newpylong wrote:NS is not going to put manifest on their high priority intermodal jobs. Not only will that reduce the track speed for the train but for any myriad of reasons it's not a good idea.
The job will be abolished if it get's to that point and the traffic will go back on EDPO or a true ED495 will come back.
Understand your points but there have been multiple occasions when the east bound 28N autos have been parked at Owego (controlled siding) or Binghamton (Vestal spur or pocket track off DL&W track) for 24 +/- hours in the past few months for reasons unknown to me (lack of PAS or NS crews? inability for PAS to handle due to unloading back-up at Ayer?). And AFAIK, 287 is an empty auto rack train as I don't believe any import cars are shipped out of Davisville by rail (maybe occasional Subarus but certainly no Bentleys or Porsches!). Net: I don't think these auto trains are all that time sensitive give or take a few hours - presumably not as time sensitive as 22K with eb loaded containers (Having said that, 22K consumes 1-2 hours dropping a Taylor IM block at Binghamton each day which then sits approximately 24 hours before it is forwarded to Taylor yard by the K82 turn job). NS certainly doesn't come close to matching CSX intermodal transit times to New England yet their one day longer schedules from Chicago seem to be acceptable to 22K customers.
FWIW, the EHH/Creel team routinely add manifest to intermodal trains helping expedite manifest freight delivery and reducing need for intermediate loose car classification with likely some transit time impact on the intermodal traffic. IIRC, CP had even put blocks of grain covered hoppers on some intermodals to cope with Canada's large grain backlog a year or two ago. Adding manifest freight to creates longer trains requiring fewer train starts.
Squires must still hear footsteps behind him and many financial analysts on yesterday's con call weren't persuaded his get-well plan for NS cut expenses aggressively enough - but I'm veering OT here.