Coal Trains of the Powder River Basin - The Orin Sub
Originally released in 2011
BNSF and Union Pacific coal trains ply the Orin Subdivision in Wyoming's Powder River Basin between Donkey Creek Junction and Shawnee Junction.
The Powder River Basin lies between Wyoming’s Bighorn Mountains and the Black Hills of South Dakota. Thirteen active mines produce over 400 million tons of low-sulfur coal each year and it is up to the BNSF Railway and Union Pacific to transport it from the mines to customers throughout the United States and various ports for export.
Over 100 miles of coal hoppers roll through the Powder River Basin each day. The majority of traffic can be found along the Orin Subdivision between Donkey Creek Junction and Shawnee Junction, making this the highest tonnage mainline in the world. This joint line serves several Powder River Basin mines including the Caballo, Belle Ayr, Cordero Rojo mines, Coal Creek, Black Thunder mines, North Antelope Rochelle and the Antelope mines.
We begin at Donkey Creek Junction and follow the Orin Sub south to Shawnee Junction where joint trackage ends. Between those two points, a steady parade of long, heavy coal trains traverse the triple track main.
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0:00 Intro
1:46 This is Wyoming
2:58 Donkey Creek Junction
9:51 Caballo Junction
15:11 Cordero Rojo Mine
19:23 Coal Creek Junction
31:00 Hilight Gas Plant
34:47 Thunder Junction West
43:16 Black Thunder West
48:16 Reno Junction
53:22 Antelope Mine
58:52 Cleaning the Ballast.
1:05:56 Converse Junction
1:13:17 Logan Hill
1:21:05 Bill
1:30:52 Lightning Creek
1:36:52 Eberspecher Road
1:40:43 Walker Creek Road
1:43:45 Flat Top Road
1:45:47 Bill Hall Road
1:48:35 Shawnee Junction
Coal trains are my favorite consist to watch, so this video is on the top of my list. Thanks for the great production quality!
asfaltti sevetti betoni vetoit colas öljy vettä hiekkaa soraa teräksestä Rautiainen mentalin martiiaali kaikkinijeenneennee Autoijeeneeneenen tarvikkeeta kanlusto tarvikkeeta traktorit tarvikkeeta nostonurijeeinen tarvikkeeta armeijan Autoinijeeneeneenen tarvikkeeta ruoka tarvikkeeta huonneeita tarvikkeeta kiinteistö huolto koneen aurauksen leikkurit aasttian tarvikkeet juomista nurelhun kunnton salin tarvikkeet Petri Mikaelnen vatanen
There are less than 200 coal Fired power plants in this country left. So I do not know how much longer the Powder River Basin Coalfields are going to last.
Thank you and thank you again for this video. I love the explanations. That is why when I have my bagel at the bagel shop I watch this video over and over. Thanks again one last time
It’s amazing to see all those hopper cars without graffiti.
Yes, most of the "contemporary petroglyphs" can hardly be considered art! LOL!
I was thinking the same thing
Not a lot of gangsters in Montana and Wyoming 😂
I own this one on DVD, and honestly is my favorite production from yall. glad to see this one uploaded for others to see!
Great to see SD70MACs in fabulous Executive livery. Thanks for posting.
Very educational video. I see these videos were shot before the BNSF tariffs required the shippers (coal mines) to spray a surfactant on top of the coal loads to reduce coal dust as the trains travel. At West Thunder the spray apparatus is just north (railroad west) of the load out silo. I personally think the area is also very scenic and the p.m. thunderstorms can be spectacular.
good comment... all that coal dust settles on the ballast, preventing proper drainage which leads to derailments... BNSF knows all about that
I didn't see coal dust near or around the ballast!
