CAB RIDE ON A FREIGHT TRAIN - Kids absolutely love this video

we all love watching trains whether it be up close like this or from a mile away atop a beautiful Bluff in Minnesota here comes a Burlington Northern Santa Fe coal train it's heading for the Columbia power plant in Wisconsin it has 115 cars loaded with coal total weight of this train is an incredible 15 000 tons viewing a train from this angle is amazing but riding aboard the lead locomotive of a freight train gives you a whole new appreciation for trains Come On Let's Take a Ride [Music] hello and welcome aboard today we're heading for Portage Wisconsin that's about 215 miles from here so sit back and enjoy the ride [Music] we have a beautiful day for our trip as we go along I will point out different areas of Interest [Music] the signal on our right has a yellow light lit indicating that we must be prepared to stop at the next signal [Music] railroad Crews have an extensive set of rules and regulations that we must abide by many of these fall into some of these categories general safety how to get on and off moving equipment protective clothing that we need to wear signals and their applications radio rules how to throw switches how to handle hazardous materials and what to do in case of an emergency there are more than 800 rules and regulations that we must know and understand unfortunately many of these rules are written in the blood of our former co-workers of Years Gone by someone was either killed or seriously injured for each of these rules to have been written we take safety and obedience to the rules seriously because returning home after each Tour of Duty is important to us and our families our present speed is 33 miles per hour because we may be stopping at the bottom of the hill we are using a combination of air brakes and dynamic brakes to slow us down when using air brakes on the train every break of each car of the train will apply the amount of pressure applied from the brake shoe to the wheel is determined by the engineer the dispatcher has just instructed us to stop at St Croix that's a little more than a mile from here there's a river barge that needs to pass under the Hastings lift bridge once the barge has cleared the bridge the operator will lower the bridge platform he will then line and lock it into place he will then tell the dispatcher that the bridge is ready for rail traffic [Music] [Music] on our left connect to the telephone poles is a rock fence it is not designed to stop huge rocks from falling onto the tracks if a rock large enough fell into the fence it would break the connections and alert the dispatcher he would then tell us to stop immediately and then he would send out a crew to inspect the tracks before we could proceed there are 29 block and dams located on the Mississippi River these were built and maintained by the Army Corps of Engineers Lock and Dam number three is just off to our right [Music] after we come to a complete stop we will take a look at a barge that will pass under the Hastings lift bridge foreign this bridge was built in 1980 the bridge platform weighs 500 000 pounds and yet it can raise and lower easily with the use of a 40 horsepower motor this is done with the use of two 250 000 pound counterweights as the platform lowers the counterweights raise the bridge tender has lined and locked the bridge platform into place he will allow this train to cross the bridge ahead of us then it will be our turn [Music] we will be crossing the Mississippi River the Mississippi River will Unite with the Saint Croix River two miles south of here at Prescott Wisconsin on our left is the Hastings Bridge tender without his permission no one crosses the bridge this is the Hastings Depot located at Hastings Minnesota [Music] the whistle sequence that you just heard will be used over each Crossing it consists of two long whistles one short and another long [Music] the actual running time for this freight train is about 6 hours and 15 minutes periodically we will be jumping ahead so that you can enjoy the highlights of the entire trip on our left you will see a small diamond-shaped sign with an s in the center of it this is called a station sign it lets the crew know that there is a station ahead in one mile here is the East Hastings yard this yard is used mostly for the storage of rail cars when they are not being used fuel conservation is a major concern for the entire railroad industry only the U.S Navy uses more fuel oil than the railroads this engine that we're riding in is an AC 4400 that means that this engine alone can produce 4 400 horsepower in Idol this engine will only burn two to three gallons of fuel per hour but an eight throttle which is its highest position this engine will burn more than 100 gallons of fuel per hour [Music] we are traveling Eastward on a short stretch of double track double track is two main lines that the dispatcher can use to run trains in either direction on either track you will see that most of our journey today will be on single track now on single track if the dispatcher wishes to have a trained meet or pass another train he will use a sighting by the use of his single system he will instruct one train to enter a sighting and the other train will go past him on the main we're coming up on a small sign that has the number 388 on it this is called a mile post location if the dispatcher