DutchRailnut wrote:not just believe but certainty is 6 axle power chews up rail and switches.
Sorry old sock. If they chew up your switches, it is because of poor maintainence or materials. I have seen #11 manual swtiches in place for over 4 decades on the Overland Route, pulled out and put into yards still in very good shape. No welding or other work was needed. In all those years, they have been ground and tamped every season.
The Overland Route sees a lot more tonnage than most passenger routes in the NE, no matter how busy they are. Coal at 50, manifest at 60, and intermodal at 70 mph. And most all of it with six axle locomotives. Including the Metra Routes in Chicago (which passenger trains run 79 mph daily).
So I find it hard to believe Jaap what you say is true.