@@williammorigeau2980 what you didn't see is a good thing... that means the surfactant they are spraying on the coal is working
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Mennisinikkonlaisen new Yorkin tokyo London Hong Kong Australia baywatch henaQuarters maiblun remastered Jurassic World Isla nublar puiston vartijan viiriikkan omasiten liinniieekkeeneenen tien risteykseen pihojen laiturinijeenenenen laivan sataman nostonurijeeinen nostonuri nostonurijeeneeneksin koukkuinijenen feuewuren best fire of depament ambulance vartijoston meren kävinääijään milloinnaa tuohtan jalka käyttääviän laivan hargairin laivastonijenen hargairin aluksenijenen kaikkinijeenneennee laivanoijeenneeneeneenen kaikkinijeenneennee aluksenijenen hargairin laivastonijenen hargairin laivastonijenen pelastus Oy operaationrin ihmisinijeenneennijesenen hengen pelastaajaanseksen yksiköinijeeneenen päälliikköinijeenbieenen vr juna silan ranta Venturin lento kenttä Petri Mikaelnen vatanen
43:14 When they tried to do the original lift to put the loadout tube in place it was a windy day and the tube fell across the tracks tying up traffic for several days.
I love the different engines for these coal trains, like the BNSF SD70 macs or the UNION PACIFIC AC 44'S AND AC 60'S great power from those railroad companies. Also the SD70 aces and GEVO units too!🙂💯👍
I like train videos on KZhead 👍
We visited Bill and were amazed at the facility
It's so cool to see
1:25:21 Two trains next to a field of Sunflowers 🌻. What more could you ask for. ❤
Been looking forward for this one
Coal keeps the lights on.
The best thing about watching coal drags is NO GRAFITTI! It's like train watching used to be 50 years ago.
Fantastic location and captures will have to check it out sometime
Did any of you want to hear about those big massive trucks that Aaron benston told you man that's freaking huge dude
11:45 looks like a model train passing the set of engines
I love coal trains for most railways
Wow, the camera pans to follow the train? There's no crossing bell blaring in every shot? There's no machine gun SLR camera going rata-tat-tat tika tika tika tika tat a foot from the microphone? I thought this was impossible.
Most interesting video, thanks for your excellent commentary.
Fantastic video and footage!
I’ve been waiting for this one!
49:50 Aww look at the baby!
Very cool video
I certainly hope 7idea will be doing a comprehensive video on the 4014 BigBoy excursion this year! (2024)
1:30:42
Does the marking on the end of each car indicate that end has a rotary coupler? I see the bottom dump hoppers are not marked like that. Great video, love all of your videos.
It amazes me how they can pull these drags with only 3 locomotives but you will se an intermodal train of equivalent length which is considerably lighter with 4 or more locomotives
That's because the intermodal trains run higher speeds and need the additional horse power to overcome wind drag as well as the tonnage they pull. Bulk trains just need enough power to slog over the line.
@@ericterbeek4309 That makes sense. More wing drag at high speed. Thanks
Great video
super great video sir ❤❤😍😍
Quality fuel for electric living.
Watch them come into Vancouver, WA, to turn north to Vancouver, B.C.
Was wondering, since this video is from 2011, how much the traffic has declined since then, especially since 2021?
Didn’t live in the area then but move near this sub in 2015. I think it’s slowed down quite a bit
eh, it went from about 60-70 trains a day to now about 40-45 a day, still a good number but it ain't as busy as it used to be
I'll echo the other replies. Lived in the region (as well as in Casper) since about 2014 and it's obvious it has slowed. As a truck driver doing heavy-haul, I've been into several of these mines, as well as the surrounding oil field. Always enjoyed doing my photography up this corridor between Douglas and Gillette.
@@johnniewelbornjr.8940 I live in Douglas use to work oil wells up by country line just off hwy 59.
I live in Casper since 1978 and have been to the coal line several times over the years
Question, why is AC power “sd70macs” used so much in the basin? I noticed this on my way through about 3 years ago. There was an entire 70 locomotive string of sd70macs on a siding near Gillette WY. Is this something do to with the heat and extreme cold?
