Entries 399
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Damn We Can Be Bad To Each Other
Bob Roberson-Engineer: Bob came out of La Junta,CO , in a seniority swap, with another Joint-Line engineer, who wanted to return back to La Junta. I liked Bob, he could be brash and a trash talk...
Leuthey's Kitchen Denver, CO
Leuthey’s Kitchen was a staple in my early railroad life. It was close to the Yard office and the Roundhouse. I lived in northeast Aurora, CO at that time. It was usually a 25 to 30 minute dri...
The Denver Rescue Mission, Hobo's etc
I have written about the transients or Hobo’s who rode the rails in my early railroad career. It was more prevalent, before 911, than it is now, but they are still there. I thought of this, whil...
The new ATSF 8000-8100 series Alertors, and Eddie Howard
Well I lied, I said I wasn’t going to write another Eddie story. Well this hit me, and so here it is. You Santa Fe Engineer’s, regardless of sub-division can relate. A deadman, the Alertors,w...
The Santa Fe Park branch circa 1975
Time has marched on.. Some of this crew have passed, the branchline is now a walking path in some places. There are homes and buildings , business parks now in there area. The “industry” we sw...
The end of Rice Yard, and Track 17
The west end and the train order operator on the C&S is the only bastion left out of Rice Yard. The East end is closed, and there are few operable tracks left. The City and County of Denve...
Rice yard, Floyd Smith and other tales.
We all, being retired Joint-Liners, have stories about Rice Yard. If I was working today, and if LODO and the old rail yards were not developed, I’d run out of Rice yard any day. Comanche Coal lo...
The Couch ... Hump Lead Pueblo Colorado
Dave Van Buskirk, a fellow engineer, and a previous trainman said something about hitting a couch. Maybe I was special, maybe it was coincidence. Pueblo, CO Santa Fe and BN Extras into the hu...
Big Lift ..Troubleshooting, and LUCK!!
Working the night rotation, in a late spring, early summer schedule, in 2012. The sun, sorta peeks up, lights up the sky, around 445 am 500 am, and on nights it all runs together. All the “Emer...
Mars lights... Gyra-lights etc.
Facebook.. Well, I follow some railroad related blogs and groups. A discussion on the Santa Fe SD-40’s equipped with a Gyralite style headlight. This was nose mounted, and the regular headlig...
Trains, Locomotive Consists, Crossed air hoses
This happened in my career. I inherited this one, and it could have been worse. When Locomotive consists are made up for service, at a DSF ( Diesel Service Facility or the old vernacular the “Ro...
The Joint-Line Big Lift and the Directors Special
I was called for a 600 am Helper at the 23rd Street Roundhouse. Surprise the train was actually there, and we chased it to 8th Avenue and tied in. The typical five units on the head-end and th...
Extra South meet 7 North Academy, CO
This is probably a repeat, but I think I either deleted it or did something stupid. I was working the “Pool” on the Joint-Line. Like it was in the Mid- to late 70’s, you were out on rest. !0 ...
Shop Rag in Fuel tank a EMD GP-60-B at true tale
An RJ McKay entry and pictures of a GP-60-B at Saginaw TX, brought this to memory. I was doing power for the Santa Fe in Schaumberg at the S.O.C., I was on the night rotation. It was pretty dead...
Flood reroutes 2011, called to protect the grade at Big Lift, CO
I was asked to help out in the “Corridor area” during the flood re-routes, summer of 2011. This route is stressed, so lets add extra trains. Promoted engineers, who transferred to other Divis...
Sanders, Coal or Heavy Tonnage on the Grade
On Facebook the dumb old rails. A picture of old F’s… Surely all ya all remember the old F units. Liars not!! There was discussion was it stuck sanders or brakeshoes. Me, sanders, ...
Terry Meyer and LISS 4.0
This occurred at the NOC when I was on the power desk. I was working the night rotation, and it was the usual cast of characters, with the exception of Harold Vail, who was filling in, for the So...
Helper units... a muse or two
I have had many an odd unit in Helper service. The standard was two SD-40-2, or our bastard units ( they were hard runners and reliable) SDP-40 and 45 ex Great Northern units. Hey ..me .. ...
Dale Spahn, Marantz, the Diesel Engine Governor
An odd title. But Dale was a Roundhouse foreman, Marantz was a PBX, radio frequency. The diesel engine Governor, was what regulated, via throttle positions, how the locomotive operated. It...
Bragdon late 70's Blizzard
The Pueblo, Colorado area is an odd weather wise. Pueblo over all is a desert climate. They have been known, and in the times I crew changed out of there, the weather factor played a part. T...
SF MUNI the Cable cars 08/26/2016
Went this past weekend to San Francisco, for my oldest sons birthday. A wine tour, a lot of walking, around town, overall it was good. I said, ” Okay whether ya want to or not, or, if ya go o...
