NASA Railroad
 | |
 NASA Railroad and connector toFlorida East Coast Railway | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Cape Canaveral, Florida |
| Reporting mark | NLAX |
| Locale | Kennedy Space Center |
| Dates of operation | 1963–present |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft8+1⁄2in(1,435 mm)standard gauge |
| Electrification | No |
| Length | 38 mi (61 km) |
TheNASA Railroad(reporting markNLAX) is aClass IIIindustrial short-line railroadat theKennedy Space Centerin Cape Canaveral, Florida. The railroad consists of 38 miles (61 km) of track connecting the mainline of theFlorida East Coast Railwayand trackage at theCape Canaveral Space Force Station.[1]NASAuses the railroad to deliver large or bulk materials to support its operations, particularly solid rocket boosters and chemicals such as helium and oxygen for rocket fuel.
History[edit]
In 1963, the Florida East Coast Railway (FEC) constructed a 7.5 miles (12.1 km) branch from its mainline to the Kennedy Space Center just north ofTitusville.This connection joined 28 miles of NASA-constructed track at a junction named Wilson’s Corners. The FEC built two yards, a seven-track yard originally called Cape Canaveral Junction (now known as Jay Jay Yard), and a second seven-track yard called Wilson Yard. East of Wilson Yard, the line divided with the nine-mile "West Leg" branch going south to NASA’sVehicle Assembly Buildingand the Kennedy Space Center Industrial Area, and the other nine-mile "East Leg" branch which ran along theAtlantic Oceanto serve launch pads39Aand39B,as well as to interchange with the former Cape Canaveral Air Force Station railroad.
During its first five years of operation, the railroad delivered over 30,000 carloads of aggregate that was used to construct thecrawlerwaythat connected the Vehicle Assembly Building to the launch pads atLC-39.During theApollo program,the railroad regularly transported the 56 carloads of propellant that was required to fuel eachSaturn Vrocket and even ferried Apollo astronauts to an area known as "The Sandpile," which was used as a lunar testing ground. During the late 1970s, as NASA transitioned from the Apollo to theSpace Shuttleprogram, it acquired three World War II-era ex-U.S ArmyALCO S-2locomotives, which provided local switching around the Vehicle Assembly Building and within theKSC Industrial Area.
In June 1983, NASA purchased the 7.5 miles (12.1 km) portion of the railroad line owned by the FEC, which included the drawbridge over theIndian River.It was during this time that NASA decided to completely rebuild and upgrade the railroad due to the hazardous materials that were being hauled, particularly thesolid rocket boostersegments for the space shuttle. The originaltrackwas a combination of 100 pounds (45 kg) and 112 pounds (51 kg)jointed raillaid on woodencross-tieswith crushedlimestoneballast.It was replaced with 132 pounds (60 kg)continuous welded raillaid on concrete cross-ties. The work was done by the track maintenance subsidiary of the FEC and was constructed to 60 mph (97 km/h) standards, which was FEC's mainline running speed. However, normal operating speed was kept to 25 mph (40 km/h) or less to reduce maintenance and increase the life span of the track. Soon after the railroad was rebuilt, NASA replaced the aging ALCO S-2 locomotives with threeEMD SW1500locomotives, which were built between 1968 and 1970 for theToledo, Peoria and Western Railway.Each locomotive was painted into the NASA Railroad red, gray and black color scheme and were renumbered 1, 2 and 3. They were stored and maintained in-house at the NASA Railroad Shop at KSC.[2]
NASA primarily used the railroad to transport equipment which could not be transported over the road to and from other NASA locations. Rail transportation also offered cost savings over transporting bulky and heavy cargo via barge or aircraft. Much of the rail traffic was devoted to sending segments of the reusablesolid rocket boosters(SRB) from theThiokolplant in Utah back again for refurbishment after Space Shuttle launches and recovery. A total of 24 cars were devoted to transporting the SRBs.[1]However, with the end of the Shuttle program in 2011, the railroad's future became uncertain and went under review by the government. One possibility that was being considered was the delivery of equipment for private space launches atCape Canaveral.[3]In 2012, the program's helium tank cars, a liquid oxygen tank car, and a liquid hydrogen tank car (all of which were acquired from the U.S. Bureau of Mines) were transferred for delivery to the SpaceX engine test complex outside McGregor, Texas, where they were re-purposed to support their engine tests. Eight other cars were shipped to California and are currently on lease to SpaceX to support Falcon 9 rocket launches from Space Launch Complex-4 at Vandenberg Air Force Base. SpaceX already uses three helium tank cars at Space Launch Complex-40 on Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, which were previously used for the shuttle program.[4]
In 2014, NASA donated locomotive #2 to theGold Coast Railroad Museumin Miami where it remains on static display. In spring 2015, it was announced that the NASA railroad would formally cease operations. The remaining two locomotives, #1 & #3, were pulled from service and delivered via the Florida East Coast Railway to their respective new homes. Locomotive #1 was sold to the Natchitoches Parish Port inNatchitoches, Louisiana,while locomotive #3 was sold to theMadison RailroadinMadison, Indiana,where it is used for regular freight service and passenger excursion train service.[5]By 2016, much of the trackage along the East Leg as well as in the KSC Industrial Area had been pulled up and was presumably scrapped, while the majority of trackage along the West Leg was left in place and simply taken out of service.
