Why do Trains Sit Running in the Middle of Nowhere?

Question:  Why do trains stop in the middle of nowhere for 20+ hours running sometimes?  Does the crew stay on the whole time?

Answer:  There are numerous good reasons why a railroad will let a train sit stationary for quite a while with the diesel engine(s) running.  Usually, if a train is sitting idle on a mainline (or a mainline siding), there is either some sort of obstruction or other reason the train cannot proceed.  There could be a derailment or other track problem, or the yard the train is going to has an issue and it cannot accept the train.  Another reason a train may sit for quite some time is that its crew has run out of hours (they cannot perform train service for more than 12 hours) and there is no qualified replacement crew immediately available.  Sometimes, the railroad will leave the crew on the train to keep an eye on it.  The crew can be on the train past their 12 hours of train service as long as they are just sitting on the train.  (I have seen one case where a crew was left on a train for over 24 hours, but that was not the right thing to do.)  

More often, if the railroad wants to keep someone on the train and they don’t have a crew, they might send out a junior trainmaster to babysit the train.  The train can be tied down (all the locomotive hand brakes set as well as the hand brakes on the proper number of cars, which is determined by several factors) and left unattended.  In this case, often the railroad police will check on the train periodically.  A train may be left unattended with its diesel engines running in order to run the air compressor to maintain air pressure in the train’s brake line.  In cold weather, railroads typically opt to keep the engines running because it can be hard to restart in very cold conditions.  Diesel engines are fairly fuel efficient and don’t burn a whole lot of fuel in idle, whereas they can consume a lot of fuel during start-up.  The latest locomotives (like the EMD SD70ACe and the GE ES44AC) have the capability to maintain brake line air pressure and keep the engine warm while burning very little fuel.

Great question.  Thanks for stopping by.  Stay safe and have a great holiday season.

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