What In The Wide Wide World Of Sports????

[FCIN]

Was in Danville, KY, Sunday (20100919) watching the endless parade of trains when I shot this "thing" tacked on the end of NS 111. Not placarded and no markings to indicate what it might be or what it was hauling. Since 111 originates in Kansas City, MO and runs to Roanoke, VA via Knoxville, TN, we assumed that this thing was probably destined to Oak Ridge, TN, but that's just a guess. Any one have any idea what this might be???    

[Puddlejumper]

I believe that is a nuclear cask car. Spent fuel from a power generating station. In this case, though, probably empty. A load would have involved more security, and possibly an "incident" involving your involuntary detention and confiscation of the photo.

[Gary S]

DODX = Department of Defense (er, hope that ain't too obvious :? )

That's gotta be the weirdest piece of rollingstock I've ever seen. The radioactive fuel cannister idea seems plausible to me.

[nachoman]

Probably something you don't want to ever see crash...

[steinjr]

DODX = Department of Defense (er, hope that ain't too obvious :? )

That's gotta be the weirdest piece of rollingstock I've ever seen. The radioactive fuel cannister idea seems plausible to me.

Not only plausible. That actually is a nuclear fuel rod cask car, designed to keep radioactivity safely contained in the case of an accident. I've seen pictures of them before. Probably empty - no guards visible on the photo :-)

Technically they are heavy flat cars, but they tend to get the "what the heck is that weird looking car" reaction :-)

All the ones I have seen pictures of were numbered in the series DODX 388xx series.

Grin,
Stein

[P5se Camelback]

How fortuitous that it was tacked on the end of the train and not stuck in the middle somewhere between two extended Hi-Cube boxcars or something. You might not have been able to get such a nice clear shot!

And I'm impressed that not only do you know the train's identifying nomenclature, but also origin and destination! Colol ... an very "on top of it!"

That is definately one interesting car and a very unique load as well. I would agree that with all that (possibly nuclear grade) stainless steel, combbined with the intersting shape and detailing, the speculation as to its potential function it probably spot on!

Great photo!

As I labor over typing with two finger on my right hand, as there are IV's in the crook of my left elbow and bending it sets off annoying "dinking" alarms, and this hospital's patient accessible wireless router "times you out" after 25-30 minutes, Stein has succsessfully slipped a very astute post in above me!

[Tom]

Yup. Spent Nuclear fuel, but *I* have never seen or heard of one running with guards. I occasionally get to play with those at work, but funny enough, when switching cuts of them, I always handle them with kid gloves, but oddly enough, I can slam bang 'em around like an empty boxcar, because you'll never find a more durable, stoutly built car. They test these things by ramming rocket assisted locomotives into them at the test track in Pueblo. Trust me, unless you stuck a nuke underneath it, you would never breach one. I saw a photo of one on its side (loaded too) with a CSX locomotive sitting atop the green section (carbody) and both were mangled pretty good, but, the casket didn't have a single dent. I'll bet my reaction was pretty funny when I walked into the project administrators office and saw it on the wall. he laughed before he explained it. Apparently it was a switching accident in (I think) Philly on CSX. They are probably the safest railcars on earth.

[nachoman]

That's probably a more secure way of transporting uranium than the rickety boxcars of the Rio Grande Southern:

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.riograndesouthern.com/RGSTechPages/_bdwhite/atomic.htm">http://www.riograndesouthern.com/RGSTec ... atomic.htm</a><!-- m -->

Scroll down about 2/3 to the part about the Uranium boom in 1942 (or read the whole page).

[Ralph]

Naw, its a 1:1 scale track cleaner!

[P5se Camelback]

My brother is a sales rep. He has sold more than a few nuclear grade connectors to nuclear power plants so I sent him the photo of DODX 38881. He send this link as part of his response.

I guess that sets the record straight.

[yellowlynn]

I don't see what the big problem is. After looking it over real good, I came to an absolute certainty about it. If you got another one, you'd have two. Can anyone deny or contest that fact?

Lynn

[Charlie B]

It really is a flux renovator making a move as a DODX load, that is why it looks like a giant salt shaker.
Charlie

[tetters]

Naw, its a 1:1 scale track cleaner!

Agreed! All this talk about spent nuclear fuel rods is just plain old nonsense. You unscrew the big cap, fill up the car with the cleaner of your choice, put the cap back on, and run the car over the track. Done!

[Sumpter250]

It's actually rather comfortable inside.....for the alien creature captured at Rozwell! You know, the one who is helping us reverse engineer UFO's. I think it's the one responsible for all the stealth technology. I suspect it's being transported East, for a vacation in the Bermuda Triangle.

Oh, and you're not supposed to be able to see the guards.......( new stealth technology ).


...........................And, if you believe that?

GOTCHA !!!!

on second thought, it could be the Jolly Green Giant's salt shaker.

[Puddlejumper]

Yeah, I don't really know how much security these things are supposed to have. The only time I ever handled one it was alone in the center of our short train, with idler cars on either side, and a caboose, with the specific instructions to inspect the car quickly when doing our departure brake test and absolutely no photos. We had a couple of riders in the caboose. And special instructions in our train documents not to place the car next to a car load of film. As if I knew how to differentiate a boxcar load of film from all the other boxcars on the railroad. That was 15 years ago.