Fun Facts About The Railroad!

[@Southern_Plains_Railfan]

Merch, anyone? okieprint.com/SPR/shop/home

[@b0rd3n]

go to brilliant and learn how not to have your audience bleed from their ears with your crazy high screaming volume intro.

[@LMR78]

Fun fact, the Denver & Rio Grande Western had the most narrow gauge track in North America. 1,861 miles to be exact.

[@Southern_Plains_Railfan]

That's cool!

[@protosheep]

"KCS and UP are the last class one railroads that havent been created from a merger" well that aged like milk

[@Southern_Plains_Railfan]

lol, it certainly did

[@jesserobinson2179]

CP: hold my beer.

[@TheMrPeteChannel]

I'm surprised that merger happened. You can now ship from Canada through the USA down to Mexico on 1 railroad. That's a monopoly.

[@mattanatior97studios]

​@TheMrPeteChannel so are up and bnsf

[@TheGs4_4449]

I have a fun fact! When Southern Pacific and Santa Fe tried to become a merger again, they started painting their locomotives even before the I.C.C. approved. The I.C.C. did not approve of the merger, and people started joking, that SPSF (Southern Pacific Santa Fe) stood for “Shouldn’t Pain so Fast” as they already had painted their locomotives.

[@crsrdash-840b5]

I love this fact. Also, I love your name! That's my 'first love' and she's still looks good. However we broke up when her older sister 2472 got jealous and came between us. She said men only wanted her for her looks and body...lol

[@kens.3729]

I often wondered how the different Railroad Refueling Stations get their Tanks filled when they’re filling Locomotives up with Diesel Fuel around the clock. Thanks!

[@Southern_Plains_Railfan]

That’s a good question. I don’t know for sure, but if I had to guess, I’d say the railroad has fuel trucks that come on a regular basis and refill the tanks. Similar to the way a gas station works.

[@rrmike90]

Most railroads have contracts with fuel distributors to provide fuel. There are huge storage tanks at most engine service facilities that are constantly being filled by truck. Some facilities rely on the railroad and home company tank cars to bring fuel to their locations reasons depending.

[@robertadams6606]

At least 1 Railroad Yard uses tankers to fuel some of their Locomotives.

[@alexhajnal107]

If you're a Class-1 railroad and you're not bringing fuel in by tank car you're probably doing it wrong.

[@TheMrPeteChannel]

Amtrak uses tanker trucks at some stops.

[@dansnow7374]

Rock Island did operate on an island. It was “Rock island” in the Mississippi River where it crossed from Illinois to Iowa. It also provided rail service to the Arsenal on the island.

[@Southern_Plains_Railfan]

oh... oops.

[@crsrdash-840b5]

really...?

[@alexhajnal107]

@@crsrdash-840b5 Now known as Arsenal Island.

[@kawaiikindcake1023]

I didn't know that sprint came from southern Pacific. Thank you for sharing the information

[@Southern_Plains_Railfan]

You’re welcome!

[@ohioandnortheastern]

​@Southern_Plains_Railfan can you make a full video on Sprint?

[@gemcofoamer]

Heres a fact: The Chicago & North Western was (maybe) the only railroad in America to run left handed. Ive heard of railroads having routes left handed

[@crsrdash-840b5]

You're right. The reason for left handed running was the signals were still on that side.

[@OhioCentralModeler]

@@crsrdash-840b5 And the reason for the signals being on that side is because the C&NW, originally the Galena & Chicago Union Railway before 1865, originally built all their stations on the left hand side along a single track main when heading into Chicago. When increased traffic in the mid-1850's justified double tracking the line, it was decided to run on the left hand side so that commuting passengers into Chicago wouldn't have to cross the tracks to catch their trains in the dark morning hours, and because passengers also largely used the waiting rooms in the stations in the morning waiting for their trains but not in the evening when they would just go home after disembarking. Basically it happened by complete accident that it was just the easiest way to operate with the infrastructure they already had when the line was double-tracked, and the lousy alternatives would have been to provide a worsened passenger experience or to very expensively relocate all of the stations to the other side of the tracks.

