Power Notes
BNSF is pulling their surge fleet out of storage for use due to traffic
surges - at least some of them.  Several of the former ATSF SD45-2s are coming out of storage for use.  As of July 12th, 14 of the 20 cylinder brutes were running again.  They included the 6455, 6458, 6460, 6461, 6468, 6469, 6471, 6474, 6478, 6479, 6493, 6505, 6511, & 6516.  In addition to the above SD45-2s, the SD45-2Bs are also operating again.

All 8 of the engines now numbered BNSF 7504 - 7511 are in service on BNSF with the exception of BNSF 7510 which is heading back to Barstow for some repairs.  Many of the BN GP50s and SD40-2s have also been returned to service.  Several GP7s and 9s are also back in service allowing the GP30s and 35s to handle local work. 

LMX units for Sale? According to the BNSF computer, at least three have been moved to Pasco, WA for rebuild and sale to the British Columbia Railway.  According to reports, the LMX 8555, 8558 and 8574 became BCR units on June 30th.  British Columbia may come back to BNSF to get sixmore of the units by next spring.  CEECO will do some modifications to the units to make them BCR standard units.  These will include moving the bell to between the number boards and a set of "Corner Lights" (2nd set of ditch lights) and of course the new British Columbia blue paint job. 

As of July 18, 2000, the newest Dash 9s in service are the 5460 - 5499. They have all been delivered during June and July except for the 5499 that was delivered in May.  5451 - 5459 are on their way, but not on the property yet. 
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Service Interruptions
At 5:15 a.m. CDT on Monday, June 26, 2000, train H-GALCSX1-25 derailed 42 cars approximately 4 miles east of Chillicothe, IL blocking both main tracks.  The derailment occurred at MP 126 on Main 1.  Fortunate for BNSF is that the train had just crossed the Illinois River Bridge at MP 128.

The 120 car train had 102 loads and 18 empties weighing 12,543 tons and was 7935 feet long including the 6 locomotives.  For Power, the train had ATSF 657, BNSF 4443, BNSF 4739, CSXT 8258, HLGX 6801 & CN 9404. Poor train make-up has been blamed for the derailment.  Too many heavy loads behind a block of empty cars was determined to cause the derailment.

BNSF train make-up rules specify against building a train in this manner, but the rules do allow for a train to be ran this way if it is slowed to 45 MPH.  According to BNSF train make up rules, no car weighing less than 45 tons can be ahead of a block of 15 or more heavy cars that weight more than 90 tons.  There were four places in this train where it was in violation including the head three cars being empty boxcars weighing at 32 tons each followed by 18 cars weighing over 90 tons each.  After that was where the 42 cars started derailing.  There were 11 empty flat cars that weighed 31 tons each followed by a block of 31 heavy cars.  Several trains were rerouted via Cicero, Naperville and Mendota, IL to Galesburg to avoid congestion and eastbound traffic has been slowed to 45 MPH east of New Mexico.
Main track one was opened at 04:20 and main track two was restored to service at 09:45 a.m. CDT on Tuesday, June 27, 2000.  Trains held for opening started operating through the area when main two was opened. 

The following is a list of reroutes:
EASTBOUND
Trains rerouted via Cicero Trains routed via the NS from Kansas City to
Chicago
Z-DENCHI9-25 S-LGBNYC5-24
Z-LACWSP1-24 S-LGBNYC6-24
Z-SBDWSP5-23
Z-ALTWSP2-25
Z-LACWSP4-24
Z-NBYWSP1-24
Z-FRSCHI1-24
Z-SBDWSP4-24
Z-STOWSP1-24

WESTBOUND
Trains routed via the UP Chicago to Mesquite, TX.

P-CHIRIC1-25  via the GTW Z-WSPALT9-26
Z-WSPNBY9-26 via the BRC Z-WSPALT8-26
Z-WSPNBY8-26 via the BRC
Z-WSPLAC9-26 Via the BRC

Derailment#2
BNSF had another derailment at Ibis, CA on July 10th.  Train Z-NYCLAC1-08 derailed the rear 3 spine cars in their train.  The derailment blocked both main lines forcing BNSF to reroute and detour trains.  Some were routed between Vaughn, NM and Colton, CA via the Union Pacific (Ex SP) and some were routed between Cadiz, CA and Williams Jct. AZ.  Between Cadiz and Matthie, AZ, they used the Arizona and California Railroad, and between Matthie and Williams Jct. the BNSF Phoenix Sub.  The derailment
occurred at 01:50 PDT on the 10th at MP 592.3 at the Ibis station sign.

