Train stall NOC North Central Power Desk Joint-Line summer 1999 in Tales of the Jointed Track

I was working the Southwest Power desk on a warm week day. I was on the day rotation and with the usual people I worked with. The North Central man, worked the coal fields in the Powder River Basin, The Coal Route Between Gillette, Wy and Douglas, WY (Orin Sub). Did Gillette,WY, Alliance, Ravanna,NE. Gillette to Sheridan, Guernsey to Alliance, Guernsey to Sterling, CO. Sterling to Denver, Denver to Pueblo, CO ( Joint-Line). The the old C&S Pueblo, Trinidad, CO to Amarillo, TX ( BN / FW&D). Also Denver Cheyenne to Casper and Sheridan.

I finished off with the Winslow cut wire, worked power with LA Commerce and Richmond, CA. I was finishing up with the planner at Barstow, CA, when the North Central man came to where our “pods” intersected. I gave a “just a minute” gesture, and finished the call.

“Sorry. what’s up?” “You worked up on the Joint-Line ( now Pikes Peak sub) as an engineer”. “Yeah about 25 years”. This guy was a Train master at the Denver 31st Street terminal, before coming down here to do power. “I have a question”. “Okay, I’ll do my best to answer it”.

“I have a grain train, three C-44’s and 11,000 tons, and I am unsure if they will make it”. “Well, have them add a set of helpers out of Denver and shove it up to the Lake”. “You don’t understand, it is coming out of Hutchinson, KS to the Pacific Northwest”. “Okay, no problem. Have the helper set stay with the coal train, and have them, cut off, and shove it out of the Springs (Colorado Springs). They’ll assist down on the other side, and cut off at Littleton.” “You don’t understand, they are running this with out a helper”. LOL “Serious, that will stall big time, right around MP 59”.

The former Santa Fe had a POWER Program:

Command Line: Power

Sub Division: PIKESP ( Pikes Peak )

Locomotives: 633 672 601

Locomotives are good for:
633 6000 tons
672 6000 tons
601 6000 tons

Cars: 110

Tonnage rating is: 18000 tons Pueblo to Colorado Springs
minus drag tonnage 3 tons per car
Total rating 17670 tons

press F2 for additional ratings

Locomotives are good for:
633 2900 tons
672 2900 tons
601 2900 tons

Tonnage rating is: 8700 tons Colorado Springs to Palmer Lake
minus drag tonnage 3 tons per car
Total rating 8100 tons

Well this train is 12000 tons. So we are a little over the tonnage rating.

A former Santa Fe 600 series C-44

Now why use this tool, and save yourself major problems, when ya can break it off in your own dumb ass? Because we are the BN and we know better!! Now don’t think the Santa Fe hasn’t been stupid, but we are loathed down here.

NOC 0810 am Central Time:

The Powder River Chief and two “suits” arrive at the North Central desk. I don’t know who these guys are. Could be Division management, or someone “high” up here at the NOC. They are discussing the grain train. The North Central man says, “This guy, (pointing to me) worked up there 25 years as an engineer, he says they will stall”. I get a look of disgust and how dare you even question. “He doesn’t know what he is talking about”. Politely, I say, “Well, you might just think that. But tell ya what, I’ll bet a pay check, the train doesn’t get past MP 59. If he does, by some slim chance, he’ll stall around MP 55.4 and tie up the town of Monument”. I get the dismissal LOOK again, and off they go.

NOC 1230 pm Central Time:

I am pulling the printer, and sorting through what I need. I just made a Barstow Power Demand sheet that I can edit, before I send it off. As I sit down, here comes the Chief, and the two “suits”. I can see the Chief Dispatcher is pissed. The “suits” well the collar buttons are open and the ties loosened. The discussion, and I look up. I am being looked at, ever get that feeling your being stared down? I stand and say “Let me guess, it stalled”. The Chief said, ” Like you said right at MP 59”. I get the glare from the “suits”. They storm off. Hey, not like I caused that, plus I printed out that “POWER” for the North Central man, and he gave it to them. I tried to help, aren’t we working for the same Company?

The beauty of this was:
A) no plan for failure
B) No helper crews in the area
C) No train either to aid

They set out 4500 tons at the Monument siding. The train was staged at Denver. A light freight left a Pueblo set out, ran the pick up. They picked the rest up of the grain.

Moral of the story… and this is a direct quote from old Frank Kasulas, a great engineer I worked with: “Ya know … Ya gotta fuck somebody, even if Ya fuck Yerself”. LOL boy those words rang true that day at the NOC.

I was told later on. They didn’t like that you were right. Really…Sorry

Last updated November 30, 2015