Snow removal now and then on LIRR

ElliotCourtney wrote:Are they starting to run the sandite/alcohol trains alredy? I belive I saw 2 MP15's sandwiching one of the cars going thru Babylon this morning (12/13).

The Sandites and Leaf Crushers are done for the year. The Sandite started the first week in November and Ended the 1st Week in December. The Leaf Crusher ended last week.. The Alcohol train only runs when there is a significant amount of snow or when there is freezing rain.. Remember, The Alcohol trains sole purpose is to DE-ICE the 3rd rail so the MU equipment can operate.

Well with the current management at the LIRR, they would probably count yesterday's storm as a major one. Elliot, you also might have mistaken it for the USDOT car, which was layed up in Babylon for the weekend.

lirr415 wrote:Well with the current management at the LIRR, they would probably count yesterday's storm as a major one. Elliot, you also might have mistaken it for the USDOT car, which was layed up in Babylon for the weekend.

Not likely, Trains didn't have too much trouble this morning. The roads were the main problem last night into this morning.

The LIRR would bother to clear snow on the freight lines: Bay Ridge, Bushwick, Garden City-Mitchel Field & the yards? I would've thought, given the LIRR management's regard of freight as a nuisance, that they would not have bothered to clear snow from those lines.

Thanks pete, do you know where it will be next as I would like to get more pics of it. You can just message me on fb if you want.

Teutobergerwald wrote:The LIRR would bother to clear snow on the freight lines: Bay Ridge, Bushwick, Garden City-Mitchel Field & the yards? I would've thought, given the LIRR management's regard of freight as a nuisance, that they would not have bothered to clear snow from those lines.

Last year a pair of MP15s had a little incident when they tried running them down the GMS with the snow well over the running rails..

lirr415 wrote:

Teutobergerwald wrote:The LIRR would bother to clear snow on the freight lines: Bay Ridge, Bushwick, Garden City-Mitchel Field & the yards? I would've thought, given the LIRR management's regard of freight as a nuisance, that they would not have bothered to clear snow from those lines.

Last year a pair of MP15s had a little incident when they tried running them down the GMS with the snow well over the running rails..

I thought that line was out of service, anyway. It's kind of overgrown, and the grade crossings have concrete barriers on either side blocking the tracks (probably to keep errant motorists from thinking the right of way is a road and trying to drive on it). I was last there a few years ago. Has this changed and are they operating equipment on that track?

Hasn't changed, the Garden-Mitchell is used for freight equipment storage that doesn't fit in Holban/Dunkirk or elsewhere. The OBRM equipment was formerly stored on the eastern end, and each year the circus move brings the RB&BB rolling stock down there as well.

Last year's move.. shot just east of where the team yard was located.


Snow hasn't been an issue at this point, we'll see how the season unfolds..

Snow doesn't have to be 2 feet deep to be a problem.
Freezing rain coating the third rail causes problems for the electric equipment. If you don't believe this just ask the people who flipped their vehicles in yesterday's 1/4 of snow.
Ray

ElliotCourtney wrote:Are they starting to run the sandite/alcohol trains alredy? I belive I saw 2 MP15's sandwiching one of the cars going thru Babylon this morning (12/13).

I saw it too, along the Montauk Branch.
But it wasn't an alcohol train.
It was actually an FRA Inspection train, DOTX216. Just like this one here: http://atip.fra.dot.gov/public/about/DOTX_216.pdf

My aunt and uncle lived in Astoria, Queens. In the 1950s they bought a house in the village of New Suffolk, which is about three miles from Mattituck and two miles from Cutchogue. On Friday nights after work, they would take LIRR to Mattituck and a taxi to their house; they reversed the move on Sunday evening. They did this for many years, until they retired and permanently moved from Astoria to New Suffolk circa 1965/1967.

They told me that during several winters, their Friday evening train bound for Greenport was terminated at Riverhead due to snow. Passengers traveling to stations east of Riverhead were put up in a local motel at railroad expense. I don't recall if they said the line was cleared in time for a Saturday morning train, or if passengers were bussed to their stations on Saturday.

Just came across this MTA/LIRR link on snow removal equipment:
http://mta.info/news/stories/?story=160
It shows some of the current equipment. Maybe they will get to use it tomorrow and maybe we can catch it in action.
Ray