INTRODUCTION
CSX Transportation (reporting mark CSXT) is a Class I freight railroad operating in the eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles (34,000 km) of track. The company operates as a subsidiary of CSX Corporation, a Fortune 500 company headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. CSX Corporation was formed on November 1, 1980, by combining the railroads of the former Chessie System with Seaboard Coast Line Industries. CSX Corporation was formed on November 1, 1980, by combining the railroads of the former Chessie System with Seaboard Coast Line Industries. The name came about during merger talks between Chessie System and SCL, commonly called “Chessie” and “Seaboard”. The lawyers decided to use “CSX”, and the name stuck. In the public announcement, it was said that “CSX is singularly appropriate. C can stand for Chessie, S for Seaboard, and X, which actually has no meaning (Dolinger, 2006).
OPERATION
UNIT TRAINS
CSX operated the Juice Train which consisted of Tropicana cars that carry fresh orange juice between Bradenton, Florida, and the Greenville section of Jersey City, New Jersey. The train also runs from Bradenton to Fort Pierce, Florida, via the Florida East Coast Railway. In the 21st century, the Juice Train has been studied as a model of efficient rail transportation that can compete with trucks and other modes in the perishable-goods trade. All Tropicana trains are now added to other Trains such as Q442 and Q032. CSX also runs daily trash trains Q702 and Q703 from The Bronx to Philadelphia (via Selkirk Yard) and then Petersburg, Virginia, where they interchange with NS. These trains consist of 89-foot (27 m) flatcars loaded with four containers of trash. Another pair of trains, Q634 and Q635, operate between Selkirk, New York, and Columbus, Ohio.
LOCOMOTIVES
CSX has been significant in rebuilding locomotives. CSX has 3 rebuilds of its 4 axle EMD Locomotives. The EMD GP38-2, GP40-2, and SD40-2 have all been rebuilt to then Dash 3 standards with updated Wabtec Electronically Controlled Air Brakes, Electronic bells (E-Bell), electronic handbrakes with a mechanical backup, an airstarter on the motor with an electric start backup, a new designed crash safe cab, a new electronic control stand, YN3B paint job, and Positive Train Control (PTC) computers. They became EMD GP38-3s, GP40-3s, and SD40-3s respectively. In 2015, CSX traded its 12 EMD SD80MACs for 12 SD40-2s from Norfolk Southern. They have all since been rebuilt as SD40-3s. Most are also Positive Stop Protection ( PSP ) equipped Remote Controlled Locomotives (RCL) and have amber strobe lights on each side of the cab, a Cattron Locomotive Control Unit computer, an Air Brake Transfer Valve ( that transfers brake control from manual to computer control), a speed transponder scanner on each end, and a GPS Receiver on the cab roof to pinpoint the engines location.
SAFETY
Because of Ross Rowland running C&O 614 above the speed limits, in 1995, CSX started a new liability insurance requirement of $200 million to introduce their official policy, “no steam on its own wheels”, banning the operation of steam locomotives and other antique rail equipment on their trackage due to safety concerns, and increased risk (Spradlin, 2010).
SOURCES
- Spradlin, Kevin (June 24, 2010). “CSX disputes claims it pulled support for Petersburg festival in ’11th hour'”. Cumberland Times-News. Archived from the original on April 3, 2019. Retrieved May 19, 2019.
- Dolinger, Milt (2006-05-01). “How CSX got its name”. Trains.
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