[@crsrdash-840b5]

@@OhioCentralModeler That's interesting. I like that explanation better than mine - lol Is there any truth to my explanation? I ask because I heart about my reason years ago in a magazine (can't remember which one).

[@ph11p3540]

Fun fact: The worlds fastest railway track is not in France or Japan, its right here in USA and its a duesy for speed. Sandia National Laboratories/USAF Holloman AFB test track. Still used to this day actively. Test sleds have been shoved down these tracks at hypersonic speeds. Used for testing ejection seat systems, munitions, and other high energy impact test article tests. Only one of it's kind on the planet. Look up Rocket sled impact or record breaking test track or Holloman AFB

[@TheMrPeteChannel]

Standard Guage?

[@OhioCentralModeler]

For all the people claiming there's still various cabooses in use today, they're both correct and incorrect. No traditional cabooses as they were originally used are still in service as such, and have been replaced completely by end of train devices. Numerous railroads however still maintain small fleets of old cabooses that are now used as "shoving platforms" for crew members to ride on for long reversing moves on local trains in some areas where such moves are necessary, as opposed to the conductor having to ride on the side of a freight car for longer distances. Another such example is in Latonia, KY (just across the river from Cincinnati, OH) where CSX routinely uses an old bay window caboose for this purpose on locals. But besides these, a small handful of old cabooses are also used to move personnel with extremely oversized or sensitive cargo, such as engineers to monitor cargo in Schnabel cars, or armed DoD personnel accompanying a nuclear material move.

[@Arutax]

3:28 Watching from the Future - which might not be too far off. Might wanna update that fact to Union Pacific only, since Canadian Pacific Kansas City is now a thing.

[@Southern_Plains_Railfan]

Well, I can’t now that the videos already out. I like it how it is, though. A little piece of history.

[@BNSFTrains10]

1:58 Fun Fact: That 4014 had helped pushed a back of a UP Freight Train when the Unit was running a Excursion Train when it came upon a Train that stopped luckily 4014 coupled it and pushed it.

[@gdub350]

Railfanning was probably way more enjoyable in the 50’s with that many different companies. Now it’s just “oh here’s another UP, and another, and another”

[@bobbyglendinning2406]

Speaking of Alaska Railroad, 4 Florida East Coast SD70M-2s #100-#103 were painted yellow & blue because the president of the FEC was partial to the Alaska scheme.

[@beeble2003]

Diesel-hydraulic locomotives don't use a hydraulic motor. They use a fluid coupling to connect the engine to the drive shafts. The principle is a bit like putting two rotating paddles in a tank of water. Rotating one of the paddles makes the water in the tank spin, which makes the other paddle start to spin. The fluid basically means there can be a lag between the engine power increasing and the wheels spinning faster, which means you can start the train.

[@Southern_Plains_Railfan]

Interesting, I guess it’s like a big torque converter. Thanks for letting me know!

[@beeble2003]

@@Southern_Plains_Railfan Yes, exactly that.

[@DairyAirDerriere]

One correction i got, Rock Island Railroad did serve the Rock Island Arsenal US Army Base, which is on an Island. I was just working on that bridge for Iowa Interstate RR.

[@Southern_Plains_Railfan]

Oh, oops. Thanks for letting me know.

[@mamarussellthepie3995]

That 60k number is still smaller than the actual count, I bet you. it does not even count many short lines, spurs, industrial districts, and not to mention mountainous logging lines that make up the OG alignment of heaps of logging roads in western Oregon. Two single logging lines out here each had more than 35 mills along less than 20 miles of mainline, and 250+ miles of logging spurs that were laid, torn up and laid again elsewhere until semi-trucks took over! super cool.

[@Southern_Plains_Railfan]

That’s super interesting, thanks for the info!

[@mamarussellthepie3995]

@@Southern_Plains_Railfan Oh yeah! Learning about that stuff is incredibly fun!

[@rondaxen88]

The one about steam being used longer than diesel and the Sprint ones were wild to me

[@acelafan-mn4ub]

The first one you mentioned is accurate. The last production steam locomotive to be built, in the world, was a Chinese SY class 2-8-2, built in 1999. Six years later, in 2005, steam operations ended on the national Chinese rail network

[@yardhog]

Today's UP is a conglomeration of many ex-class one roads. 1982 saw the merger with MP and WP. MKT, CNW were next and SP got folded in to the system in 1995.

