Untitled Document

24 Hours on the Galveston Sub
between Somerville & Temple
1/30/04 - 1/31/04

Stephen Foyt
Austin/Houston, TX

There's been some discrepancy lately over how many trains BNSF runs on the Galveston Sub between Somerville and Temple. I'd spent 24 hours along this portion before and reasoned that there's about 30 trains a day. Some people were generous enough to give it 50 and beyond. The whole issue got me interested and I figured I'd settle it by way of another 24 Hours.

Friday 1/30/04:

I scurried out of my annoyingly late M,W,F 3-4 class and hit the road for Milano. No trains on the Austin Sub `til I hit Marjorie. And hit them I sure did.

17:22 Northbound holding at Marjorie on UP Austin Sub
LAW41 (Taylor, TX to Hearne, TX)
UP 776 (GP38-2), UP 738 (GP38-2)
RSS gons, CSX/NS/RBOX boxes, cov.hoppers, lumber

Made a quick dinner grab at the Sonic in Rockdale. Maybe I should have chosen something else before my choices were diminished to just the Sonic in Cameron or gas stations.

17:40 Northbound holding just north of Rockdale on UP Austin Sub
ZMXYC (TFM-Laredo, TX to Yard Center-Chicago, IL)
UP 9740 (C44-9W), UP 9723 (C44-9W)
APL/Pacer stacks, some EMP at the end

17:45 Southbound in the siding at Milano on UP Austin Sub
RMYBX (Melendy, TX to Brauntex, TX)
UP 3824 (SD40-2), UP 1924 (GP60), UP 2774 (SD40-2M, SP paint), UP 2920 (SD40-2T), UP 3521 (SD40-2)
SPTX/GCCX empty rock hoppers

17:48 Northbound at Milano on UP Austin Sub
ZLDYC (Port Laredo, TX to Yard Center-Chicago, IL)
UP 4797 (SD70M), CEFX 7084 (SD40-2, BN green),
APL/Pacer stacks, JB Hunt/Schnieder/Tip/EMP trailers, EMP/APL/Pacer stacks (lots)

AEGNL was ahead of ZLDYC at Gause.

18:00 To the diamond at Milano and time to start my 24 Hours on the BNSF:

18:02 Southbound at Milano on BNSF Galveston Sub
LGFC061 "South Local" (Temple, TX to Somerville, TX)
BNSF 3031 (GP40X, H1), BNSF 3034 (GP40X, blue/yellow)
IBPX/PBFX tallow, pellets, steel beams, BN/BNSF/CUOH/RBOX boxes, ATSF cov. hoppers, FSR gons

Night was approaching and I needed to find a "safe" place to do my nighttime observing. I cruised down towards Chriesman and settled on a secluded dirt road crossing located at M.P. 169; about two miles north of the siding at Chriesman and five miles south of Milano. The approach signal to the north end of Chriesman is located at this crossing.

18:40 Northbound at MP 169 on BNSF Galveston Sub
XGATBNV4 (Galveston, TX to Bonneville, WY)
EMD 9050 (SD60, Oakway), EMD 9066 (SD60, Oakway)
DVLX/TILX/GATX empty sulfur tanks

18:56 Northbound at MP 169 on BNSF Galveston Sub
MSSBTPL (Silsbee, TX to Temple, TX)
BNSF 7011 (SD40-2, BN green)
BNSF/NOPB boxes, GATX tanks, HCl tanks, BN/BNSF/NOKL/LCGX grain hoppers

20:00 Southbound at MP 169 on BNSF Galveston Sub
PCLOPEA (Clovis, NM to Pearland, TX)
BNSF 737 (C44-9W, Warbonnet), BNSF 706? (C44-9W, Warbonnet)
Yang Ming/Tex/Triton/BNSF/NACS stacks, 4 articulated autoracks, JB
Hunt/Schnieder/NACS trailers, OOCL/CAI/Interpool/Hapag Loyd/NYK/CMA- CGM stacks

