laugh my ass off.....i check this post about every 2 months or so & its the same people arguing the same point with each other every time damn people get a life....geeeeeeeeezus
laughing my ass off on this post.....u know about every 2 months or so i check on this posts comments & its the same people arguing the same point with each other.....good lord people get a life already.....lol geeeeeezus....
That tracks is terrible!! I would be afraid to walk across them, let along be on a train crossing them. I remember an old poem I memorized that one of my friends had who was a train fanatic,....loved them!! It's not my place, to run the train,...the whistle I can't blow. It's not my place, to say how far, the train's allowed to go. It's not my place, to shoot off steam, nor even clang the bell. But let the damn thing jump the track, and see who catches hell!!!
@MikePiano83 Not sure what country you are in buy quite possibly you are right. Many countries just tear up the railroads and junk them. Other countries such as Mexico, USA, Bazil, Canada, Argentina and many others give local businesses and communities the opportunity to buy and save the lines. That in turn provides jobs and hopefully traffic will increase so the rails can be repaired. Too bad your country chooses to just rip them up and drive shipping to the highways.
@PRR5406 If the photographer was driving on the interstate at 70mph the odds of him/her being injured or killed are far, far, far, far greater than standing beside this train as it rolled by.
That's one of the nastiest pieces of track I've ever seen. I wouldn't take that at 10mph. They need to fix it and save themselves a lot of heartburn. Why that train didn't go all over the ground I'll never know.
@oldwarrant4 Your post is ample evidence of why you would never make a railroader. Those of us in the industry operate on track like this all the time. Some long industrial sidings can be much worse.
I don't know what you were doing back in 1975 but that's when I started my railroad career. I was in the mechanical dept. for 5 years before I went into engine service. I've been an engineer for 32 years now.
@oldwarrant4 What is the gauge of metal laid here? The rails seem noticeably thinner than typical European lines, although it may just be scale with a bigger train. Because of the longer distances in America, Australia and Africa, on some lines the rails and sleepers were laid to a lower standard. The locos tend to have a lot more wheels which reduces the axle load. Still, haven't seen anything quite this ropey, even 3rd world.
@ivanhoe25cm Actually you do. I've seen track this bad and worse all throughout Eastern Europe. And no, this line is not used by high speed trains. It is a short branchline that serves small communities. The principal traffic is agricultural based. The line just shuttles cars to and from the mainline.
@TYMMCHN I agree with you on that one the track is absolutely shocking to say the least they should close the line until they really put some capital works into it
@TYMMCHN Fined by...who? They're doing nothing wrong. Derailment costs at that speed are not all that high. Track maintenance is. Eventually this line was upgraded. Congratulations to the owners for fighting to preserve it and preserve the rail service to the communities who otherwise might have lost it.
@Boss302fan I don't buy that for one minute. There is no way that it will cost more to fix that section than a derailment will cost when you factor in everything. If it derails several times over the coarse of a year just fixing the bad section is more than worth it.
@madmatt2024 Several times is a different story. And I'm not arguing that "fixing" the problem isn't the right thing to do. But a one time derailment at that speed will, in general, not be that expensive as long as nothing ends up on their side. This line at that time was full of many such areas and there just wasn't the budget to fix them all. So you fix them as best you can and hope, as in this case, that eventually there will be money to fix them all.
@Boss302fan Not knowing the details, I agree. They did a good job assessing the risks of derailment and survived. I they had to make the track pristine from the start, the line simply would not have been a going concern
@pradzee123 That's right. In the US, Canada and Mexico we give individuals a chance to buy lines and try to save them. As is what happened in this case. The local shippers and communities acquired this low revenue property and saved it. In most of the rest of the world they just pull the line out of the ground and put the product on the highway.
@Sofresh9394 The maintenance crew has a budget. The budget is based on revenue earned by the line. Ag products bring in very low revenue so the owners of the line struggle to pay crew, buy fuel, pay taxes, pay car rental, and pay locomotive leases. There is just so much revenue to go around. So, congratulate them for doing the best they can and just not ripping up the line.
@nanobyte84 Seriously? Oh gawd. There is far, far, far more danger to this crew on their drive to and from work than having a derailment at 10mph on this track. And for many of these country shortlines the crew may consist of the very "they" you are talking about.
Damn! I'd thought for sure those geeps were going to hit the ground. The telephoto lens exaggerates the rail "squirm", but that's some lousy track. What's cheaper? MOW gang for a day, or calling Hulcher or Isringhausen to pick up afterwards?
@msm618 A MOW gang for a day is cheaper than Hulcher. But a MOW crew is not going to fix this line in a day. They probably had one gang almost no budget for ties and ballast and dozens of miles to keep up. So you go slow and hope that if you do go on the ground a few wood blocks will get you going again. On branch lines like this struggling to survive until times get better you do the best you can with what you have.
How can the rail company allow a train to go on those tracks? Holy f'n mackerel. I though the tracks on the Conrail North Branch line in NJ was bad. That's hi speed rail compared to this. Funny thing is though, the speed linit on that Northern Branch is slower than this train is going and the tracks are twice as good! I'm amazed this didn't derail.
No-one in that company knows how to use a pry bar and shovel? Too much at risk to ignore. Train on the ground return no revenue. If I were the company president I'd be out there myself fixing that!
@Yomobdiba Then as a company president you would not be doing your job. In this case and many like them the "president" also owns one of the elevators and has sunk a lot of money into trying to preserve this branch. And it took a lot more than a prybar and a shovel to fix the miles of problems these gentlemen inherited. Fortunately the president and other owners did their job, preserved the line and it is no longer in immediate danger of abandonment.
I can't really comment on the repairs needed to be done, but for most railroand accidents it could cost in the 10's of 1000's for each hour of a derailment.....
Derailment at this speed means bringing out a MOW crew. Total time...maybe 5 people at carried cost of $25 an hour per person. Avg of 5 hours including transit time. Could be more or less. Delay cost on the train....not much. Just low cost ag products with no transit urgency. So overall derailment cost are ow as long as the cars don't flip. When you bring in hulcher then the price obviously goes up
extremely bad Top & line fault, in the u.k that would be a " block the road " job without a doubt, although working for network rail, i know of some sections of track like this that are still in use carrying passengers today, and that is no joke , its all a question of money these days and how you can justify spending it in the right area's, as far as profit is concerned,
@adelgado75 Seriously? Gawd. What about the people running this train. LOL. They are probably about 1/2 asleep at this speed and just hoping the wheelsets don't drop in. Then it jsut becomes a long day rerailing the cars.
