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 JeffreyWilpon please sell the MetsPremium join:2002-12-24 Long Island kudos:3 Reviews:
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| reply to burner50
Re: Yet another idiot driver at a RR Crossing Dual-Mode |  Electric Only |  Old Diesel (out of use) |
Out in these parts, we don't have too much freight. In fact, I see very little off it. The rail lines out this way are for commuter trains - the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR), which is a section of the MTA (Metropolitan Transportation Authority), that also has Metro-North & NYC Bus.
At any rate, the LIRR runs from under 34th and 7th in midtown Manhattan (known as Penn Station) all the way east to Montauk Point, at the southern tip of Long Island. It's busiest commuter railroad in N. America - almost 300,000 passengers/day.
Parts of the system are electrified, and other parts are not. In the past, the LIRR used 2 models; diesel only and electric only. For those people commuting on a diesel to NYC, you'd have to change at a major hub outside of NYC due to the fact that the diesels can't enter the east-river tunnels to get to Penn Station.
Most of the engines from the 1960s to the 1990s were built by Budd and General Electric. New electric trains from Bombardier were purchased in the late 1990s that replaced the older electric cars.
Since it's not cost-effective to electrify the entire system, the MTA purchased many "dual mode" locomotives, built specifically by a now-closed section of a General Motors division. The dual-modes have double the rate of breakdown as the electric only trains, but they have their perks. For one, double-decker cars. Secondly, gone is the need to change at the hub to continue your journey to NYC---in one motion, they turn the diesel engines off and turn the electric on, and are then allowed to slip into the tunnel.
Main Site: »www.lirr.org LIRR info: »en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Island_Rail_Road LIRR fleet: »en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Islan···ad_fleet -- And so castles made of sand, slip into the sea, eventually.
I'm the Dude. So that's what you call me. You know, that or, uh, His Dudeness, or uh, Duder, or El Duderino if you're not into the whole brevity thing. | |  burner50Helping Darwin WINPremium,VIP join:2002-06-05 Cowtown kudos:1 | Hmmm...
Also I wanted to mention the diesels are Diesel-electric...
The diesel engine powers a large alternator that sends power to several electric traction motors (4-6 motors per engine). | |  RR ConductorHappy 40th AmtrakPremium join:2002-04-02 Redwood Valley, CA kudos:1 4 edits | reply to Jeffrey
Jeffrey, the reason you don't see the LIRR hauling freight is because a freight line took over freight duties from the LIRR In 1997, The New York and Atlantic Railway-
»www.anacostia.com/nyar/nyar.html
They are doing VERY well I might add, averaging 20,000 carloads a year The freight rail business there, as well as across the nation is booming, they are really helping to take more and more trucks off the roads.
Some more links-
»en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_a···_Railway
»www.oldnyc.com/bayridge/contents···dge.html | |  JeffreyWilpon please sell the MetsPremium join:2002-12-24 Long Island kudos:3 Reviews:
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| Interesting - shares the same tracks too. They must run them at night or something. I see about 1 freight per day, and it's usually about 6 cars long hauled by a locomotive that looks like it was built 200 years ago. I'll have to check out those links.
I'm all for more freight around here. Get the damn semi's off the LIE.  -- And so castles made of sand, slip into the sea, eventually.
I'm the Dude. So that's what you call me. You know, that or, uh, His Dudeness, or uh, Duder, or El Duderino if you're not into the whole brevity thing. | |  1 edit | reply to RR Conductor They are doing VERY well I might add, averaging 20,000 carloads a year The freight rail business there, as well as across the nation is booming, they are really helping to take more and more trucks off the roads.
thats funny wonder who comes to rail head to pickup the goods for final delivery and transportation ? dont foget the truckinging compnies are using the railroad to transport alot of trailers containers on wheels and some railroads have their own trucking companies such as csx | |  burner50Helping Darwin WINPremium,VIP join:2002-06-05 Cowtown kudos:1 | Final Delivery is where they should be | | |
|  RR ConductorHappy 40th AmtrakPremium join:2002-04-02 Redwood Valley, CA kudos:1 1 edit | said by burner50:Final Delivery is where they should be I agree! There is also a lot of transloading (train to truck, vice versa) going on as well now, I know the BNSF just opened up a huge transload facility in Fontana on some of the old Kaiser Steel facility, and there are a lot opening up all the time. »www.google.com/search?q=railroad···=1I7GGIH
I also realize that some things have to be delivered by truck to the consumer, but many of those things can go by intermodal (container, trailer on flat car) or rail car for most of their destination, then by truck to the stores or wherever. The perishable's market is another one where the railroads are taking back a huge share of the market, both by reefer car and by intermodal, and have ordered hundreds of new 70 foot jumbo reefers, and remanufactured and updated still more older 50 foot and 57 foot reefers. Here's a good article on that- »findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m···674/pg_1
There are many goods than never need to touch a truck as well, such as coal, grain, aggregrates, etc.
I think indy has the wrong idea, this is about using trucks and trains to keep the country going, but trains are more economical, more fuel efficient and can ship in volumes truckers can only dreram of, not to mention too many trucks on the roads equals more congestion, pollution and road wear and tear. The booming rail traffic is a win win for everybody, trucks, trains and America  -- »www.gorail.org See MAJOR freight&passenger action@ the Galesburg, IL RailCam! »205.245.189.161:1100/ My soon to be employer,as an Asst.Conductor- »www.amtrak.com »www.modocrailroadacademy.com -Grad,Class of 2-07,woohoo! | |
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