inflammable
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I haven't chased this train yet, but I do have a few photos of the Lexington end.
RJ Corman pulls a Sand Train from Louisville to Lexington, Kentucky, three to six days a week. Each train is 15 to 30 gondolas.
The train is loaded at Nugent Sand, on the Ohio River:
Nugent Sand, Google Earth. An interesting note, is the difference in tracks between Google and Bing. The Google Maps has a big curve into the facility, while the Bing Map shows a three track yard with moving conveyor. I presume the big curve is the old loading track, while the yard is much newer.
The sand is brought to Nugent Sand on barges, then stored on the ground. Later loaded into the Corman Gondolas. Most of them are a special rebuilt type of gon, with a higher capacity than they originally had. I don't remember the specs on them, but I believe Trains Magazine has had some articles about them. Regular second hand gondolas are also used, depending on the train requirements.
The train usually rates a couple Special Duty Units. But due to the high durability of the sand, sand loads are used for more than just delivering to Lexington. There's a hill near Frankfort, KY, which is used for testing locomotives, as evidenced by this and this photo. Also evaluated were an SD70ACe and a Chinese Steam Engine.
As the train approaches Rupp Yard in Lexington, it runs over a scale. I've seen it, but can't remember exactly where, and can't find it on either Bing or Google.
Upon arrival in Lexington, the train is spotted to one of several unloading tracks. Google doesn't show these improvements, but Bing Maps does. If you scroll around that area, you'll see the sand pile, a truck and front end loader, as well as a couple gondolas, one of which with the back hoe inside it. If you look directly south of those cars, you can make out a long flatcar with a ramp on it, used for getting the back hoe to and from the ground. A truck scale is to the northwest of the gondolas, between the ballast cars on the right hand track, and the wheelsets on the left.
Here is a group of RJCC Gondola photos. The clean shiny ones are the special rebuilds. There are a couple photos of the back hoe in there, also.
I feel like I'm forgetting something, but it's late, and I can't imagine what it is.
The train itself is the best part of this. RJ Corman has bright red shiny paint on much of it's equipment, and should be an allowable exception to weathering, both for the cars and the locomotives. You could have just the train run through your layout, or build in a simple loading or unloading facility. A long siding and some basic construction equipment is all you'll need.
James
RJ Corman pulls a Sand Train from Louisville to Lexington, Kentucky, three to six days a week. Each train is 15 to 30 gondolas.
The train is loaded at Nugent Sand, on the Ohio River:
Nugent Sand, Google Earth. An interesting note, is the difference in tracks between Google and Bing. The Google Maps has a big curve into the facility, while the Bing Map shows a three track yard with moving conveyor. I presume the big curve is the old loading track, while the yard is much newer.
The sand is brought to Nugent Sand on barges, then stored on the ground. Later loaded into the Corman Gondolas. Most of them are a special rebuilt type of gon, with a higher capacity than they originally had. I don't remember the specs on them, but I believe Trains Magazine has had some articles about them. Regular second hand gondolas are also used, depending on the train requirements.
The train usually rates a couple Special Duty Units. But due to the high durability of the sand, sand loads are used for more than just delivering to Lexington. There's a hill near Frankfort, KY, which is used for testing locomotives, as evidenced by this and this photo. Also evaluated were an SD70ACe and a Chinese Steam Engine.
As the train approaches Rupp Yard in Lexington, it runs over a scale. I've seen it, but can't remember exactly where, and can't find it on either Bing or Google.
Upon arrival in Lexington, the train is spotted to one of several unloading tracks. Google doesn't show these improvements, but Bing Maps does. If you scroll around that area, you'll see the sand pile, a truck and front end loader, as well as a couple gondolas, one of which with the back hoe inside it. If you look directly south of those cars, you can make out a long flatcar with a ramp on it, used for getting the back hoe to and from the ground. A truck scale is to the northwest of the gondolas, between the ballast cars on the right hand track, and the wheelsets on the left.
Here is a group of RJCC Gondola photos. The clean shiny ones are the special rebuilds. There are a couple photos of the back hoe in there, also.
I feel like I'm forgetting something, but it's late, and I can't imagine what it is.
The train itself is the best part of this. RJ Corman has bright red shiny paint on much of it's equipment, and should be an allowable exception to weathering, both for the cars and the locomotives. You could have just the train run through your layout, or build in a simple loading or unloading facility. A long siding and some basic construction equipment is all you'll need.
James