I didn't even know a train could operate on a track that messed up. Hard to believe the rails are parallel enough to keep the wheels from dropping out.
i watch this to remember how good the short line where i live has it.i hate seeing railroads deteriorate like that, i mean its clearly not a question of freight service because that was a pretty good train, but the track in that section is another story
@shininghappyperson7 Pretty good train? Really? You are familiar with the revenue associated with moving corn and soybeans off of a branch? You know the markets? The destinations of this product? What the revenue sharing was between MNVA and the connections? You clearly know the profits and revenue for moving this consist? Amazing.
@Boss302fan all right douche bag, i was making a point that compared to the line that is not to far from where i live..im so sorry that they are suffering, maybe we should re-name it the food stamp southern.the railroad up hear has almost died maybe 2 times,the majority of the line had to be taken out because of flooding, their passenger service died out a while back, and now their is a small section of track left around 32 miles, and about three commodities that they cary,and they have 2 locos.
@shininghappyperson7 No need to rename it food stamp southern. These individuals preserved the line and it is now in better shape with better service. Traffic is up. I do not know the railroad in your area. I do know this one and was just pointing out that just because you see a long train you do not know if that train was profitable.
@Boss302fan well the thing is, most railfans that i met,are jerks, just because someone doesn't know every little fact about every train their ever was in the whole entire history of life,doesn't mean that you need to ba an jerk because i was making an observation, if you see a long train with many cars and more than one locomotive, you would think that its more profitable,than a train of 6 cars and one locomotive, maybe the commodity in a smaller quantity could make more $ than a long train.
@shininghappyperson7 Point taken. I apologize. For future reference, ag products other than food grade tend to be low profit, low revenue for railroads. This operations principally moves such products. A 3 car train of lumber or plastic could actually be more profitable than a 15 car train of corn. I'm generalizing here. I'm generalizing here. There are dramatic exceptions. Have a good one man.
@Boss302fan yeah,i didnt really have enough room to finish what i was saying, but i guess if the stuff you're carrying is more expensive.than it could come close to a train nearly double its size when it comes to price.
@shininghappyperson7 You're close to the truth. In general, the more valuable the product and the further it goes the more it costs to move it. Also products like hazmat can be very expensive. Other expensive products can be those that move in specialized equipment. And of course there are specialized loads like transformers that are very expensive.
@Boss302fan Lack of maintenance on this line is DIRECTLY related to the customers they serve.
If this were a line that served an auto assembly plant, a coal fired power plant or an intermodal terminal,there would be WELDED RAIL and CONCRETE TIES the entire length of this subdivision.
But as you said,we're talking about corn and soybeans..........
@25mfd Yes indeed. Low revenue ag products and smaller grain elevators lend themselves to total revenue that often cannot support the cost of fuel, labor, taxes and track maintenance.
Go take a look at the line that serves Honda's plant in Greensburg, IN. You will see track that is not much above what you see here.
However, in general you are right. High revenue, dense traffic lines will naturally be served by track in much better condition.
But i must also mention that track maintenance depends also on who owns the rail.
If it's privately owned,from my experience, shippers/receivers do a pretty good job of maintaining their portion of the rail.
On the other side, I was a trainman for the CNW from 93 thru 04 and watched the wis southern and the CNW go back and forth about who owned a decayed portion of an interchange track.
@25mfd The line you are looking at here was shipper owned. Maintenance usually just depends on revenue and how fast you need to run trains. WSOR certainly had a budget issue for years (it was privately owned).
@25mfd The line has already been rehabilitated. While I don't know this particular branch I've been involved in dozens of these. You do not have to replace very tie. Often it's 1 out of 3 or whatever it takes to get you up to the tonnage and speed you want to travel. Crossing protection usually isn't an issue, but crossing upgrades are.
@Boss302fan ....now i know it's just ag products so speed isn't necessarily important as it would be if it were say...AUTO PARTS.
But let's assume the shippers feel that they could move more carloads if the speed were increased on the line.
They could have all welded rail and concrete ties on the entire subdivision and still have a 10mph speed restriction due to inadequate crossing protection.
This would cost even more money.
I can only see them fixing the rail and ties though.
@25mfd It is all a balance. But the balance ends up being dollars and cents....as it should be in a for profit business. In this case the shippers were sending products down to a connection that was only served once a day or so. So as long as you made the next train, it didn't matter if the train moved 40 or 10. I used to switch a Ford auto part facility moving the product 30 miles to a connection. As long as I made the Class I connection, my speed meant little outside of crew costs
@Boss302fan Yeah,those JIT loads MUST make their connections.
I worked the GM plant in janesville wi and there was ALWAYS pressure to get those cars to the docks and what most don't know is that the EMPTIES were just as important as the loads.
And GOD FORBID the plant job didn't spot the docks on time!!!!!!!
I heard GM loses 50k for every 5 min the plant was shut down.
GM would request a SHUT DOWN CAR. A car that wasn't in the lineup that they need....
@25mfd Same with most facilities. However, providing extra switches is different than running to a scheduled connection. As long as you made it up to the connection before their road train pulled you were fine. And if that was at 10mph or 40, it didn't really matter.
@25mfd "Railroads will fix busted rail only if it serves their best interest".
Well, that only makes sense. Why else would they fix it. It is their property and their responsibility to maximize profits.
And yes, 10mph speed restriction is often very justified. In the case above, slow speeds means a bit more in crew costs but substantial savings in maintenance.
@25mfd Corn and soybeans are indeed important to rail. And you are also right, the 50 to 120 carload elevators or feed mills get better service (and better rates). The smaller mills such as those often served by shortlines pay more to ship their product and the lines serving them are often in poor shape. However given corn isn't a JIT product, it all works out. Shortlines often consolidate shipments into unit trains at the interchange points.
@Boss302fan yeah, the railroad around here, called the Battenkill. is the small remains of the D&H's washington branch.or the Troy Salem & Rutland railroad. the commodities of the line are Grain, Fertilizer, Logs, and Wood Pulp. i mean i live in an extremely agricultural area. so they do pretty good for what they got. Judging by track condition (though lately it has ben improving) i wouldn't think they where that well off with money,but they are doing better now than they ever have :) (luckily).
