crs1026
Senior Member
^I don’t have a number handy, but the overall grade is steeper than one might think climbing up to Etobicoke North. A longish freight will have no problem moving through the tunnel, as the rear portion which is going downhill pushes on the front part which is climbing out of the dip.
Until....the rear of the train reaches the downhill, and as the downhill portion gets shorter, there is less push but just as much pull. There is an extra tension thru the train as the rear 2500 feet hangs over the edge and the front portion is already stretched on that climb. Prime territory for pulling a drawbar.
The detour trains this week were around 7000 feet, so the head end may be nearing Humberview while the tail end is on that 2%. The nightly transfers are not usually near that length. I watched one at Humberview on the weekend that was down to 13 mph going uphill. They had to cross from T1 to T2 at Humberview accoint the 401 clearances. That left UP only one track from Nickle to Wice while that freight was out there.
CP was not wrong to decline to put their tracks in the tunnel.
- Paul
Until....the rear of the train reaches the downhill, and as the downhill portion gets shorter, there is less push but just as much pull. There is an extra tension thru the train as the rear 2500 feet hangs over the edge and the front portion is already stretched on that climb. Prime territory for pulling a drawbar.
The detour trains this week were around 7000 feet, so the head end may be nearing Humberview while the tail end is on that 2%. The nightly transfers are not usually near that length. I watched one at Humberview on the weekend that was down to 13 mph going uphill. They had to cross from T1 to T2 at Humberview accoint the 401 clearances. That left UP only one track from Nickle to Wice while that freight was out there.
CP was not wrong to decline to put their tracks in the tunnel.
- Paul