20:50 Northbound at MP 169 on BNSF Galveston Sub
HHOUGAL9 (South Yard-Houston, TX to Galesburg, IL)
BNSF 4746 (C44-9W, H2), BNSF 6856 (SD40-2, blue/yellow), BNSF 4342 (C44-9W, H2), BNSF 4222 (B23-7, blue/yellow)
wide load, pellets, isoprene, LPG's ELTX pellets, tanks, argon tank, FXE articulated autoracks, stuff, pellets

21:12 Southbound at MP169 on BNSF Galveston Sub
MTPLLAL (Temple, TX to Lafayette, LA)
BNSF 7804 (SD40-2, BN green), BNSF 86?? (B40-8, H1), BNSF 7007 (SD40-2, BN green)
GCCX cement, BN/BNSF grain, tanks, BN/BNSF/DMM boxes, stuff, CSX/SOU/GMRR/CUOH boxes, tanks & pellets, BN/BNSF/RBOX boxes, stuff, BN coal hoppers, NOPB boxes, MLLX pellets

22:21 Northbound at MP 169 on BNSF Galveston Sub
MEAPTUL (FXE-Eagle Pass, TX to Tulsa, OK)
BNSF 6920 (SD40-2, H1), BNSF 7335 (SD40-2, H1)
empty lumber, CRGX corn syrup, DMIX cov.hoppers, BNSF coils, tanks, BN coal hoppers, BN/BNSF/RBOX boxes, CN/IC/SLGG gons, FXE coils, boxes, BN/BNSF grain

Saturday 1/31/04:

00:37 Northbound at MP 169 on BNSF Galveston Sub
HDYTGAL (Dayton, TX to Galesburg, IL)
ATSF 689 (C44-9W, Warbonnet), BNSF 4007 (C44-9W, H2), BNSF 7004 (SD40-2, BN green)
pellets, tanks, EQUX/CCBX pellets (lots), FCCM boxes, pellets, argon tanks, ELTX/MLLX/GPLX/CHVX/PSPX pellets, CGTX LPG's, tanks & pellets, EJE coils

01:03 Northbound at MP 169 on BNSF Galveston Sub
HPTRSTL (PTRA-Houston, TX to St. Louis, MO)
BNSF 4953 (C44-9W, H2), ATSF 903 (C40-8W, Warbonnet), BNSF 7259 (SD40-2, BN green)
CHVX/ECUX/HCBX/ELTX/FINX/BFGX/PSPX pellets (lots), 2 BNSF coils, few boxes, empty lumber, ADMX cov.hoppers, tanks, LPG's, new UTLX tanks

02:02 Northbound at MP 169 on BNSF Galveston Sub
PNWOLAC (New Orleans, LA to LATC-Los Angeles, CA)
BNSF 5204 (C44-9W, H2), NS 6119 (SD40-2), BNSF 5283 (C44-9W, H2)
Yang Ming/OOCL/Hyundai/Hapag Loyd/NYK/Tex/CAI/Interpool/Capital/Maersk/Kien Hung/BN/NACS stacks, few BNSF trailers

02:30 Southbound at MP169 on BNSF Galveston Sub
GFTWGAT9 (Ft. Worth, TX to Galveston, TX)
BNSF 6816 (SD40-2, BN green) leading 4 other unidentified SD40-2's
BN/BNSF loaded grain hoppers

02:42 Northbound at MP 169 on BNSF Galveston Sub
MCPSTPL's light power (Corpus Christi, TX to Temple, TX)
BNSF 5201 (C44-9W, H2), BNSF 562 (B40-8W, H2), BNSF 4666 (C44-9W, H2), BNSF 6830 (SD40-2, H1)

Corpus-Temple has been setting out his whole train at Somerville lately.