Oh may gosh I thought Robstown, Tx was bad where Up crosses with TexMex line starts from the ship harbor of Corpus Christi, straight west thru Robstown to Larado,, if they can't fix this line then shut it down for good, an accident is just waiting to happen no matter have slow the train goes. And you camera person I would have a bit farther from that monsterous train but well video thanks for sharing this lack of maintanace.
@edsel30858 There ya go. That's the railfan spirit. If those evil elevator owners and local communities don't have the money to fix it up right away....shut it down and rip it out.
Typical railfan response by edsel. Don't congratulate the line owners for trying to salvage the service to these small ag communities. Instead just recommend they shut it down and abandon it.
@CORELfreak Actually, if you were a train driver and wouldn't have the guts to handle your train over these tracks...you would just be fired or have to quit. It's seriously not that big of a deal.
boss302fan...i might of gone a little overboard in my comment but u cant use the excuse its just poor farmers trying 2 make a living...if that were the case hell everyone would have an excuse 4 doing things wrong
the management of this railroad should have been charged as criminals & fined 2 the point of bankruptcy & never allowed 2 operate any company again..these low-life bastards probly had pocket fulls of cash they were skimming from lack of maintnance...low-life bastards 2 say the least!.
@sombreroman08 The criminals you talk about were farmers and elevator owner located on this line. They purchased it to save it from abandonment so the small agricultural communities would continue to be able to have rail service for the elevators and feed mills located there. Their efforts were successful and they eventually brought back enough traffic to rehab the line. They are not low-life bastards as you call them. They are small business owners struggling to survive.
@Boss302fan maybe they should take up track repair on their off time. It would speed up delivery time & keep people's lives out of danger. Face it that track could give way at any time, this is what I would expect in a third world country not America. They should use prisoners to fix the track for free like in the old days, That would give good people the break they need & keep the crew out of danger.
@crossbowbunny2010 Speed up delivery time? It's corn and/or soybeans. Not subject to an expedited delivery time. Less lives are in danger here than on any interstate where trucks move at 70mph. A derailment is just a pain in the ass at the speed and not dangerous. Few places in the US allow privately owned companies to use prison labor. Track repair takes experienced people and a lot of revenue It was eventually done.
@sombreroman08 Wow you really know nothing, nothing at fucking all. I back Boss302fan's comment, why? Cause I know people who crewed these trains, and managed this railroad... They have just enough to pay their crews a fair and decent wage. Watch your mouth when you say shit like this, especially things you don't know.
@sombreroman08 Get some smarts. You make me want to puke spouting your comments with nothing to back them up. So the railroad operates at 10mph, I have seen much worse in my travels. Choad.
fact of the matter is these operating conditions are ridiculous from a safety standpoint not a mention the bad image this railroad can expect....it is beyond me how some people can defend this railroads reckless behavior.
@sombreroman08 There is no reckless behavior. Would you rather there be no trains? Would you rather the crews don't get paid a good wage? Would you rather the railroad equipment not be maintained? So long as cargo can be moved over the rails safely, there are much HIGHER priorities then fixing a 300 foot stretch of track. I've seen this section of line personally, and honestly? It is not the worse I've ever seen. And that is a quote from the local FRA inspector, not me.
@sombreroman08 The railroad's image was that they were heroes to the community for investing in the line and preserving service to the elevators and farmers in the area. As far as safety is concerned, an 10mph derailment is nothing compared to a 70mph truck blowing through traffic at rush hour. I defend these guys as they saved the line, saved jobs, and in the long run the communities did retain rail service as improvements were made to the infrastructure.
It will get repaired when a train finally derails there, then the company will claim it is the engineers fault for operating across it. Then they meight cinsider some repairs..
@wi11y1960 On short line operations like this the engineer may be the owner of the line. All involved in these lines know what is going on. Instead of slamming "the company" why not salute the entrepreneaurs who are trying to save the line that the Class I gave up on long ago.
@416asshole Then you would be fired. And "dispatch" is probably just a guy sitting in an office who also sweeps up at night. And the engineer might just be the owner.
Lack of maintanence along right of way puts slow orders out to keep the trains on the track. This rail is in realy bad shape. I am surprised that even at 15 mph the rolling stock stays on the tracks.
How could this even be legal? You'd think OSHA at the very least would put a stop that just for the safety of the crews. Hazardous working environment.
@railroadhunter2000 It is being used to preserve service to agricultural customers on a low density low revenue branch line. The people running this line are trying to win traffic back instead of just ripping the line up out of the ground. In this case they succeeded and eventually brought back enough traffic to justify repairs.
And that is why it was still being used. Apparantly from comments here most railfans would just go for abandonment.
You guys have to visit ealier postings! This section of 8004 lb. rail was replaced a few years ago with jointed number 1 relay 115 pound, new ties and ballast. What you see in this video doesn't even exist today!! This rail line is being upgraded from Norwood to Hanley Falls, MN (total length) with115 pound rail. By the end of next year, one third of the line will be finished.
@MrCRM114 Yes. That's a good thing. Throughout much of the world the line would have been ripped up long ago. But in the US, Canada and Mexico communities, shippers or individuals can buy little used branch lines and try to save them so communities keep rail service. As airline62 points out, the line was saved and eventually upgraded. In most of the rest of the world it would be long gone.
Incredibly terrible. What do they haul over that line?? From where to where? You would think that having to run at only, what, 5-10 mph, would be so inefficient that it would be well worth the costs to upgrade the bed and rails.
@Cyclist0623 They hauled agricultural products very short distances from elevators to main line tracks. It's not like there is a rush to get corn and soybeans to the feed mills. Preserving lines like this preserves service to small businesses and agricultural communities.
Thats worse than some 4x4 trails. Its train 4wheeling!
TamiyaRunner 1 day ago
good grief...one could get seasick...talk about trackulence!
lydmik 1 day ago
This has been flagged as spam show
laugh my ass off.....i check this post about every 2 months or so & its the same people arguing the same point with each other every time damn people get a life....geeeeeeeeezus
sombreroman08 3 days ago
This has been flagged as spam show
laughing my ass off on this post.....u know about every 2 months or so i check on this posts comments & its the same people arguing the same point with each other.....good lord people get a life already.....lol geeeeeezus....
sombreroman08 3 days ago
This is gnarly, nice capture, thanks
sufizmjim 3 days ago
DATS A DAMN SHAME!!! a train gon mess round and keep on leaning one day!!!
