When I saw some postings regarding a dirth of rail traffic, I started watching a number of lines that run along the river bank across from downtown Pittsburgh, Pa. I have a direct view from the office window. Normally dozens of trains run North and South along those lines each day, I did not see any Monday afternoon and only two Tuesday (Jan 4) afternoon. Can anyone get a report from inside the rail companies?

-- Rick Evans (vrevans@bigfoot.com), January 05, 2000

Answers

DH works for Norfolk Southern. Business as usual.

-- sher (sher777@bellsouth.net), January 05, 2000.

Norfolk Southern has been having problems for several months. What does business as usual mean? What is DH's job function? What city?

-- Dave (dannco@hotmail.com), January 05, 2000.

I didn't say that they weren't having problems....absorbing Conrail is a buggar. There are no apparent additional problems due to Y2K. DH works in Atlanta....don't want to divulge more as I am using my real e-mail address and I don't want to get him in trouble on the job.

-- sher (sher777@bellsouth.net), January 05, 2000.

My brother is an engineer for what used to be Southern Pacific (it merged awhile back so I don't know what it is now). He runs between 2 small towns in Texas between San Antonio and El Paso. My mother lives in the same town as he does. I talked to her yesterday and she said he is working normal, and the trains have been working OK, no problems, he was expecting to get out again last evening.

Salene

-- Salene (salene814@hotmail.com), January 05, 2000.

A friend of mine drives the coal trains for Texas Utilities Martin Lake Plant, he says they rolled the clocks back on their locomotives to keep them running.

-- Nikoli Krushev (doomsday@y2000.com), January 05, 2000.

Union Pacific is running fine here. I listen to my scanner and haven't heard any communications with the railroad to indicate there's any problems. My son is an engineer with BNSF and he's his work days are normal.

-- bardou (bardou@baloney.com), January 05, 2000.

Heard a CSX freight last night, loud and clear, going through Vero Beach, FL.

-- Mara (MaraWayne@aol.com), January 05, 2000.

In an item from yesterday's rail newsline; it seems that Amtrak's train progress tracking system can handle the 2000 date. But those trains enroute to their destinations which had left in 1999 got dropped out upon rollover. On long-distance trains this meant some trains weren't followed automatically for two or three days.

This wasn't the traffic management system, so it wasn't a safety issue. It's more akin to UPS's package tracking system monitoring the progress of your delivery.

WW

-- Wildweasel (vtmldm@epix.net), January 05, 2000.