Tales of the Jointed track Part 7 Rice yard in Tales of the Jointed Track

Tales of the Jointed track Part 7 Rice yard
The call was sounded ... I was the lowest man, and I was going to be the night lead machinist at Rice Yard. The "proper" designation was Denver US Rice Yard... I reported at Rice yard ... went to the office... Roger Bell was the foreman, he too was sent over from the Denver 23rd Street roundhouse...also in that office was the night crew caller for the C&S crews and the Santa Fe south crews...John O'Malley...Laddie he was a horses ass .. I'll elaborate on that later... He called me with the Santa Fe, when I transferred to engine service. Roger would give a line up of inbound power, outbound' s what was called out..We also serviced the "goats" and SD-9's that did heavy lifting etc... the "Beer Run" to the Coors brewery, ( 3 shifts ) and switch ends and service the inbound Santa Fe power. That was minimal, because the power for the Santa Fe was to be serviced out and for the return to Pueblo, out of Pueblo, Colorado. Unless there was water using problems or no oil on the dipstick, the Santa Fe units were given the once over, carded, and ready for the return call on the 594 or the 424 train symbols at that time.. the 5 symbol was a KC designation the 4 symbol was a OKC / Houston connection Power was spotted on the outside pit. Fluid levels checked and added to as needed. Brake travel adjusted and brake shoes replaced as needed. Fuel was added, and the consist spotted and made available for call. Since we had no hostlers, the machinist's ...( me ) was the designated hostler. And if there was someone else trusted...they would do that as well. Due to the location of the lead tracks to the house and servicing area.. You would have to contact the Yardmaster at the west end of Rice yard..for authority to occupy the lead, to make house moves..and report clear when done. I could list tracks ... I see them in my mind..but..unimportant, because you don't know the layout either. The Pit, the run around, House 14, The turntable lead. ready track...sand house track . the inbound receiving track for power and track 22. That what I remember. There were the standard roundhouse crew, and some were great and some well they were less to be desired.

Cast of Characters: Foreman: Roger Bell: about early mid forties at that time. A Lincoln, NE man off the Mechanical roster, electrician by craft Art Phillips: Late 50's early 60's ... can't remember his prior rights..possibly C&S..lazy and was just there, when he worked the night shift

Laborers: Rudy: well Rudy came from a line of laborers, in the railroad industry, and went on to be a Carmen ( worked on the rolling stock etc),until he passed recently, after I left for the Santa Fe. Lloyd: at that time a stoner... did his job..but you had to make sure you had tabs on him.. Became a machinist and retired in 2011. Lloyd hated and feared Rats and Mice.. and they were prevalent there...but probably was too stoned to know, Elio: Thick Spanish accent, but was a reliable hand...sometimes got distracted, but would do whatever to get the jobs done.. I was Meester BOB... even when I went into engine service with the Santa FE... "all is OK Meester BOB" ... Meester BOB ...I was 20 years his junior ...lol. Mike : Young lazy and went with the flow, sometimes OK ... sometimes 'Hello"...went into engine service with the BN and became a good railroader..maturity I suppose.. Bill: Another that became a good rail ... later went into engine service with the BN.

Machinists: Ralph: Was from Mexico..was a citizen of the US..was a C&S rostered machinist..worked the 800 am to 400 pm shift and did running repair..till the shop at Rice Yard was shut down then went over to 23rd St. Roy: An original C&S roster man ...worked the 800 am to 400 pm shift ..later hired out in engine service for the Santa Fe ..ahead of me in seniority here (mechanical and in engine service ) Worked till 2007 and retired at 60 years of age. Roy was about 5 years older than me at the time Bill S: An original C&S roster man. The afternoon machinist, also went to the Santa Fe in engine service...also,ahead of me in seniority here (mechanical and in engine service ).. Became a Road Foreman later for the Santa Fe and them a General Road Foreman... till he retired in 1999.Like Roy...he too was five to six years older than me ... I was snot nose when I hired out. Tony: worked second shift. An original C&S roster man..went to 31st, ST after Rice Yard shut down.

Electricians: Al: worked the day shift .. I worked with him off and on as needed, when I stayed over on overtime. Was a C&S roster electrician.. retired on or about 1973 ... Babe: That was his nickname, he worked the second shift...transferred to 23rd St after the merger...was reassigned, till Rice Yard shutdown.

