Impact of Precision Scheduled Railroading on the Industry

Expressed otherwise, "how has the nature and scope of the industry changed so much in the past thirty years to make operating practices being implemented today that they could not have been implemented earlier"?

I think that the advancement in technology has a lot to do with it. DPU's allows longer trains to be handled better and safer. AI software can better track car movement and allow better trip planning and train makeup and routing. On board diagnostics can relay real time locomotive performance and with trip optimizing can improve fuel/wear on motive power. Just a few things that I can think of that technology can make efficient use of assets that weren't available 30 yrs. ago.

Wonderful insight, Mr. Lang. I thank you and repect the thoughts you bring to this site.

J.D. Lang wrote: ↑Fri Mar 06, 2020 9:56 am

Expressed otherwise, "how has the nature and scope of the industry changed so much in the past thirty years to make operating practices being implemented today that they could not have been implemented earlier"?

I think that the advancement in technology has a lot to do with it. DPU's allows longer trains to be handled better and safer. AI software can better track car movement and allow better trip planning and train makeup and routing. On board diagnostics can relay real time locomotive performance and with trip optimizing can improve fuel/wear on motive power. Just a few things that I can think of that technology can make efficient use of assets that weren't available 30 yrs. ago.

i'm pretty sure distributed power has been around, since the mid 60's. this makes the technology 55 years old, not 30. i used to watch southern railway trains headed from inman yard to greenville, with mid train helpers shoving hard through chamblee, with their radio slave boxcar coupled to the mid train dp power. i also remember the aci kartrak barcodes on the cars, from around the same time period, until the advent of the new microchipped aei tags became the norm. computers are the biggest change i've witnessed, allowing electronic transmission of data, instead of burdening crews with hundreds of copies of weighbills, to be handed off at each spot the corresponding car(s) were set out.

trip optimizers, fuel savers, etc., are junk technology. any small savings seen from these systems, are overshadowed by acquisition cost, installation, maintenance, and upgrading/replacement of failed equipment. a properly trained, and supervised engineer, can see the same "savings" the technology brings without the added costs.he's already in the cab, all he needs is the training and the motivation to do it.

The systems of the 1960s weren't as complex, nor as flexible as modern technology. I went to work for a large Canadian carrier 20 years ago. At the time, new AC locomotives were purchased, and used starting in the Rocky Mountains. The former remote control SD40-2 locomotives released from western service had migrated east. Certain units could be used as leaders, while others were set up for remote. The system was large, as the road ordered the SD40-2s with longer noes to house the gear. Therefor, there were dedicated units for either lead or remote service. Some roads used special cars, or former locomotive bodies to house the remote gear.

Now the use of electronic brake valves, and microprocessor remote control gear is just about universally applied to modern power. Just about any unit can lead, or any can trail. There is the ability to control multiple consists within a train. I'm not sure, but I believe the old systems could only control one remote consist.

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/commentary- ... -psr-again

I must say, I'm wary of that web address, for "I read somewhere" that tags such as co are used on the Dark Web.

So far, my pbone has not been infected; but if any if our Geeks around here such as Mr. Primrose believe this link represents a threat, the sooner this is killed, the happier I be

Here is Fair Use:

.The five principles, in case you did not memorize them are:

Service
Cost Control
Asset Utilization
Safety
Passionate People
Now the service part is important. Because without customers, Harrison admitted there is no railroad business.

Service has a simple definition, according to Hunter: “Service means doing what we say we’ll do.”

I hope my concerns are deemed unfounded, as this article represents a concise summary regarding what Precision Railroading is supposed to be.

Of course, it figures that some of the comments are "not exactly" the cheerleading squad.

Gilbert B Norman wrote: ↑Sat May 16, 2020 6:17 am https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/commentary- ... -psr-again

I must say, I'm wary of that web address, for "I read somewhere" that tags such as co are used on the Dark Web.

There’s nothing “dark” about that link. It’s part of what’s known as a CDN. In any case, here’s the primary link: https://www.freightwaves.com/news/comme ... -psr-again

Good to know, Mr. Chris F, that my concerns were unfounded - and that my Galaxy S-9 remains secure, even if both Samsung and Verizon are of mind to have me rid of that relic. Dreadful; it's paid off.

The DP technology and all the other good stuff is great until it doesn't work right. My carrier has been skipping running trains on certain days, resulting in a monster every other day. Much of this has been possible because of the suspension of passenger trains due to COVID-19. Recently we had about 22k tons, 12k feet, 2x1 locomotives. After a stout, we left, and the DP started low loading. soon it totally dropped its load. Luckily it was a nice day, and I was able to keep going. We had another set out, and the Trainmaster climbed on the remote, and was talking to the shop about what to do. After failing at a repair, it was decided to cut everything off from the remote back. This was because there is a good sized hill on the last leg, which we probably couldn't make.