The rear car of the train caught on fire (trailers) and even burnt the
Ibis signal house.  The rear car apparently derailed at MP 586 at Java as the rail was turned over for 6 miles behind the train.  Train
P-CHILAC2-07 was following the Z train and managed to derail the lead unit, BNSF 4560, before they could get stopped short of the turned over rail.  It is possible that the bond wires on the signals had not been broken allowing the P train to get an approach signal behind the Z train.

The derailment was caused by a combination of a stiff bolster that
allowed the rear car to have improper swiveling of the trucks and by
defective ties.  Main Track 2 was returned to service at 00:28 PDT, Tuesday, July 11th.

Main Track 1 is expected back in service by 18:00 PDT, Wednesday, July 12th.   As of early July 12th, the following detours had occurred:

Eastbound - S-LGBALT5-11 Detoured via UPRR West Colton, CA to Vaughn, NM
S-LAHNWO1-12 Detoured via UPRR West Colton, CA to Vaughn, NM
Westbound - P-CLOLGB3-09 Detoured via ARZC RR Matthie, AZ to Cadiz, CA
P-CHILAC2-08 Detoured via ARZC RR Matthie, AZ to Cadiz, CA

Shortly after the Ibis derailment, at 03:00 PDT July 10th, train
M-RICBAR1-09 derailed 6 cars all upright at MP 1042.4 near Le Grande, CA on the Stockton Sub.  The derailment destroyed the east switch at Le Grande.  Train H-EVEBAR1-07 pulled the rear of the train away from the derailment and put it into the siding at Le Grande from the west end.

After temporary repairs were made to the switch, traffic again resumed at 13:00 on the 10th.  The cause had not been determined. 
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Miscellaneous
BNSF and the City of Newton, KS may have a solution to the problem of trains tying up crossings in Newton. Suzanne Loomis, city engineer and director of public works, brought a proposal to the Newton City
Commission in July that would separate road and rail crossings at Main and First streets.  The proposal is just being developed and no one is sure whether to build an overpass for the road or an underpass.  Either would work for traffic.

  Since Amtrak stops at the Newton depot located on Main Street, this would be a help to them, as they would not have to clear the crossing before stopping.  This would allow the train to stop in a different location and not make passengers walk so far to board the train. 

Loomis said the idea is appealing to the city of Newton because, with the cooperation of the Kansas Department of Transportation and BNSF, it would cost the city very little.  Estimated cost for the project, which would include several variables, could be about $6 million.  KDOT would fund as much as 85 percent of the project. The railroad would fund a minimum of five percent, leaving the city's cost anywhere from zero to 10 percent.

KDOT has informed Newton that four locations meet the requirements of the program, those being Main Street, First Street, Broadway and North Main at Old 81. Since an new ballpark is being built near 1st street, this may help influence KDOT's decision to go ahead with the project. 
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Line Sales
The former Frisco line between Leon and Severy, KS. is up for sale or lease to the Flint Hills Railroad Association.  The FHRA is trying to obtain the line for an excursion line.  The track actually runs between Augusta and Neodasha, KS and is owned by the Kansas Eastern Railroad (A Watco company).  The Flint Hills group just wants to take the line from Leon (east of Augusta) to Severy where they will connect with the Kansas Eastern.

  Supposedly, the railroad has already got some coaches and a steam engine lined up to handle the excursion train.  The part of the railroad between Leon and Severy has already been sold to A&K Metals for scrap and is to be abandoned.  If the Flint Hills group can save the line, it could even haul some freight over it. 

There is a possibility that loads of grain could be hauled from Leon to Severy to give to the KE.  This could help offset the cost of operating an excursion service.

There is also a possibility that the Flint Hills Railroad could get trackage rights over the KE all the way to Fredonia to meet the SKOL. There is a gravel pit at Severy that is not loading via rail right now, but could if they choose to.   While nothing has been agreed to yet, the Flint Hills group hopes to have the deal done by early in September.  The total cost of buying the line would be about $1.26 million or $33,000 per mile for a total of 38 miles of railroad. (poor deal when you consider the City of Wichita's payment to the CKR - DepotNews)  This would include passing the former Frisco wooden water tower at Beaumont, KS that is on the National  Register of Historic structures.  Beaumont was once a junction with the Frisco line from Enid, OK that came via Blackwell, OK and Winfield, KS. 