MrChozn1 3 days ago
That tracks is terrible!! I would be afraid to walk across them, let along be on a train crossing them. I remember an old poem I memorized that one of my friends had who was a train fanatic,....loved them!! It's not my place, to run the train,...the whistle I can't blow. It's not my place, to say how far, the train's allowed to go. It's not my place, to shoot off steam, nor even clang the bell. But let the damn thing jump the track, and see who catches hell!!!
tarence319 4 days ago
If it would be possible to drive on a snake. It would be smoother
rob066101 5 days ago
This junk railway quality is not allowed for train traffic use in my country.... this is dangerous...derailing etc...
MikePiano83 6 days ago
@MikePiano83 Not sure what country you are in buy quite possibly you are right. Many countries just tear up the railroads and junk them. Other countries such as Mexico, USA, Bazil, Canada, Argentina and many others give local businesses and communities the opportunity to buy and save the lines. That in turn provides jobs and hopefully traffic will increase so the rails can be repaired. Too bad your country chooses to just rip them up and drive shipping to the highways.
Boss302fan 4 days ago
imagine if the Shinkansen through that route ..
RyanFreeman96 1 week ago
Photographer took one hell of a chance by that track!
PRR5406 1 week ago
@PRR5406 If the photographer was driving on the interstate at 70mph the odds of him/her being injured or killed are far, far, far, far greater than standing beside this train as it rolled by.
Boss302fan 1 week ago
Looks like my hand laid track ........LOL
BigWolfBoy50 1 week ago
speed breakers on the rails !!??
elish009 1 week ago
That's one of the nastiest pieces of track I've ever seen. I wouldn't take that at 10mph. They need to fix it and save themselves a lot of heartburn. Why that train didn't go all over the ground I'll never know.
oldwarrant4 1 week ago 6
@oldwarrant4 Your post is ample evidence of why you would never make a railroader. Those of us in the industry operate on track like this all the time. Some long industrial sidings can be much worse.
Boss302fan 1 week ago
@oldwarrant4
I don't know what you were doing back in 1975 but that's when I started my railroad career. I was in the mechanical dept. for 5 years before I went into engine service. I've been an engineer for 32 years now.
oldwarrant4 1 week ago
@oldwarrant4 here, theres a coal terminal, they can only go 5 mph lol thats how bad their track is
alexander1485 5 days ago
@oldwarrant4 What is the gauge of metal laid here? The rails seem noticeably thinner than typical European lines, although it may just be scale with a bigger train. Because of the longer distances in America, Australia and Africa, on some lines the rails and sleepers were laid to a lower standard. The locos tend to have a lot more wheels which reduces the axle load. Still, haven't seen anything quite this ropey, even 3rd world.
stellarartwars07 5 days ago
@oldwarrant4 I'll tell you 1 thing.. I wouldn't be that close taking a video if it did.
RejectedManiac 4 days ago
Such an unexeptabel railtrack you will not find in Europe...safety first...
Hope that that track is not used by high speed trains....
ivanhoe25cm 1 week ago
@ivanhoe25cm Actually you do. I've seen track this bad and worse all throughout Eastern Europe. And no, this line is not used by high speed trains. It is a short branchline that serves small communities. The principal traffic is agricultural based. The line just shuttles cars to and from the mainline.
Boss302fan 1 week ago
They should be fined every day until it is fixed. The cost of one derailment could fix that whole section. Unreal.
TYMMCHN 2 weeks ago
@TYMMCHN I agree with you on that one the track is absolutely shocking to say the least they should close the line until they really put some capital works into it
DKS225 2 weeks ago
@TYMMCHN Fined by...who? They're doing nothing wrong. Derailment costs at that speed are not all that high. Track maintenance is. Eventually this line was upgraded. Congratulations to the owners for fighting to preserve it and preserve the rail service to the communities who otherwise might have lost it.
Boss302fan 1 week ago
@Boss302fan I don't buy that for one minute. There is no way that it will cost more to fix that section than a derailment will cost when you factor in everything. If it derails several times over the coarse of a year just fixing the bad section is more than worth it.
madmatt2024 1 week ago
@madmatt2024 Several times is a different story. And I'm not arguing that "fixing" the problem isn't the right thing to do. But a one time derailment at that speed will, in general, not be that expensive as long as nothing ends up on their side. This line at that time was full of many such areas and there just wasn't the budget to fix them all. So you fix them as best you can and hope, as in this case, that eventually there will be money to fix them all.
Boss302fan 1 week ago 3
@Boss302fan Not knowing the details, I agree. They did a good job assessing the risks of derailment and survived. I they had to make the track pristine from the start, the line simply would not have been a going concern
mistersmith6000 1 week ago
America, fuck yeah!
pradzee123 2 weeks ago
@pradzee123 That's right. In the US, Canada and Mexico we give individuals a chance to buy lines and try to save them. As is what happened in this case. The local shippers and communities acquired this low revenue property and saved it. In most of the rest of the world they just pull the line out of the ground and put the product on the highway.
Boss302fan 1 week ago
if you hung out there more you'd probely see a derailment
kr4449 2 weeks ago
I work for a railroad and I'm glad it's not this one.
Gacek2331 2 weeks ago
I've seen some bad track in my time but it look like the lead loko hit the ground there.
88081jeffreyg 2 weeks ago
Cant the maintenance people for the track get into deep shit because of the tracks condition?
Sofresh9394 2 weeks ago
@Sofresh9394 The maintenance crew has a budget. The budget is based on revenue earned by the line. Ag products bring in very low revenue so the owners of the line struggle to pay crew, buy fuel, pay taxes, pay car rental, and pay locomotive leases. There is just so much revenue to go around. So, congratulate them for doing the best they can and just not ripping up the line.
Boss302fan 1 week ago
The first thought that went through my mind when I saw those terrible rails is "Are you serious, driving a train over THAT?"
author 2 weeks ago
Guess they don't care about the crew's safety!!
nanobyte84 2 weeks ago
@nanobyte84 Seriously? Oh gawd. There is far, far, far more danger to this crew on their drive to and from work than having a derailment at 10mph on this track. And for many of these country shortlines the crew may consist of the very "they" you are talking about.