Gino's Pueblo, CO Slow Motion What could Happen ?
This was probably an OD exchange, but lost in the archives. Okay you Joint-Liners, Santa Fe, C&S, Rio Grande, admit or not we prostituted ourselves at Gino’s. What got this thought, r...
Old Big Lift Local Circa 1988
Yep the Santa Fe is doing good, bringing in TOFC/COFC into the Denver market. This is pissing off the BN, but let the marketing departments worry about that. We are on duty, and if the morning “Q...
Saturday Early summer Caboose Hop NOT!!!
I was called on a Saturday. The crew caller said Bob Extra south 730 am. I am out on rest, I usually ask for who the crew members are, but didn’t. I report at 31st Street, beca...
SaturdayMay 21st Rocky Ford, CO
As we age, so you lose people you work with. Rusty Rogers, a Switchman, Brakeman, Conductor I worked with for 30 plus years passed about a week ago. Rusty developed terminal cancer, w...
Book Description
Tales of the Jointed Track
Railroading my career from September 15th,1972 thru September 5th. 2012
This is my first attempt of writing down my thoughts. I have been asked or have been suggested that I do by my Co-workers or others that know me. This will be about railroading throughout my career, first starting out in the Roundhouse and then changing railroads and going into engine service, which I finally retired from in September of 2012 forty years.
I hired out with the Burlington Northern in September of 1972. I was called by the General Roundhouse Foreman, one week before my hire date. “Do you still want this job”…”yes Sir” I told him. He said come down get physical papers , get that done see the clerk and you’ll be a Midnight Machinist helper. “Okay” I told him… I was working at a bakery for a major Grocery chain, in Denver at the time… also on midnights so not a big difference. I got up went to the Railroad physician and took my 5 minute physical. Returned to the shops and turned in the paperwork. “When can you start?”…I need to give notice and I will firm up with you. I gave my notice to the bakery and started a week later on nights ..
I introduced myself to the night Roundhouse Foreman.. Taylor Gregg....mid to late sixties …skinny as a rail…and always wore his hard hat cocked at at angle..and always started the night out at the coffee vending machine… ready to delegate the nights task. You’ll work with Sandy Ortiz .. we have a bunch of Goats that need Federal inspection and repair… ( a Goat is a slang term for a switch engine ) ..
I entered my midnight shift as a Machinist Helper, working with Sandy. He was Hispanic ..( didn’t care that he was ) and elderly, about early to mid sixties. He had terrible arthritis and shuffled when he walked… I always wondered why a man of his age, worked nights ? He had the seniority to work days, or really any shift he wanted. But as I continued to work for the railroad, there are those that prefer nights, Night Fighters they were called.
The Diesel shop had a Three stalls or tracks in the main shop… The old roundhouse stalls were west of that location but “did” join up… Line one was the running track for inbound inspection and minor maintained. After units were fueled, they came into line one, line one had another exit on the other end of the shop and the track extended out toward the depot. That track was the “Buck Main” that line one connected to. On line one units had cooling water added as needed, Lube oil, compressor oil, and someone went underneath and checked the Traction Motor suspension bearings for lubrication levels. Also the gear cases were looked at and “Crater Bags” were added as needed to provide lubrication to the gear cases. These were bags of heavy grease in a plastic casing that broke down after meshing with the pinion and spur gears. During the winter they were kept in a warm water bath to stay supple. I always said when these were hard you could kill someone with it…like a blackjack .. plus if they were like that they would jam the gearing and slide the wheels or drivers of the locomotive.
Line two was a run through track in the shop, and connected to line on about 300 feet west. this was an inspection maintenance , track…
Line three…well that where Amtrak had units that laid over and it was stubbed.. Old early FP-7 FP-9 E-8 and E-9 a and B units… They were from all railroads, and the US government bought em… some were really trash…I’ll elaborate on that later : ) … We also performed general maintenance and certain Federal inspections as needed…If heavy repairs of a big inspection was needed they went to one of the older roundhouse stalls and remained till completed.
Sandy and I were assigned a SW12 switcher for completion. The second trick, ( afternoon shift ) did the diesel engine requirements and the electricians did their electrical cabinet, auxilliary generator and main generator work. We were to complete the bottom end… Brakeshoes, truck maintaince, suspension bearings, lube the cooling fan bearings..and check or replace cooling fan belts, air compressor, lube the center bowls ( where the trucks meet the carbody of the unit ) and change out and air brake or air equipment not done and and filters not changed out or replaced.
We finished off the inspection and started on another…after lunch that was completed as well and they were “carded off” and ready for service. Sandy had me do the heavy work, and I will always be greatfull because I learned and I still remember to this day, and it served me well when I went into engine service.
