Longest train in the world!


goscrewyourselves

goscrewyourselves

I'm the one
Morning All,

Did anyone else know that the longest "running" train in the world was an Australian BHP Billiton Iron Ore train in June 21st 2001?

The train covered a distance of 275 kilometers (170.889 miles) with a total weight of 99,734 tons.

The train was made up of "8" AC6000 engines, located throughout the train and 682 wagons of Iron Ore. All controlled by one driver and covered a length of 7.353 kilometers (4.56 miles).

Now that is one very big train. Can you imagine getting caught at a level crossing just as it approached. I bitch about trains with only 150 cars attached :)
 
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Imagine calling work and saying sorry boss but I'm stuck at a train crossing......see ya in a couple of days
 
Here is a video of the train from start to finish. It isn't that great a quality but will give you an idea.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LsuNWjRaAo

And a picture to show what it is like in the Pilbara District of Australia - not too many rail crossings, or anything else, to worry about :)


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So did they do this just for the sake of doing it? Was it an experiment? Was it a publicity stunt by GE? I would think it would clog up both the departure and arrival yards too much to be practical.

In the USA engineers are paid by weight on axle and power unit; so had that been here, that would have been one happy railroad worker. A small fortune to drive a single train less than 200 miles.

What is the longest train in the world that is a normal running train, not a one off?
 
The normal typical day to day length is around 360 cars and 2 or 3 loco's for iron ore. No it wasn't a stunt by GE but an experiment by BHP to see if it was possible to move such large quantities at one time. As for the arrival and departure congestion, that is not a problem in Australia where the movement of Iron Ore is concerned in the Pilbara.

In Australia engineers are on a wage where they paid a flat rate + allowances, or so I believe, Toot'n may be able to qualify that, unlike Road Train Operators who are paid by the mile/weight.

As for my bitchin' about being stopped at crossings - I live next to a track and see trains frequently every day, I don't need to stop to see them, and you left off the smiley at the end of that comment.
 
wombat457 said:
Here is a video of the train from start to finish. It isn't that great a quality but will give you an idea.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LsuNWjRaAo

And a picture to show what it is like in the Pilbara District of Australia - not too many rail crossings, or anything else, to worry about :)


ing-wide2-20130110190638766004-620x349_zpsf75c081c.jpg
Click to expand...

Notice that the front half of the train went through a different loader than the back half, the way the cars are loaded is different.


Sent from my Vic20 using Java Moose
 
Neat video. I do have an observation though. If you think about it, the way the distributed power is set up, it is in effect 4 separate trains coupled together. Not to underestimate the feat performed, but each group of two engines basically controlled 1/4 of the train each (in it's simplest form). The amount of dynamic forces going on in that train must be incredible. I would think that adding any type of major grade into the equation would present some interesting operational tendencies. Another interesting observation, I would hate to be the conductor if a coupler broke near the end of that train. That would be a long walk.
 
Classic video shooter's mistake. The scene looks nice and lit up ---- Until the train shows up and then it's "DARK SIDE". People need to know that a train is 12 feet tall and it carries its own shadow on one side or the other. Look at a stick, pole of anything to find the shadow side before the train gets there is a good plan. Screwed up a bunch of times myself when in a hurry.
 
danpik said:
Neat video. I do have an observation though. If you think about it, the way the distributed power is set up, it is in effect 4 separate trains coupled together. Not to underestimate the feat performed, but each group of two engines basically controlled 1/4 of the train each (in it's simplest form). The amount of dynamic forces going on in that train must be incredible. I would think that adding any type of major grade into the equation would present some interesting operational tendencies. Another interesting observation, I would hate to be the conductor if a coupler broke near the end of that train. That would be a long walk.
Click to expand...

Yeah I agree. The locomotives in the middle of the train are essentially just tailgating the ore cars in front of them. They just happen to be physically attatched to those ore cars.

