Past News Reports
(Yesterday's News is Tomorrow's
History)
KCS
Keith Wilhite
March 2007: A New
Corporate Paint Scheme?
The first units of KCS' 30-unit order of ES44AC's,
numbered KCSM 4650-4654, were interchanged to UP at Proviso, Illinois on
December 11, 2006. The primer painted units were expected to be interchanged
to KCS at East St. Louis, Illinois, for forwarding to Mexico for final
paint. The units apparently will wear a new paint scheme utilizing Kansas
City Southern's red yellow and black "Southern Belle" colors that was used
years ago on their passenger trains. The SD70ACe locomotives ordered for
2007 and 2008 delivery will also wear the new colors. Its currently unknown
if this will extent to all locomotives in the fleet or simply the comfort
cab engines.
Motive Power Changes
By mid-December, KCS had returned most
of the leased SD90MAC-H Units to their owner, and replaced them with former
LMX B39-8 units. The ex-LMX GEs were placed into service immediately and
began showing up at nearly all locations on the KCS.
As mentioned above, KCS has 100 SD70ACe locomotives on order
for delivery starting in 2007. The first 30 units of the order will begin to
arrive in June and will have rigid trucks for service in the United States
on the Kansas City Southern. The next 40 locomotives will have radial trucks
and be assigned to Mexico, presumably wearing KCSM reporting marks. Expect
delivery to begin in late summer 2007. The final 30 locomotives will arrive
on property in early 2008 and have rigid trucks for service in the United
States.
Infrastructure Improvements Underway
KCS has several large
projects currently underway at various locations across the system. Between
Meridian, Mississippi and Shreveport, Louisiana, KCS and Norfolk Southern
Maintenance of Way crews continue to install new ties, ballast and rail at a
rapid pace. The magnitude of the work between Meridian and Shreveport is
significant enough to affect traffic patterns, particularly during daylight
hours. Along with track improvements, bridge and signal work is also
underway to improve speed and capacity. In Southern Texas, work continues on
the former Southern Pacific Victoria Branch for eventual use by KCS to
shorten its route to and from Mexico. Much of the old rail and ties were
reported to be removed in early December for rebuilding preparations.
Shorts
In late December, KCS is expected to move their
switching operations from East St. Louis to the Terminal Railroad
Association (TRRA) in Madison, Illinois. This will allow the KCS more
flexibility in their operations and provide more efficient for switching and
interchange.
Conner Ale, Chris White, David Hoge, KCS Notes List
April 2007: Infrastructure Improvements
Continue
In mid-January, the KCS board of directors approved $150 million
capital improvements for 2007. Of this amount, $113 million will be invested
in track maintenance, including the replacement of approximately 600,000
ties and installation of 70 miles of rail. The remaining $37 million will be
spent on capacity improvements - notably $10 million for Shreveport Yard
improvements and $17 million in siding improvements in the United States and
Mexico. Meridian Speedway improvements between Shreveport, Louisiana, and
Meridian, Mississippi, continue to be implemented with tremendous intensity.
By the end of 2007, KCS will install an additional 185,000 ties, 40 miles of
rail and complete major capacity improvement projects at Meridian,
Mississippi, Rankin Siding, between Brandon and Pelahatchie, Mississippi,
Stevens Siding, just west of Monroe, Louisiana, and Simsboro, Louisiana. By
the middle of January, new 136-pound welded rail had been laid from
Pelahatchie, Mississippi to High Oak Yard, near Jackson, Mississippi, and
between Crew Lake Siding near Start, Louisiana, to Shannon Siding near
Delhi, Louisiana. At least five bridge replacement and upgrade projects were
underway between Vicksburg, Mississippi, and Monroe, Louisiana, in January.
The bridges are being upgraded from wood to concrete and steel, or entirely
replaced with large culverts. In addition, on January 4, KCS added 20
additional miles of CTC, between Control Point East Sibley, near Sibley,
Louisiana, and Fosters, Louisiana. During the first week of January, NS
track crews were replacing the rail on the KCS mainline (former GM&0) at
Corinth, Mississippi, with 115 pound re-lay welded rail. Although the
specifics aren't yet available, additional business from the Jackson,
Tennessee, area is widely believed to be the reason for the upgrades on this
portion of the Artesia Subdivision.
