CSX Valdosta Yard 04-15-2013

When passing by Valdosta northbound on I-75, Mrs. HOI and I noticed a small yard on the east side of the interstate. We took the exit and were delighted to find a small CSX yard. Even better, a public street (W. Savannah Avenue) parallels its entire length on the south side. Unfortunately the loco storage tracks leave the line toward the northwest. To photograph the engines would require trespassing, something the HOI family does not do.

A Google Earth view of the yard:

ADMX #52374 3-bay centerflow hopper in CSX pocket yard on south side of Valdosta GA 04-15-2013

AEX #7808 4-bay centerflow hopper in CSX pocket yard on south side of Valdosta GA 04-15-2013 

CEFX #10632 3-bay Thrall centerflow hopper in CSX pocket yard on south side of Valdosta GA 04-15-2013 

CEFX #10647 3-bay Thrall centerflow hopper in CSX pocket yard on south side of Valdosta GA 04-15-2013

AEX #8179 4-bay centerflow hopper in CSX pocket yard on south side of Valdosta GA 04-15-2013

ADMX #52374 3-bay centerflow hopper in CSX pocket yard on south side of Valdosta GA 04-15-2013

UELX #6201 X-CR B-65A insulated box car  in CSX pocket yard on south side of Valdosta GA 04-15-2013

SIRX #100168 X-AM 60' ACF  box car  in CSX pocket yard on south side of Valdosta GA 04-15-2013 

AEX #8120 4-bay centerflow hopper in CSX pocket yard on south side of Valdosta GA 04-15-2013

CEFX #13087 3-bay Thrall centerflow hopper in CSX pocket yard on south side of Valdosta GA 04-15-2013

SIRX #100177 60' X-AM nee-SP B-100-39 1.5  door box car in CSX pocket yard in Valdosta GA 02-15-2013

SIRX #100177 60' X-AM nee-SP B-100-39 1.5  door box car in CSX pocket yard in Valdosta GA 02-15-2013

TILX #291292 tank car in CSX pocket yard in Valdosta GA 04-15-2013

NRLX #5942 3-bay Trinity centerflow hopper in CSX pocket yard on south side of Valdosta GA 04-15-2013

NRLX #5971 3-bay Trinity centerflow hopper in CSX pocket yard on south side of Valdosta GA 04-15-2013

ADMX #52341 3-bay centerflow hopper in CSX pocket yard on south side of Valdosta GA 04-15-2013

NS #407294 BS-169 50' PS waffle SDR box car in CSX pocket yard in Valdosta GA 04-15-2013

NS #407136 BS-169 50' PS waffle SDR box car in CSX pocket yard in Valdosta GA 04-15-2013

TBOX #666799 XHN60 60' double plug-door box car in CSX pocket yard in Valdosta GA 02-15-2013

TILX #150041 heavily-patched tank car in CSX pocket yard in Valdosta GA 04-15-2013

NS #111209 FB-42B in CSX pocket yard in Valdosta GA 04-15-2013

TBOX #662231 XGH61 60' double plug-door box car in CSX pocket yard in Valdosta GA 02-15-2013

 EQUX #632135 4-bay covered hopper in CSX pocket yard in Valdosta GA 04-15-2013

In addition to the CSX yard, we found a modified GP40 of unknown provenance. It is "Cater Parrott Railnet" #7000. Cater Parrott has taken over the former OmniTrax GFRR (Georgia Florida Railnet) 43-mile line. The STB has this document showing the Georgia DOT and GFRR have subleased the line to CPR.

Unfortunately it was in such a position that we could not get a sun-side shot of the engine. A business owner next door was kind enough to let me get these through-the-fence shots.

Rail Whales Part 1 - Giant Tank Cars

My friend MIke Palmieri (formerly of New Orleans) used to host a web site called "Rail Whales" that hosted pics of giant tank cars, depressed-center flat cars, and other huge rail cars. In fact, some of the pics below were photos I shared with him for his site. 

Most of the 6- and 8-axle large-capacity tank cars of the 1960s have either been scrapped or are due for scrapping. I was lucky enough to see a lot of them passing through New Orleans on their way to/from the Louisiana/Texas chemical coast. They were typically filled with really nasty chemicals

DUPX #29648 6-axle tetrahydrofuran tank car at Jourdan Road in CSX Gentilly Yard NOLA 01-2001

DUPX #29702 8-axle ethylene glycol tank car westbound from CSX Gentilly Yard at Jourdan Road NOLA 09-05-1995

DUPX #29706 8-axle Ethylene Glycol tank car westbound in SP train on NS along Florida Avenue NOLA 09-1995




DUPX #29728 Ethylene Glycol 8-axle tank car at Elaine Avenue in CSX Gentilly Yard NOLA 2000

DUPX #29738 westbound ethylene glycol 8-axle tank car crossing Old Gentilly Road east of CSX Gentilly Yard NOLA 04-02-1995

DUPX #29745 Ethylene Glycol 8-Axle Tank Car NOPB France Road Yard 1997

DUPX #29769 Ethylene Glycol 8-Axle Tank Car NOPB France Road Yard 1997

DUPX #12402 Ethylene Glycol tank car at Elaine Avenue in CSX Gentilly Yard NOLA 2 02-04-1996

X-NdeM FerroSur 50' Box Cars

When returning from a trip to Florida in 2009, I stopped by the CSX yard in Montgomery Alabama. I found a train waiting for clearance to leave. Back in the consist I found a series of former NdeM 50' exterior-post sliding-door box cars. All had their NdeM reporting marks painted out and FerroSur reporting marks (FSRR) substituted.

Additionally, it seems that some kind of sealer has been applied to the bottom of each of the panels between the exterior posts. Two of them have replacement doors.

FSRR #103816 X-NdeM 50' XP SLDR Box Car on CSX in Montgomery AL 07-09

FSRR #105451 X-NdeM 50' Box Car on CSX in Montgomery AL 07-09

FSRR #107111 X-NdeM 50' XP SLDR Box Car on CSX in Montgomery AL 07-09

FSRR #108577 X-NdeM 50' XP SLDR Box Car on CSX in Montgomery AL 07-09

IC Bulkhead Pulpwood/Log Cars

By the late 1980s, classic 'cord' pulpwood was fading. It was labor-intensive work, and rising labor costs drove pulpwood companies to ship entire tree trunks rather than cutting it into smaller sections that required a lot individual handling. One of the answers to this was to take existing bulkhead flat cars and add log cradles to them. Illinois Central (now CN) still serves a lot of pulpwood producers, so the IC supplemented its traditional pulpwood racks with cars like these. Note the straps ensuring that the longs don't rotate laterally and create a sideswipe danger.

IC #832786 bulkhead flat car with cradles for log service loaded IC Yard Jackson MS 04-00

IC #832946 bulkhead flat car with log cradles and load IC Yard Jackson MS 04-00

IC #832765 bulkhead flat car with log crades and load IC Yard Jackson MS 04-00