Roy Onstont Pueblo Yard Engineer 1974 in Tales of the Jointed Track

I never fired for Roy, because I was out of Denver. I knew of some yard and engine crews, but I had to make trips, for qualification and promotion to engineer.

August 1974:
Guess what!!! ? I am forced to Pueblo, to work Bill Davis’ vacation. That is okay, I know that I have to do that. I could be a regular here, but I know I’ll be back in Denver soon. Bill is gonna bump me, when he comes off of vacation. Now under current Santa Fe yard rules and working agreements..These are Seven days a week jobs. LOL.. yeah these F’ing seven day a week jobs. How would these new hire and current employees handle that ? Yeah a lot of bitching. They can’t handle the current pool, now up in Denver. I digress.

Y-202:
This is the 1530 to 2330 pm job. Saturday and Sunday, I’ll bet a relief or extra board crew. As of this writing I am thinking my regular switch crew. Ray is working the other south lead jobs.

South lead jobs, WTF is that? Well you grabbed class tracks off the hump tracks, and built trains, for Pueblo to Denver, Pueblo to C&S south, fill to tonnage, and Santa Fe Trains eastward Pueblo to La Junta, CO and beyond.

Power for the yard jobs..LOL like dice at a Craps table? what is your roll.
There was a GP 38 ..wow 2300 hp , newer and Nirvana. Then again, a CF-7 1500 hp, which, lol, might work or may not work. The yardmaster barked out power.

Roy and I are rotating the GP 38 and CF-7’s on the on duty calls. I got the CF-7 this call. We are switching out. Roy has grabbed the class tracks for his next shove. Me, I am around the ponds, and ready to shove into, another cut, couple and shove into the clear. It will be a struggle, they need to bleed off other cars. The field man is doing that, we will couple and shove to the clear. This poor bastard, is giving it, it’s all. Throttle 8, and at 4 mph, sand on.. we nurse it in to the clear. Roy gets on the radio, ” You take care of my engine son’. “Yes sir, I’ll make sure, that it is ready for you”.

Roy caught the CF-7, next on duty. “Roy, are you taking care of my engine”? “Yes and I am ready to give it back to you”. LOL He was a great rail, I enjoyed working with him.

A Santa Fe GP-38.. LOL I was a fireman, in this photo, which I took, a work train, at Crews,CO, about 30 miles north of Pueblo.

A Santa Fe CF-7, a rebuild, from the old F-7’s.. Save us please.. NOT!!

Last updated April 26, 2019