[@crsrdash-840b5]

That's why the heritage units are numbered the way they are...duh to those that didn't realize this.

[@railsofontario3029]

I would love to see some of the Abandoned Railroad tracks that are just isolated from the rest. Not to mention how in Gods name did you find out about all the Abandoned lines?! I hope the Orangeville Brampton railway is on it….. interesting and very well put together video!

[@Southern_Plains_Railfan]

Yeah, there’s some abandoned rail lines in my area that are super neat to look at, the old right of way is still there, but there’s no tracks. I just Googled it, lol. Thank you, I’m glad you enjoyed!

[@jailbird1133]

Look up rails to trails. They repurpose old rail lines often by paving over the railbeds

[@coachjr91]

Thank you Friend ❤and I love my Hometown

[@iatif1995]

Iowa interstate still has the rock island heritage unit

[@MrBigMac9647]

Fun fact: emd had 4 sdp40f's from amtrak that they used as testbeds. Emdx 169 received an emd 710e3 engine and a small genset generator where the watertank would of been, and was dubbed the "sdp40fm" Emdx 218 i believe also got a 710 engine, and received a small genset generator underneath the trucks and frame. Emdx 268 received ac traction motors and other components for the f69phac project. And emdx 134 was a testbed for off highway truck control systems, so it had truck components. It also received experimental microprocessing controls, a shorter fuel tank with a sandbox, and a gas pedal (yes, a gas pedal). Emdx 169 & 218 both reside in Pueblo Co at TTCI to be used as dynamic brake units on load trains, and were converted to tapered axle rolling bearings to adjust the tracks at TTCI.

[@wopperconpalta5356]

CPR Took over KCS december 2021 and merged to form CPKC last month! Love the video though, great info!

[@greenriverrailfan]

IAIS 513 is a Rock Island Heritage unit

[@watermelonqueen5827]

Very cool info. “Big metal” was my favorite tidbit.

[@Southern_Plains_Railfan]

lol, thank you!

[@thelivingear990]

My understanding with SP is that when the merger with SF failed, SF sold SP to D&RGW, but because the SP brand was so popular, D&RGW took on the SP identity? I even read somewhere where when UP bought SP, they actually took on SP’s operating platform in place of their own? It’s all google stuff so I’m not 100% sure.

[@Southern_Plains_Railfan]

Yeah I’m not so sure about that either. I can’t comment on the SP and D&RGW stuff because I don’t know anything about that, but I have talked to a Southern Pacific conductor who was a long time employee when SP got bought. He said it was terrible because UP came implemented all their rules and regulations, which made getting anything done lengthy and difficult. So no, UP did not adopt SP’s operating platform. Maybe they adopted certain aspects of it, but they did not adopt it in its entirety.

[@rogerlaurel2363]

The SP/SF merger was deliberately wrecked by SF. SP was not a profitable railroad at that time, but the gas pipelines laid in the right of way were. When the merger failed, SF walked away with the pipeline & communications components of SP. SP had horrible maintenance issues too. Locomotives with water put into the oil sumps & gas tanks by union workers who were looking for more hours by repeatedly destroying equipment they would be hired to repair. SF did SP no favors. BN wanted some of SP's profitable action too.

[@evil_me]

There is a fee active cabooses in BNSF, they normally use one during local switching in Sioux Falls sd

[@Southern_Plains_Railfan]

Cool!

[@kensingtonchapp4819]

Yeah we still use cabooses as shove platforms for road switchers in Los Angeles as well.

[@robertadams6606]

@@kensingtonchapp4819 I've seen short lines or switching ops use Cabooses.

[@enriquediaz4629]

The BL2 locomotive is, in my opinion, the "missing link" between the GP,s and F,s. Grettings from Spain.

