Rice Yard vignettes.. Jointed track Part 9 in Tales of the Jointed Track

Like all jobs, you do the same things over and over... prepare for this or that...run the same delivery route, We all do it, the daily routine. The same was with the railroad. If there wasn't a freight consist that needed attention right away, do the goats and the SD-9's in yard service... These would be the 0600 am to 0759 am call jobs.. Minor fuel and sand, for what is out in the yard working now.. Make sure the Laborers supply drinking water...clean the cab glass, remove trash and replace the bag... sweep out the cab...replace any missing tools and air hoses We turned units as needed...and worked the inbounds as they arrived. Consists were broken up as needed, due to the Power desk saying this was Bad Ordered en route, or needs to be rerouted for federal inspection, or the consist is short powered and needs extra an locomotive ( s ), to accommodate tonnage and grade.

Art Phillips: Art was a relief foreman ... we were "blessed" with Art for 2 nights... For those that did not read the previous entries, Art was a prior rights C&S man.. I do not know or remember what craft he came out of. Art was about late fifties early sixties... was lazy, did not communicate well. Art would mumble an inbound line up....give a paper copy...what cuts or adds were to be made or if the power went through. The roundhouse area was basically, rails and ties covered in dirt.. This was due to the 1965 flood, in Denver when the Platte overflowed, and inundated the lower downtown area. Now why walk, and tell us something, when you can get into your Cadillac and drive out to us. First plan of attack Art would walk to the turntable area , remove his hard hat and wave it above his head. and try to whistle...like we were gonna hear that, and like were fixated on that area, on Art whenever he would give a "pope's" appearance. In Art's mind, it was easier for you to stop your job, every time and walk to the office and back...for something that was not crucial or critical... it was something that popped into his mind. After a while... we made Art come to us.

We were working an outbound consist of 4 locomotives... They were the standard 6 axle configuration... GE's and EMD mix about 12000 to 14,500 HP depending on the model. I had a helper and he was working the tops, I was inspecting the bottoms. I had one laborer fueling the locomotives and I had the other cleaning and re supplying the cabs. One of them came up and said just glance over to the office. There was the large imposing figure trying to whistle and waving his hard hat. Yeah he wants something ...and probably stupid...and we're too busy, he can come down here and give us instructions. So after 3 minutes of futile waving...

The lights came on and Art drove to the pit.. lumbering over the rails etc..dust flying, We need to make a Sugar Beet extra NOW!!... "Ok Art right NOW!! when did they call it ? about 5 minutes ago.. for 0230 am.. okay that's about an hour and 15 minutes from now. What about 78 that on the pit... the crew is boarding the consist...we still have about 10 15 minutes work. Give the word will let it sit...and I'll guarantee the train master will here talking to us. He frumped hemmed and hawed..ART !!! give me the motors that are going out...well track 'em down...and get it ready...line up a laborer for the lead and have him work on that cab. Damn it Plasma Physics.. 78 was finished and the flags pulled... and the Santa Fe crew took it off the pit... We found the 4 SD-9's, most were ready and just needed fuel and sand. We assembled the power..made the locomotive air brake test and call the west end for permission to foul the lead and get them fueled. Just as we came off the pit here comes Art again. "It's ready".. "yeah well they want them lined up this way now".. "What !!, why did you give us the numbers lets us get them all hooked up and wait to that the last minute." So we broke them up at the pit, there was a run around track so it took about another 20 minutes to break them up and place them back together again. The air test was made and we called the west end yardmaster to move them back on the ready track, because another 2 inbound consists had just stopped on shop 14 track. The power was moved over..handbrake set the automatic and independents in full service position.. One of the Laborers I could trust hostled the first consist over to the pit for service. We're working the motors and here comes the Cadillac again. "Yeah Art" ..."Well that beet turn?" "Yeah".."well they want it this way now" "What" "You know Art? This is now the third time we have switched this around". "Ya know Art?, I don't mean any disrespect and we'll do it...again" "But you and the Power desk and the Chief DS and the train master better get it straightened this time". "You're all on for all the delay, since we're stopping our work again, to play musical chairs with this beet turn. And after we get this switched around for the third time.. and get it hooked up and tested... If you come back out and say we need to switch it around again... You'll be doing it yourself"." I mean where is the planning and co-ordination on this Art?"... Well Art frumped, and hemmed, and hawed got beet red.. and stormed off in the Cadillac... We got it switched out... The Trainmaster showed up and said, "Why is this beet turn not out...and 77's power and the Extra South power". I said..."well why don't you talk with Mr. Phillips, and ask why after we made up this power 3 times, someone keeps changing how they want this lined up?" " What !!!" " yeah What!!!, " and we went back to our work..while the Trainmaster stormed off to the office. Well this shift neared completion. we got all our work done..