Boss302fan 2 weeks ago
Damn! I'd thought for sure those geeps were going to hit the ground. The telephoto lens exaggerates the rail "squirm", but that's some lousy track. What's cheaper? MOW gang for a day, or calling Hulcher or Isringhausen to pick up afterwards?
msm618 2 weeks ago
@msm618 A MOW gang for a day is cheaper than Hulcher. But a MOW crew is not going to fix this line in a day. They probably had one gang almost no budget for ties and ballast and dozens of miles to keep up. So you go slow and hope that if you do go on the ground a few wood blocks will get you going again. On branch lines like this struggling to survive until times get better you do the best you can with what you have.
Boss302fan 2 weeks ago
How can the rail company allow a train to go on those tracks? Holy f'n mackerel. I though the tracks on the Conrail North Branch line in NJ was bad. That's hi speed rail compared to this. Funny thing is though, the speed linit on that Northern Branch is slower than this train is going and the tracks are twice as good! I'm amazed this didn't derail.
buixrule 2 weeks ago
That's the worse tracks I've EVER seen! How would they get so bad?
JRCoolDude412 2 weeks ago
only one word : Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeee !!!!!!!
glock287 2 weeks ago
No-one in that company knows how to use a pry bar and shovel? Too much at risk to ignore. Train on the ground return no revenue. If I were the company president I'd be out there myself fixing that!
Yomobdiba 2 weeks ago
@Yomobdiba Then as a company president you would not be doing your job. In this case and many like them the "president" also owns one of the elevators and has sunk a lot of money into trying to preserve this branch. And it took a lot more than a prybar and a shovel to fix the miles of problems these gentlemen inherited. Fortunately the president and other owners did their job, preserved the line and it is no longer in immediate danger of abandonment.
Boss302fan 2 weeks ago
I can't really comment on the repairs needed to be done, but for most railroand accidents it could cost in the 10's of 1000's for each hour of a derailment.....
MrPhillip1978 3 weeks ago
@MrPhillip1978 you mean 10's of dollars? Like $10?
Derailment at this speed means bringing out a MOW crew. Total time...maybe 5 people at carried cost of $25 an hour per person. Avg of 5 hours including transit time. Could be more or less. Delay cost on the train....not much. Just low cost ag products with no transit urgency. So overall derailment cost are ow as long as the cars don't flip. When you bring in hulcher then the price obviously goes up
Boss302fan 3 weeks ago
fix the roads and fix the train roads before making the viking stadium because the vikings have a lot of money.
7759ful 3 weeks ago
If you're standing this close to that bad rail, and one of those tall hoppers decides to tip your way, HOW FAST CAN YOU RUN???
DryGrubWillie 3 weeks ago
extremely bad Top & line fault, in the u.k that would be a " block the road " job without a doubt, although working for network rail, i know of some sections of track like this that are still in use carrying passengers today, and that is no joke , its all a question of money these days and how you can justify spending it in the right area's, as far as profit is concerned,
hihat101 3 weeks ago
@hihat101 yeah, but the beer is good on your trains.
Boss302fan 3 weeks ago
@Boss302fan , lol, yep when its served cold, not warm !
hihat101 3 weeks ago
maybe the soil is too loose, so maintaining the railroad in perfect condition is a challenging task for the railways
ThePrranjalsChannel 3 weeks ago
Could this be considered off roadin for trains!?
Skytrimboy 3 weeks ago
@trainmasta to many years of service and no up keep
Skytrimboy 3 weeks ago
How did the rails become like this? Was it from it being worn down or did weather have an effect.
trainmasta227 3 weeks ago
whatttt theee fakkkkk
That's not bad track, that's wrecked track
devinkulish 4 weeks ago
it looks terrible. im surprised that they have not problems with derailments.
wonka12321 1 month ago
Think if a TGV train has crossed that in full speed
kralle98 1 month ago in playlist Flere videoer fra Ghidon666666
Ouch....
indie1361 1 month ago
Not sure how that track isn't out of service. Looks sub class 1 with the amount of cross level deficiencies.
PowerWagon7 1 month ago
0:45 train conductor- "fuck....."
69wingwang 1 month ago
Holy crap, that really takes a pair to run a train over that mess. Hope they get it fixed up,.
prbowe 1 month ago
it looks really bad enough,haha...
kekedog 1 month ago
йобаныйнасрать!
vsracinoga 1 month ago
You are one brave soul to stand there videotaping this.
adelgado75 1 month ago
@adelgado75 Seriously? Gawd. What about the people running this train. LOL. They are probably about 1/2 asleep at this speed and just hoping the wheelsets don't drop in. Then it jsut becomes a long day rerailing the cars.
Boss302fan 1 month ago
3:16, I was thinking. imagine if the last two cars bottom out, flipped and caused everything to tip over with it. I would find it hilarious. :)
gredangeo 1 month ago
I didn't even know a train could operate on a track that messed up. Hard to believe the rails are parallel enough to keep the wheels from dropping out.
aandrave 1 month ago
I would like to see a train go full speed with (no) cargo on this thing >:3
takarlor12 1 month ago
Its amazing that they're allowed to run trains on that track. Doubt it'd be permitted here. There surely must be a huge danger of derailing?
neilb229 1 month ago
Shit... this track is in far worse state than several branch/industrial lines in Silesia, Poland :O
PrekiFromPoland 1 month ago
i watch this to remember how good the short line where i live has it.i hate seeing railroads deteriorate like that, i mean its clearly not a question of freight service because that was a pretty good train, but the track in that section is another story
shininghappyperson7 1 month ago
@shininghappyperson7 Pretty good train? Really? You are familiar with the revenue associated with moving corn and soybeans off of a branch? You know the markets? The destinations of this product? What the revenue sharing was between MNVA and the connections? You clearly know the profits and revenue for moving this consist? Amazing.
Boss302fan 1 month ago
@Boss302fan all right douche bag, i was making a point that compared to the line that is not to far from where i live..im so sorry that they are suffering, maybe we should re-name it the food stamp southern.the railroad up hear has almost died maybe 2 times,the majority of the line had to be taken out because of flooding, their passenger service died out a while back, and now their is a small section of track left around 32 miles, and about three commodities that they cary,and they have 2 locos.
shininghappyperson7 1 month ago
@shininghappyperson7 No need to rename it food stamp southern. These individuals preserved the line and it is now in better shape with better service. Traffic is up. I do not know the railroad in your area. I do know this one and was just pointing out that just because you see a long train you do not know if that train was profitable.
