The Sedalia Turn Part 1 in Tales of the Jointed Track

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 switched as needed, but most of the work was on the northbound mainline. I will do some vignettes as I remember. Could be a Part 1 or Part 2.. who knows. I just thought of this, today about 0925 am 04/14/2014 ....

Sedalia Turn Conductor George Jacobsen ...1977

George Jacobsen, commonly known as "George Jake", a no nonsense, Conductor. I liked working for these guys, the old versus the new. George had a long face, and was a very slim man. You could tell he was from a Holland, or Dutch ancestry. His father, who railroaded for the Santa Fe, retired and passed, was also a Brakeman and Conductor.

I was called off of my running turn, for the Sedalia Turn. I never minded that, and always looked forward to it. I called in and was told, looks like the "turn", but there is a freight close as well. Is what it is, and I am ready for either. The phone rings at 800am, "Terry, 930am Sedalia turn, Jacobsen,Bethurum, and an extra board man". "Okay, Sedalia turn 930, will be there".

I report to the roundhouse at C&S 7th Street...a Santa Fe GP-38AC is our charge for today. The extra board brakeman arrives, it's Earl Jones, our hippie brakeman, but this guy is sharp. A good hand, and he left the railroad later on. I'd work with, and for Earl anytime. We grab the Geep, call the yardmaster. The West end Yardmaster says, come down on the lead, cross over track 19, a caboose and a covered hopper of plastic pellets. Okay, we'll run around that at Sedalia and shove up to the crossover a half a mile... The rest of our work, has the set out at Santa Fe Park. We'll pick that up and have about 2 to 3 hours of switching on the northbound. We are small enough, to fit anywhere and let other trains around us.

We leave and stop across from the Santa Fe depot, about MP 8.1. The crew walks across, and talks to the station agent at Englewood depot. The agent George Meek, gives the working orders to George Jake, and I get the "highball" to proceed south to Sedalia. We could cross over, at Littleton, CO..but the majority of the pick up is 2 miles south, on the northbound, so we have to go to Sedalia. Not a big deal.

Littleton,CO 1150 am the Rio Grande operator Station Agent:

The Rio Grande agent was always an "odd duck". He was in dual capacity, the train order operator, for both the Rio Grande and the Santa Fe at Littleton. He was the station agent for the Rio Grande.

We are on clear signals, we have our train order operating from South Denver to Castle Rock. The train order board is clear, the semaphores are in a downward position. I start whistling for the three main crossings in downtown Littleton. The speed limit is 25 through town, and I am doing that. Suddenly just before we pass the Rio Grande depot, the train order board goes RED. Okay great timing, ain't stopping on a dime. I throttle off and place the two car local in to a full service. "Yah didn't hit anybody did ya"? That was George Jake. "No the Rio Grande operator just pulled the order board RED in front of us".

We're past the block signal, but still in yard limits. Jerry Bethurum, hits the ballast with a flag and red fusees. George says "Back up, clear Littleton Blvd, and wait, Jerry is flagging.. I'll go in an find out what is going on".

Seems our goofy Rio Grande/ station agent, decided at the last moment "if" we got our work and switching assignments from the Englewood agent on the Santa Fe side. Was none of his business, and George unloaded on him. I mean, it was a good thing, that depot was made of stone, because after George got done with this guy, that whole place could have burned down. I see Jerry walking towards the Hack, and George storms out of the depot. He's pissed, he boards, Jerry gives a highball, and off to Sedalia. "Highball Kid!!, our orders are good still". There is anger in his voice. I find out as we run around the cars at Sedalia, what occurred. This has been a long time past, and the late George Jacobsen is still chewing on that Rio Grande agent's ass..