Large Scale Central

UP Container trains

Prototypes
#1

Noticed some of the bigger UP container trains have a pusher or two on the back, like the coal trains. Had not seen that before. They usually have several engines in front and roll about 60 mph or so…

#2

I’ve read that traffic is down. Maybe they are consolidating trains and moving more weight in a single train, thus the need for pushers.

#3

That would be DPU, or Distributed Power. The engines are linked to the head end by radio, and depending on what the engineer wants, the DP can mimic exactly what the engineer is doing with the head end power or be controlled independently.

There's many advantages to the the RR's for running train's this way, the big one being it allows you to run bigger and heavier trains.
#4

Chris,
The coal trains always have a pusher in back, had not seen one on container trains before.

#5

Jerry,

For the longest time, that was the most action DP operations saw, unit commodity trains (grain and coal for the most part).  We've had merchandise trains operate with DP in the NW for awhile as well.   About a year ago,  they began tinkering with DP'ing intermodal trains.   It sort of comes and goes around here though,  but down on the Transcon, it seems like DP'd intermodals are becoming the norm.
#6

Jerry,

The pusher thing has just taken off because the railroads are using what I call well cars for the containers… You can not push on the spline cars, the one that trailers ride on… The spline cars are being used less & less in service because of a 55 MPH limit when empty & no push…

#7

A railroader 'splained to me one day at the Botanic. With modern Radio Control, they can effectively operate a loco at the far end of the train. Putting one back there is very efficient and 3 locos arranged that way can do the work of 5 on the front.

#8

Coming back from lunch yesterday I saw a container train, maybe 1/2 mile long one engine on front and one in the rear. I’ll keep watching and see if it was a fluke or trend.

#9

We were in Yuma on Sunday, and saw a UP container train headed westbound with a pusher on the rear. What really caught my attention was that the pusher was from the Norfolk Southern.