[@rrmike90]

Florida East Coast has a very similar scheme as that if the Alaska Railroad modern scheme units, the colors are almost identical too. There were a few debates when the new ARR scheme was being picked, but the blue and gold "executive" scheme was chosen with some subtle changes and little additions. The modern scheme as we call it was chosen in the late 1990s right after the SD70M demonstratiors concluded their time in Alaska, that also was not long after the debut of the BN executive scheme. This was also the only factory scheme that was on the table, the other concepts originated in Alaska.

[@Southern_Plains_Railfan]

That’s very interesting, thanks for the info!

[@IamTheHolypumpkin]

A beautiful fun fact for you. The newest steam locomotive in Germany was build in 2009 because the Molli, a narrow gauge 900mm (2 ft 11+7⁄16 in) tourist railroad needed additional capacity. It located in the states of Melckenburg-Vorpommern (Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania) serving some Baltic sea beaches.

[@Southern_Plains_Railfan]

That’s very cool, thank you!

[@kevinrichards3288]

I like the red, white, & blue paint scheme on that BC Rail engine.

[@Southern_Plains_Railfan]

Me too, reminds me of Rail America engines.

[@kevinrichards3288]

@@Southern_Plains_Railfan 🚂🇺🇸

[@TheRealRajo6466]

Diesel Mechanic did been use on few Locomotives Diesel Mechanic uses a mechanical transmission simillar to most of road vehicle However this transmission is mostly for low speed and limited to low power

[@Southern_Plains_Railfan]

That's pretty interesting, I wonder how big the transmission is.

[@EliasLarsson-ck6qn]

Fun fact: The longest steam engine ever made was the Pennsylvania RailRoad S1, it was 8 feet longer than the big boy but was sadly scrapped

[@marioxerxescastelancastro8019]

5:26 In addition to thermite there is flash butt welding.

[@RailfanMichaelR.3103]

There is a Rock Island heritage on the Metra

[@Southern_Plains_Railfan]

Yeah, I was trying to say UP will likely never have a CRI&P heritage unit. I should have specified.

[@loganadams3360]

I've got a fact the The Yellowstone type steam locomotives Have a higher attractive effort than the big boys.

[@csx4402]

Rock Island still lives as a short line 😮

[@Southern_Plains_Railfan]

It sure does!

[@StormySkyRailProductions]

Spectacular video. We enjoyed watching and have a wonderful rest of your Friday.(Steve)

[@Southern_Plains_Railfan]

Thank you, you do the same!

[@StormySkyRailProductions]

@@Southern_Plains_Railfan Your very welcome and thank you also.

[@TheMrPeteChannel]

Cabooses are still used on special trains. Like hauling a reactor.

[@gamingwithlukeJToH]

There actually is a Rock Island heritage unit. It's Metra #425.

[@TexasRailfan21-RailfanRyan]

There’s also 2 Rock Island heritage units on the Iowa Interstate Railroad

[@gamingwithlukeJToH]

@@TexasRailfan21-RailfanRyan Oh yeah, forgot about those.

[@Southern_Plains_Railfan]

I know, I was trying to say UP will likely never have a CRI&P heritage unit. I probably should have specified.

[@BP_211yt]

5:54 metra has a RI heritage unit

[@CheeseMiser]

Union Pacific is part of a merger. Its currently on its 5th iteration, when they bought southern Pacific. They merged UP Into SP and later renamed SP to UP.

[@Southern_Plains_Railfan]

Interesting, I never knew that. I seem to remember hearing something years ago about how UP has reorganized as a company multiple times, but I though it was financially or something along those lines, not like what you're saying. Thanks for the info!

[@CheeseMiser]

@@Southern_Plains_Railfan yw.

[@crsrdash-840b5]

@@Southern_Plains_Railfan People forget about the Union Pacific meltdown that happened when Southern Pacific became apart of UPRR. The old slogan 'we can handle it' disappeared from every piece of rolling stock almost within a few months.

[@genoobtlp4424]

That electro steamie in Switzerland wasn’t just an experiment, it was a modification of despair since warring Nazi-Germany controlled the coal supply and they already had a lot of electrification that depended on hydro power, which CH had a lot of

[@brandedmcgowan9414]

In 2021-2023 the Canadian Pacific railroad merged with the Kansas City Southern railway leaving the count of 6 remaining class 1 railroads.

