Mark’s Train Inquiry

As I was rolling westbound on Interstate 90 this past weekend, I noticed a lot of train cars, big long lines of them. I saw boxcars, flatbeds, and oil tankers.

Which got me to thinking: I know very little about the railroad industry in our area and in Montana, for that matter. So, I thought I'd ask our listeners because we've got to have folks whose work is somehow train related.

My GUESS is that you see these long lines of cars parked in random places because not every single car is in use every single day.

I also don't know how much weight and how many cars one locomotive can pull. I also don't know why you don't see too many cabooses anymore. Although, I did see one this trip. It was right behind the locomotive, followed by a long line of boxcars. Shaking my head.

Train things that I DO know include "City Of New Orleans" is my favorite train song. Wait. I take that back. My FAVORITE favorite train song is by Albert Hammond. It's called "I'm a Train." YouTube it if you have time. It's catchy.

I also know that Peter Fonda should have never tried to beat that train at the end of "Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry."

But I don't know how many people work for the railroad around here, why we park the cars where we do or if there's a speed limit for trains?

Do you have to have multiple people in the cab of locomotives or can one guy drive?

See? I have a lot to learn about trains.