The C&S 800 series U-30-C locomotives Part 2 in Tales of the Jointed Track

I was called off the fireman's board again, to step up and run as an engineer. The BN ran 160 cars of Taconite ore, into Denver. These cars are what we called ore jenny's. They were mostly in the 20 to 24 foot in length. They held 70 tons of Taconite pellets. The wheels at the end of the car were very close when coupled together, they were dangerous, tough to buckle up air hoses, and a general pain in the butt. The jennies were mostly used to shuttle ore from the mines, to the ship docks on the Great Lakes. The song "Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" , that was a ore freighter.

I reported to the C&S 7th Street roundhouse. I signed the register, and got the power lineup. The brakeman and I walked to the consist. I checked the units out, they were one C&S U-30-C and three SD-9's. This will be a slow dog but, that's the nature of heavy unit trains. There was another one called about 3 hours behind us. That was the other 80 car portion of the train.

We called the yardmaster, and were instructed to come out onto the lead, and get onto Track 17. We attached the power, told the yardmaster we were on, and got ready for the air test. The head brakeman, cuts the air in and walked back to take off handbrakes. The carman calls for a set of the air. I grab the automatic brake valve and start setting air. Nothing...no exhaust, nothing...like its cut out. Now the brake pipe needle on the gauge says 90 lbs. The equalizing reservoir, shows zero, I hear charging, I ask the carmen, "I know this sounds stupid, but are you in emergency back there?" "No 90 pounds". Hmmmm. I jiggle the valve handle, I can't get a reaction ..I cut out the valve..maybe I can get this to work. No the equalizing reservoir is bad. This unit cannot lead, because the defect renders the brake valve useless. I tell the carmen, there is a problem here, hold on. I call the yardmaster and relate the problem. I told him I could make the air test with another locomotive in the consist, then switch out the power. "No, make the air test, take it back to the house and get the other power". That task done, we went back got the other power,and back to the train. The roundhouse placed the U-30 to the back of the consist, and the second ore train would get that power. We made a set and release and left town. This was a better consist, two SD-45's and an SD-9, but we still will need them all.

The trip was nondescript. On arrival at Pueblo, we were told to deliver the train to the C&W at Minnequa Yard. We head up to Minnequa, deliver the train, and head back to retrieve our caboose. The yardmaster says where are you at? "Minnequa, ready to grab the hack and come to town". "Hold up, the other ore train is here, he has one down, and another low on water, he thinks he'll stall on the hill". We wait and sure enough, he did. Ray did a good job getting the train up to where he stalled out. He was eight cars from Slag Haul Road, and 20 cars from getting them, where he could walk them into the yard.

Why did he stall? There was one unit down, and one low on water, and that happened at Palmer Lake. SD-9's were a good drag engine, they would pull till they stalled. They had two fill valves for water, one on the roof, one on the side with a "fill cone". Some places did not have the fill cone adapter, and at Rice Yard, when I worked the shops, we didn't either. So the roof had a screw top, vented with 4 holes drilled in the top, or they just tossed it. Under hard sustained load, pressure built, we throttled down, gradually as tonnage came over. As you got to 2 or one throttle, the lay shaft, went to a shutdown condition. This too, was engine governor related as well. When Ray throttled off and set the air, and set up dynamic braking, two of the SD-9's shutdown and geyser'd water out the top. The brakeman went back, and started the one that had water still left in. It was low, but it worked in dynamic braking. The other was left dead, and isolated.

Ray is stalled, and we need to help him into the yard. The head brakeman, calls the DS on the CTC phone in the signal bungalow. We get authority to flag, and to make the reverse movement back into the yard. Ray is down far enough, so the dispatcher, will give us the signal back into Minnequa yard. We flag in, and couple in to the train. I talk to Ray, on how he wants to handle. Couple the air, and we'll double head, I'll keep control of the air. Works for me. The two head brakemen now go to the other end of "our" consist. "We're ready, Flashing Red signal, we're lined into the yard". Ray an me get them into the yard, my rear end crew, has us lined in to the next vacant track. We make the double over, shoving against our double over. They all fit. Ray and I hook up the two consists, change ends and make a quick locomotive air brake test. We run light down track 5, to the cabooses. We pick up the two cabooses, and call to get lined down to Pueblo Yard. I tell Ray, while we're hooking up, I'll run 'em back down. The Operator is called and told we are ready to leave Minnequa and head to town. We contact the yardmaster, and he says "Place them on the lead, I have a switch crew at lunch, they will switch out the cabooses and put the power to the fuel track. Ray and I grab our grips, and talk to the mechanical people on the fuel track. Defects noted... we tie up, wait for our return trip after rest.