03:20 Northbound at MP 169 on BNSF Galveston Sub
ESLPJRM (HL&P-Smithers Lake, TX to Jacobs Ranch Mine, WY)
BNSF 8988 (SD70MAC, H2), BNSF 9486 (SD70MAC, H2), BNSF 9972 (SD70MAC, H2)
UFIX empty coal hoppers

The night had been going remarkably smooth. There were plenty of trains to keep me awake. I sat (a tad chilly) in the car gazing up at the clear sky scattered with bright sparkling stars. The approach signal to Chriesman seemed especially pretty when it lit up. The silence was loud, and only occasionally interrupted by a detector, a routine roll-by, and of course the growl of approaching trains miles before their arrival at my location.

Not long after the empty coal train had passed, he got on the radio and called in a suspicious red truck sitting next to the tracks at the north end of Hoyte. DS112 said he would get the police notified immediately. My sense of security had finally been cracked. Could they really find me here? Nobody had called me in yet. Then I heard the coal empty highball a military train at Hoyte. Oh great, this is what I need now. . .

Just to be on the "safe" side, I drove up to the crossing just as the train approached. No reason to possibly have my 24 Hours ended just because of paranoia about one train.

03:45 Southbound at MP169 on BNSF Galveston Sub
symbol unknown
BNSF 6948 (SD40-2, H1), BNSF 6885 (SD40-2, blue/yellow)
flats loaded with miscellaneous equipment

04:20 Northbound at MP 169 on BNSF Galveston Sub
UPEABWW (Pearland, TX to Brownwood, TX)
BNSF 6465 (SD45-2, blue/yellow), BNSF 6479 (SD45-2, blue/yellow), BNSF 6500 (SD45-2, blue/yellow)
ATSF/BN/BNSF/PRSX/RMGX empty rock gons

05:26 Southbound at MP169 on BNSF Galveston Sub
MTPLGAT (Temple, TX to Galveston, TX)
BN 7825 (SD40-2), BNSF 3033 (GP40X, blue/yellow), BNSF 6505 (SD45-2, blue/yellow)
CCBX/EQUX pellets, UTLX/AMCX/CELX tanks, LTCX argon refrig. tanks (lots), lumber, few boxes, sulfur tanks

First car in six hours passes me at 06:00. Society exists again.

06:20 Northbound at MP 169 on BNSF Galveston Sub
HNWOBEL (NOPB-New Orleans, LA to Belen, NM)
BNSF 4710 (C44-9W, Warbonnet), BNSF 6755 (SD40-2, blue/yellow), BNSF 6496 (SD45-2, blue/yellow)
lumber, PPRX tank, USBX cov.hopper, BNSF/ATSF/IBT/CSX/NS/DMM/SRN boxes, pellets, CELX/UTLX/TILX tanks, pellets & tanks

I was getting excited. I had almost made it through the grueling night and soon it would be light and I would be free to chase & shoot. I happened to look up at the sky at 06:21 noticing it was still clear. At 06:28 I looked up again and what! it's totally cloudy! How? In seven minutes!? Why?!

06:30 Northbound at MP 169 on BNSF Galveston Sub
XPTRULE9 (PTRA-Houston, TX to Ulen, MN)
BNSF 5267 (C44-9W, H2), BNSF 7813 (SD40-2, BN green), BNSF 4802 (C44-9W, H2)
BNSF empty Earthworm grain hoppers

06:53 Southbound at MP169 on BNSF Galveston Sub
PLACNWO (LATC-Los Angeles, CA to New Orleans, LA)
BNSF 5464 (C44-9W, H2), BNSF 5417 (C44-9W, H2)
Yang Ming/Hyundai/OOCL/Capital/Tex/Triton/Interpool/CAI/NYK/CMA- CGM/MOL/NACS stacks, few tanktainers & Schnieder trailers

"Okay, its daytime now. Maybe these clouds will burn off soon. They sure formed quick, so they can disappear quick, right? I guess I'll just sit here until it clears up."

