Buffalo snow

So is CSX detouring Selkirk traffic from Greenwich by way of Cumberland, Philly and the West Shore?

Woke up around 5 am and re-wound the Lakeshore Museum cam. There were 4 or 5 eastbounds during the night all on main 2, then 4 or 5 westbounds on Main 2. About 3:30 am, there was a 6-unit (5 NS, 1 BNSF) light engine move on NS headed for Buffalo, probably a crew taxi service out of Conway, stopping for outlawed trains in sidings to pluck crews. At 8 AM, CSX dispatcher said a dead eastbound at Dunkirk still had its crew aboard and after mentioning something negative about Willard, was asking I-004 to stop in Dunkirk and pluck them, too. His words was 'its a mess". I-004 went by the cam on main 2 with standard 1x1 power, so the plucked crew wont have enough seats for their taxi into Buffalo. I guess the power assignment and operations algorithms don't account for what blizzards are.

Around 10:15 am, westbound on NS with UP 3863 and NS 9817 tugging 10 platforms and 6 loads.

NS D&H dispatcher talking to a westbound 959 symbol who seems to be updating the dispatcher on the status of NS sidings as they progress west.

12:30, westbound CSX stack with YN2 duo AC4400 467/51 on main 1 running slow.

12:45, westbound NS 309 with CP 9825 and two dead, cold, snow-capped NS Dash9s and healthy sized train.

1:00 pm NS 959 with 9737/9684 lite engines stops at road crossing in North East PA to unload some guys with shovels (switch cleanout crews?) who are to get into a waiting truck. I-90 eastbound has been closed at the I-86 split, sending vehicle traffic away from the lakeshore snowbelt and across the southern tier, so the Harborcreek/North East area is as close as a maintainer's vehicle from Erie or Conneaut could get to Buffalo via highways.

1:10 pm CSX I-020 with 956/3473 in 1x1 on Main 2, with instructions to drop another crew aboard at Dunkirk for the train outlawed there.

Just below Buffalo snow totals anywhere from 24 to 80 inches give or take. Hamburg at the casino got about four feet, so they were wise to cancel the train show.

What gets me is how surprised people are by this. It happens every few years. I had to look in my book, but in 2014 the same thing happened. Seven feet in Hamburg, everything shut down and train show cancelled. Just a factor of the lake effect snow, if the conditions are right you get endless amounts of it.

The Shy is Blue and Water is wet and it Snows in Buffalo (a lot) these are facts as long as we live and then some...However it is no reason to declare a state emergency

On Friday during the storm, the Fairport train log showed about 22 CSX road freights passed the live cam originating, terminating, or passing through Buffalo from midnight Thursday to midnght Friday. On Saturday morning I watched the prior 12 hours off the North East cam and saw perhaps 6-8 CSX freights moving. The westbounds were loaded with snow as you might guess.

Net: it appears that for the most part, CSX was able to keep the freight moving into/out of Buffalo during the storm. I don't think Frontier Yard area got an inordinate amount of snow like the towns to the south did (eg Orchard Park). On Wednesday, CSX had sent a rotary snow plow west past the Fairport cam to help clear tracks. I don't know how much it was used.

On Thursday night when this all began, I was on the 400 coming out of East Aurora. It was a moderate snowfall but visibility was reasonable. As I crossed over Transit Road that started to change. The warehousing along the B&P trackage provide a ton of light so it made it easier to see where the heck I was going. I could just barely see the long line a rail cars parked on the track. But just short of the Union Rd bridge...POOF....No visibility. ZERO! I couldn't even exit onto Union cuz I couldn't see it. I just kept on going straight hoping I don't rear end somebody who stopped. Eventually I drove out of the band of snow and back into a general snowfall and "resumed normal navigation."

Are trains allowed to travel in zero visibility conditions?

SST wrote: ↑Sun Nov 20, 2022 8:42 pmAre trains allowed to travel in zero visibility conditions?

It's one of the more interesting aspects of train operation! It's where you appreciate the value of REALLY knowing the physical characteristics of the line you are operating over. A brief rumble can tell that you're passing a given spur. A short glimpse of "nothing" under the loco says you're passing over that small bridge. Even just a little wiggle in the track can help with your location - IF you have filed it away in your memory.

Obviously, there are a great many variables which determine how far, how fast and how fearlessly you can plunge on. Single track, 25 mph, no grade crossings and no trains on the line is different from having to watch for signals or whatever else.

The 11/20 Virtual Railfan grab bag has some clips from both Fairport and Deshler of trains with a good coating of snow, including an eastbound Amtrak with just about the entire windshield covered in snow, and a CSX with literally feet of snow on top of the cab of the second unit.

BR&P wrote: ↑Sun Nov 20, 2022 11:06 pm

SST wrote: ↑Sun Nov 20, 2022 8:42 pmAre trains allowed to travel in zero visibility conditions?

It's one of the more interesting aspects of train operation! It's where you appreciate the value of REALLY knowing the physical characteristics of the line you are operating over. A brief rumble can tell that you're passing a given spur. A short glimpse of "nothing" under the loco says you're passing over that small bridge. Even just a little wiggle in the track can help with your location - IF you have filed it away in your memory.

Obviously, there are a great many variables which determine how far, how fast and how fearlessly you can plunge on. Single track, 25 mph, no grade crossings and no trains on the line is different from having to watch for signals or whatever else.

A little late to the party but I can share a little more info. With I-ETMS there will be a separate screen for the engineer that shows the route, track, speed permitted, governing signal, upcoming signals, temporary speed restrictions and any work areas. The computer should be set up to sound the horn for grade crossings. If the computer does not like what the engineer is doing. It will chirp at you as a warning, if you fail to comply it will stop the train.

The old school way BR&P described it in heavy snow was nerve racking especially looking for signals. The old incandescent bulbs would melt the snow which would turn to ice and soon enough be snowed in. Not sure how the LEDs would have handled this.