[@SouthwestRailroadPhotography]

There is only 11 Semaphores left on the Raton Sub. They are scheduled to be taken down 2023/2024 year. All the Semaphores on the Glorieta Sub are gone.

[@Southern_Plains_Railfan]

Dang, that sucks. Those semaphore have to be close to 100 years old I imagine.

[@SouthwestRailroadPhotography]

@@Southern_Plains_Railfan over 100 years old. I was able to catch a CWR train dropping rail with 3 dash 9s on the Glorieta sub with the semaphores before their removal. There is 5 left on the NMRX Albuquerque Sub however the removal of those have been delayed. Their replacements are up and ready.

[@alexander1485]

"this is a boggie" but its also a truck. Whoops, KCS just merged with CP.

[@EuropeanRailfan-AM]

Metra 425 and IAIS 513 & 516 are RI heritage units

[@Southern_Plains_Railfan]

Yeah, I probably should have specified that there will likely never be a Rock Island HU from UP.

[@HartfordLineRailfan]

Awesome video. Love your content

[@Southern_Plains_Railfan]

Thank you so much!

[@domin8r12]

Thank you for 6 minutes and 23 second of cool video!

[@Southern_Plains_Railfan]

You're welcome, I'm glad you liked it!

[@ladybugk00]

I like the BL2! I like the retro look of it, and blue is a great color. It looks like something from thomas the train, haha

[@superdominic64official]

fun fact the florida east coast railway still exist but now its just a class 2 and its owned by grupo mexico

[@crusiethmaximuss]

This is a really cool video. Thanks!

[@Southern_Plains_Railfan]

You’re welcome, I’m glad you liked it! Also, where did that little blue dude come from? I’ve never seen that before.

[@crusiethmaximuss]

@@Southern_Plains_Railfan If comments are post via a laptop, there will be a drop-down menu with an emoji icon. The blue dude is one of the best, I mean of the first to select from

[@NorfolkSouthernrailfan19]

4:31 “Bnsf is till holding on to a freaking atsf gp9”

[@ErieCSXguy]

Another thing is the L&N paint scheme looks similar to the KCS Grey Ghost

[@erikmcc804]

hey Merch this was amazing thank you and when i work for Nursing home it was a guy that use to work for The L and N he told me the L and N was owned by two sisters wow and he had his wits about himself

[@Southern_Plains_Railfan]

You’re welcome! I’m glad you enjoyed. That’s really cool!

[@Oklahomarailfan.]

0:17 *very reassuring* 😃

[@bcrail_productions]

Fun fact Iowa interstate has a Rock Island heritage unit

[@Southern_Plains_Railfan]

I know, Ive been trying to catch it for a while!

[@SolidCold]

Here's a fun facts: Almost 500 GE C36-7s were exported to China as ND-5s and are still operating to this day!

[@Southern_Plains_Railfan]

Thank you! That's very interesting.

[@SolidCold]

Also some ex SP SD40s were exported to Australia to work on the BHP

[@TheRealRajo6466]

@@SolidCold they all gone now including C36-7M's and AC6000CW's

[@semicolontransistor]

I don't know how true the following story was. Apparently, China Railways originally wanted SD40s but negotiations with EMD broke down and they went with GE instead. Inadvertently became the largest operator of that type. The ND-5s are currently being retired and replaced with more modern traction including another GE locomotive the HXD5 or ES59ACi. At least two examples 0049 and 0422 are preserved at the China Railway Museum.

[@J3scribe]

Salt doesn't conduct electricity. Any GEVO or SD70ACe can pull a 5 mile train on level track, and probably more, since they have more tractive effort than a Big Boy [which would also need level track]. Chicago & North Western (which should always be written that way, not Northwestern) was the largest railroad by track miles before the mega-merger era, surpassing even the mighty Pennsylvania Railroad. Speaking of which, the transcontinental railroad was envisioned by Chicago's first mayor William B. Ogden, who, among other things, convinced Lincoln to create the Union Pacific (of which he became president) to connect to his C&NW at Chicago with the Pennsy (the Pittsburg, Cincinnati Chicago & Saint Louis, or Big Four) as its eastern leg. That was the transcontinental railroad for those who wonder, why start at Omaha, Nebraska?