or another crew needs to know our exact location we can use these as reference points we're going to jump ahead here about 12 miles this is the East End of Duke siding [Music] we will be passing through several small towns along the way the first town that we come to is Red Wing Minnesota [Music] you may have noticed that very rarely do you see a caboose on the end of a train the Caboose has been replaced on most railroads with a radio transmitter called a Fred a Fred in railroad terminology is a front rear end device thereby giving its name Fred this radio transmitter sends information to a display unit on the controlling locomotive it tells the engineer what the air pressure is at the end of the train it also tells if he is moving or not and information such as battery life and if the red light is flashing all of this information is very helpful in safely operating the train [Music] coming up on the right you will see a small sign with a W on it this is called a Whistle Post it is generally about one quarter mile from the Crossing it simply tells the engineer where to start his whistle sequence for the upcoming Crossing [Music] Red Wing is also known for its Red Wing safety boots which are manufactured right here in Red Wing [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] direct has a small Depot just over the next Crossing that it uses to pick up an offloaded passengers [Music] [Music] with red wing being located on the Mississippi River it has a barge Port where it loads barges that will take its carvo down river ADM has a huge facility here that switches both grain and sunflower seeds the locomotive that we're riding in has 4 400 horsepower it was built in 1997. with the development of engines that have more and more horsepower they have to compensate by making the engines heavier this engine weighs more than four hundred thousand pounds years of experience have shown that if you get in a hurry to complete a task that an accident could happen and possibly result in a serious injury a directive has been given from the president of this railroad down to all of its employees it states no job on our Railway will ever be so important that we cannot take the time to do it safely coming up on the left is a yellow speed sign with two numbers on it the upper number is the maximum speed allowed for passenger trains the lower number is for freight trains so our maximum allowed speed today is 50 miles per hour we will be running alongside the Mississippi River for the next 65 miles this stretch of track is one of my favorites We are following alongside Lake Pepin although it is still the Mississippi River it stretches out to more than two miles wide this lake is used for sailboating fishing but it is also known to be the birthplace of water skiing many people do not realize how long it takes to stop a train in stopping a train you need to take into consideration different factors such as speed length and is your train made up of loads or empties other factors are great which means are you traveling uphill or downhill an engineer needing to make a stop on a train that is traveling at 50 miles per hour will begin the stopping process about two miles ahead of the stop if we were traveling down the track at 50 miles per hour on a loaded coal train and I put the train into emergency stop and every break on the train was immediately applied to its fullest potential we would come to a complete stop in about one mile [Music] the Mississippi River is at its lowest levels of the year during the Spring melt-off of winter snows and early spring rains the river will sometimes raise to a level that is within three feet of the track layers of heavy Rock have been placed alongside the track to prevent erosion it is common knowledge that commercial airplanes have black boxes and voice recorders locomotives are equipped with systems that record everything that affects the train such as speed throttle positions brake applications and Brake releases the bald eagle has made a tremendous comeback in the last 20 years I remember it was a thrill just to see one bald eagle now in the springtime when the ice is melting off the river you can see upwards to 200 bald eagles in this area [Music] this area especially in the fall of the year when the leaves are changing to their autumn colors has been named one of the top scenic drives in United States there are two types of braking systems that an engineer can use to slow or stop his train the first is air brakes they work off a brake pipe that maintains a specific air pressure when the engineer needs the brakes to imply on the entire train he will reduce the air pressure in the train brake pipe each car in the train will sense the reduction and apply the brake to release the brakes the engineer will increase the air pressure in the brake pipe and in turn the brakes will release the second brake system is the dynamic Breeze this system is simply a matter of putting a reverse electrical current into the traction Motors thereby making it more difficult for the wheels to turn for those of you who like to fish for walleyes there's a hot spot just off to our left on any given day there are 20 boats filled with hungry fishermen looking for that trophy catch there's a boat landing just around the next curve that's perfect for putting your boat into the water just be careful when you cross the tracks because