek yard, the main (only) shunting yard of the Netherlands has only got a capacity of 2.800 wagons per day. 

In 2003 only 9,5% of containers from/to Rotterdam were transported by rail, (road: 59,2, inland shipping: 31,3), Rail was the only modality that grew. I don't have precise statistics for other goods, but with bulk goods (Coal & Ore) shipping is a lot bigger than rail. Oil is mostly transported by pipeline, petrochemical products by road.

But their is good news, next year (after years of delays) the new Betuweroute freight-only line will be opened, running from Kijfhoek to the German Boarder. Freight trains can run without hinder from passenger trains to Emmerich in Germany.


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## ChicagoSkyline (Feb 24, 2005)

momochan said:


> Rotterdam is not as big in railtransport as some of the other European harbours. This is mostly beacause of the river Rhine which provides a lock-free inland route to far into Germany. Also the Dutch railnet is heavily used by passenger trains, the get priority over freight trains. Kijfhoek yard, the main (only) shunting yard of the Netherlands has only got a capacity of 2.800 wagons per day.
> 
> In 2003 only 9,5% of containers from/to Rotterdam were transported by rail, (road: 59,2, inland shipping: 31,3), Rail was the only modality that grew. I don't have precise statistics for other goods, but with bulk goods (Coal & Ore) shipping is a lot bigger than rail. Oil is mostly transported by pipeline, petrochemical products by road.
> 
> But their is good news, next year (after years of delays) the new Betuweroute freight-only line will be opened, running from Kijfhoek to the German Boarder. Freight trains can run without hinder from passenger trains to Emmerich in Germany.


Thanks momochan for explaining Rotterdam rail infrastructure. I would say that Chicago is the other way around, as its passenger rail based on most of already establish freight rail network and most of them have been sharing the same routes/yard/tracks for so long and have been creating so much inefficiency, which causing our Chicago transportation officials to come up ways to seperate our freight away from passenger. If you have read some of the articles posted earlier by me, you should know that the freight traffic in Chicago is already reached bottleneck all over the city and the traffics are expecting to double within next few years. We also have some good news and one of them being the proposal of CREATE program(also posted earlier) which update some yards with better traffic flow technologies...anyway, it is necessary and not require for chicago to transform some of its yards to handle the projected traffic.

Eventho, Rotterdam isn't as big in freight rail, but I still love to see some of its largest rail yard...in this case like other smaller cities like Hamburg, Jinang, and North Pallete!


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## alesmarv (Mar 31, 2006)

The Nation's Busiest Rail Hub 

Only gateway where all six Class-One North American railroads can interchange traffic 

50% of U.S. rail freight passes through Chicago's rail yards 

500 freight trains and 37,500 carloads of rail freight leave Chicago each day
(i.e., 2.5+ million tons) 

Chicago is the world's largest intermodal container handler after Hong Kong and Singapore 

Intermodal Container Handler 


Location Twenty-foot Equivalent Units (2001) 
Hong Kong 17,800,000 
Singapore 15,520,000 
Chicago 12,329,000


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## ChicagoSkyline (Feb 24, 2005)

alesmarv said:


> The Nation's Busiest Rail Hub
> 
> Only gateway where all six Class-One North American railroads can interchange traffic
> 
> ...


Yep, I read this before as which city is the largest intermodal container hub in the world. For HK being one of the busiest port, it is without a doubt that its intermodal is #1. Don't forget, eventho Chicago is inland only serving the lake and conjuction with mississippi river, it still handle lots of intermodal due to our heavy rail traffic!
BTW, intermodal is just one part of freight industry!


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## dmu (May 26, 2005)

*Twin stack container trains*

Could anybody tell me whether twin stack container trains also run on electric locomotives anywhere?


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## Momo1435 (Oct 3, 2005)

^^
Yes, in China. I just found a link to this pictures a while back. I can't see a locomotive but they are under a wire.

















found here:
http://locopage.fotopic.net/


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## dmu (May 26, 2005)

Nice pictures. But still does not show whether it is an electric loco or a diesel loco under wire.


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## Manila-X (Jul 28, 2005)

momochan said:


> ^^
> Yes, in China. I just found a link to this pictures a while back. I can't see a locomotive but they are under a wire.
> 
> 
> ...


Nice pics but that's more of a container train.


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## dmu (May 26, 2005)

*Double stack containers in largest ports?*

does the railway carry double stack containers trains to & from the largest container ports, like HK, Singapore, Busan, Shanghai ...


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## Manila-X (Jul 28, 2005)

dmu said:


> does the railway carry double stack containers trains to & from the largest container ports, like HK, Singapore, Busan, Shanghai ...


For HK, no!


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## dmu (May 26, 2005)

The double stack container train. Note the diesel AC400CW locomotive also running between the stacks ...


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## Manila-X (Jul 28, 2005)

dmu said:


> The double stack container train in Beijing, China. Note the diesel AC400CW locomotive also running between the stacks ...


Oh yean and I believe the train came from Canada!


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## dmu (May 26, 2005)

the train is in canada.


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## HeMo (May 8, 2006)

Without out doubt Chicago is the rail-freight capital of North America, and also a fierce bottleneck, because of it's lack of a central marshalling yard. Transit times for east <-> west traffic are pretty bad. 

To name Europe's freight capital is difficult because the European railwork is ana malgation of national rail networks. Hamburg surely is a major freight node (Rottrdam was layed out for truck traffic, only now the plans for an "iron Rhine" freight line to Gemrany to compete with Hamburg are in the stage of realisation), but I don't think Europe has one distinct freight hub like the US have with Chicago.
Large marshalling yards exist in a lot of places, but with point to point traffic gaining importance, their role is dereasing.


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## GENIUS LOCI (Nov 18, 2004)

A yard in Milan (a little part of it  )


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## cjfjapan (Oct 10, 2004)

ChicagoSkyline said:


> :runaway:
> Is Zhengzhou an industrial city? It does look like the one in Beijin! Nice find null! :cheers:


Zhengzhou is an important rail center for northern China--kind of like Chicago, I think, but more of a crossroads than a destination. When I traveled in China a few years ago, I had to go to Zhengzhou to find an open seat on a train to Urumqi, in Xinjiang Province. Zhengzhou's new railstation is huge, and there were thousands of people camped outside waiting for their trains. Amazing sight!


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## dmu (May 26, 2005)

*Double decker container trains in China*



momochan said:


> ^^
> Yes, in China. I just found a link to this pictures a while back. I can't see a locomotive but they are under a wire.
> 
> 
> ...


Looks more like 4'3" (1.3 m) half-height containers (used for heavy loads), one on top another. Compare with this:


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