Victoria Branch Update
Right of way clearing continued in
January on the former Southern Pacific (SP) Victoria Branch for eventual
restoration to service. As of the end of January, rail removal had
progressed to the east siding switch at Hungerford, at the former location
of SP milepost 19.6. Rail-mounting hardware removal has progressed to a
location near milepost 14.7, with tie removal advancing close to milepost
10.7. Right-of-way clearing has been completed on the south side of the
tracks between milepost 4.0 and milepost 5.1. South of milepost 5.1,
clearing has been expanded to both sides of the track roadbed. At milepost
8.7, south of Beasley, trees that covered the trackage have been removed,
and additional clearing is proceeding.
KCS de Mexico ES44ACs Enter Service
In January, new KCS de
Mexico (KCSM) ES44ACs appeared on revenue movements in Mexico. With their
primer coats still showing, the units were seen in Saltillo and other
locations. As of early February, the units were expected to be painted in
San Luis Potosν at any time.
Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific route trains via the
Meridian Speedway
On February 19, Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific are
expected to begin routing four daily Los Angeles to Atlanta Intermodal
Trains across the Meridian Speedway between Shreveport, Louisiana and
Meridian, Mississippi. In a joint press release, Norfolk Southern and Union
Pacific provided details of the routing changes, stating that the new
routing would reduce the distance that the trains travel by 150 miles. Upon
completion of the first phase of KCS infrastructure improvements between
Shreveport and Meridian in July, Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern are
expected to route more trains across the Meridian Speedway. -Kansas City
Southern, Conner Ale, Chris White, David Hoge, KCS Notes List
May 2007: BNSF Trains Exit the Meridian
Speedway
Effective February 23, BNSF began routing all Atlanta, Georgia,
bound trains originating in the Los Angles, California area via Memphis,
Tennessee, for interchange with CSX in Birmingham, Alabama. The westbound
counterparts began using the CSX routing via Birmingham and Memphis
effective February 25. This marks the end of the current BNSF-KCS-NS service
that began approximately seven years ago. The re-routing will remove an
average of three trains per day from the Meridian Speedway between Alliance,
Texas, and Meridian, Mississippi.
CTC Marches Eastward
In late February, signal crews were
erecting signal towers and installing electronics for the next phase of CTC
signaling on the KCS Meridian Speedway between Control Point (CP) East
Sibley and Calhoun, Louisiana. Currently, KCS expects to complete CTC
between Shreveport, Louisiana, and CP West Bovay, just west of the
Mississippi River at Vicksburg, Mississippi, by the end of 2007. Upon
reaching CP West Bovay, crews will be able to tie into the CTC system
currently installed between CP West Bovay and CP Monument, near downtown
Jackson, Mississippi, placing the Speedway under CTC Control from Shreveport
to Jackson. After that portion of the CTC Project is completed,
approximately 90 miles of track will remain under DTC control, between CP
Monument and Meridian, Mississippi.
More Mexico Investments
In February, KCS announced more
spending in Mexico, to provide improved motive power and infrastructure
conditions. As previously reported, KCS will lease 90 new locomotives and
spend about $103 million to upgrade its infrastructure and improve capacity.
Approximately $7 million will be invested in new railcars and maintenance of
way equipment and machinery. A substantial investment of $80 million will be
applied to build a new container terminal in the Mexican port of Lazaro
Cardenas, Michoacan.
Motive Power Notes
The 100 SD70ACes on order from EMD
during 2007 and 2008 will be numbered behind the current SD70ACes, becoming
KCS 4030-4129. KCS 4060-4099 are currently scheduled to be assigned to
Mexican service with the balance of the order used in the United States.
Despite the influx of new motive power on the KCS, there are
still days when rare motive power can show up to surprise KCS fans. During
February, for example, KCS watchers were treated to several interesting
sightings that included TFM SDP40 1316, originally NdeM 8528, in Jackson,
Mississippi, Gateway Eastern GP38-2 2000 on KCS Train M-SHUN near Jackson,
Mississippi, and former MidSouth units in Shreveport. Another rare treat
occurred during the first week of February when former Southern Pacific
steam engine 745 operated over the KCS between New Orleans and Baton Rouge,
Louisiana, for a test run. In early February, former EMD demonstrator
SD70ACe GMDX 71 was seen in it's EMD demonstrator scheme sporting KCS
markings on the end of the engine's long hood and nose with "KCS 3997"
stenciled under the cab and fresh "3997" number boards. The unit was in the
company of brand new KCSM ES44 4679 on the Alton and Southern. The 4679 and
3997 were sent to Metro East Industries in East St. Louis, Illinois,
reportedly to be painted in the new paint scheme. These would be the first
to receive the new yellow, black and green scheme recently adopted by KCS.
David Hoge, KCS Notes List and KCS