Boss302fan 1 month ago
@Boss302fan well the thing is, most railfans that i met,are jerks, just because someone doesn't know every little fact about every train their ever was in the whole entire history of life,doesn't mean that you need to ba an jerk because i was making an observation, if you see a long train with many cars and more than one locomotive, you would think that its more profitable,than a train of 6 cars and one locomotive, maybe the commodity in a smaller quantity could make more $ than a long train.
shininghappyperson7 1 month ago
@shininghappyperson7 Point taken. I apologize. For future reference, ag products other than food grade tend to be low profit, low revenue for railroads. This operations principally moves such products. A 3 car train of lumber or plastic could actually be more profitable than a 15 car train of corn. I'm generalizing here. I'm generalizing here. There are dramatic exceptions. Have a good one man.
Boss302fan 1 month ago
@Boss302fan yeah,i didnt really have enough room to finish what i was saying, but i guess if the stuff you're carrying is more expensive.than it could come close to a train nearly double its size when it comes to price.
shininghappyperson7 1 month ago
@shininghappyperson7 You're close to the truth. In general, the more valuable the product and the further it goes the more it costs to move it. Also products like hazmat can be very expensive. Other expensive products can be those that move in specialized equipment. And of course there are specialized loads like transformers that are very expensive.
Boss302fan 1 month ago
@Boss302fan Lack of maintenance on this line is DIRECTLY related to the customers they serve.
If this were a line that served an auto assembly plant, a coal fired power plant or an intermodal terminal,there would be WELDED RAIL and CONCRETE TIES the entire length of this subdivision.
But as you said,we're talking about corn and soybeans..........
25mfd 1 month ago
@25mfd Yes indeed. Low revenue ag products and smaller grain elevators lend themselves to total revenue that often cannot support the cost of fuel, labor, taxes and track maintenance.
Go take a look at the line that serves Honda's plant in Greensburg, IN. You will see track that is not much above what you see here.
However, in general you are right. High revenue, dense traffic lines will naturally be served by track in much better condition.
Boss302fan 1 month ago
@Boss302fan Can't argue with much you've said.
But i must also mention that track maintenance depends also on who owns the rail.
If it's privately owned,from my experience, shippers/receivers do a pretty good job of maintaining their portion of the rail.
On the other side, I was a trainman for the CNW from 93 thru 04 and watched the wis southern and the CNW go back and forth about who owned a decayed portion of an interchange track.
It was ridiculous...........
25mfd 1 month ago
@25mfd The line you are looking at here was shipper owned. Maintenance usually just depends on revenue and how fast you need to run trains. WSOR certainly had a budget issue for years (it was privately owned).
Boss302fan 1 month ago
@Boss302fan Was this a former mainline or a branch/secondary line?
If the line was already in a decayed state,it would be tough for the lines owners to rehab this line.
They would behind the 8-ball bigtime.
EVERY SINGLE tie and rail would have to replaced.
Don't know how long this rickety line is but it would take a trainload of scratch to fix it all up.
And that's just the rail.
What about the crossing protection........
25mfd 1 month ago
@25mfd The line has already been rehabilitated. While I don't know this particular branch I've been involved in dozens of these. You do not have to replace very tie. Often it's 1 out of 3 or whatever it takes to get you up to the tonnage and speed you want to travel. Crossing protection usually isn't an issue, but crossing upgrades are.
Boss302fan 1 month ago
@Boss302fan ....now i know it's just ag products so speed isn't necessarily important as it would be if it were say...AUTO PARTS.
But let's assume the shippers feel that they could move more carloads if the speed were increased on the line.
They could have all welded rail and concrete ties on the entire subdivision and still have a 10mph speed restriction due to inadequate crossing protection.
This would cost even more money.
I can only see them fixing the rail and ties though.
25mfd 1 month ago
@25mfd It is all a balance. But the balance ends up being dollars and cents....as it should be in a for profit business. In this case the shippers were sending products down to a connection that was only served once a day or so. So as long as you made the next train, it didn't matter if the train moved 40 or 10. I used to switch a Ford auto part facility moving the product 30 miles to a connection. As long as I made the Class I connection, my speed meant little outside of crew costs
Boss302fan 1 month ago
@Boss302fan Yeah,those JIT loads MUST make their connections.
I worked the GM plant in janesville wi and there was ALWAYS pressure to get those cars to the docks and what most don't know is that the EMPTIES were just as important as the loads.
And GOD FORBID the plant job didn't spot the docks on time!!!!!!!
I heard GM loses 50k for every 5 min the plant was shut down.
GM would request a SHUT DOWN CAR. A car that wasn't in the lineup that they need....
25mfd 1 month ago
@Boss302fan ..........we'd be scrambling to dig the car out and run it up to the plant.
When GM said jump,we didn't ask how high,we just started jumping. LOL
25mfd 1 month ago
@25mfd Same with most facilities. However, providing extra switches is different than running to a scheduled connection. As long as you made it up to the connection before their road train pulled you were fine. And if that was at 10mph or 40, it didn't really matter.
Boss302fan 1 month ago
@Boss302fan ........It finally got fixed but NOT after a few months had passed.
If the railroad can pass off the maintenance to the customer or another railroad,it will.
But sometimes they can't.
Look at the powder river sub.
The BN/UP have put MILLIONS into rail structure there.
A number of derailments a few years ago threatened their ability to provide service to the large number of power plants they serve.
The BNSF and UP had a massive effort to overhaul the part of the line.....
25mfd 1 month ago
@Boss302fan .......They spent more MILLIONS to upgrade the line.
But they had a HUGE monetary incentive to do so.
About 35 to 40% of those roads revenues comes from coal.
Neglecting the maintenance issues in this case would have been disastrous.
Railroads will fix busted rail only if it serves their best interest.
The fix for all other rail issues like the one in the vid have three words,"FRA accepted rail".
A 10MPH speed restriction fixes all other rail issues. LOL
25mfd 1 month ago
@25mfd "Railroads will fix busted rail only if it serves their best interest".
