This week I have learned that what I have been calling piggyback cars should be called spine cars.
I saw the crossing gates go down, so I quickly found a parking spot. I took photos of most of the cars because I was surprised how big the spine block was. In that block, 16 of the spine platforms were carrying containers. The train had five engines, which is not unusual for an intermodal. What is unusual is that it was running with two DPUs. Normally all five engines are up front.
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2:57
#7238 ES44DC built 2009
#7222 ES44DC built 2009
At least I realized I didn't frame it properly and...
...took another photo to get the number.
#7917 ES44DC built 2010
A photo to confirm that the four photos were of just three engines.
A domestic (51') container stacked on top of an internation (40') container.
This is the block of white containers that we can barely see above just past the last orange containers. And it shows that there is a block of spine cars after the white containers. It is interesting that some company has chosen to keep its names off of its containers. Most still use containers like boxcars used to be used --- rolling billboards.
The block of spine cars was so long that I took just "highlight" photos. Here we see a short trailer and five containers on a 5-pack of spine platforms.
2:58:06 Trailers as far as the eye can see.
3:58:16 And the trailers just keep rolling. This train was doing at least the freight speed limit in Downers Grove --- 45 mph.
3:58:26 A block of ten J.B. Hunt containers on probably a couple of 5-packs.
2:58:36 It took 10 seconds for those 10 containers to roll by.
3:48:42 A lone container in the cut of mostly UPS trailers.
There were three non-UPS trailers before we got a cut of double-stacks.
I had noticed there was something non-white at the end of the train.
#5076 C44-9W built in 2004
I was shocked that it was two DPU engines. I've watched quite a few intermodal trains on the Racetrack, and this is the first time I have seen one with DPUs, let alone two.
#4209 ES44C4 T4 Credit Loco built 2017
2:59:00
I switched from wide angle to normal (55mm) to capture that the train had spine cars as far as you could see past Main Street. And you can see pretty far because the track is straight and level until past Belmont Station.