07:23 Southbound at MP169 on BNSF Galveston Sub
GLUBCPS (Lubbock, TX to Corpus Christi, TX)
BNSF 4859 (C44-9W, H2), BNSF 6873 (SD40-2, blue/yellow), BNSF 6805 (SD40-2, blue/yellow)
BN/BNSF loaded grain hoppers

07:36 Northbound at MP 169 on BNSF Galveston Sub
SHOULAC (Pearland, TX to LATC-Los Angeles, CA)
BNSF 9270 (SD60M, BN green), BNSF 5495 (C44-9W, H2), ATSF 682 (C44-9W, Warbonnet)
OOCL/Yang Ming/Hapag Loyd/Capital/China Shipping/Tex/Triton/CAI/Interpool/NYK/Hyundai/P&O Nedloyd/NACS/JB Hunt stacks

"Okay, it's not getting sunny, I'm tired of sitting here and I'm hungry. I'll chase the next train north. Thanks for being a good overnight host, MP 169."

08:12 Northbound at MP 169 on BNSF Galveston Sub
VPEAALT (Pearland, TX to Alliance, TX)
BN 2916 (GP39E), BNSF 1375 (GP7u, blue/yellow), BNSF 2596 (GP35u, blue/yellow)
Maesrk/Capital/OOCL/MSC/NACS/Hanjin/JB Hunt stacks, BNSF trailers, ETTX empty autoracks

He sure was blazin' the trail between Milano and Hoyte. DS112 had to flag him by the north end of Hoyte, so that killed the frantic pace. There would be a track indication on all day between Cameron and Hoyte, so every train had to flag through here. It was finally inspected later in the afternoon and found to be a minor broken rail. Slap a 10 on it & keep `em running (and flagging).

Get to Cameron and the promise of food. Okay, everybody together: what did I eat for breakfast? Sonic, of course. I wasn't exactly enthusiastic about it either.

09:10 Northbound at Cameron on BNSF Galveston Sub
UKRBBWW (TBRR-Kirbyville, TX to Brownwood, TX)
BNSF 6484 (SD45-2, blue/yellow), BNSF 6471 (SD45-2, blue/yellow), BNSF 6492 (SD45-2, blue/yellow)
RMGX/PRSX empty rock gons

Gee, it's nice to sit somewhere else. Would be nicer if the Weather Channel hadn't lied about today's forecast though.

09:40 Southbound at Cameron on BNSF Galveston Sub
UBWWPEA (Brownwood, TX to Pearland, TX)
BNSF 6501 (SD45-2, blue/yellow), BNSF 3032 (GP40X, blue/yellow), BNSF 6466 (SD45-2, blue/yellow), BNSF 6477 (SD45-2, blue/yellow)
ATSF/BN/BNSF/RMGX/PRSX loaded rock gons

10:25 Northbound at Cameron on BNSF Galveston Sub
symbol unknown
FURX 7287 (SD40-2, BN green), FURX 7266 (SD40-2, BN green)
empty misc. flats

10:38 Northbound at Cameron on BNSF Galveston Sub
LGFC061 "South Local" (Somerville, TX to Temple, TX)
BNSF 3031 (GP40X, H1), BNSF 3034 (GP40X, blue/yellow)
CCBX/EQUX pellets, 4 tanks

10:53 Northbound at Cameron on BNSF Galveston Sub
SPTRLHA5 (PTRA-Barbours Cut, TX to Los Angeles, CA)
BNSF 4388 (C44-9W, H2), BNSF 5452 (C44-9W, H2)
Maersk/Triton/Capital stacks

11:07 Southbound at Cameron on BNSF Galveston Sub
MTPLEAP (Temple, TX to FXE-Eagle Pass, TX)
BNSF 7010 (SD40-2, H1), BNSF 7504 (SD45-2B, blue/yellow), NS 9335 (C40-9W)
pellets, FXE articulated autoracks, DMIX corn syrup, BNSF reefers, grain, NATX tanks, HS boxes, BN/BNSF/ATSF/CRIX cement (lots), UTLX phosphoric acid tanks

11:53 Northbound at Cameron on BNSF Galveston Sub
HSVLTUL3 (Somerville, TX to Tulsa, OK)
BNSF 122 (GP60M, Warbonnet), BNSF 1076 (C44-9W, H1)
EQUX/CCBX pellets, BN/BNSF boxes, pellets, KYLE grain (lots), ACFX pellets, BN/BNSF boxes, sulfur tanks, gon coils, FURX grain

Apparently this Somerville-Tulsa has been running on rare occasions lately.

