Remarks: The NASA rocket booster segment train makes another run towards Cape Canaveral, FL as it passes through Warner Robins, GA. With only a single KCS unit (the train almost always runs with two units) and almost 3,000 trailing tons, the engineer struggles to keep the train up to speed on the rolling hills south of Macon. This is the fifth rocket train to traverse NS trackage since CSX lost the contract in 2008.
I'm curious, are the boxcars there for the sole purpose of weight distribution between the rocket segments, or do they carry other required equipment/cargo?
The boxcars serve only as "spacer' cars in between each booster car; there is no revenue cargo inside. I have been told that they are weighted down a little to keep them from being pulled off the rails in a curve from the tension of the 196-ton cars they're sandwiched between. The oddball lead boxcar is designed to not only cut/push brush out of the way, but also to prematurely alert the crew for clearance issues that might damage the trailing cars.
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