Entries 399
Page 5 of 16
The Local, the Rainstorm, and the stall
It had been a while since I have last written. I was working the Big Lift / Colorado Springs local in the early 80’s . It is an early spring morning. It had rained most of the night. We...
RCE's the Precursor to the Current DP system used today
I wrote about this a while back, while I was promoted and a fireman. Truth be known I operated em, when they failed, while in the training program. LOCOTROL the early Distrubuted Power in Tale...
Wiggins Colorado Head On Collision 0355 04/13/1984
this has been in “draft” since 11/22/2014. I misplaced some of the old news paper clippings. I have tried to make them readable, so if you can magnify em you can get most of the story. It was ...
Rex Trefethen a tale from the Santa Fe power desk
I liked Rex. He was tough crude… He was Dave Lackey’s EAMLU (East Locomotive Utilization) power guy. Like I said in other posts I was Rex Trefethen, more than, Rex Trefethen was Rex Trefet...
Another FIELD WELD story
Working the Section is hard and tough work Tribute to those that maintain the roadbed, so us Prima Donna’s can operate Watch part 1 and Part 2 Thanks
Pueblo Yard B-30-7A a quick but true tale.
I got called for an Extra North, what again? !!! LOL Per Rule, an Extra is a train not authorized by Timetable schedule. WE are all extras on the Joint-Line, whether it was the 594, 151, 78...
Welded Rails
Although this is in Europe or Scandinavia somewhere, the principle is still the same, like on the US Railroads. This is a “field” welding of rails, whether a replacement is in, or joining the l...
A Compressor failure BN B-30-7A
Yeah, Monument again. I have an extra North out of Pueblo. We are heavy, but have the power to make the summit, even if we lose one. I have a BN SD-40 on the lead, followed, by three B-30-7A b...
The BURLINGTON ROUTE Smoke Stack Denver 23rd Street Roundhouse
This may be an OD re-post…or maybe the old Dork, dumb old rail has lost his mind. So that being said .... Growing up, and driving, or being driven over the old 23rd St Viaduct, you went by the CB...
Dallas Atkins Roundhouse General Foreman BN 23rd Street Denver, CO
Things break, and on the railroad it does. I got called after a railroad strike for an Extra North out of Pueblo, CO. We were out for 3 days, and the President, who doesn’t care about affiliat...
Water Trailer Big Lift and a few hacks
A call on the radio, “Can ya inspect our DP’s?” “Yeah bring ‘em on” I had a cheat sheet, and on LISS (Locomotive Information Service System) I had an idea on what was on the rear DP consist. ...
A load test GE EVO or ES-44
You may have heard the term or may not Load boxing. Back when I was in the shops, if you needed to check for main generator output you load boxed em. They rigged a set of old dynamic brake gri...
Newer AMTRAK Power
AMTRAK has evolved over the years since its inception. When the US Government, instituted AMTRAK, they had no locomotives, or cars. Thinking back, how silly was that, and what was the overall p...
Naperville, IL 1995 early spring AMTRAK / METRA
I was off on rotation. I can’t remember whether I was day or nights. Kids are home from school, but at friends. The edict 630 no later, I am picking your mom up at the Naperville Train stat...
Fireman training tales Part 2
I was running as a promoted engineer. I had a fireman working the program, with me this trip. Steve had left the ranks of management, with the Santa Fe, by a personal choice, and was allowed t...
Fireman training tales
I got a nice e-mail from a young man who was training to be an engineer, shortly after I came back running an engine. He sent note, this past Christmas 2015. He has since become a Road Foreman ...
Notes From the Troubleshooters Notebook Part 2
0955- 1000 (circled was the 203 inspection card log time) -1035 9671 2206 gallons 9712 mem battery ( computer memory back up battery) TCC2 under voltage ( Number 2 truck TM’s 4-5-6 not at ful...
Notes From the Troubleshooters Notebook
I have written several entries about when I did the flood re-routes in the “Corridor”, the three mainlines, CTC Littleton to CTC South Denver. Then Main 1, Main 2 , Hogans Alley siding and LODO ...
AMTRAK a short entry 1974
I was called for an extra south, on Saturday morning. I was still in the training program. Gordon Euell was the engineer. We reported to the 23rd Street roundhouse, only to be told that the p...
AMTRAK musings power etc Part 2
I can’t remember the actual date. I was firing, but we had to come over to 31st Street for the power. They had shut down, the C&S 7th Street roundhouse facility, at Rice Yard, but still ope...
AMTRAK musings power etc Part 1
AMTRAK became a government project to keep passenger trains running in 1971. The Class 1 railroads, basically left the passenger business, for more profitable TOFC/COFC, Coal Grain and Red Ball ...
La Junta, CO The Capri Motel and other stuff Part 3
I guess this is the last entry about La Junta. I’ll show some passenger stuff. The La Junta Depot. Many passenger trains have stopped here. The Super Chief and the El Capitain, both east and ...
La Junta, CO The Capri Motel and other stuff Part 2
Aerial photo of the La Junta Metroplex :P. The RED SQUARE, is the old Capri. La Junta Feed. On the US 50 By-Pass ass well across from the depot. An old condemned Hopper is the distribution...
La Junta, CO The Capri Motel and other stuff Part 1
I crew changed here on the Interdivisional “Q” trains in the late 80’s to early 90’s. La Junta was 2200 population at that time. It is the county seat for Otero County. I visited La Junta, wh...
Ed Sewell Extra Yardmaster. Part 3
Ed is working the 3rd trick again, and Pam is on vacation. We look at the train its on track 37 in the yard. No double over. The Conductor is getting the paperwork ready. Kenny and me head ...
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.