AC units are used because their traction motors perform better for longer periods while under load... AC traction motors stay much cooler than DC motors which makes them last longer
Fantastic video! One question: why do both BNSF and UP use AC locomotives instead of DC locomotives on coal trains?
AC locos are better suited for heavy tonnage.
Howling emd SD70 locomotives
I wanna move to Bill. Lol.
The store and old post office seem to be for sale... lol
When I worked for BNSF on a mechanical crew in Gillette we had Bill as a resupply point when we had to go way south for an engine repair. Had a membership in the world famous Bill Yacht Club.
How do UP & BNSF handle dispatching trains in the PRB? In one clip three of the four mains were occupied by UP trains.
All trains on the Orin Subdivision are dispatched by BNSF dispatchers in Forth Worth. UP trains leave the BNSF Orin Sub at Orin Junction, where they go onto UP's Powder River Subdivision; which is dispatched by UP dispatchers in Omaha.
Thanks!
BNSF Seattle sub please
I wonder if someone ever actually put the pencil to paper on fuel consumption. I can see slowing down from 60 to 40, but, in many case more horses gives you better fuel efficiency.
Gas 4 locomotives is pricer now days because of oil plus gas from other countries on planet that we don't know about how fuel good it can be
And the cheapest gas pipe we had in USA from Canada to Texas got cancelled because of government
@@railyardfilms6491and we’ve been paying the price for that plus all the other drilling and exploration that the current administration stopped. What a mess we’re in because of their ignorant or purpose driven decisions.
@@railyardfilms6491When I started for the RR, bulk diesel was $.40. I should have said: I wonder if anyone ever penciled out isolation and throttle limit instructions actually saves fuel over getting over an engineers experience.
I put in an app for Black Thunder Mine back about '79 or so.
😊😊
Where they do the turn around+
at the mine itself... every mine has a giant loading loop
You were doing so well until the end when you said ‘Appalachian’ the way no one who lives there says that.
Yes I have heard that most of us out west were taught in school to say it wrong. My apologies!
no warbonnets?
no, seeing warbonnets or any dash 9 on coal service is rare because of them having DC traction. DC put with heavy trains under load don't mix well. AC traction is best for these heavy trains, as they have great performances for heavy loads such as coal.
Those DPUs need a respirator!
All that EV fuel coming out of the ground!
WV Coal charges this MacBook!!!!
Imagine trying to replace coal with wind and solar power lol
Hopefully over the coming decades, the number of these trains becomes less and less while humankind work hard on replacing coal with renewable energy that mean cheaper power for all, and cleaner air for all, and a slow down to climate change for all. I'm not a coal hater, and understand what coal has done for each and every human that has ever lived since the industrial revolution. But just like we moved past coal powered trains, we now have the capability to slowly, sensibly and sustainably move past coal for electricity production.
I like the content on your channel. I just wish you wouldn’t use telephoto lens shots. I see nothing redeemable about them. Trains are slow, distorted and a waste time. Just my opinion thanks.
Thirteen year old video!!! how about spending some of the money you've made to make NEW videos instead of doing what hollywood does, re-releasing old, out-of--date videos?
They put their videos on KZhead for free and you’re complaining! I mean some people!
Great attitude🙄
Get lost. Enjoy this epic production or go elsewhere
Git boy,git outa here boy.
this is Decades old, and should be confined to the dustbin....of poluting America history. How dare you put this out, as anything other than historical.
What are you talking about? This is still a current operation that powers more than 50% of the country. Get out of here with your crying. There's no way to currently replace coal for the power requirements this country needs without spending more money on less reliable sources of energy. The coal and power industry as a whole is cleaner now than it's ever been.
There have also dockets before the STB about service issues to and from the coal markets. I believe the issues are large enough to support the need for reciprocal switching. 🛤️
yea this type of crap has been an issue for YEARS with the railroads... there have been NUMEROUS court cases even supreme court cases regarding unfair railroad rate practices and the like