Come on, clouds. . .

12:13 Northbound at Cameron on BNSF Galveston Sub
ESLPJRM (HL&P-Smithers Lake, TX to Jacobs Ranch Mine, WY)
BNSF 5632 (AC4400CW, H2)
BNSF 9667 (SD70MAC, cream/green)
UFIX empty coal hoppers, BNSF 9994 (SD70MAC, H2)

12:45 Southbound at Cameron on BNSF Galveston Sub
MTPLSSB (Temple, TX to Silsbee, TX)
BNSF 6905 (SD40-2, H1), BNSF 327 (GP60B, H1), BNSF 6303 (SD40-2, blue/yellow)
BN/BNSF boxes, LPG's, 2 house cars, pellets, TILX flam. liquid tanks,
PROX tanks, IBT boxes

Observation: The Silsbee trains all seem pretty short. I know they didn't always used to be this way. Is less traffic being classified at Silsbee now? The Temple-Silsbee Julian & I saw at Bragg about a month ago was short too.

13:35 Northbound at Cameron on BNSF Galveston Sub
HPTRBAR (PTRA-Pasadena, TX to Barstow, CA)
BNSF 6362 (SD40-2, H1), ATSF 880 (C40-8W, Warbonnet), BNSF 6334 (SD40-2, BN green)
BN/ATSF cov.hoppers, gon coils, pipes, 2 ATSF tanks, tallow, BN/ATSF/BN gons, pellets, steel plates, PLMX tanks, CHVX/PSPX pellets, UTLX/PROX tanks

Just after Port-Barstow cleared, I noticed the sun MIGHT be trying to come out to the north. I figured what-the-heck & gave chase. Turns out that, yep, the sun was coming through in patches. I was excited.

HPTRBAR shot at Pettibone (just south of Buckholts).

Port-Barstow met a southbound at Buckholts before continuing north, which I had to chase back to Cameron to catch.

14:11 Southbound at Cameron on BNSF Galveston Sub
HAMAPTR (Amarillo, TX to PTRA-Pasadena, TX)
BNSF 579 (B40-8, H2), BNSF 6363 (SD40-2, BN green), BNSF 6761 (SD40-2, H1)
PPRX/CRGX/UTLX/ATSF/DBUX/PLMX black tanks (lots), 10 PSPX/CHVX pellets, 2 BN gons, 1 LTCX argon tank

The sun was sorta out in Cameron too. There were two more southbounds coming, so I went north again to intercept them.

Kick-Pea was spotted flying through Buckholts. Had to make some foamer-moves to get to the south end of the siding to bang off a few shots.

14:30 Southbound at Buckholts on BNSF Galveston Sub
VKCKPEA (Argentine Yard-Kansas City, KS to Pearland, TX)
BNSF 511 (B40-8W, H2), BNSF 3185 (GP50, blue/yellow)
SLC reefers, tanktainers, ETTX loaded autoracks, 2 AMCX/2 DMIX tanks

VKCKPEA shot again at the north end of Cameron.

14:50 Southbound just north of Cameron on BNSF Galveston Sub
LGFC061 "South Local" (Temple, TX to Somerville, TX)
BNSF 3037 (GP40X, blue/yellow), BNSF 3031 (GP40X, H1)
pellets, CEFX/TM empty gon and big scrap, BN/RBOX boxes, pellets, gons, LPG's, WSOR boxes, NOKL grain

Because these southbounds were flagging b/w Cameron and Hoyte I figured I could catch them again. There was a northbound in the siding at Hoyte by now.

VKCKPEA shot again at the south end of Hoyte. (the engineer didn't seem to like me)

LGFC061 shot again at the south end of Hoyte.