As of Mid July, the FHRR had asked A&K to delay the sale for up to a year until they could get all the legalities worked out.  A&K refused so the FHRR filed a motion with the Surface Transportation Board to block the sale of the line from Watco to A&K.  The problems is who actually owns the roadbed under the rails and if there is a petition involved to turn the line into a trail if it is sold to A&K.  
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OK-Excursion Train? In another interesting move, passenger cars have shown up at Guthrie, OK for a planned excursion train on the former ATSF Enid District.  The State of Oklahoma has a working agreement with BNSF to purchase the line between Guthrie and Fairmont if an operator can be secured to run an excursion train between those two cities.
 The line has been dormant since 1994 when high water caused the ATSF to route traffic over the BN line between Perry and Enid.  Due to the BNSF merger, the line became redundant since no originating traffic was on the line.  There are several elevators on line, but none were loading.  BNSF still uses the line between Enid and Fairmont as part of the Avard Sub for a second main track.  Whether or not BNSF would allow an excursion train to operate into Enid or not remains to be seen. 
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Our Beloved CKR?
In 1993, the Central Kansas Railway bought over 900 miles of former ATSF branch lines in Kansas & Oklahoma.  Many of those lines have already been sold and scrapped.  In addition, the sister railway to the CKR, the Kansas Southwestern leased from the Union Pacific some 400 miles of Kansas Branch lines that they later purchased.  On June 28th, the CKR announced that they planned to file for abandonment of another 255 miles of those lines including some of the former KSW lines that were merged into the CKR not long ago.

Included in the railway's abandonment plans are former ATSF lines from Hutchinson to Kingman; from Rago to Harper; from Garden Plain to Wichita; from Larned to Jetmore; from Coats to Protection; from Larned to Garfield, and the former UP line from Conway Springs to Lyons; as reported by the Wichita Eagle on June 27th. 

Since 1994, the CKR has abandoned former ATSF lines between Blackwell, OK and Spring, KS; Harper and Anthony; Sun City and Belvidere; Protection and Englewood; Little River and Galatia; and Garfield and Kinsley.   The former UP line has been abandoned in 2000 between Argonia and Kiowa, KS that leaves the City of Anthony without rail service. (really pretty much of all of Harper County -DepotNews 

The CKR had also transferred the Anthony to Spring line to the KSW operations out of Conway Springs.  It to has been abandoned with the rest of the Argonia to Kiowa line.  Grain elevator operators weren't surprised by the move, and were critical of the service provided by the railroad in recent years.

Since 1980, more than 2000 miles of track has been abandoned in Kansas according to the Wichita Eagle.  In 1999, the grain shippers at Coldwater and Protection had to get the State of Kansas to order the CKR to serve them.  The CKR claimed to have a washout at Belvidere that was impassable and could not be fixed in time for harvest.  The washout was reported in April and harvest wasn't until June leaving the CKR nearly 2 months to repair the track.  In late July, the CKR finally operated a train to Protection.  Another operated in August, but that was the extent of operations on the west end of the line.  Since the CKR did not provide timely service, elevator owners could not use the service. 

It is interesting to note that the CKR plans to abandon between Conway Springs and Lyons, but also plans to upgrade the portion of the line between Conway Springs and Kingman so they can abandon the line between Wichita and Garden Plain. 
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Quote of the Week: "I shipped a million bushels by truck this year that I would rather have shipped by rail. That's 1000 trucks down Highway 54 because the cars weren't here. Last year, we had big shots out here telling us they'd do something to upgrade the track if we would obligate to 300 cars a year. I told them I'd obligate 300 cars if they'd guarantee me the service on time. They said they'd get back to me, but they never did."  Dale Parsons, manager of the Cairo (Kansas) Co-op, quoted in The Wichita Eagle regarding Central Kansas Railway's plans to abandon 255 miles of track.

CKR Derailments
#1On July 1st, four cars of a 144 car train hauling grain into Wichita
derailed east of Maize, KS on the former UP line now owned by the CKR. 

The derailment blocked several main roads in Maize for about an hour and 119th Street West remains closed as train crews work to clean up the spilled grain.  This was the second grain train derailment on the CKR in a few days. 

#2On June 24th, two cars of a 58 car grain train derailed on the former ATSF line in West Wichita.  The train had two cars turn over near Lark Avenue and Kellogg Avenue.  There is a new neighborhood in the area that has only been there a year & a half.  Residents are calling for the CKR to abandon this track immediately.  I guess they didn't realize the railroad was there when they built new houses next to it. 