Well, that only makes sense. Why else would they fix it. It is their property and their responsibility to maximize profits.
And yes, 10mph speed restriction is often very justified. In the case above, slow speeds means a bit more in crew costs but substantial savings in maintenance.
Boss302fan 1 month ago
@Boss302fan "Well, that only makes sense. Why else would they fix it".
It should make sense but it doesn't always sink in.
I worked at butler yard in milwaukee for about 11 years and never saw any maintenance performed on any of the yard tracks that needed attention.
Just a few years ago and a few MAJOR derailments later did they address the issue.
There was money in the budget but fixing the rail was not on the radar.
Some of the yard rail looke similar to the vid.......
25mfd 1 month ago
@Boss302fan ......But they let it lapse till it was too late.
There are still some tracks out of service today that have been out of service for a few years now.
It surely was in their best intrest to fix the yard rail and should have been obvious but they still neglected to do so.
Thats the point i was making.
See bad rail, fix it.
Should be simple but it's a matter of not being LAZY as was the issue some of the folks i worked with.
25mfd 1 month ago
@Boss302fan .........But then again corn and soybeans could be a big deal to the railroads if enough of it were being shipped.
AG giants like cenex harvest states and ADM get the "royal treatment" because they ship MASSIVE quantities
I'm assuming the shippers on this route were akin to "mom & pop" type operations.
Those are the ones who suffer.
Can't ship 100+ cars wkly then we don't need you.
25mfd 1 month ago
@25mfd Corn and soybeans are indeed important to rail. And you are also right, the 50 to 120 carload elevators or feed mills get better service (and better rates). The smaller mills such as those often served by shortlines pay more to ship their product and the lines serving them are often in poor shape. However given corn isn't a JIT product, it all works out. Shortlines often consolidate shipments into unit trains at the interchange points.
Boss302fan 1 month ago
@Boss302fan yeah, the railroad around here, called the Battenkill. is the small remains of the D&H's washington branch.or the Troy Salem & Rutland railroad. the commodities of the line are Grain, Fertilizer, Logs, and Wood Pulp. i mean i live in an extremely agricultural area. so they do pretty good for what they got. Judging by track condition (though lately it has ben improving) i wouldn't think they where that well off with money,but they are doing better now than they ever have :) (luckily).
shininghappyperson7 1 month ago
Oh may gosh I thought Robstown, Tx was bad where Up crosses with TexMex line starts from the ship harbor of Corpus Christi, straight west thru Robstown to Larado,, if they can't fix this line then shut it down for good, an accident is just waiting to happen no matter have slow the train goes. And you camera person I would have a bit farther from that monsterous train but well video thanks for sharing this lack of maintanace.
edsel30858 1 month ago
@edsel30858 There ya go. That's the railfan spirit. If those evil elevator owners and local communities don't have the money to fix it up right away....shut it down and rip it out.
Typical railfan response by edsel. Don't congratulate the line owners for trying to salvage the service to these small ag communities. Instead just recommend they shut it down and abandon it.
You guys are unreal.
Boss302fan 1 month ago
WOW!
4202EJW 1 month ago
You're very brave getting so close to this train, which could've derailed right in your lap.
schizzie345 1 month ago
Good grief! Now there's some safety issues.
Gordontrek 1 month ago
hey it still works
uncidan 2 months ago
Thats messed up what if someone doesnt know and blazes through there
Sofresh9394 2 months ago
@Sofresh9394 They wouldnt be driving if they didn't know. They have to be certified on the line before they are cleared for any driving duty.
manokiller 2 months ago
Holy shit. if i were a train driver i wouldn't have guts to continue driving over tracks in this condition.
CORELfreak 2 months ago
@CORELfreak Actually, if you were a train driver and wouldn't have the guts to handle your train over these tracks...you would just be fired or have to quit. It's seriously not that big of a deal.
Boss302fan 1 month ago in playlist Bad Rail
chao anh khi
Trainlover0 2 months ago
wao awesome
KalosNathanITF 2 months ago
boss302fan...i might of gone a little overboard in my comment but u cant use the excuse its just poor farmers trying 2 make a living...if that were the case hell everyone would have an excuse 4 doing things wrong
sombreroman08 2 months ago
@sombreroman08 Just what is it that you have against farmers and/or elevator operators trying to make a living?
htc6600 2 months ago
the management of this railroad should have been charged as criminals & fined 2 the point of bankruptcy & never allowed 2 operate any company again..these low-life bastards probly had pocket fulls of cash they were skimming from lack of maintnance...low-life bastards 2 say the least!.
sombreroman08 2 months ago
@sombreroman08 The criminals you talk about were farmers and elevator owner located on this line. They purchased it to save it from abandonment so the small agricultural communities would continue to be able to have rail service for the elevators and feed mills located there. Their efforts were successful and they eventually brought back enough traffic to rehab the line. They are not low-life bastards as you call them. They are small business owners struggling to survive.
Boss302fan 2 months ago 49
@Boss302fan maybe they should take up track repair on their off time. It would speed up delivery time & keep people's lives out of danger. Face it that track could give way at any time, this is what I would expect in a third world country not America. They should use prisoners to fix the track for free like in the old days, That would give good people the break they need & keep the crew out of danger.
crossbowbunny2010 1 month ago
@crossbowbunny2010 Speed up delivery time? It's corn and/or soybeans. Not subject to an expedited delivery time. Less lives are in danger here than on any interstate where trucks move at 70mph. A derailment is just a pain in the ass at the speed and not dangerous. Few places in the US allow privately owned companies to use prison labor. Track repair takes experienced people and a lot of revenue It was eventually done.