In 2020, NASA reopened the railroad to support the newSpace Launch System(SLS) vehicle.[6]The railroad took delivery of a train loaded segments of the two shuttle-derived solid fuel rocket boosters that will be used on the initial flights of the SLS. Each booster will provide 3.6 million lb (1.6 million kg) of thrust by adding one additional solid fuel propellant segment to the modified shuttle boosters (five sections for the SLS versus four for the STS). This SLS booster will be the largest, most powerful solid propellant boosters ever built. The boosters are by manufacturedNorthrop Grumman(formerlyOrbital ATK) in Utah and shipped cross-country to KSC by rail.
Equipment[edit]
The NASA Railroad formerly operated threeSW1500switcherlocomotives, each former Toledo, Peoria and Western Railway units, as well as 75 railroad cars.[7]The fleet was maintained by the NASA Railroad shop, which also maintained locomotives and railcars for the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.[1][8]Upon the railroad's reopening in 2020, several industrialrailcar moverswere purchased by NASA and currently serve as the railroad's only form of motive power.[9]
Locomotives[edit]
| Model | Built | Acquired | Number | Disposition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EMD SW1500 | 1968 | 1983 | 1 | Natchitoches Parish Port,April 2015 |
| EMD SW1500 | 1970 | 1983 | 2 | Gold Coast Railroad Museum,March 2014 |
| EMD SW1500 | 1970 | 1983 | 3 | Madison Railroad,April 2015 |
Rolling stock[edit]
| Type | Built | count |
|---|---|---|
| Flat car – Spacer – 70-ton | 1952 | 2 |
| Flat car – AftSRBskirt – 70-ton | 1985 | 2 |
| Flat car – 90-ft | 1961-1969 | 8 |
| Flat car –60-ft; 100-ton | 1968 | 3 |
| Flat car –Pig -70-ton | 1968 | 2 |
| Flat car – 100-ton | 1952 | 14 |
| Flat car –65-ft; 90-ton | 1965 | 1 |
| Helium Car | 1961 | 13 |
| Nitrogen Car | 2 | |
| Hopper car 100-ton | 1968-1979 | 11 |
| Tank car – 70-ton | 1982 | 2 |
| Tank car – 100-ton | 1962, 1975 | 4 |
| Gondola car – 60-ft | 1966, 1960 | 2 |
| Gondola car – 74-ft; 100-ton | 1976 | 2 |
| Cover car | 1960 | 2 |
| Boxcar – 70-ton | 1970 | 1 |
| Total | 75 |
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^abcd"NASA Facts: The NASA Railroad"(PDF).NASA.gov.October 2007.RetrievedDecember 26,2010.
- ^"The NASA Railroad"(PDF).
- ^"Rail Insider-Short lines: NASA Railroad's future in question. Information for Rail Career Professionals from Progressive Railroading Magazine".
- ^Grossmann, Jim (2012-05-23)."Media Detail National Aeronautics and Space Administration John F. Kennedy Space Center Kennedy Space Center, Florida 32899 FOR RELEASE: 05/23/2012".NASA Kennedy Media Gallery.NASA. Archived fromthe originalon February 16, 2015.RetrievedFebruary 16,2015quotes public domain text from NASA
{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: postscript (link) - ^Dean, James (2015-05-24)."NASA Railroad reaches the end of its line".usatoday.USA Today.RetrievedMay 6,2016.
- ^Leman, Jennifer (2020-06-17)."NASA's Famous Rocket Railroad Is Back in Business".Popularmechanics.Popular Mechanics.RetrievedJune 18,2020.
- ^abArchaeological Consultants, Inc.HISTORICAL SURVEY AND EVALUATION OF THE JAY JAY BRIDGE, RAILROAD SYSTEM, AND LOCOMOTIVES, JOHN F. KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA(PDF).pp. 3–8. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 2013-02-17.
- ^"NASA Railroad rides into sunset".Florida Today.
- ^Potter, Sean (2020-06-16)."Rocket Motors for First NASA Artemis Moon Mission Arrive at Spaceport".NASA.Retrieved2021-09-11.