In order to abandon this line, the CKR will have to rehabilitate the line between Conway Springs and Kingman and possibly construct two miles of new track south of Kingman.  Something that in my opinion won't happen, unless the City of Wichita contributes money to the project.  The City wants to remove the railroad bridge over Cowskin Creek in West Wichita to prevent flooding.  (I guess cleaning out the drift from the bridge periodically wouldn't be an option???!!!)

Anyway, heat was blamed as the cause for both derailments.  A condition know as Sun Kinks can happen when the temperature varies greatly between night and day as it has in late June and early July. (I guess the sun shines brighter on CKR's tracks? -DepotNews)  The rails bow out in one direction causing a wide gauge and letting the wheels drop between the rails. 

While the former ATSF line is suffering from lack of maintenance, the former UP line is being upgraded between Wichita and Hutchinson.  The upgrade had not reached the point where the July 2nd derailment took place. 

#3A third tragedy struck the CKR on July 12th when a conductor was killed in Wichita as he made up his train headed for Vulcan Chemicals.  Somehow he was knocked between two cars and ran over. 

There have been rumors that the CKR is for sale and that Watco is the
proposed buyer.  So far, that is just a rumor.  Whether or not the CKR
will be sold remains to be seen.  There is another rumor that the CKR
will sell the Medicine Lodge Line.  When they bought the 900+ miles from the Santa Fe in 1993, it was one of the highest revenue producing railroads for the CKR.  Since that time, the CKR has lost most of the gypsum business from Sun City to Medicine Lodge and is willing to sell the line according to some reports that I have heard.  They are currently getting 6 - 10 carloads of outbound traffic from the mill at Medicine Lodge three days per week and getting about 14 carloads of gyp rock per week from Sun City to Medicine Lodge.  The rest is going by truck.

[Anybody want to buy a shortline railroad with lots of potential?]

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OtherShortLine News

In early July, Panhandle Northern GP7s 4433 & 4434 were seen moving east out of Argentine, KS heading for the Omnitrax Shops in Chicago. Originally, the units from Borger, TX were to be rebuilt at the CKR shops in Wichita, but since the Chicago shops don't seem to have enough work, they were sent there.  After rebuild, they should be shipped back to Borger.  CKR GP7s 2232 & 2233 were sent to Borger to help the PNR while the two PNR units were being rebuilt.  Omnitrax at Loveland sent GWR 4163 to Borger to help, so CKR 2232 was sent back to Wichita. 
GWR 4163 is an ex NS GP38-2 that was originally an Illinois Terminal unit. 

In a related note, two of the three ex GRR, Exx NS, Exxx IT GP38-2s that were at Wichita are supposed to go back to Loveland.  CKR 381 & 383 are supposed to go back to Loveland right away, along with recently repainted and rebuilt GP35, # 351.  The 382 was still at Wichita on July 13th and still in primer.  It was supposed to be repainted into the new CKR blue & white scheme at Kingman, KS during July, but that has not happened yet. 


Abilene and Smokey Valley
The Abilene and Smokey Valley has initiated service over the eastern half of its line. The A&SV rigged up a mower on an extended arm to help clear the brush away from the railroad. They are now operating a hi-rail bus over the east end. Apparently the bus costs $30 extra. For your money you get too ride from Enterprise to Woodbine.

 At Woodbine you get to eat at Briggita's, a very interesting cafe which specializes in German food . It is a high quality restaurant especially for such a small town.

The return trip is by road back to Enterprise where the regular afternoon train takes you back to Abilene.  The west end of the line is a nice 11 mile ride (round trip). The east end is much longer and may be the most scenic part of the former Rock Island to Abeline.  There are several wood pile bridges and some high fills. Pearl is located halfway along the route and consists mainly of a Co-op and it's associated buildings.

Woodbine is about the same size as Enterprise.  The A&SV uses former Hutchinson & Northern S1 #4 still painted in H&N orange with a A&SV logo on the side of the cab.

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Politics
For those of us that are railroaders or those retired railroaders on the
list, this is important.  The Railroad Retirement package has finally
been introduced into Congress as HR4844.  This is the package that allows employees to retire at age 60 with 30 years service and still have full benefits.  Currently, this is age 62.  This allows a spouse of a deceased retiree to have a dramatic increase in benefits.  It will also increase the income for a retiree who has worked for more than 30 years, something not in place now.  It will help railroads, as they will not have to pay as much into the retirement system since they will be able to invest the funds into the open market allowing a better return on the investment.

The railroads must also maintain the solvency of the retirement fund, so it is a win - win situation for employees, retirees, and the railroads.
Write your Congressmen today!


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