Details of N&W's 500-car coal train
Bob Loehne
Details of N&W's 500-car coal train
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A handful of N&W fans and/or RR record collectors have asked for the details
of N&W's 500-car coal train, so, I will post them to the whole group ... and
a few other fine folk of RR repute. Remember ... I was not there. The
information was compiled from "Norfolk Southern World," Nov 1987, "Railway
Age," Nov 1967, "NRHS News," Nov 1989, and several conversations with Clyde
Tayler, retired N&W/NS General Foreman Mechanical.
During the early fall of 1967, the Norfolk & Western had been experimenting
with longer and longer coal trains powered in part by mid-train, radio
controlled locomotives. N&W previously had run several 250-car trains,
typically carrying 24,000 tons of coal, and they quickly upped the ante --
280, 300, 420, 425 (3rd week), and 450 cars. Eventually, on a freezing
morning at Iaeger, WV, crews patched together strings of 150, 150, and 200
loaded coal cars and began setting a variety of railroad records that lasted
for almost 22 years.
As the test trains grew successively longer, so too did the length between
the lead locomotive and its remote, slaved helpers. Not only was the test to
see how many cars one train could handle, the RR also was looking at how far
the slave radio signals could travel, how reliable they would be if they made
it -- especially considering the several tunnels -- and would the radio
control system in total be as reliable a part of the train as the engines and
cars already had proven to be.
The 500-car train ran in the 4th and final week of testing and met with mixed
results. For sure, they proved that just six locomotives could handle the
load on a relatively flat course. Expecting 500 cars to behave perfectly
proved surprisingly accurate -- 2 cars early on sent false alarms that set
off hot box detectors, 2 cars developed hot brake problems, and one coupler
broke on the restart at Williamson, WV.
Towards the end of the day, intermittent losses of slave radio signal had an
effect on brake line pressure, which was believed to be the cause of the two
hot brake problems. The hot brakes in turn began setting off hot box
detectors, but crews were aware of the situation and they nursed it the
remaining short distance to Portsmouth. This train got away without major
incident, but had it been forced to stop in a segment with road crossigs, the
super long train would have tied up all cross traffic for 4 miles.
The broken coupler occurred in the Williamson Yard and, fortunately, did not
block any streets. My friend Clyde Taylor at that time was the General
Foreman at Williamson and oversaw the hasty coupler change (which had
occurred in his sector). Clyde has since retired in Winston-Salem, NC, and
has shared this and many other of his engrossing -- often humorous --
railroad experiences. One particularly interesting aspect of the 500-car
train was one of N&W's contingency measures.
Taylor and a couple other RR officials drew up plans to cope with a variety
of emergencies, of which the response scenario to a drastically failed hopper
car was particularly swift and dramatic. On command, a car knocker was to
bang open the hopper doors. A front end tractor would then lift the still
emptying hopper car out of the way. A bulldozer was to push the coal off the
track. The train would back up, re-couple, and be on its way as soon as
possible. Clyde figured the black diamonds were cheap -- on the other hand, a
blocked mainline and N&W pride both came at great cost.
FYI ... In August, 1989, the South African Transport Services ran a train 7.3
KM long (4.53 miles), carrying 70,800 tons of iron ore, with 16 locomotives
(9 electric and 7 diesel powered) pulling 660 cars. For what it is worth,
this train probably alos was a test, because at most only 7 locomotives were
ever used at one time.
Here's the rundown of facts and figures covering the N&W 500-car train:.
Date: November 15, 1967
Weather on Departure: 12 degrees Fahrenheit
Originating Location: Iaeger, West Virginia
Intermediate Stop: Williamson, West Virginia for crew change
Destination Location: Portsmouth, Ohio
Distance: 159 Miles
Train Number: Extra 1737
Locomotives: 6 new EMD SD45's
Horsepower: 3,600 each
21,600 total horsepower
Number of Cars: 500 coal cars plus caboose
Train Consist: Locos # 1737-1740-1726
300 coal cars
Locos # 1738-1761-1759
200 coal cars
Caboose # 518263
Consist Stats: Quantity Type Total Length in Feet
Coal Hoppers 210 70-ton 9,135.00
" " 38 85-ton 1,833.00
" " 86 100-ton 4,192.50
" " 9 82.5-ton 366.75
" " 157 50-ton 5,468.83
Caboose 1 ---- 34.67
SD45 Diesels 6 ---- 394.00
=== ========
507 21,424.75
Length of Train: 21,424 feet plus 9 inches
4 miles, 304.75 feet over pulling face of knuckle
6.5 kilometers
Weight of Coal: 48,584 tons (perhaps 42,600 international tons???)
Average Time to Pass Single Point: 20 minutes
Speed for First Few Miles: 10 MPH
Maximum Speed: 20 MPH
Total Slack: 12 car lenghts, about 500 feet
Slack Time: 2 to 3 minutes from first loco movement to caboose movement
Differing opinions. 2 min 7 sec = 4 knuckles per second
2 min 49 sec = 3 knuckles per
second
Train Crew Departing Iaeger:
W O Tracy, Jr., Superintendent Pocahontas Division
E T Hagy, Conductor
R E Bailey, Engineer
Q A Goff, Jr., Pocahontas Division Road Foreman of
Engines
At controls departing Iaeger
J F Litz, General Road Foreman of Engines
At controls departing Williamson
Problems: 1 ... Cars # 55 and # 181 were checked for journal defects -- no
problem
Report came from Sprigg Hot Box Detector (Iaeger-Portsmouth
leg)
Problems: 2 ... broken coupler on N&W car # 20596 on A or west end
Broken coupler occurred on restart at Williamson Yard
Problems: 3 ... cars # 35 and # 36 aft of the slaves; dragging brakes
reported
Soluton was slow to 5 MPH so trackside crews could handle
Problems: 4 ... intermittent loss of radio signals to the helpers
Likely caused air line brake problems in #3 above
That's most of what I have. Clyde took detailed notes of times and
operations at Williamson that day, but I don't have initial departure and
final arrival times with which we could figure average speed. Based on the
slow start and later slow down for the brake problems, I'll venture a guess
of 13 MPH. Any other guesses?
If anyone else has any data on this legendary train, I hope you will drop it
off on the LIST or send it to me directly. Certainly, any corrections will be
gladly received. And, any anecdotal rememberings are especially solicited.
The 500-car coal train is a great story on the sheer numbers alone -- I just
bet there are a number of great unpublished stories that go with it.
That's it for now ..... thanks for the space ..... Bob
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Bob Loehne -- American AltaVista -- oez...@aol.com
1520 Martin Street, Suite #202, Winston-Salem, NC 27103
910-767-6067 -- Toll Free 800-767-6067 -- Fax 910-725-1150
Posted at 7:59:17 am on 8/8/96 -- See you down by the mainline!
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