Dad worked on CN passenger trains, as did most of his family, so that should give you an idea of how long ago it was. He could see that passenger rail was declining, and decided to get out. But he seemed to really enjoy working on the trains, and still tells some great stories from those days.
I’ve sometimes thought that if for whatever reason I had to take a blue-collar job, being a long-haul truck driver would be the most rewarding, though I’m sure my notion of a trucker’s lifestyle is outmoded. Except having to travel so much would suck. Go figure.
Couple of questions for you, if I may. First, how many freights a day use the line between LA and San Diego? I notice that in many places, if not most, the line is single tracked, so it amazes me that a dozen passenger round trips plus the freights can all share that route. True, the passenger trains frequently have to pull over and give the freights right of way, but still it’s remarkable that there hasn’t been a horrible smashup.
Second, I work in El Segundo and notice a rail line that runs south alongside of Aviation Boulevard. I assume that track eventually goes to the harbor area, but where else does it connect with the system?
The San Diego line used to belong to Santa Fe Railroad. I belive it is now owned by Metrolink and SDNR RY. Anyway from Fullerton Jct to San Diego the line is a mix of double track and single track. With the increased amount of rail traffic over the years, both freight and passenger, plans are to DT the entire route. In my opinion I think they are going to have problems with area’s such as San Clemente and the Del Mar area due to public outcry. In a few area’s the tracks run thru protected tidal marine estuaries.
Besides local road switchers, there are on average just two thru freights in a 24 hr period. One westbound and one eastbound. These trains go from San Diego to Barstow where they will be ‘‘humped’’ and put on other trains. Once in awhile automax trains will run this route too.
As a general rule dispatchers will always direct freight trains to give way to passenger trains. We call this ‘‘being put in the hole’’. If we have more than one meet this is called ‘‘rotting in the hole’’.
The El Segundo area is indeed the old ‘‘harbor route’’. Since the completion of the Alameda Corridor this old route is seldom used except by locals and road switchers. I’ve heard rumors that this line might be sold to Metrolink for possible commuter traffic. Again this is only speculation.
Hope this helped ya.
You ever get a chance, you should post some of those stories. I would like to here them.
When I first hired on 9 yrs ago there were still a lot of the old timers (’‘old heads’’ we call them) left. Now most of them are retired and gone. Even though some of these guys could be real SoB’s to work with, one still had to admire them. They were from the ''old school so to speak and were a different breed altogether. Some of the stories these guys would tell were just amazing! I remember when I first started my training to become an engineer I was fortunate to get to train with a guy who hired on with Santa Fe in 1952!!! He was number one in senority. This guy actually fired on steam powered passenger runs. Some of the ‘‘tricks of the trade’’ he would show me on how to run a road switcher were real jaw droppers. I can still remember Bill screaming at me in his gruff voice with his ever present cigar dangling from his mouth— ‘‘STAY WITH IT, STAY WITH IT, DON’T BACK OFF!!! NOW DAMMIT WHY IN THE HELL DID YOU SET AIR’’ It was a real honor to train with him and as long as I live I will always remember those days! No matter how grumpy these old heads could be, we had nothing but respect for them! Sad to see em go.
Take care
Thanks Architeuthis, I’m gaining a lot of insight into rail from your posts. BTW, I should mention that I also really like the tentacly goodness of your posting name. 
Heh, heh. Yeah, I have been asked a time or two on what the heck is an Architeuthis. I guess thats just the nautical and ocean buff in me. BTW, since you know what it means, did you read that after years of trying, they finaly filmed one?
In one way I’m glad, on the other, well, I kind of wish that it remained the enigma that it was. But thats the spirit of discovery and exploration. A creature such as that really teaches us how little we know of this world we live in and what discoveries still await!--------------Now if they can just figure out what Bloop is! (eagerly rubs hands together)
Mike (Architeuthis). Just found this forum so if I’ve posted in the wrong place my apologies. Years ago (1968) I too worked on the CN. Extra Gang 151 out of Jasper Alberta. Summer job. Hard work putting automated switches in sidings. I was just a grunt on the end of a spike hammer but being young I loved the outdoors and fresh air. I just have one question if you have time. I’ve read that this ‘just in time’ inventory thing means that companies have most of their stock on trucks on the road. One report claimed that this amounts to ‘rolling warehouses’. The report I read said the ‘just in time’ principle reduces warehouse costs significantly and essentially put the warehouse on the road. Any thoughts on this?
Welcome to the forum, tufaw. If you look at the date of the posts in this thread you’ll see that they’re all from 2006, and looking at Architeuthis’ posting information I see that he only posted for a couple of months in that year and hasn’t posted since, so you’re unlikely to get a reply from him.
I am not a train guy but I can answer as an inventory guy from not so long ago. JiT does reduce the needs for warehouse space, but creates greater risk of stockouts in the event of a late delivery. So you are trading costs for possible loss of sales. By analysis of typical sales you can still extrapolate decent stock levels that will let you meet 95%+ of your sales orders while still keeping minimal stock on hand. As far as “rolling warehouses” yes there can be a lot of freight in the pipeline, but in many cases warehouse space is cheaper than trucks. Supply chain folks can break down the transport and storage costs for various goods to come up with the most cost effective ordering patterns for the desired level of service to be achieved.