Entries 401
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Palmer Lake Helpers etc
This is beyond my era, but also when I troubleshooted. The weather is that. The tunnel type bridge, is at MP 49 near where, I laid my late Labs to rest Bear in 2011 and Cooper in 2014. This...
Business Car or Officer Special trains
Business car trains or “Officer Specials” are the railroads showcases. They are used to entertain new or existing customers, and potential new business for the railroad. The are also used on “...
Geometric Test cars and trains
I was sent a link, by a reader, who asked me to comment. I will try to do my best to make this understandable and keep it simple. These trains are utilized by most if not all Class-1 railroads. ...
Jim Prutch Conductor, Brakeman, Switch Foreman, Switchman Part 2
Okay … I’ll own up to this one. Okay you’re thinking to yourself, your picking on Jim. NO Jim set’s himself up. Retirement is near, burnout who knows. I took the engineers extra board by c...
Jim Prutch Conductor, Brakeman, Switch Foreman, Switchman
I was working with Cindy today on the vending machine route. She is a Barista with Starbucks 3 days per week. We were talking about employees and your counter parts you work with. I liked Jim...
Memories flood me here. I am joyful and not sad. I just celebrated two years retired from the railroad on September 5th, 2014, after 40 years of service. Where did the time go. I apologize, ...
The Expanded Railroad Glossary Part 4
Dead Head....Nooo Noo not those dead heads. This is where you are transported to the home terminal or the away terminal via a railroad contract transportation. You could also ride the train...
The Expanded Railroad Glossary Part 3
Locomotive trucks… a small lesson. No this is not like a pick up or a semi rig. The Truck is what the locomotive or a freight car rides on. EMD switcher and “B” (four axle) trucks: This...
The "Humpback of EMD"
The GP-30 was an odd looking duck. EMD produced many of a GP-30 roster. The Santa Fe had them, as well as Union Pacific, and they had GP-30’s and GP-30-B’s.. I see a glossary here. New York Centr...
The Expanded Railroad Glossary Part 2 in Tales of the Jointed Track
ABS Automatic Block System: A series of consecutive blocks governed by block signals, cab signals, or both, actuated by train or by certain conditions, affecting the use of that block. Ra...
The Expanded Railroad Glossary Part 1
I have been told … I need to understand what you are talking about. CTC Centralized Traffic Control. The Dispatcher lines routes and authorizes trains to proceed on “Signal indication”...
The Hargrove Brothers Pueblo Yard..Pueblo, CO mid to late '80's
How many here have had that family squabble? I assume we all have over time. This occurred in the yard office in Pueblo,CO around midnight to 130 am. I may have related this tale on Open Dia...
The Cactus is in Bloom. A tale related
My time in management, you work with other people, off other parts of the railroad. Tales and experiences are related. It’s all from a different perspective than your own, but it all relates to...
Musings of the Railroad as a small child.
I look back on my childhood, and the D&RGW, (Denver and Rio Grande Western) or the Rio Grande. It was been called the “Grande”, or pronounced the “wry-O-Grande” My grandparents lived off of...
Bob Brown Electrician Denver 23rd Street Round house Night shift
Bob Brown. He was an electrician, and old CB&Q man before the merger, and always worked nights. Cranky, unfriendly and was just Bob Brown. I worked with Bob on and off, only because Taylor...
The DP consist from Hell. Colorado Springs to Pueblo Part 3
We get the crippled load into hump 3. I tell the Chief, you need to get two "good units" and relay this DP. Or make sure you have a good DP link unit, and mate it to that 9400 series motor and ...
The DP consist from Hell. Colorado Springs to Pueblo Part 2
I take the road over the mains off of old Sierra Madre and to Las Vegas Avenue. I can follow that all the way to Crews and into Fountain if needed. I call the crew close to Kelker siding. Th...
The DP consist from Hell. Colorado Springs to Pueblo Part 1
This incident was sometime on the late summer of 2010. I was working the day rotation and John Nelson was on the night side of things. I called John, just before I left home and headed to Big L...
The question arose.. I understood most of this, but why or what conditions, you could or wouldn't shove against a Caboose? There are many factors. One is, is it a roller bearing or a friction...
E-8 E-9 Michianna Tanks
E-8 Michianna Tank saga .... The E-8's were brought into line three . The pipe fitters already were acid washing the boilers and making repairs as needed. The laborers, were cleaning the engine ...
Cal Jewel machinist Air Shop Denver 23rd St Roundhouse
I was with Cal that day, why because he was the air man at the shop, and it was my turn to break in with him. Calvin Jewel, he was also the Local Chairman for the Machinist union and oversaw, al...
