Entries 401
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TL Bryant "ole Buddy" Conductor Big Lift Local mid 1980's
Tim was an odd duck. He and his brother were from Arkansas, directly across from Memphis, TN. Tim was, well Tim, his brother Billy Ray was completely the opposite. This is a vignette that I re...
Christmas of 1989 Q-DVKC at Big Lift
This was my rotation, I was scheduled to work down on December 23rd and we will dead head home for Christmas eve. I will get called out about 600 pm Christmas day, via another dead head for rest...
Tearing up the North Track Kelker Yard to Palmer Lake, CO Part 2
How can I contain my emotions on this, because the “era” I hired out with is gone. I am 62 and I am the last survivor of this whole crew. I have been retired now for almost 2 years. Like I h...
Note *This is an entry that I either did not save, on OD or was deleted prior. Monument / Palmer Lake, CO The times they are a chang'in as Bob Dylan would say. The single track has become a ...
Air brake chalk board What is he talking about??? Part 1
A train passes by you. The locomotives blast by, and car after car passes. This thing ever going to end ? The the last car with an odd looking device on the draw bar ( the ETD) or a locomot...
The phone rings around 800 am on a fall morning. It's chilly, but will warm to near summer temperatures, and plummet when the sun sets. I take the 930 am call and ask who the crew is. I am to...
Troubleshooters job..Spring of 2012
I was working the the "Mentor" troubleshooters job on the 730 am to 730 pm side of the equation. Spring, depending on where you live and be many things. Warming weather, the rain shower, sev...
The new trainmaster Pueblo yard 2009
Wow… they are getting young. They also are clueless, and if they don’t get their asses chewed out by upper Division management, the crews can have their way with them. That’s when you lose contr...
Red Ball Freights: A Red Ball freight is a train that is hot. It is a priority, or can become one . Can haul freight, many commodities that need to be expedited. Or the shipper wants that. ...
Railroads in general, you see them, you curse them when held at a railroad crossing. I have been there, mostly on the "railroad" end of the equation. How many people have you met that are act...
Q-Trains Big Lift, CO
The Santa Fe is going big time here, to capture the Denver Intermodal market share. These will operate on time, and with dedicated assigned crews. The bids were out for Train and Engine crews. ...
GE electrical locker doors and the BIG headache
The early GE's were a bane of design. The heavy electrical, busses and contactors were outside in the under cab part of the locomotive. These had clasps, like a button, that operated a sprin...
Gallup Subdivision..05/17/2014
Yes I am still retired. I am helping move some good friends that we will miss, back to Phoenix. They have the "PODS" picked up, and have the rest of the "necessities", needed till they find a p...
Although I never worked for the CP, this is basically 99 percent the same. Will give you a general idea, what I am talking about. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=hN0...
Unloading was always a unique proposition. I had the front row seat, working with two sides of unloading. Two individuals were designated as the primary contacts, for the movement and unloading...
Welded Rail trains on the Joint Line Part 1
You may have seen these odd looking trains, if you live near, or cross a railroad mainline, from time to time. http://www.wsorrailroad.com/projects/anderson1.jpg They are tiered, trains carryin...
The Sedalia Turn Part 2
I was called on another Sedalia turn. It's another great morning, and I'll be home in maybe 8 hours, a "date" maybe. Same old stuff, Western Aspen, the plastic people ( they made trash bags ) ...
The Sedalia Turn Part 1
A turn in railroad parlance is you go out from Point A to Point B an return to Point A. We left Rice yard at Denver went to Sedalia,CO, crossed over to the northbound mainline and returned. We...
This has always been an embarrassment, not only for the Roundhouse and the mechanical department management, but on the terminal and the Division. There will always be finger pointing, second gu...
Picking up a locomotive at Palmer Lake CO late 2011
I was called off the Corridor to fill in for vacation . BNSF 4871 has a starter circuit problem, and we needed to pick up the unit BNSF 9412. Had to switch the units around... it's easy . ...
E-DONBTM Evans Avenue, DP problems August 2011
A hot August, they are still rerouting trains, loaded and empty, certain freights, through Denver. If the freight power, needs fuel, the power may come to the house, or be fueled, by a contract...
Corridor mentor Denver Termial BNSF 5402 DP unit, H-DENPVO
It's been a busy day. I started at Littleton and worked my way in to the Terminal. I have inspected and carded out about 25 locomotives at the moment. There will be more. There is a lull,...
Corridor mentor Job Stuff, and more stuff Part 1
It is the spring and summer of 2011, and for those that lived with the Midwest flooding of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers, and it's tributaries, you know a big part of the story. The BNSF i...
A few "BUM" or railroad transient tales Part 2
It was a late summer, early fall day in 1979. It is hot, and we get a 200 pm call for an "extra north", out of Pueblo. This is a drag period, and when we got on duty, it is a stop and / or p...
A few "BUM" or railroad transient tales Part 1
Up until, the 2001 tragedy of 911, there was always a migration of people, who took to the rails, during the Spring to head northward where it was cooler. They made the reverse route back south ...
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.