I carded off and was told GO see M.I. Smith the general roundhouse foreman. I went into see M.I. ... "What went on last night? Why were these trains delayed?" "Did Art tell you what went on with the "Beet Turn?" and that after we made it up and switched out again 3 times per his insistence" " And everything fell behind?" "No he seemed concerned that the whole crew was angry and not co-operating"? "Okay you understand that we took the Beet turn apart 3 times and he waited till after we had it all back and air tested, only to change it again".. "No I didn't" "That was the major portion of this whole delay business" "Ya know Mr. Smith, I don't care what needs to be done, but what bothers us is this" Art sits in the office and when he comes out.."its a panic, a crisis, and stop everything" "No plan, no thought...so what's left is, it has us running around, doing multiple tasks, plus leaving other work uncompleted, and then to change the Beet turn around 3 times, because someone can't make up their mind", "that started the anger".. " It was out and out raw hiding of the crew and myself, and because I am now explaining, where he should have, because he is the supervisor" Did Art tattle and take off...yeah he did the Boo Hoo and left. M.I. said he'd talk to Art tomorrow, and get to the bottom of this...and bring in the whole crew if needed. So the next shift M.I. was there at 2330 pm..just before we came on. And we all were called in...along with Art. Well Art didn't have it together and hemmed and hawed, and was uncertain on who instructed the changes etc. Well we were told leave and GET TO WORK... The door closed and Art got his ass reamed pretty well. Art was quite a bit better to work with after that. But he still drove his car over the tracks, how it survived the time he was there I'll never know. Who knew that a 68 ' Sedan de'Ville was a precursor to the 4X4 Escalade....lol

Roger Bell the C&S 840 and the Skunk ... The C&S 840 was an SD-9 ... it was in the Chinese Red and Gray scheme...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 RL and SA-24 independent brake valve arrangement. It had a modified EMD control stand, and the newer 26-L and SA-26 independent brake valves... was still a high hood...roots blown and 1750 hp. Like all diesel locomotives, it had main reservoir blow down, on each of them...but one was peculiar..when it blew off... it whistled ( Art Phillips wished he could whistle like that lol ). You would be out in the roundhouse area of the yard...and if it was around...you'd be thinking who is hell is whistling at us ? It wasn't Art Phillips... he couldn't whistle...LOL Well it was the 840. Spring was in the air ..as well as the rats..the skunks and anything that thought it could scrounge a meal. We were very close to the Platte River, so things came up from the depths...except the carp and turtles that lived in there too.

Other than the pit and the Office...most of our area was dark ... there was a timer pole light that shut off after 15 minutes around Mechanical track 14 ... (no there wasn't 14 tracks ..these were leftover names etc...rearranged and merged with other tracks..that used to exist).. We were working 78 for an outbound call... probably for 0100 am, since we were told get on this right after we came on duty. Roger was lining up a laborer to clean cabs and help him hostle yard power for the morning shift. The C&S 840 was called out to be an outside yard job..heavy tonnage and gather industries...spot and pull cars etc. It needed to have the cab facing in a certain direction...so it needed to be spun. Someone put the 840 on the table.. but was called for other duties. So there it was in all its glory, sitting on the table waiting for a spin. Things calmed down, and Roger was heading to spin the 840 on the table. We noticed a skunk during the early part of the shift, looking for food and wandering around the roundhouse proper.

Well Roger headed for the table walking along side, the railing of the turntable and the 840...midway between the end of the table and the 840..a small black and white figure was also approaching. THE SKUNK !!!! ... Roger stopped and started slowly backpedaling...the compressor kicked in and was pumping up the reservoirs..The skunk now is mid unit...Roger is almost off the table...The limit for air pressure was reached and the compressor stopped. The blow down whistled..the tail came up and sprayed the 840.. Roger was at a gallop right now, because he knew that the blow down whistle was going to happen. Well Roger ran off... the skunk ran off...the 840 stayed put, and it smelled a lot..

