Well today rail-fans, I have sort of a mystery. As I was driving through Crawford, Texas on what is normally a BNSF route I spotted a unique train. I really can't be certain what its function is, but it appeared to be some sort of either inspection or inspection, repair, replace type of operation for the rails. It was parked in a siding normally used for a small grain facility but that facility is not active during this time of year. If you know what the function of this train is, I would certainly like to know.
Here is the train as I was able to observe it from the road crossing. Given the slight smoke at the far end, it seems reasonable to think that this had some sort of power on both ends or what appears to be a locomotive on the near end is just a control unit without any train power.
Here is a close up of the head end unit, note A/C units on roof which indicate some sort of concentration of electronic gear in the cab that needs to stay cool. I don't know if there is any propulsion power for the train or this unit is just control. Given the platform and the lights on the roof, I am assuming this is the head end.
Here again is the full train, with a number of different sort of cars in the line after the control car. You can see some smoke at the far end indicating that perhaps the train locomotive is powering up. I cannot tell what the various types of cars do except there is no occupancy by people that I can ascertain. No way to reach the far end, ROW is too narrow and you can't be caught by an on-coming train as there is no where to go .
Well there you go, I hope someone has a better idea of the function of this train. I have been passing this siding for nearly 15 years and never saw anything like this before.
Best Wishes
Don
