Whew, that was close.

[DeeJay]

Another youtube close call, jeez they have long trains in the US of A.
I counted 80 carraiges :eek:
How long would that take to stop?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmra0WpCIDA&mode=related&search=

[hiline]

thats a long train :o

[Bushie]

I'm sure the trains heading into The Alice used to be that long (or bloody close) had to wait for one when heading out towards Palm valley.

Martyn

[numpty]

The iron ore trains in the Pilbarra are up to 250 ore cars. Two engines in front and another two in the middle.

[p38arover]

I'm just looiking at the train forecast (known as the AMBA to Drivesafe :) ) for today.

3PS7 (Perth-Syd freight) 1100 metres
6SP6 (Syd-Perth) 1200 metres
6SP7 (Syd-Perth) 1420 metres

Ron

[shorty943]

So, will it train today?:D :p :twisted:

Shorty.

[p38arover]

:)

Yep, they are only the long ones. I haven't shown the small stuff of under 1000 metres.

Ron

[DiscoTDI]

the coal ones out here are around 1.5km long

[Slunnie]

Is serious that the trains are 1.4km long! :eek:

[p38arover]

Is serious that the trains are 1.4km long! :eek:


Absolutely. They could be longer but they'd need more engines to get them over the Blue Mountains.

Ron

[Pedro_The_Swift]

I'm just looiking at the train forecast (known as the AMBA to Drivesafe :) ) for today.

3PS7 (Perth-Syd freight) 1100 metres
6SP6 (Syd-Perth) 1200 metres
6SP7 (Syd-Perth) 1420 metres

Ron


so,,,,
how many carriages in 1420 metres?

[p38arover]

Well, 6SP6 is about 10 minutes away - I could try to count them (or I could ask the driver what his consist is). I usually check the freight trains as they go through.

It's easy to lose count.

Ron

[Pedro_The_Swift]

especially if their going fast and its cold outside,,
:whistling:

[p38arover]

I just counted 2 locos, 45 containers on flat cars

Ron

[Pedro_The_Swift]

The iron ore trains in the Pilbarra are up to 250 ore cars. Two engines in front and another two in the middle.



6SP6 (Syd-Perth) 1200 metres


Ron


I just counted 2 locos, 45 containers on flat cars

Ron

so how long would 250 ore cars be??
calculator anyone?:D

[Pedro_The_Swift]

oh,,
and thanks Ron---:D;)

[Blknight.aus]

Ive been assured by an old salt train hand who cut his teeth over in the NW mines of WA that trainlengths have exceeded 2 miles using 6+ engines, 2 front, 2 middle and 2 pushers...

believe it or not, more engines are needed for the empty return run than the loaded run out.

[p38arover]

Ive been assured by an old salt train hand who cut his teeth over in the NW mines of WA that trainlengths have exceeded 2 miles using 6+ engines, 2 front, 2 middle and 2 pushers...

believe it or not, more engines are needed for the empty return run than the loaded run out.

It must be a downhill grade to the coast.

Up here in the mountains we have two steep grades (1 in 33) - one at Valley Heights- Springwood and the other up near Katoomba. We get a few freight failures on those grades (note: these are not CityRail trains, they are privately owned.

Ron

[p38arover]

I was just speaking to my son. He's a controller with ARTC in the Hunter region. He said the longest coal trains up there are 91 wagons and about 1800 metres long.

Ron

[away]

A quote from BHP's web site...check out the fourth paragraph...

"The railway is the critical link for transporting iron ore between the mines and ports.

BHP Billiton Iron Ore operates two heavy haulage railroads to Port Hedland, one running 426km from Newman and the Yandi and Area C mines, and the other 210km from the Yarrie mine.

BHP Billiton Iron Ore's Newman railway has evolved whereby we now run the longest and the heaviest trains in the world. The trains are up to 336 cars long and powered by 6000-horsepower General Electric AC locomotives.

In June 2001, BHP Billiton Iron Ore ran the world's longest and heaviest train. It stretched 7.4km, had 682 ore cars, eight locomotives, a gross weight of almost 100,000 tonnes and moved 82,262 tonnes of ore.

Trains on the Yarrie line are smaller, consisting of up to 90 cars and one locomotive.

All train movements are managed from the Traffic Control Centre at Port Hedland. Specialised computer hardware and digital communications powered by solar technology support the signalling system. The systems not only control train movements but also warn about unsafe conditions (overheated wheels and bearings, dragging equipment), as well as monitoring wheel impacts and weighing the cars as they go by.

Safety is further enhanced with Automatic Train Protection (ATP), which includes built-in braking data in the locomotives and field systems that prevent trains from entering unauthorised tracks. Drivers are trained on a computerised simulator, allowing them to test their driving strategies to optimise fuel consumption."

[p38arover]

My son told me tonight that they were given a briefing on some of those trains - it seems that some of them are driven by the train controllers back at base - there is no driver on board!

Ron

[Slunnie]

(note: these are not CityRail trains, they are privately owned.

Ron
You forgot to close your brackets. I didn't realise that there were private trains operating on the railway system. How does this work? I assumed all trains are state or nationally owned. Are the freight trains private?

[abaddonxi]

You forgot to close your brackets. I didn't realise that there were private trains operating on the railway system. How does this work? I assumed all trains are state or nationally owned. Are the freight trains private?

Don't know if this is still the case, but a whole bunch of trains, Tangaras I think, were sold to France years ago and leased back. Something to do with state govt. avoiding paying tax to fed. govt.

Cheers
Simon

[p38arover]

You forgot to close your brackets. I didn't realise that there were private trains operating on the railway system. How does this work? I assumed all trains are state or nationally owned. Are the freight trains private?

Re brackets - bugger! :)

All the NSW govt freight trains were sold off years ago. There are a multitude of operators running freight in NSW, e.g. Patricks, Toll, Qld Rail, Silverton, etc.

The State govt. only runs the CityRail and CountryLink passenger network. Outside Sydney's electrified area, the rail network is operated by ARTC (Australian Rail Track Corp) - for which my son now works (previously he was a signaller with RailCorp (the govt. entity).

Ron

[dobbo]

you forgot the Dodgy bros;)