Boss302fan 1 month ago
@sombreroman08 Wow you really know nothing, nothing at fucking all. I back Boss302fan's comment, why? Cause I know people who crewed these trains, and managed this railroad... They have just enough to pay their crews a fair and decent wage. Watch your mouth when you say shit like this, especially things you don't know.
manokiller 2 months ago
@sombreroman08 Get some smarts. You make me want to puke spouting your comments with nothing to back them up. So the railroad operates at 10mph, I have seen much worse in my travels. Choad.
gec4101 2 weeks ago
fact of the matter is these operating conditions are ridiculous from a safety standpoint not a mention the bad image this railroad can expect....it is beyond me how some people can defend this railroads reckless behavior.
sombreroman08 2 months ago
@sombreroman08 There is no reckless behavior. Would you rather there be no trains? Would you rather the crews don't get paid a good wage? Would you rather the railroad equipment not be maintained? So long as cargo can be moved over the rails safely, there are much HIGHER priorities then fixing a 300 foot stretch of track. I've seen this section of line personally, and honestly? It is not the worse I've ever seen. And that is a quote from the local FRA inspector, not me.
manokiller 2 months ago
@sombreroman08 The railroad's image was that they were heroes to the community for investing in the line and preserving service to the elevators and farmers in the area. As far as safety is concerned, an 10mph derailment is nothing compared to a 70mph truck blowing through traffic at rush hour. I defend these guys as they saved the line, saved jobs, and in the long run the communities did retain rail service as improvements were made to the infrastructure.
Boss302fan 1 month ago
thats a derailment waiting to happen all it takes is for that rail to roll cause of the train shifting like that and they will be done
firefighter3339 2 months ago
damn!
yogibear224 2 months ago
soft spots, sun kinks and VSH galore. id be shitting bricks
imajerus 2 months ago
Speed Bumps :D
MrPatriotickid 2 months ago
how the hell did the FRA allow this railroad to run on track this shitty?
dainewjir 2 months ago
I thought the Carolina Southern Railroad had bad track. Who originally owned this line?
lawbench191 2 months ago
how does the dude stand that close to that train? i'd be scared as hell of that thing rolling over on me. that's a bit insane.
anth4484 2 months ago
holy crap i thought our branch line was bad-order!
klawyaillahee 2 months ago
That's terrifying.
jadefalcon001 2 months ago
It will get repaired when a train finally derails there, then the company will claim it is the engineers fault for operating across it. Then they meight cinsider some repairs..
wi11y1960 2 months ago
@wi11y1960 On short line operations like this the engineer may be the owner of the line. All involved in these lines know what is going on. Instead of slamming "the company" why not salute the entrepreneaurs who are trying to save the line that the Class I gave up on long ago.
Boss302fan 2 months ago
incredible! its russia? india? peru?
no! its god´s own land....oh boy!! :-)
TheNorthBerliner 2 months ago
@TheNorthBerliner god's own land? what?
redbeast2 2 months ago
pucker factor 5
tsufordman 2 months ago
seasickness pills for the crew? lol...
nitr8 2 months ago
Oh hell no!
carguyno1 2 months ago
If I had controls to that train there I would just stop and call dispatch and ak why the hell the track is still a mess..
416asshole 2 months ago
@416asshole Then you would be fired. And "dispatch" is probably just a guy sitting in an office who also sweeps up at night. And the engineer might just be the owner.
Boss302fan 2 months ago
where the heck is the NTSB?
Dragonslayer26283 2 months ago
@Dragonslayer26283 Their probably broke.
2008PowerStrokeF450 2 months ago
Lack of maintanence along right of way puts slow orders out to keep the trains on the track. This rail is in realy bad shape. I am surprised that even at 15 mph the rolling stock stays on the tracks.
53bigmikejones 2 months ago
How could this even be legal? You'd think OSHA at the very least would put a stop that just for the safety of the crews. Hazardous working environment.
Defiant47 2 months ago
Where the hell is the MOW crew at when you need them?!?!?! Wow!!
GP9railfan 2 months ago 2
E no Brasil nós reclammaos das nossas ferrovias. É simplesmente inacreditável!
Balanfilho 2 months ago
@ 0:36.... ::: criiinggeeee!!!! ::::
ilovegoatsecks 2 months ago
Why is that track still being used?
railroadhunter2000 2 months ago
@railroadhunter2000 It is being used to preserve service to agricultural customers on a low density low revenue branch line. The people running this line are trying to win traffic back instead of just ripping the line up out of the ground. In this case they succeeded and eventually brought back enough traffic to justify repairs.
And that is why it was still being used. Apparantly from comments here most railfans would just go for abandonment.
Boss302fan 2 months ago
penny pich on infastructure much?
A88mph 2 months ago
Why does this line remind me of the C&NW's Cowboy Line?
samurai9845 2 months ago
shit man, that's bad! at 1:30 I got scared when I saw what a rail
CristianCFR29 2 months ago
Wow!!!! 1/4 inch clearance on the tracks?
5292Nate 2 months ago
That guy probably lost his lunch!
5292Nate 2 months ago
Boy why didnt they fix that track ,lucky that they didnt have a derailment .good engineer
9005067 2 months ago
And somehow that track is still in gauge?!
LNERMallard 2 months ago
Good luck Amtrak
GP49PHS 2 months ago
like a russian mountain
thony2021 2 months ago
Shit, but how does a railway line to exist like this? And 'too dangerous
Gaby130db 2 months ago
Holy crap, how does this not cause a derail?
darinkronner1 3 months ago
The stretch of the Katy (Missouri-Kansas-Texas) line from nevada, MO to Clinton, MO is like this.
garywayne1966 3 months ago
You guys have to visit ealier postings! This section of 8004 lb. rail was replaced a few years ago with jointed number 1 relay 115 pound, new ties and ballast. What you see in this video doesn't even exist today!! This rail line is being upgraded from Norwood to Hanley Falls, MN (total length) with115 pound rail. By the end of next year, one third of the line will be finished.
So, get over it.
airline62 3 months ago
It's a wonder the couplers don't split but the maintenance on the journal plates must over the top.
flyingpigstuff 3 months ago
Appalling! this is the USA?
MrCRM114 3 months ago
@MrCRM114 Yes. That's a good thing. Throughout much of the world the line would have been ripped up long ago. But in the US, Canada and Mexico communities, shippers or individuals can buy little used branch lines and try to save them so communities keep rail service. As airline62 points out, the line was saved and eventually upgraded. In most of the rest of the world it would be long gone.
Boss302fan 2 months ago
Incredibly terrible. What do they haul over that line?? From where to where? You would think that having to run at only, what, 5-10 mph, would be so inefficient that it would be well worth the costs to upgrade the bed and rails.
Cyclist0623 3 months ago
@Cyclist0623 They hauled agricultural products very short distances from elevators to main line tracks. It's not like there is a rush to get corn and soybeans to the feed mills. Preserving lines like this preserves service to small businesses and agricultural communities.
Boss302fan 2 months ago