It was on the table still for 2 more hours ...there was a slight skunk odor...but it was ready to go.. "Whadda ya think Roger...need another "nine" if we have one "? "We don't...this will have to work..if the crew bad orders it ...? ... we'll go from there". It was turned and placed on the ready track. The 0600 am crew came on...Don Bolzano was the hogger... smells like they hit a skunk...and it aint too bad...have had worse. Out they went...called the west end and got their marching orders... Whewww...

John Harmes ...C&S yard engineer ...

John worked the day shift.. I believe the 630 am or 700 am goat...don't remember if it was the west end or east end.. or an outside yard job. We had the goats all lined up and ready for departure... hey like a line...you took the first one out..left and so on.. John shows...and he's a great guy.. 'bout mid fifties, very heavy set...and lisped a little..especially if excited. If there was an older goat and not one of the 150 series.. he'd balk.. "Say Kid ?? ...I can't use this 125 unit..I need one of those 150 series"... Okay picking units, was told about that... "Mr Harmes..I was told line 'em up and you guys are supposed to take 'em".. "well Kid... I am not as slim as I used to be .. and I can't get my FAT ASS between the control stand and the handbrake wheel.. here lemme show ya !!" Well he did...like getting a size 13 foot in a size 9 shoe...I made sure the newer 150 series goats were ready for him...sometimes I was not able to make it work and he squeezed himself, with effort into the cab seat. I still see him.. a denim work jacket...with and extra pocket sewn along the bottom... filled with peanuts... Overalls with at least 8 cigars in the bib pocket...I worked later with his son John Harmes Jr.. on the inter divisional runs, when I was in engine service.

Sugar Beet extras...... Never knew when the Beet extras would start coming in. There was a sugar factory in Johnstown, Co and in Loveland / Longmont area. The Rock Island would bring them in with a rag tag consists, some running, some dead, some overheated, and the hoppers used to load up with beets were not much better. The C&S would take them up to the GW railroad, ( Great Western) which was a short line that served the factories up there. If you get or buy, GW sugar, that's where it came from. The GW sugar company owned the railroad at one time... It is now a private entity now. Sometimes the beets would fall out of the hoppers due to overloading or maybe one of the cars ( like a wood outside braced hopper ) would have a hole in the side and some would fall out. There is nothing like the smell of rotting sugar beets, or spilled grain for that matter, out in the yard wafting through the air. We were asked to assemble another consist for another beet turn. Two SD-9's, were brought over from the 23rd St Roundhouse, from federal inspection and were part of the consist, plus 2 high horsepower units a GP 40 and an SD-40. The GP-40 and the SD-40 were placed on each end and the SD-9's were spliced in the middle. At that time the train would probably be 50 to 60 cars and roughly 5000 to 5300 tons. After delivering to the GW, they may come back lite power or bring an empty train back to Rice yard. We air tested the consist, and sent it over for fuel and sand. Also the units were checked for oil and water levels, and the cabs cleaned on each end. It was ordered for 500 am and away it went, or so we thought. We did our usual finishing up on the goats, carded out and changed the operating ends on a Santa Fe consist, and went home at the end of the shift. During the trip to Loveland, CO one of the SD-9's had a catastrophic engine failure. One of the piston and rod assemblies breached the liner, and the air box hatch.. and buckled the hood door. Now covered in oil dead in consist. They had to double Church's Lake Hill. That was delaying the inbound train 78 at Boulder.

So when we came into work..Roger said. “Well get ready M.I. is going to ask about that failure. I told Roger, “ Hey was out of inspection at 23rd St. the water and oil levels were checked... No unusual sounds were noted, nor was a knocking or rapping coming from the diesel itself. Most likely a component failure while the engine was under load, but 23rd St would have to look at the problem. Well sure enough, M.I. Smith was going to get to the bottom of this failure. I told him the same thing I told Roger Bell the foreman. Surely we noted something. Unusual sounds, odor, was it idling smoothly? Water and oil were those checked.. YES, it was..oil was hot and black and no signs of fouling or contamination. Water level was at the proper level and they had just added Borate to tank. The water in the sight glass was a clear reddish purple..and no signs of contamination. The Borate solution is a rust inhibitor..The locomotives have about 190 to 300 gallons of water, depending on the model, and do not have antifreeze. If the unit is shut down during freezing weather the cooling system is drained.