Please remember ... I worked the night shift 2359 (1159 pm ) to 0759 (759 am) ...I worked with most and/ or all in various times etc... Some may be mentioned ...some may be not. The basic call of the day was .. service and fuel the "goats" ... Power on the pit track took priority, because it was probably already called out on arrival to the pit. Get it serviced, fueled and ready..Extras .. assemble the power... and report it ready.. Like at 23rd ST.. inspections were made..units signed out on the FRA 203 cards ... any bad orders were reported to the foreman..repairs made and the night progressed from there. Power was broken up ... reassembled and air tested as needed ...serviced on the pit ... Extras made up (an Extra is by then BN / C&S / Santa FE book of rules... a train not authorized by time table schedule)... SIDE BAR Now basically everything can be an extra... because there are no first and second class freight trains ...per the old book of rules..or time table schedule...Trains are authorized by.??? Hands please.!! Correct answer...no not that agreement is a right... the right to occupy. Right, by train order, Class and Direction. ... BUT!! now...depending on the symbol ... that is what makes the "HOT" vs the also rans .. ie; BNSF Train..Z-WSPRIC1 or 9 designation..was train 199 on the Santa Fe..this is a HOT ..PRIORITY.. inter modal...its not a timetable train..but GOD help you if you have any responsibility in delaying this train... be prepared to answer ... Like one Chief Dispatcher on the Santa Fe had on an e-mail auto reply.. was .. " Where's 199 ???"

Rice yard was in transition. The city of Denver was making a big push to revitalize downtown, reclaim or outright purchase certain parcels of land. Rice Yard was a target..also the eastern part of the Rio Grande's Burnham Yard was another ... There was Air Liquide, as compressed gas terminal and vendor...an abandoned Foundry in Rice Yard proper... They were right across from west end yard office... going down the C&S main into the Depot, was NAMALCO Terminal, a stinky place... National Molasses Company.. There was a Big Tank..and a couple of small ones. There was always spilled molasses around the area...DAMN that stunk in the summer..it also bubbled as it fermented with the natural yeast and molds in the air. If there was ever a breeding ground for an alien life form that would "eat the City of Denver", this pool of primordial ooze was ready ... Rice was laid out geographically east and west...as well as the city of Denver, like ordinate compass points. So if using the front range as west, well yes it is and no its not.. The west end of Rice yard always looked "south" to me and it wasn't Rice yard had about 20 tracks, plus a few stub tracks .. There also was an abandoned Coal Gas plant, in the middle of the yard.. Hence Gas one to the southeast and Gas 4 to the Northwest. What is Coal Gas ? well there also was a coking plant..when the sprayed the coal with water to make "Coke"..the steam vapor was coal gas. That was captured and placed into expanding tanks...these would "grow" as they filled, like a tank within a tank..Most of this gas was sold off commercially or residential for heating or as a fuel..

The sand tower was an odd ball, as most of Rice yard was... The sand tower would have a hopper filled with sand. This was spotted and you took a locomotive and hooked up the main reservoir..and blew the sand up into the tower. The sand then would be placed into the sand boxes on the locomotive. Also this was a yard that at one time had dual gauge, standard and narrow gauge... The old roundhouse was a steam roundhouse, small and short pits... some tracks were gone and/or the switches taken out. Across from the crew office and the mechanical locker rooms...there was an abandoned building. That was the old C&S Back shop. The bum's would gather there ... It was an expansive structure, all things of value for the railroad were taken out.. Pigeons roosted there and there was probably was bird poop in unknown quantities throughout the building. . During the summer months, when the sun came up early, we looked through that building...

The turntable ... well this was an old steam turntable ... maybe was beefed up for the heavier diesel locomotives ... It had seen better days, long before I hired out. There was the control house, where you made the beast come alive... It had a controller that made it go one direction or the other... The brake had long worn out ... or maybe the parts just were not there. There was a lever that shoved a lock between the rails so you could load or off load as needed... You got to a point on how it would drift...and you clicked a lil power to make it reach its point...then shove the lock in. The table would rock and shutter... but you worked with what you were given. There was an old rusted coffee can..you found sand piles or dirt and poured it into the rusted funnel, which was piped to provide traction as needed... The rails that it rode on were worn and were like in placed a corduroy road... pits and burn spots, where the driving wheel spun and slipped and gouged the rail. This was a real piece of work ... but it was our piece of work. When you brought power on to the table ... the cab was basically near the the center brace or the other braces, that made it look like a small bridge. The support girders were marked. you spotted your shoulder, by sight across from the "marks" and then the table would balance... and you spun the motor. The roundhouse ... Well it had 4 stalls left, from the original, the original wooden doors, small low pits... it too was a historic relic ... Some work was done in there, but most was sent over to 23rd Street... We were basically a fuel, sand, and service, minor running repair, but overall the Rice Yard complex was a busy place. There is the minor lay out of the land ... Tales to follow ...