How fast is the average American freight train?

Question

How fast is the average American freight train?

Answer 1

it depends on what we hauling at the time ...

coal train 50mph

juice train, UPS, and trailer trains have a  speed of 65mph..

for the most part ,other trains 55mph is the limit ...

the locomotive themselves have  a top speed of 70 mph .

BTW iam a freight train conductor

Answer 2

If it is a mail train they dont have to stop they have the right away over all other trains, they go 60m.p.h. I believe all other trains go 45m.p.h unless the track is bad. My fiancee is a conductor and I hear him talking about it all the time.

Answer 3

not as fast as superman

Answer 4

We try to do maximum track speed, which was 50-60 mph on  the subdivisions I ran on.  There are plenty of lines on class one RRs that can do 70 mph.  On secondary on short lines, 10-25 mph is common.  I have ran on 5 mph mainline track berfore and it was rough.  It was like being at sea on a rolling ship in high seas.

Answer 5

I'd say that all depends on how good the track is, but I'd say the average is around 55mph.

Answer 6

Indeed, it does depend on the track conditions which can range from FRA-mandated 10 mph to 79 mph (you see much of the 79 mph operations in the plains and western states where, of course, there is much flat and open country).

If you are interested here are some of the classes for freight train operations:

            

Class 1 track - 10                

Class 2 track - 25                

Class 3 track - 40                

Class 4 track - 60                

Class 5 track - 80

Answer 7

We run coal trains at 50 MPH, and the rest mostly 65-70 MPH.

Answer 8

freight train 40mph....hotshot 70mph

Answer 9

As far as 'average' speeds go, as per your question, DennistheMenace is right on the money and should have ten points coming his way.

Factors determining the maximum 'authorized' speed include tons per operative brake, tons per axle of dynamic brake, per cent of any grade involved and any speed restrictions on various types of equipment.

'Track' speed is determined by the condition of the road bed just as Alco 83 has pointed out, which also takes into account signal spacing and whether the locomotive is equipped with 'Cab Signals', "Automatic Train Control' or 'Automatic Train Stop'.  By way of example, any train without cab signals can only operate at a maximum of 79 MPH.

But, as Dennis pointed out, most of your run of the mill "dog" freight trains limp along at 40 MPH, with the inter-modal (hot shots) clipping along at 70 MPH.  Keep in mind, most freight locomotives have a 62:15 gear ratio, and their 'overspeed' protection is set at 72 MPH.