[@hyperian_one]

Absolutely awesome video!

[@Southern_Plains_Railfan]

Thank you!

[@CheeseMiser]

RIP Wig-Wag

[@Southern_Plains_Railfan]

Yeah, at least its safe in a museum, though.

[@JadenGGvam]

New Orleans is equivalent to Chicago when it comes down to railroads

[@Southern_Plains_Railfan]

Really? I knew New Orleans was a big rail hub, but I didn’t know they were that busy!

[@JadenGGvam]

@@Southern_Plains_Railfan Yep it’s pretty much Chicago in the south

[@TrainFanFromCA]

"hawwai has no freight or Passger service in the entire state" That one lightrail that they built: your wrong

[@codyrapp7253]

Yeah you should do a part 2 for this

[@trainfan32]

Fun fact: Honolulu in Hawaii has now gotten its own computer operated monerail! How do i know that? I rode on it

[@minecraftertracey01]

3:33 how that aged

[@Southern_Plains_Railfan]

It aged like freaking milk.

[@eccotheorca7745]

theres a conrail heritage unit in Brazil.

[@mustin07doesgaming]

Now since Kansas City Southern is part of the new Canadian Pacific Kansas City railroad this means that Union Pacific is the last class I railroad to not have been created through a merger

[@cxmx3295]

I would like a part two.

[@Southern_Plains_Railfan]

Ok, if there's more requests I'll do it.

[@cxmx3295]

Thank you

[@usernotfound-ue7ld]

More fun facts more fun facts more fun facts!!!!!

[@russellyoung4753]

If you railfan the Lubbock texas area there are 3 ex cn gp9u's operating for the plains switching company here

[@greenriverrailfan]

Wouldn't the Rock Island Arsenal count for the Rock Island operating on a Island

[@NickKlein-it1ej]

metra has a rock island herriatge unit

[@b0rd3n]

Crazy earphone warning. Damn. Please adjust your volumes

[@nicksfuntv1281]

The BNSF GP9 is actually a GP7u

[@timbnsfs.9275]

Best railroad channel by far!!

[@Southern_Plains_Railfan]

Thank you so much, that means a lot!

[@lyrikplaysroblox]

good vid

[@Southern_Plains_Railfan]

Thank you!

[@illinoisman601]

But there is a rock island heritage unit?

[@ginahodgkins1103]

Kcs just merged, so now it’s only up.

[@caseygraham1404]

The first one 😨😨😨😨😨😨😨😨😨😱😱

[@lnerj50productions32]

Don't diss my boy 2:12

[@richharris9489]

Pretty cool

[@Southern_Plains_Railfan]

Thank you!

[@TexasRailfan21-RailfanRyan]

Kansas City Southern is about to become part of the Canadian Pacific Railway the merger will be finalize this year

[@Southern_Plains_Railfan]

Has the STB had the hearing about the merger yet?

[@TexasRailfan21-RailfanRyan]

@@Southern_Plains_Railfan what is the STB?

[@Southern_Plains_Railfan]

@@TexasRailfan21-RailfanRyan Surface Transportation Board. They will have the final say on CP/KCS merger. The STB can stop them from merging if they want to.

[@TexasRailfan21-RailfanRyan]

@@Southern_Plains_Railfan I’m not sure that is a good question though

[@jwrailve3615]

To celebrate the merger CP 2816 4-6-2 will run a Canada-Mexico excursion run, it’s already in the shop, first steam loco in that shop in like 60-70 years. Fully plan to chase it along the Brownsville sub and have a nicely edited film for ya

[@RACaptialRegion]

Aren't we down to 6 class 1s with the CPKCS merger?

[@Joe-d7m6k]

Who cares?? They are all boring, and the locos all look the same.

[@RACaptialRegion]

@@Joe-d7m6k sorry to hear that my guy

[@gemcofoamer]

not sure about this one, but supposedly, BNSF had 57 different variations of paint schemes

[@BeraldDiggles]

I’m not so sure that first one was “fun”

[@brygry]

🥱😴