The problems were that it was a dry day, so the remaining locomotives could produce full power. They always try to max the engines out, but if the rail conditions are not perfect, then they scratch their heads about what went wrong. As far as the passengers go, we have a 90 mile gap as to places where we would clear. Amy problems, and the whole line would be plugged. There is no contingency if there is a problem.

The last bit has to do with what could happen IF........ One parted air hose cold cause hours of delay just fixing the problem and inspecting the train. What happens when a town is cut off, and an emergency vehicle can't get through? As usual, the railroad sets things us half assed. they have no way around a situation. If my 12,000' train had parted hoses, the nearest person who could have helped might have been 2 hours away.

Good piece of writing by David Schanoes.

https://www.railwayage.com/freight/psr- ... y-the-way/

"E. Hunter Harrison has morphed, post-mortem, from a chainsaw wielding, asset stripping, customer repelling, hedge fund darling to being an innovator with a capital I, a genius with a capital G, an entrepreneur with a capital E, and a hedge fund darling with capital D. Either/or, or all of the above, Hunter is approaching something like sainthood in our great Railroad Church of the Operating Ratio."

Great to see some "good stuff" in Railway Age again, instead of all the passenger train advocacy dribble they have been spouting about of late.

Scheduled service has been wanted by several differnt stakeholders. The Unions wanted scheduled runs so their members could live like many non-railroad workers. The customers wanted service that could be set on. Of courese, the railroad wanted most efficient use of equipment at the lowest OR.

Somehow, its a little muddled up with customers not satisfied. Employees not happy. Railroad with its OR low but looking at lesser volumes. What it looks like is a speeded up and more tonnage version of drag freights from a hundred years ago.

And if history repeats itself, we will have in this decade some kind of change[s] similar to Super Power Steam and Symbol Freights.

Luke 17:4---

“If a believer sins, correct him. If he changes the way he thinks and acts, forgive him. 4 Even if he wrongs you seven times in one day and comes back to you seven times and says that he is sorry, forgive him.”

Could Saint Elwood's disciples be losing faith?:

Wall Street Journal

Fair Use:

BELLEVUE, Ohio—U.S. freight railroads are adding back locomotives and reopening idled “hump” yards, reversing years of decluttering as they seek to reduce service delays.

Several humps—where trains are broken down, reassembled and sent to their next destination—were recently reactivated by Norfolk Southern Corp and Union Pacific Corp. They were among operations that had been significantly curtailed in the industry’s yearslong push to operate more efficiently by using fewer trains and holding them to tighter schedules.

The streamlining helped cut costs and boost profits, lifting shares and valuations of major operators. Regulators and some customers say they also made railroads more vulnerable to service disruptions, which have increased during the pandemic amid a shortage of workers.

So apparently, Saint Elwood's latter day disciples have decided that yards - at least at Bellevue and Ft. Worth - are relevant to efficient operations.

I wouldn't read too much into that -- hump yards can run with fewer employees, but represent only a tiny fragment of the changes PSR brought along.

My understanding is the yards themselves weren't closed -- they just removed the hump from the operation and went to flat switching.

I'm not aware of any urban outlying or midpoint yards that were closed under the auspices of PSR/PSR-Lite that have been re-opened.

As independent railroad analyst Tony Hatch has said, "Is this a retreat from PSR? Absolutely not. Idling humps was an outcome of PSR and was not among its goals". Whether UP's Fort Worth hump re-activation will be permanent, it was done to accommodate reduction of capacity in Colton as they construct new intermodal terminal capacity there. UP's CEO Fritz has indicated that since their adoption of PSR switching volume is down by nearly a third because the railroad touches cars fewer times enroute.

Messrs. Olesen and QB, I do not think that the "Big Seven soon to be the Six Pack" have lost their faith in Saint Elwood. As you both note, reopening two "hump" classification yards hardly makes the Saint a heretic.

That the "bottom lines" of all seven Class I's have been enhanced by the "teachings" means they are here to stay. It should be noted even BNSF, which is often considered the best managed Class I, has adopted some "teachings". I'm reminded of that enough times when I'm held up as a manifest crawls through town at 25mph. Hey, you got a fresh crew just going to Galesburg, why burn up all that extra gas just to run @ 50?.

I realize that Labor and some small shippers are "not exactly enthralled" over PSR, but the bottom line comes first. That's how it is in ANY capitalistic society.