15:45 Northbound at Cameron on BNSF Galveston Sub
XALGAMA (Algoa, TX to Amarillo, TX)
BNSF 4505 (C44-9W, H2), BNSF 7833 (SD40-2, BN green)
BN/BNSF empty grain hoppers

16:10 Northbound at Cameron on BNSF Galveston Sub
symbol unknown
BNSF 6377 (SD40-2, BN green), BNSF 7906 (SD40-2, H1)
empty misc. flats

I was getting hungry again, so where do I brainlessly go? Sonic, yet again, for the 3rd time in the last 24 hours. Good thing I happen to like it, but after the 3rd meal of nothing but Sonic it starts to get gross.

DS112 gives out T&T to fix the broken rail. They say it will take about an hour-and-a-half. She says "no problem". No, this didn't affect traffic cuz there wasn't anything close at this time. I headed back to Milano to be where I started when I finish the 24 Hours. And just like yesterday at this time, UP was all busy.

These don't count in the 24 Hours of course, but I did see `em:

16:43 Northbound at Milano on UP Austin Sub
GSLDCO (Port Laredo, TX to Columbus, NE)
UP 4061 (SD70M), UP 6709 (AC4400CW), UP 9678 (C44-9W)
empty UP system grain hoppers

17:22 Northbound at Milano on UP Austin Sub
ZLDYC (Port Laredo, TX to Yard Center-Chicago, IL)
UP 2161 (SD60), UP 2298 (SD60M)
EMP/APL/Pacer stacks, Schnieder/JB Hunt trailers, EMP/Stax stacks, Schnieder/JB Hunt trailers, APL/Pacer stacks

17:45 Northbound at Milano on UP Austin Sub
RHTIK (Hunter, TX to Irish Creek, TX)
UP 2056 (GP60), UP 1922 (GP60)
CHTT loaded rock hoppers

18:00 rolls around and I am officially done with my 24 Hours. I decide to stay an extra 15 minutes to see two northbound BNSF trains.

18:02 Northbound at Milano on BNSF Galveston Sub
HHOUGAL9 (South Yard-Houston, TX to Galesburg, IL)
BNSF 5218 (C44-9W, H2), BNSF 6476 (SD45-2, blue/yellow), BNSF 4786 (C44-9W, H2)
BNSF/ATSF boxes, pipes, TILX flam. liquid tanks, ELTX pellets, tanks, flats, gons, few empty autoracks

18:12 Northbound at Milano on BNSF Galveston Sub
MSSBTPL (Silsbee, TX to Temple, TX)
BNSF 546 (B40-8W, H2), NS 9765 (C40-9W)
boxes, scrap, IBT boxes, crates, BNSF/RBOX/SRN boxes, ATSF short cov.hoppers, CSX cov.hoppers

The Austin Sub was kinda dead on the way back to Austin. Only one train between Milano and Round Rock:

19:03 Northbound at Hutto on UP Austin Sub
ZMXYC (TFM-Laredo, TX to Yard Center-Chicago, IL)
UP 4654 (SD70M), UP ???? (SD70M)
APL/Pacer stacks, some EMP at the end

I arrived home feeling good about completing another satisfying 24 Hours. I had no cop problems, all the trains came that were supposed to, and I never fell asleep. Here's the breakdown:

Total trains for a 24 Hour + 15 minute period on the BNSF Galveston
Sub: 39
Northbound: 24
Southbound: 15

Everything came that should have come or could have possibly come. I got 2 coal, 4 grain, 3 rocks, 3 "special movements", 1 sulfur, 2 vehicle, 5 stack, 3 "South Locals", and 14 manifests, plus the 2 at the end seen twice. All I didn't get was a rare Beaumont potash.

Seeing all the possibilities of trains and the "normal amount" of unit trains makes me happy because it is a "complete" 24 Hours and means that 39 trains is on the busy side of a normal day for this line. So I'm now going to conclude that there's usually 35-40 trains a day on the BNSF Galveston Sub between Temple and Somerville, well, actually Caldwell. This still easily makes it the busiest track in Central Texas.

I can't believe I wrote this all in one sitting.

Stephen Foyt
Austin/Houston, TX