Operational Changes On The Ridgeline Subdivision

Changes are a common occurrence with railroads. Carriers have always kept an open mind to improving performance. Service plans are always a hot topic with upper management. For years, The Ridgeline subdivision was served using a local freight originating from Livingston Yard making a 74 mile journey 3 times per week. That service plan has started to raise issues because the industries required cars to be moved on a more frequent basis so a local running only 3 times per week could not keep up with the new demand. The answer to that problem was to keep a dedicated switch engine in town so it can move cars when needed while an existing daily manifest freight picks up and drops off cars in a towns siding to keep feeding the industries. Come with us and checkout this new service plan and a technique known as "block swapping".