we will be coming around the curve at 50 miles per hour [Music] years ago locomotives used to come equipped with a safety feature called a dead man's pedal when the engineer was operating his engines he had to keep one foot on this pedal if he were to take his foot off the pedal an alarm whistle would sound and the brakes would set up on the train here is how it acquired its name if the engineer were to have a heart attack and die while operating the train he would fall off his chair and his foot would come off the pedal hence the Dead Man's pedal the Dead Man's pedal are no longer used this safety feature has evolved into something called the alerter system here is how it works the computerized system of a locomotive is constantly monitoring all systems of the locomotive if the engineer has not moved any levers blow the whistle ring the bell or set the air or release the air in a preset amount of time it will start a countdown sequence first day dim lights will Flash and a quiet alarm will sound if no action is taken by the engineer the light will flash faster and brighter and the alarm sound will increase to an ear piercing level if still no action is taken by the engineer to reset the alarm it will set the brakes on the train and bring the train to a stop most class 1 railroads operate with a two-man crew this almost always consists of an engineer and a conductor the engineer who has to have a licensed and federal certification operates the engine he is in charge of the engines and he must do inspections on them daily and only he can operate the engines a conductor on the other hand is in charge of the cars behind the engines the conductor handles all of the paperwork such as the wheel report and the delay report he controls the switching movements and he has to buy the engineer lunch at the engineer's requests there seems to be some controversy over the last responsibility the engineer and conductor are equally responsible for the safe movement of the train a commonly asked question to an engineer is if a train has two engines that are facing the opposite directions can only one of them be used to pull the train the lead locomotive controls the operation of all of its following units so regardless of which direction they are facing all of the units are working together as one [Music] for those of you who remember the movie Grumpy Old Men this movie was shot on location here at Wabasha Minnesota Wabasha also has a road switch crew here that switches Industries both here and at Lake City Minnesota thank you we're going to jump ahead now about 30 miles to Winona Minnesota [Music] [Music] in Winona they have passed the no whistle ordinance so we are restricted from blowing the whistle Over The Crossings unless there is imminent danger of hitting someone or something the Bell must be wrong while moving through these limits [Music] Winona Minnesota is a beautiful city that is located between the Bluffs and the mighty Mississippi River it was founded by a steamboat captain in 1851. with its location on the Mississippi River it soon became one of the nation's richest cities by the 1900s its Scenic beauty alone has people from all over the nation coming to see this area foreign [Music] we are approaching Winona State University the athletic fields are on our right and the campus buildings on our left a close Lookout must be kept for students crossing the tracks thank you just off to our left is the Winona Depot Amtrak passenger trains stopped here twice a day Amtrak runs on a schedule so every effort is made by the dispatcher to keep freight trains clear of the main line when they are in the vicinity working for the railroad is not like working for your typical 40 hour per week job a road crew such as ourselves will have to make ourselves available to work 24 hours a day seven days per week every week of the year when the train that we are to take becomes available the crew caller will tell us when to show up for work this could be any time of the day morning noon or night we then take the train to our destination in this case Portage Wisconsin after we report off duty the railroad will put us up in a hotel we are required by federal law to have at least eight hours rest before working again another train will soon become available to take back to our home terminal in Saint Paul [Music] the amount of time that we are allowed to work any shift is governed by the fra Federal Railroad Administration up until about 25 years ago rail workers were allowed to work 16 hour shifts that was reduced to 14 hour shifts and then further reduced to a 12-hour shift where it Still Remains today in any given profession terminology will fit the job so when a railroad crew says that they have died it simply means that their hours of service have expired and they can no longer work until they are arrested if a train does not make it to its destination in its 12 hours it is called a dog or a slow train a new crew will be sent out to relieve the crew that has just died that crew is now called the dog catch crew in about one half mile we will be crossing the Mississippi River on a swing Bridge this bridge has recently celebrated its 100th birthday it was constructed in 1903 there is a 10 mile an hour speed restriction over the bridge but I assure you it is very strong and very stable [Music] over the next one mile of track we will cross the