Crawford Hill in Nebraska is one of the relatively few places in the country in which manned helpers are still in use. The grade on Crawford Hill varies between 1.5% and 2.0% on the eastward journey. Coal loads from the Powder River Basin (and even some manifests) are too heavy to make the climb with the standard 2x2 configuration BNSF employees on most coal trains. However, extra power is not needed on the train other than on the west slope of Crawford Hill. It would be a waste of power to run extra DPUs the entire distance the train runs. As a result, a helper crew is based at the small town of Crawford, NE. Here, a pair of ES44ACs are the manned helper, shoving behind the pair of SD70ACes on the end of this coal load. In another few miles, at the Belmont Crossover at the top of Crawford Hill, the helpers will cut off the train and return down to Crawford to wait their next assignment. The entire length of the journey for the helpers is only about 12 miles (one way)! One additional thing to note in this shot. If you see the white puff spraying up near the base of the power, you are seeing some sand kicking up from the sanders that are currently active, helping the train to keep and maintain traction on the climb.
Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster.