But still....it's 1 guy driving the whole thing. So there's that!
 
For a while there, a modular club in Perth, Western Australia held the Guinness Book of World Records for longest model train (by cars) by simulating one of these trains (back when it was still Hamersley Iron). They had 500 cars using 6 locomotives (and this was all on DC). They made it 3 times around the modular layout. The record has since been broken. I still have a locomotive (an AC4400CW) that is painted up in the Hamersley Iron pain scheme.

It was interesting to learn that in order to bring in the first order of AC4400CW's (they brought in 36 on one ship) they had to deepen the Port of Port Hedland in northern WA. It is now a major Deep water port in the region.
My dad was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to drive one of these massive trains around the reverse loop in Pilbara. I will try and post some photos we have of these trains if i can find them.

Another interesting note about the AC4400CW/s was they had water cooling on the radiators due to the extreme heat in Northern Western Australia. The fuel tank was actually reduced in size in order to accommodate a water tank for the cooling system.
As for the AC6000's I do not know much about them and whether or not they have the same modifications.
 
I think that is a typo, 2.75km seems more reasonable for a train to pass in 8 minutes, unless the train was doing 2200kmh.

Reminds me of when passenger trains in Europe will share a train until a certain point where they break apart and go their seperate ways. Certainly helps with dispatching.
 
Charles Smiley said:
Classic video shooter's mistake. The scene looks nice and lit up ---- Until the train shows up and then it's "DARK SIDE".
Click to expand...
:confused: And still people always wonder why I insist on crossing the tracks to the east side when the Cheyenne Frontier Days train (with the 844 or 3985 on point) goes from Denver to Cheyenne in the morning.
 
G'day Tony....I've watched this video several times ...really great...There is a bloke called Rod Williams ...who has hundreds of equally fantastic videos . BHP Billiton run many EMD SD70ACe's too as well as GE locos...For a time they also ran SD40-2s until about 2012...Some feature on Rod's videos .. BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto , Hammersly Iron , Pilbara Rail all use similar prime movers..motive power.. another impressive topic of Rod's videos are Australia's iconic Road Trains...These MASSIVELY LONG trucks...are powered by all sorts but use mostly Kenworth , Mack and Western Star trucks to haul almost ridiculous multiple trailers and dolly's..to some of our most isolated places..Visit his channel (Rod Williams) and you'll see some superbly shot stuff...Cheers Rod McGiveron
 
It is a great feat and excellent promo for the AC 6000 loco, even thought that wasn't the point of the exercise. Back when this happened, the average length of a BHP train was around 360 cars (impressive in itself) but am now wondering what it is today.

The Aussie Road Trains are very impressive. I lived in Darwin for the last 5 or so years I was in Australia, I saw huge amounts of em, especially travelling between Darwin and Brissy. The largest I saw was the standard 4 X's, but even they take some getting around, especially on those outback roads.
 
G'day again....I once read in the "comments " piece on the bottom of one of Rod's Road train videos ...Why not move it by rail...As Tony quite rightly pointed out , many of these massive , and I mean massive trucks have to operate on mostly secondary roads , not highways necessarily . Lots of times given the propensity of flooded creeks at a moments notice , rutted bush roads..and being hundreds of kilometres from anywhere , rail just can't be justified at a decent cost of building and maintenance..Our road trains are like Alaska's air delivery services to really remote areas...Rod Williams has shot some amazing footage in great quality of transport , mostly trains and trucks and other things and if you type in 'Rod Williams Channel' in your You Tube browser you'll find hours and hours of great stuff....Tell you what though ..there's a great density of super trains in the USA too..One of my favourites via You Tube is " Two Monster Trains meet at Flagstaff , Arizona ".. that's an amazing vid to watch...They focus on the tracks at one point and the bending/flexing of the track is great to see...Almost a hobby on it's own , watching North American and Australian super train footage...so many great videos...Cheers Rod...
 
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