It looks impressive but only the first four units were actually online. The other two were DIT'ed being ferried along/adding their air to the train. I can't speak for how BNSF does things but I've worked for UP for nearing in on two decades now (that just made me feel old to think about) and a tip being if you see one of our trains with a lot of power up front but nothing in the way of DPU's or swing helpers, 100% of the time at least some of the units up front are offline. It's either a partial power move and/or the additional units are there for breaking purposes but not for pulling. FRA jurisdiction limits the number of powered axles we can have on most trains to 24. So if you see more then 4 6-axle units together in a single consist no more then 4 of those units are pulling. That said there is a bit of a caveat to all of that in the sense that our CTE equipped units can be set up to restrict their tractive effort abilities making them comparable to a DC traction unit as apposed to a higher TE equipped AC traction unit. So under the right circumstances you might see more then 4 6-axle units actually doing something. But it's a rare catch at that. Most of our CTE equipped units are only in that mode when in DPU service to minimize train/track damaging forces do to excessive tractive effort/dynamic braking forces reeking havoc in the train. Again, it looks impressive, but with modern AC traction units we're running into the issue of ironically having too much tractive effort. Hence why TE levels aren't continuing to increase much with newer units. Rather refinements in TE management software is the big push lately as far as TE is concerned. Back in the DC traction days it was kind of the wild west when it came to dog piling huge consists of power on trains and everything being online. Those days are part of history though. Hopefully that clarifies things. Stay safe and happy railfanning.
I'll be in the Denver area this weekend. Going to hopefully get some railfanning in on Saturday the 18th. I know the action is probably hit or miss throughout the day, but can you recommend a good timeframe to see trains on the Moffat Sub? I will be up in the mountains around the Rollinsville area most likely. Thanks in advance. Really enjoy your videos by the way, great stuff!
For guaranteed trains go out in the morning and the Winter Park Express (ski Train) and California Zephyr #5 should both be headed up the line then in the evening CZ #6 and Winter Park Express will both return. WPE is almost always on time. CZ can vary alot though so check it before you head out. If they are both on time then they are about 30 mins apart both runs. Otherwise BNSF generally runs a manifest and UP may or may not have anything.
What beautiful scenery and awesome video!!
Very enjoyable watching!!!!!
Love all your videos by the way!! GREAT JOB!!!!!
Cool catches and great scenery!
Six locos on the front of that Jesus!
It looks impressive but only the first four units were actually online. The other two were DIT'ed being ferried along/adding their air to the train. I can't speak for how BNSF does things but I've worked for UP for nearing in on two decades now (that just made me feel old to think about) and a tip being if you see one of our trains with a lot of power up front but nothing in the way of DPU's or swing helpers, 100% of the time at least some of the units up front are offline. It's either a partial power move and/or the additional units are there for breaking purposes but not for pulling.
FRA jurisdiction limits the number of powered axles we can have on most trains to 24. So if you see more then 4 6-axle units together in a single consist no more then 4 of those units are pulling. That said there is a bit of a caveat to all of that in the sense that our CTE equipped units can be set up to restrict their tractive effort abilities making them comparable to a DC traction unit as apposed to a higher TE equipped AC traction unit. So under the right circumstances you might see more then 4 6-axle units actually doing something. But it's a rare catch at that. Most of our CTE equipped units are only in that mode when in DPU service to minimize train/track damaging forces do to excessive tractive effort/dynamic braking forces reeking havoc in the train.
Again, it looks impressive, but with modern AC traction units we're running into the issue of ironically having too much tractive effort. Hence why TE levels aren't continuing to increase much with newer units. Rather refinements in TE management software is the big push lately as far as TE is concerned. Back in the DC traction days it was kind of the wild west when it came to dog piling huge consists of power on trains and everything being online. Those days are part of history though. Hopefully that clarifies things.
Stay safe and happy railfanning.
What kind of camera did you use? that video is SHARP.
I'll be in the Denver area this weekend. Going to hopefully get some railfanning in on Saturday the 18th. I know the action is probably hit or miss throughout the day, but can you recommend a good timeframe to see trains on the Moffat Sub? I will be up in the mountains around the Rollinsville area most likely. Thanks in advance. Really enjoy your videos by the way, great stuff!
For guaranteed trains go out in the morning and the Winter Park Express (ski Train) and California Zephyr #5 should both be headed up the line then in the evening CZ #6 and Winter Park Express will both return. WPE is almost always on time. CZ can vary alot though so check it before you head out. If they are both on time then they are about 30 mins apart both runs. Otherwise BNSF generally runs a manifest and UP may or may not have anything.
@@RailBuffs are there daily manifest freights? Or again, hit or miss? Thanks.
BNSF generally runs a manifest but UP may or may not run anything