John Womack Engineer Santa Fe Railway in Tales of the Jointed Track

John was another man that fired for a while. When the Powder River Basin and grain traffic started flowing in hard and heavy, he got a running turn. John was a real nice guy off the job, but a real ass at times, when he was at the throttle. John was another poor engineer and train handler. The train crews hated to get called out with him. If you rode the caboose, better strap in, because he played that train like an accordion and the slack action was harsh.

John was one I avoided when I was in the program and after I was promoted and was firing. There were certain times, you needed the trips, and couldn’t afford to mark off and miss the pay. This was one of these times. We were called for a grain train, it was early 400 am. The inbound BN crew, was to bring the train over. We were to trade off in front of the West End yard office. The train crew was George Harrower head Brakeman, Edgar Motley rear brakeman and Dave Bradford Conductor. George had enough seniority was a promoted Conductor, and could have had his own turn. He was an old guard and was mid sixties. He preferred working the head end. George was a heavy smoker and could easily go through 2 or 3 packs of cigarettes each way.

The trip up the hill was uneventful. I checked the power out of Rice yard, South Denver, Littleton, Wolhurst, Orsa, Castle Rock, Larkspur , and Greenland. I went back as we crested Palmer Lake and made sure the dynamic brakes were operating. The trip was still going good. John bunched ‘em up pretty hard coming over the top.. I could feel the slack starting to run in pretty good. I stayed back there for a good mile, and started up and checked the dynamics.

The trip got interesting just south of the Springs. The terrain is up and down, rolling. You need to allow the train to naturally adjust, and monitor speed. Ease off a little on the dynamic braking heading up the sags and start bringing in more retardation as you descend. Also you have the train air as needed to aid in the overall braking of the train. Some applications you can hold and trim with the dynamics. Again depends on tonnage train and where you are.

As you come into the town of Fountain, you come up a little rise off the former Rio Grande trackage, and then rejoin the Santa Fe track. The reason is these were two separate mainlines at one time. The Santa Fe flew over the Rio Grande at this location. You leveled off and then started down, after rounding the curve, at Comanche Village crossing. You descended into the town of Fountain, and the grade slowly started began to bottom out and started upward again after crossing the Fountain River bridge. The grade kept going up for about another 2 miles then dropped down once more.

With a train like this, you could ease off the dynamic brakes, after going over the river. Allow the train to drift, and maybe one or two throttle to prevent it slowing too much, then get back after the dynamic braking, bunching the slack easy and trim as needed.

The John Womack method was he came from full 8 dynamic brake to position 5 to off in about 3 - 4 seconds time, while the rear end is still coming down. The train is probably bunching the rear end more than normal. Now there is no allowing the train to adjust naturally, and we’re starting to apply power. One notch at a time, and waiting for the amperage to decay.. OH NO!! that’s not in the JRW way of train handling. We go throttle 2…throttle 5…throttle 8 ( that’s wide open ). Damn those other throttle positions..screw that!!! .. full speed ahead. The caboose is just around the Fountain River bridge, and most of the train is still bunched.

14,400 hp roars to life. The diesels are producing maximum power to the main generators, and those main generator’s, are placing all that electricity into 24 traction motors. We start feeling the slack running out…a small tug… then many more each a little longer… then a big lunge ahead. Why we’re not in several pieces now, I still do not know to this day. I look at George …he looks at me and shakes his head.

Now we’re not done yet. This is phase two. We pass the block signal, just as the grade starts to level and head back down,and here we go. John starts reducing the throttle. We’re in 8..full power, and now right to notch 5, and the to notch 2 position Then he slams the throttle lever to idle. Okay this train is stretched, and close to 1000 tons of locomotive consist, has suddenly dropped all power. The train starts running in.

John grabs the dynamics, throttle 3..throttle 6.. throttle position 8 full dynamic braking. Now the train is really coming in, and in the little tonnage groups of slack. I place my feet on the front door to brace, as we get hit hard several times. I’m waiting for a train separation and followed closely by an emergency application of the air. John looks over to me and George and says, “I wonder what caused that”, and with a straight face. I chewed Skoal at that time and I about swallowed it with that comment.

The radio crackles to life, and it’s the Conductor Dave Bradford. “It’s gett’in a lil rough back here JOHN”. Rough ?? I’m surprised you’re not beaten into a coma, while waving a white flag. Well, the train didn’t come apart, or derail, and we made it into town in one piece.

If you handled a train like that today, and there are no cabooses any more, you’d be met at the terminal as you went off duty. Today, the locomotives have radio downloads of the speed and event recorder…and if anything is really questionable..it auto downloads and sends the data to the next communications repeater, and sends out an alert flag… You’ll explaining your actions to the road foreman, who has to follow up that report on what action was taken…or taken off the board for more train handling evaluations.