Rediscovering our history with the land, settlements, and how we moved from place to place.
Railcars in Storage
Get link
Facebook
X
Pinterest
Email
Other Apps
The US railroad network is an engineering marvel. And just as important to the industry as the rails themselves are its rolling stock. After all, without railcars, the rails would be nothing but iron.
But the demand for railcars is not constant, and different kinds of cars are needed at different points of the year. While the exact number of railcars in service in North American railroads and holding companies isn't known, it's about 1.6 million.
On any given day however, about 900,000 won't move. While many of these are simply waiting in large railyards, many more are redundant at certain points of the year, and yet will be needed in the future. Thus, there is a market for train tracks to hold excess cars.
While many of these can be stored away in yards, an alternative to placing a line out of service or abandoning it outright is to lease the space and store railcars and other rolling stock on it. However, the practice isn't without controversy. Some of these cars can stay parked for years, leading to environmental and blight concerns for some nearby residents.
Between Welton, AZ and Goodyear, AZ lies a branch of the Union Pacific Railroad that it inherited from Southern Pacific. While much of it appears to still be in service, a stretch of railcars near Kofa can be seen on Google Maps. On the latest imagery, it appears to extend all the way to Growler, AZ, about 11 miles south.
2) Mescal, AZ
Arizona is also home to another long line of rolling stock; in this case diesel engines. Union Pacific holds about 300 diesels west of Mescal, AZ that can be seen from I-10. As such, they've attracted quite an audience of railfans and urban explorers.
3) Abandoned Passenger Car on the San Diego Arizona & Eastern Railroad
The San Diego Arizona & Eastern, perhaps better known as the "Impossible Railroad", is a treasure trove of abandoned artifacts, despite the fact that is potentially going to be reactivated in the next year or so. On a siding, you can see several old Metra passenger cars covered in graffiti.
Between Crivitz and Marinette, WI lies a line in very rough shape. Using Google Street View, it's quite easy to see miles upon miles of cars stored here. In each of the shots, you can tell that cars have been moved, but how often this occurs is unknown.
Lakeville, MN has been one of the more controversial railcar storage lines in the United States, given its a suburban area as opposed to a more rural place where storage is much more common. For Progressive Rail, it nonetheless made sense to store cars on the ex-Soo Line tracks between Lakeville and Savage, MN, given they were headquartered nearby.
While owners fought the storage of cars here for years, as of 2018 on Google Street View, it appears the line no longer serves that purpose, and is now out-of-service.
North of Sauk City, WI this line is abandoned, but it appears as though this corridor still serves as a temporary holding spot for freight cars. You can look on Street View and see the change of cars over the years. 7) Corydon Jct, IN
Much like the Mazomie-Sauk City line, heading south from Corydon Junction is still serving railcar storage interests. Sadly, no street view exists of the rolling stock.
Another long stretch of railcars exists, or has existed, near South Fork, CO, where immediately west of here begins an out-of-service stretch of this ex-Denver & Rio Grande Western line from South Fork to Creede, CO. 9) The Adirondacks, NY
The Adirondacks were another place where railcars were stored, but much like Lakeville, MN, this generated significant controversy, in this case, environmental groups against them being stored in and around forests. Eventually, politicians got involved and the idea has been shelved for the moment.
This is actually a storage facility located within a business park, that has been home to a few vintage pieces of rolling stock, and has thus caught the attention of railfans, both near and far.
There are many, many more places railcars are stored in North America, many of which are inaccessible without trespassing. As always, please do not trespass on railroad property to view any kind of railcars.
Have you ever wished to experience being transferred from one pool of liquid to another via a pipe? Had you visited the Dutch water park known as Durinrell , also known as Tikibad before 2010, you would have had the chance. Half water slide, half war crime, this was a unique water slide that was filled to the brim with water, leaving riders completely submerged throughout the journey. Image: XtremeRidesNL Known as the Fly Over was an underwater water slide, which is exactly how it sounds, and transported riders from one pool to another using the water as propulsion. Built in 1994, riders dove underwater to access the slide, using gravity to transport them upwards via the Communicating Vessels Principle . Riders would be completely underwater for about 15-20 seconds. This is how I imagine those 15-20 seconds felt like while riding the slide. The slide was built to drain water in five seconds or less in case a rider got stuck in the slide or had a medical emergency, but the threat...
Route 66, the iconic "Main Street of America," weaves through the heart of the United States, connecting communities and embodying the spirit of adventure. However, not all sections of this historic highway have stood the test of time. While much of the former US 66 is drivable in one way or another, especially in Illinois, there are some parts are not. One of the first such roadblocks for would-be travelers heading from Chicago to Los Angeles via the Mother Road, now known as Joliet Road, comes just outside of Chicago in McCook, IL, where the former highway is closed between 55th St and East Ave, and has been for over two decades. (Link to the location on our Ghost Towns Map ) Image: Google Maps at 55th and Joliet Rd in McCook, IL The land that the quarry would eventually take over was part of Stinson Airport in the early days of Route 66, dating back to before 1930. ( Abandoned Airports map ). 1938 USGS Aerial Imagery The quarrying on the south side of the road would...
Across the rolling hills and rugged landscapes of western Ireland, one can find peculiar relics of a dark chapter in the island’s history. These are the Famine Roads—routes that climb into the hills, twist through valleys, and often end abruptly, leading nowhere. Their haunting presence is a testament to the desperation and suffering endured by countless Irish peasants during the Great Famine of 1845–1852. "One of the many roads to nowhere built during the Famine" (Image via sboins on Reddit ) The Great Famine , or Án Gorta Mór, was a catastrophic period in Ireland’s history, marked by mass starvation, disease, and emigration. Over one million people perished, and another two million fled the country, profoundly altering Ireland’s demographic and cultural landscape. In an era dominated by the rigid doctrines of laissez-faire economics, relief efforts were minimal, and assistance often came with cruel conditions. Under the Poor Law and its amendments, relief programs were esta...
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/rspicture.aspx?id=597861 it looks like that Ex reading car in the first picture is now alone, and on it's side.
ReplyDelete