Roger Bell the C&S 840 and the Skunk ...Rice yard
The C&S 840 was an SD-9, it was in the Chinese Red and Gray scheme, and was showing its age and faded. It was one of the " newer" SD-9 models in the fleet. It wasn't a dual control stand 24...
AMTRAK 5 and a Crisis on an E-8
This was my early days in the shops before I went into engine service. It was a Sunday, mid afternoon, we did inspections, or did the inbound consists, changed out air brake equipment..etc.. Ser...
Track warrants What are they ?
I was asked by a reader, Track warrants what are they, and why do you need them? A real good question . When I write, I sometimes think, yeah ya know. No you don't, and ask me and I'll do a gl...
Power Desk 1998 Tim Bryant, Bakersfield, CA
I am in management with the BNSF. I did power ( locomotive utilization) with the former Santa Fe, in Schaumberg, IL and I am doing it here in the NOC at Ft Worth, TX. Night rotation Ft Wor...
Book Description
Tales of the Jointed Track
Railroading my career from September 15th,1972 thru September 5th. 2012
This is my first attempt of writing down my thoughts. I have been asked or have been suggested that I do by my Co-workers or others that know me. This will be about railroading throughout my career, first starting out in the Roundhouse and then changing railroads and going into engine service, which I finally retired from in September of 2012 forty years.
I hired out with the Burlington Northern in September of 1972. I was called by the General Roundhouse Foreman, one week before my hire date. “Do you still want this job”…”yes Sir” I told him. He said come down get physical papers , get that done see the clerk and you’ll be a Midnight Machinist helper. “Okay” I told him… I was working at a bakery for a major Grocery chain, in Denver at the time… also on midnights so not a big difference. I got up went to the Railroad physician and took my 5 minute physical. Returned to the shops and turned in the paperwork. “When can you start?”…I need to give notice and I will firm up with you. I gave my notice to the bakery and started a week later on nights ..
I introduced myself to the night Roundhouse Foreman.. Taylor Gregg....mid to late sixties …skinny as a rail…and always wore his hard hat cocked at at angle..and always started the night out at the coffee vending machine… ready to delegate the nights task. You’ll work with Sandy Ortiz .. we have a bunch of Goats that need Federal inspection and repair… ( a Goat is a slang term for a switch engine ) ..
I entered my midnight shift as a Machinist Helper, working with Sandy. He was Hispanic ..( didn’t care that he was ) and elderly, about early to mid sixties. He had terrible arthritis and shuffled when he walked… I always wondered why a man of his age, worked nights ? He had the seniority to work days, or really any shift he wanted. But as I continued to work for the railroad, there are those that prefer nights, Night Fighters they were called.
The Diesel shop had a Three stalls or tracks in the main shop… The old roundhouse stalls were west of that location but “did” join up… Line one was the running track for inbound inspection and minor maintained. After units were fueled, they came into line one, line one had another exit on the other end of the shop and the track extended out toward the depot. That track was the “Buck Main” that line one connected to. On line one units had cooling water added as needed, Lube oil, compressor oil, and someone went underneath and checked the Traction Motor suspension bearings for lubrication levels. Also the gear cases were looked at and “Crater Bags” were added as needed to provide lubrication to the gear cases. These were bags of heavy grease in a plastic casing that broke down after meshing with the pinion and spur gears. During the winter they were kept in a warm water bath to stay supple. I always said when these were hard you could kill someone with it…like a blackjack .. plus if they were like that they would jam the gearing and slide the wheels or drivers of the locomotive.
Line two was a run through track in the shop, and connected to line on about 300 feet west. this was an inspection maintenance , track…
Line three…well that where Amtrak had units that laid over and it was stubbed.. Old early FP-7 FP-9 E-8 and E-9 a and B units… They were from all railroads, and the US government bought em… some were really trash…I’ll elaborate on that later : ) … We also performed general maintenance and certain Federal inspections as needed…If heavy repairs of a big inspection was needed they went to one of the older roundhouse stalls and remained till completed.
Sandy and I were assigned a SW12 switcher for completion. The second trick, ( afternoon shift ) did the diesel engine requirements and the electricians did their electrical cabinet, auxilliary generator and main generator work. We were to complete the bottom end… Brakeshoes, truck maintaince, suspension bearings, lube the cooling fan bearings..and check or replace cooling fan belts, air compressor, lube the center bowls ( where the trucks meet the carbody of the unit ) and change out and air brake or air equipment not done and and filters not changed out or replaced.
We finished off the inspection and started on another…after lunch that was completed as well and they were “carded off” and ready for service. Sandy had me do the heavy work, and I will always be greatfull because I learned and I still remember to this day, and it served me well when I went into engine service.
