Brakeshoe Bob ⋅ 73 ⋅
I am a retired Railroad Locomotive Engineer. I hired out with the BN in September of 72 as a machinist and went with the Santa Fe in engine service in 1973 as a Locomotive Fireman. I was promoted to Locomotive Engineer in July 1974. I retired in September 2012 after 40 years. During the period I ran the Joint-Line (Denver to Pueblo,CO) and the Interdivisional between Denver and La Junta, CO. I had almost 8 years in management with the Santa Fe and BNSF.
Entries 470
Page 12 of 19
Sedalia Turn The older days 1978 in Tales of the Jointed Track
I liked the Sedalia Turn, it was picking up and switching out. We usually got a GP-38 or a worn out GP-20. Sometimes.. an old C&S SD-9. Logistics on how the ATSF and the C&S worked t...
I took my son to work. He can’t drive due to Epilepsy and other issues. I think he’s finally getting his head “out”. He stays with us on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Snow has been in the foreca...
Corridor mentor Job Stuff, Flood reroutes summer 2011 in Tales of the Jointed Track
I got up at 530 am. Cup of coffee, and logged into the mainframe from home. I look in TRNBRO,( train browse) for an inbound look coming into Denver from the south. What is called or going to be ...
Cal Jewel machinist Air Shop Denver 23rd St Roundhouse in Tales of the Jointed Track
I was with Cal that day, why because he was the air man at the shop, and it was my turn to break in with him. Calvin Jewel, he was also the Local Chairman for the Machinist union and oversaw, al...
Sun Kink MP 59.3 single track between Monument and Academy, CO in Tales of the Jointed Track
We are single track now, Between Palmer Lake and Crews. This is CTC operation, mostly Rio Grande track owned till, mid siding, at Kelker, then was Santa Fe track from MP 659.9 (old Santa Fe) cu...
1986 Big Lift Local Englewood,CO Windemere Ave in Tales of the Jointed Track
This came to me today. Why? because I was driving around this area. I had to deliver a form to one of my sons, and it needed to be signed. We used to switch industries here, before lite rail and ...
Broken Rail Aequia on the northbound mainline, 1979 in Tales of the Jointed Track
We are coming into Acequia Siding on the northbound main line, with a coal empty. The crew was Bob Morley Conductor, Charlie Westfall, rear brakeman and Jimmy Cross was the head brakeman. I wa...
Broken rails, compromised track, and other tales Part 2 in Tales of the Jointed Track
I may have mentioned this in another entry, but the Railroads are required to ride the track every day for inspection. Maybe more, if a problem shows. An example would be a RED signal, with no ...
Broken rails, compromised track, and other tales Part 1 in Tales of the Jointed Track
Derailments, they are costly, not only to the railroad, but to the towns and cities they provide service to. As a retired railroad locomotive engineer, and a former Company officer, it has neve...
Santa Fe train 424 Leased power in Tales of the Jointed Track
During the early times, with my career on the Santa Fe and the Joint Line, there were business and economic changes . There was a time when I was barely hanging on, as a railroad fireman. I was...
Adam Traudt Machinist and the Vapor Clarkson Steam Generators in Tales of the Jointed Track
We still worked the passenger units as needed or requested. I was going through the tops. The pipe fitters were draining the steam generators and ready to clean the scale out of the pipes. This ...
Well a day late and a dollar short. The kitchen is done, the poor ol Coops has passed. Here are the pictures. I didn’t take the pictures right away. I probably took before pics that since hav...
J-SLE The runaway coal train Part 2 in Tales of the Jointed Track
The Caboose was attached and the air cut in. The false brake pipe showed 75 on the rear, which was legal. I doubt the engineer, felt that this was okay, when they were running around the Caboos...
J-SLE The runaway coal train in Tales of the Jointed Track
I wasn’t involved in this, and I wasn’t on this train. I was called to shove up a train, and we were held at Sedalia, Co on the southbound. We had instructions, not to proceed past MP 24.5 via...
Russell Heath Part 2 in Tales of the Jointed Track
Dahkerry’s and the Ba’Haymas: As I wrote at the start, Russell liked motorcycles. He rode with another engineer, Bill Butler. Bill was the engineer on the 1st Beer Run on the C&S, out of D...
Russell was a one of a kind. He was a decent engineer, but his downfall was that most of the people he worked with, he was hateful, resentful, disagreeable, and a general unpleasant person . I b...
Marti in Tales of the Jointed Track
I was working a local, by choice, and our Conductor marked off the trip. It was a Wednesday, we have to go to the “Springs” , to switch the industries there. The brakeman, Pres Cordova, was ste...
The AA062 or the J-CCE, Comanche out of Denver in Tales of the Jointed Track
Ah the BN, pass it off to the next crew, just get it out of “our” terminal. Plus were were Santa Fe, and then hey it’s okay. We get called for a load, yeah no big deal its a load. We have a Ca...
The new trainmaster Pueblo yard 2009 in Tales of the Jointed Track
Wow… they are getting young. They also are clueless, and if they don’t get their asses chewed out by upper Division management, or the crews can have their way with them, you can see the frustrat...
When I hired out, the engine crews were paid on the basis of weight on drivers. I see the question “What is that?” You add up the weight of each locomotive in your consist, totaled up, and loo...
Frozen ... weather & Locomotives .. part two. in Tales of the Jointed Track
The load leaves, all is good or is it ? NOT. I am close to a 7/11, my dinner is cold. I go for a BIG Coffee, and the next best thing, “ROLLER FOOD”. A well done, over cooked, shriveled up Hot Dog...
Frozen ... weather & Locomotives part 1 in Tales of the Jointed Track
As a troubleshooter,I was working again, another night rotation. At the time we traded off at the 31st Street yard office. We locked up the truck, we had valet keys, hid the ignition and the pho...
Ed Hamilton Santa Fe Engineer in Tales of the Jointed Track
I hired out in 1973, in engine service for the Santa Fe Railroad. I rounded out a forty year career till I retired in 2012. Yeah math doesn’t add up, but I had a year and a half with the BN, ...
Caboose hops WayCar lites... semantics in Tales of the Jointed Track
These were predominant in my early railroad career. Caboose hops were multi- functional at that time. They were reposition moves for Cabooses need at the terminal, locomotive reposition move...
I loved and respected Harold, I really did. Even though I am not BN now, I still report out of the Denver BN 23rd Street roundhouse. The year is probably mid ‘80’s , and I visit everybody as I ca...
