Subject:      Re: Longest freight train in the U.S.
From:         (David Forsyth)
Date:         Thu, 19 Dec 1996 10:09:29 GMT
Organization: Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa
Newsgroups:   misc.transport.rail.americas



In article <5997h7$uj8$2@thorn.cc.usm.edu> cbalducc@whale.st.usm.edu (Christopher Kevin Balducci) writes: 
>From: cbalducc@whale.st.usm.edu (Christopher Kevin Balducci) 
>Subject: Longest freight in the U.S. 
>Date: 18 Dec 1996 16:52:55 GMT 
 
>        I read in the *Guiness Book of World Records* that the longest 
>freight in the U.S. and I guess the world was a coal train on the N&W with 
>500+ cars.  Anyone have other details, such as the date it ran, the route 
>it took, the locos on it, and why N&W decided to run such a monstrosity 
>(in size, not appearance)? 
 
>                                                        Chris Balducci  
Just to put this in perspective for us all...... 
 
From 'The Guiness book of railway facts and feats' 
The heaviest and longest train, with the largest number of wagons 
recorded, was run on the 3'6" gauge Sishen-Saldanha railway in South 
Africa on 26-27 August 1989. The train consisted of 660 wagons each 
loaded to 105 tons gross, a tank car and a caboose (guards van).  The 
train was moved by nine 50kv electric and seven diesel electric 
locomotives distributed along the train.  The train was 7.3km 
(4.5miles) long and weighed 69393 tons, excluding locomotives.  It 
travelled 861km (535 miles). 
 
But since you asked for US facts, I'd have to get the book from the library  
again.... I extracted every piece of info for South Africa for my web page. 
 
 
        David Forsyth