Ask a Railroad Conductor

[Est.July.4.1776]

Originally Posted by toesuf94

I am on the main track through Iowa that parallel's Hwy 30 and get stuck watching the trains all the time...always wondered: Is there a weight limit to a train? Also, what does a load of coal in a standard coal hopper weigh? As this is a performance site: Top speed and engine specs are expected of your ride.

4,400hp per locomotive, so traditionally 8,800hp for a coal train I handle, but it's dependent upon how many locomotives. The average coal-train is 18,000-19,000 tons, 130 cars... they're around 140 tons per car, and our trains are rated on horsepower per ton, so an average loaded coal train is around .46 hp/t, while the average freight train is kept at around 1.00+

Top speed is based on track speed since we can be fired and de-certified for track speed violations (Switzerland, anyone?) But ours is a maximum of 60mph... a loaded coal train will rarely come anywhere near that, unless we hit a downgrade, however.

[Est.July.4.1776]

Originally Posted by CamaroSkooter

So, if there's 130 cars in a single train, wouldn't the couplers on the first car behind the locomotives have to be ridiculously strong?

Yes they are. And yes they do snap every now and again... which can make for a bad day...

[Est.July.4.1776]

Originally Posted by Witt

I'm guessing you're a railfan as well as a railroader...

Did hiring on the railroad take any fun out of your hobby or are you still at it? I've spent 5 years on the ground and have 9 now in the seat and seems like most fans I've encountered that have hired out have either quit or aren't interested in their hobby anymore.

I think its the 3am calls and 12+ hours on duty drills it right out of them.

I'm a moderate railfan, but I can't tell you the difference between an SD70 or an AC44, etc... I think trains are cool, but I also take the job seriously... I totally agree with you that most full-on foamers don't understand the need to separate the job from their interests, and the tough lifestyle and unforgiving industry crushes their soul. I like model trains and things of that nature, and I haven't found any diminishing interest since I hired out, but I knew what I was getting into. I have a passion for it, and for the industry- the history, and the culture. That said, and not to toot my own horn (haha, I love puns) I've undergone 88 efficiency tests in the past year, with zero failures and still a positive attitude, so I'm blessed to be able to keep work and hobbies separate... but then again, as I said, I like trains, but I'm not as diehard as a lot of the railfans out there that will hang out at the various points along our subdivisions watching the trains go by, but I can relate to their appreciation for what we do. Hell, I have a pretty good collection of N and O scale trains, but they're all in boxes.

I've always said that we lodge like Airmen, drink like Marines, cuss like Sailors and work like soldiers- the average guy that likes to play with toy trains and watch the real ones isn't too likely to cut it out here...

EDIT TO ADD: Also, I did the on call firefighter thing for a decade, so the on-call lifestyle didn't bother me, and my previous job was working for a sewer department for about five years, so FEELING like you got sh*t on by a trainmaster or yardmaster, is much better than actually going home after being sh*t on. lol

[Witt]

Originally Posted by Est.July.4.1776

Also, I did the on call firefighter thing for a decade, so the on-call lifestyle didn't bother me, and my previous job was working for a sewer department for about five years, so FEELING like you got sh*t on by a trainmaster or yardmaster, is much better than actually going home after being sh*t on. lol

I hired out at the age of 19 and been at it for 14 years. I know the feeling, its the only lifestyle you really know which makes things easier.

I pissed my 20s away going up track 1 and back 2 but hopefully my 50s will be cake (I'll have 360 in by age 49).

[Est.July.4.1776]

Originally Posted by Witt

I hired out at the age of 19 and been at it for 14 years. I know the feeling, its the only lifestyle you really know which makes things easier.

I pissed my 20s away going up track 1 and back 2 but hopefully my 50s will be cake (I'll have 360 in by age 49).

Payday makes all the shortfalls worth it, and the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow (RR Retirement) helps, too!

You work for the NS?

[Witt]

Originally Posted by Est.July.4.1776

Payday makes all the shortfalls worth it, and the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow (RR Retirement) helps, too!

You work for the NS?

Nah, Crash Smash, eXplode.

[toesuf94]

So, let me see if I have this correct: A coal car is 53 feet long. A typical load is 3/4 ton per foot, or 1500 pounds per foot of length, and a coal car is 3 times that, or 4500 pounds per foot, so an average coal car weighs 238,500 pounds?

[Est.July.4.1776]

Originally Posted by Witt

Nah, Crash Smash, eXplode.

Ah yes... most of my railfan stuff that I collect is old C&O stuff, so that's cool. Chicken Sh*t eXpress is what our guys call it. lol

[rray]

I never worked for a railroad, but have several friends employed by BART, Amtrak, and ACE in the club I'm in.

We have a restored SP depot and freight house in Niles, CA, and have a combo SP and WP museum with 2 model railroads depicting the area.

We get lots of SP retirees visiting the museum and boy do they have great stories to tell.

They classify me as a "Foamer", so I had to look it up. Yup, that's me.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

[Est.July.4.1776]

Originally Posted by rray

They classify me as a "Foamer", so I had to look it up. Yup, that's me.

haha, it's all good, brother.

[Retro69]

Okay I admit I had to look up "foamer". I might be a mild case of foamer.

Anyone know what is the origin of the word?

[CamaroSkooter]

Standing at the railroad crossing drooling --> kind of looks like foaming at the mouth --> foamer

[CamaroSkooter]

Originally Posted by toesuf94

So, let me see if I have this correct: A coal car is 53 feet long. A typical load is 3/4 ton per foot, or 1500 pounds per foot of length, and a coal car is 3 times that, or 4500 pounds per foot, so an average coal car weighs 238,500 pounds?

He said each car is roughly 140 tons. Which is 280,000 pounds.

19,000 tons is 38,000,000 pounds (38 million pounds)

And yeah, if each car is 53 feet long from coupler to coupler, then just the cars stretches over 1.25 miles

[Retro69]

Originally Posted by CamaroSkooter

Standing at the railroad crossing drooling --> kind of looks like foaming at the mouth --> foamer

I should have guessed! (wiping lower lip)