Entries 399
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Gene Barnes Pueblo Yard Switchman- Conductor Pueblo Sub
It would be an understatement, if you said that Gene was a unique character. Gene was opinionated, a good rail to work with, and a practical joker as well. A preface, to the story below, I wor...
Ed Sewell Extra Yardmaster. Part 2
I took a work train, that originated out of Big Lift. Was 15 minutes from home, Sunday off. Sometimes a half of Saturday, was offered due to staging empties and waiting for the next weeks arr...
Ed Sewell Extra Yardmaster. Part 1
What can I say about Ed. We found out Ed, worked as a trainman out of Newton, KS and did Yardmaster work there. He wasn’t well received, because he was, well basically did stupid things. Ed p...
PAM the Night BNSF 31st ST Yardmaster a Quick tale
Pam worked the “Third Trick” or the 2300 to 0700 shift as a yardmaster. She basically did as instructed. She retired about 6 months before I did. She led a hard life, was divorced, and worked...
North Bound Train Stall Postash Train Monument, CO
I am back running an engine, after being cut-off at the NOC. I took the DENPUE ( Denver / Pueblo), shortly after the South Loop Inter-divisional was instituted. The hours were horrid. On du...
Train stall NOC North Central Power Desk Joint-Line summer 1999
I was working the Southwest Power desk on a warm week day. I was on the day rotation and with the usual people I worked with. The North Central man, worked the coal fields in the Powder River B...
An Old Railroad Safety Video
Okay this is old. But the semantics still hold true. Steam yes…on and off cars moving yes … Us old farts…been there done that. But this is “basic” railroading 101. Still holds true T...
Corridor Mentor MP 3.8 Main 2 Locked Axle Coal Empty DP Consist.
We are still in the flood re-route mode, during the summer of 2011. Trainman who are promoted engineers, and have gone elsewhere on the system, are being called back. This is not only happening ...
Locked up Traction Motor change out CP Railway
This is how they change out locked up traction motors out in the field. The Santa Fe at one time used to take off the traction motor gear case off, cut the pinon, if wheel damage due to flats sp...
Loading of TOFC (intermodal) and COFC (stack/containers) onto rail cars.
I have written about BIG LIFT and the TOFC and COFC intermodal trains we operated out of there. BN, now BNSF out of Denver has an Intermodal facility that utilized piggy packers. I believe the ...
Engineer Qualifying Trip Back, Train 594
Barney Steele told me and the crew caller to call us out on 10 hours rest, regardless of train. So it could be basically anything. Well it turned out to be the 594. The 594 was late, and is us...
Engineer Qualifying Trip June 1974
I know I have written about this, but it maybe an Old Open Diary piece. So again my apologies. Six weeks of intensive schooling, simulations, air, air equipment, train orders, operating rules an...
TThe Ft Worth & Western and the Carrolton / Hodge Local
Southlake Texas… Summer/ late Fall 1998: It was a weekend. I am on days off, I can’t remember the day or night rotation. I am on days off, doing yard chores, and a happy camper. Maybe the wi...
Slag unloading at a steel mill
CF&I ( Colorado Fuel & Iron ) was a working blast furnace(s) for steel making. We’d get refined red ore and taconite out of the BN’s origination’s. We would deliver to Minnequa at the M...
SD-9's A drag engine, Road switcher, Yard goat, a Saga
I have written in the past about SD-9’s. These units, along with the SD-7 were EMD’s first six powered axle locomotives. The SD-7 and SD-9 basically look alike, except for a few minor cosmetic ...
Pisser Bill .. A related Railroad expirence, ex BN
I worked power with these guys in Ft Worth. Gary Schimdt, was a former Dispatcher, Assistant Chief with the old BN out of Laurel, Montana. I worked with Gary off an on in odd power rotation....
Pueblo Yard mid '74 to '76 Part 3 I am on a Road Job
Okay, I never condoned this, I never was pulled for Rule G, which and still is substance abuse. It is what it is, we policed ourselves, and if ya had to ya bad ordered a crew. Train 151 ...
Pueblo Yard mid '74 to '76 Part 2
Yep, the “road guy” doing penance in the yard. I am on an afternoon goat, we did a few chores on the south lead, and now it is Rio Grande transfer time. Paul McKinnon is going to see tha...
Pueblo Yard mid '74 to '76 Part 1
I may have written this in OD for those that remember the site. So if a repeat, bear with and old fart lol. I got forced to Pueblo Yard many times in my career, and a funny thi...
What do you see or perceive in a Picture
Okay.. you’re thinking, a brakeman, giving signals to back up into the consist. This is what I see. I may give two scenarios, but what do I know. Your eyes see two locomotives, yes a Milwau...
U-30-CG Fountain, CO Don't break our Aquarium
The Train 424, which we dubbed the “Night crawler” and 800 pm on duty, wow how lucky are we? Usually the 424 was a 0001 to 200 am, beat down after the 152 was called. We had our usual ...
Santa Fe U-28 and 30-CG's Tales on the Road
I wrote a few times back on the Santa Fe 444 southbound and 434 northbound. Well our “friends” the U-28-CG’s and U-30-CG’s, managed to find their way up here. Along with a mish-mash of GP se...
Santa Fe U-28 and 30-CG's an Introduction Part 1
The U-28-CG and the U-30-CG model series were General Electrics move into Passenger locomotives. They still, may “dabble’, with orders from AMTRAK. The U-28-CG ( U, Universal-28, 2800 horsepower...
Extra South BN U-30-C's 1976
It is a waning late winter or an early spring. We had a good size storm, but most was due south of the Denver Metro. It was on the route I worked. I was holding a regular pool turn, I am st...
Stuff on the Railroad
Ya think of stuff. We all do White Hog: The White Hog was a tagged D&RGW Bulkhead freight car, it had a crude stick figure Pig with the words White Hog. Importance, none, but we p...
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.