The unit was taken back to 23rd ST and repaired..I never found out what the reason for the failure was, and if M.I. knew, he never told us or figured we didn't need to know.

Elio .. Laborer and the Fuel rack..

Elio was a good hand. He was from Mexico and worked hard. Spoke good English, but with a thick accent. As in a few posts back, I was “Meester Bob”. I was 20 years his junior, and when I left the BN for the Santa Fe in engine service, I still was “Meester Bob”. We were working an inbound on the pit. It was called out for an extra South. The consist had come in on a northbound and was being serviced and turned right back. I had one of the "lazy" new hires cleaning cabs and re supplying the consist. The others were doing the cabs on the outbound goat fleet for the next day. The blue flags were placed, and we started in on them. I told Elio, “Start fuelling them and top them off, because it is taking another train south out of Pueblo on arrival, to Texas”. "Okay Meester Bob". The Pit... well this was our service track, and it was an outdoor facility. It not covered, so when it’s nice, or rainy or snowy...you were that too. We never went into the pit...why because it was clogged and filling with water, fluids. It was primordial ooze. They did pump it out and tried to fix the drains once, but to no avail. If you dropped a tool in there it was gone ... period In this consist..was an older C&S SD-40.. 3000 hp six axles, dynamic braking equipped...top stuff in 1972, AND !!! it was 4 years old, so new to railroading standards. Like the SD-9's the truck has cast iron brake shoes, clasp style 2 per wheel. The consist was in good shape and only a few shoes were changed ...but the travel was taken up to bring into tolerance. Tops were good and I was Tops were good and I was doing the bottoms...

I am working this SD-40, on the opposite side. I started hearing a sound like water rushing, it started out slow, then started getting increasing louder. I shined my light around, underneath... There was the leak ... but it wasn't water, it was a greenish blue fluid. It was fuel coming out of the overflow into the pit...( like it needed more ) .. I yelled “SHUT IT OFF...ELIO SHUT IT OFF”. There was no response . I climbed over. “ ELIO SHUT IT OFF”, and still no response. Elio was intent to get that last drop of fuel in that tank. The auto shut off did not activate. I hit the emergency fuel cut off. Elio had a flashlight on the fuel sight glass staring intently, and he was gonna top that off. "What is wrong Meester Bob"? "Elio your dumping fuel into the pit...it’s coming out of the overflow". ” Oh No Meester Bob it hasn't shut off"... "Elio the auto shut off is bad".. "Okay Meester Bob"...He took the hose off..and replaced the cap, and waited for us to spot the next motor for fuel... Ah the perils of the night shift.

A rainy dead night at the 7th Street Roundhouse....

Like at the 23rd Street Roundhouse, and we got some dead times too. They were few and far between. It was cold rainy night late April early May. I brought my rain gear ready to be on the Hurricane Deck for most of the night. Our Foreman, Roger Bell gave us our marching orders, get the Goats serviced . “Finish up 78 on the pit, it's ordered for 0145 am..and find a place let me know, in case something happens.” “Most of the inbounds will hit out of the south around 300 to 400 am”. Well being new I took that as gospel... We finished up our chores.

I let the laborers know what consists not to "bed down" in. Train 78 was called and the 424 ( the Santa Fe drag, which when I went into engine service we called the NIGHT CRAWLER )..was on duty for 0330 am. Find a goat or go to the office or the roundhouse, and make sure you're available.. My machinist helper and me, we ate lunch and I said I'm going out to the line of SD-9's on the ready track. We waited for the consists to arrive.

We hung up our gear and the cab heaters were on and warm. I had the radio on channel 66, and listened for the inbounds to call the Rice yard operator. The night passed, and at 630 am Roger called for us. “Take off. There is nothing due till after 0800 am”. The day boys were taking over.. and it's raining..and I am on my weekend...