Mississippi River the East and West Channel and the Black River all of these come together at La Crosse Wisconsin [Music] [Music] the Mississippi River Bridge Tinder is located just off to our right there is a river barge that has requested that the bridge tender opened the bridge so that he can proceed up the river because the bridge platform is not high enough for the barge to cross under the bridge the operator will swing the bridge platform open so that it is parallel with the river after the barge clears the bridge the operator will close the platform back into place [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] I'm just thrilled with the beautiful weather that we're having for this trip you have heard of the postal workers model neither rain nor snow nor Gloom of night we railroad workers work in conditions that the postal workers wouldn't even dream of working in we have taken trains through drifts of snow over 10 feet deep through tornadoes as they pass overhead through snow and ice storms that would bring us City to a standstill and yet we never miss a Beat railroads have a device called detectors they are usually placed about every 25 miles of track they have a heat sensing device that can tell if the wheels in your train are overheating if no Hot Wheels are detected a radio broadcast will tell you that no defects are found [Music] foreign [Music] this is a smaller swing bridge that crosses the Black River this bridge is in the process of being replaced we are now 100 miles from our destination because it is getting later in the day the sun will soon begin to set by the time we get to Portage it will be completely dark [Music] we have left Minnesota and now are entering Wisconsin at lacrosse [Music] [Music] the building on our right is the La Crosse Amtrak Depot this is where Amtrak makes its two stops a day at this building has been renovated and restored to preserve its historic look s Wisconsin also has passed an ordinance for bidding the blowing of the whistle over its Crossing [Music] [Music] after we cross to the next Crossing we will be jumping ahead about 15 miles to Bangor Wisconsin [Music] track speed for a freight train through Bangor is 50 miles per hour Amtrak can travel at 79 miles per hour even though the crossings are protected by Gates warning lights and bells residents must use caution while crossing the tracks [Music] foreign we're coming up on a Tunnel located at tunnel City Wisconsin I am told that prior to 1875 when the tunnel was built that passenger trains would bring its passengers to this spot they would then cross over the hill on foot and then board another train that was waiting for them on the other side this tunnel is 1300 feet long on both sides of the tunnel there have been small cutouts made into the walls if someone was in the tunnel and the train was approaching he would have a safe place to stand as the train passed by [Music] foreign [Music] it used to be home to the Milwaukee Road Rail Yard shops I'm afraid that they were abandoned years ago [Applause] there's a small station coming up on our right that Amtrak makes its scheduled stops at [Music] [Applause] [Music] we're now passing through New Lisbon Wisconsin we are now 42 miles from Portage our outbound crew will be on duty in one hour they will take this train into Chicago after we get off riding trains like this gives the rail Crews a wonderful chance to see some spectacular sunsets [Music] [Music] this is Mauston Wisconsin a delightful small town with a lot of Crossings seems like we're blowing the whistle through the entire town but that's what happens when the crossings are placed this close together [Music] [Music] as you can see the sun is beginning to set we're going to jump ahead to Wisconsin Dells this is Wisconsin Dells home of the world's largest water theme park if you are ever looking for a family vacation site for the whole family I highly recommend Wisconsin Dells well we're only 16 miles from our destination [Music] we will be meeting a train that is stopped at the West End of Lewiston siding we are allowed to dim the headlight so as not to Blind the crew on the westbound train after we passed their head in we will turn our headlights back to Bright [Music] [Music] our engines have been equipped with two headlights and two ditch lights so that when we're traveling at night we will have adequate lighting [Applause] you guys were good [Applause] as a courtesy and required by rule a member of the train being met will get off the train and give us a roll by doing this he inspects our train for sticking brakes dragging equipment and he sees if our Fred is still in place at the end of our train [Music] [Music] well we finally arrived to Portage this time the journey only took eight hours and 15 minutes that's a little better than average [Music] [Music] we will be coming to a stop shortly I want to thank you for riding along and I hope you enjoyed the trip I have the car [Music] [Music] foreign

Channel: mark mckinney

Views: 390,384

Keywords: ride along on locomotive, train whistles, train and locomotive brake systems, railroad rules, conductor and engineer responsibilites, why no caboose, train dog catch explained, swing bridge, railroad lift bridge, train whistle on crossings, stopping train with dynamics, railroad tunnel

Id: CZfbTKdVkSk

Length: 54min 4sec (3244 seconds)

Published: Sun Aug 28 2022