Track Warrants

ATSF

First, thanks for TRACK WARRANTS. It's a nice thing to find in my E-Mail box.

Next, the Santa Fe 212 and 205 have both passed my house today. The 212 was second in the locomotive consist, and was joining two 500- series (-8-40BW?) and a GP-60M.

The 205 was on the point and I was so excited that I missed the rest of the consist. Both trains were mixed double-stack/TOFC.
Thanks again
Earl
Earl Needham

CONRAIL

On another note, no SP AC deliveries have been made all week. The last units that came by Berea Ohio were 118 on Sunday April 30. Since then no units have been delivered. This info comes from the official motive power computer screen that CR operates for its employees. When the deliveries are resumed is anybody's guess. It may have something to do with the problems that SP is having with the new units. I'm sure they'll fix it soon, too much $$$ at stake :)
William J. G. Frey & son

METROLINK/SAN DIEGO NORTHERN

On the weekend of May 6, the San Diego Northern cut in the siding at Los Flores. The west end is CP Pulgas and the east end is CP Flores. As an interesting side light, the control points were named CP Las Pulgas and CP Las Flores until the signals were actually put into service; their names were probably too similar and could have caused confusion.

In Track Warrants Issue #2, we reported that construction had begun on a support yard at Stuart. This week, the first track and a switch for a second track were laid and a ballast gang started work using a dump truck on a special self propelled flat car. The maintenance of way cars that had been stored at the old siding of Stuart (on the land side of the mainline) are now stored on the west leg of the Fallbrook wye, along with one of SDNX's blue MP15DC's.
Ron Lehmer

NS

It is a fact that NS will pick up some more CP traffic through Ohio. They now run trains 083 and 084. From reliable sources within NS, CP will run up to 8 more trains through Northern Ohio. It is said to happen by end of June 1995. Reportedly CP/NS is training new crews for these trains. Goodie goodie, more CP dual flag schemes through our part of the world. Knowing how power short CP is, can't wait for the power combinations they can dream up for these trains :)
William J. G. Frey & son

SOUTHERN PACIFIC

Read that NS delivered some SP AC units. Hopefully it was only because CR had their line blocked and the regular deliveries come back to CR. If not we will have to move our viewing fanaticism to Rocky River Ohio to see the NS stuff with SP.
William J. G. Frey & son

==========================================================================

Eastbound SP train SAPBM derailed approximately 17 cars at or near Muldoon, TX ( 10 miles east of Flatonia, TX on the line to Dallas-Pine Bluff) on Sunday 5/7/95. At least three eastbound trains were rerouted via Houston and then back to Hearne. The reroute trains were symbolled 1SAHED through 3SAHED and passed College Station, TX between 2PM and 3PM. The trains were probably rerouted LADAF, LBDAT, LAMFF but can not be confirmed. No westbound reroutes were noted.
Leonard Ruback

==========================================================================

Southern Pacific has been running lots of pool power into Los Angeles. Examples in the past week include:

SPL8575-SSW9628-7457-CSXT6584-SSW9627-SSW7645 LBWCM-02 @ Dolores 5/2/95
CSXT5579-CSXT5530-SPL7872-SPL7354 CICXT-05 @ Dolores 5/5/95
7842-CSXT8077-IC6031-CR6623 @ Dolores 5/8/95
SPL7320-CSXT8027-SPL8654-7446-SPL(DRGW)5350 e/b coal @ Dolores 5/9/95

CSXT B40-8 5945 was also on hand at Dolores on 5/8/95
CSXT GP40 6584 was painted in Chessie.
Ron Lehmer

UNION PACIFIC

DDA40X 6936 has been bouncing back and forth between Los Angeles and North Platte the last week or so. However, it isn't sitting still for long. It was in Los Angeles for less than six hours before heading east again.
Ron Lehmer ==========================================================================

All indications are that the actual merger of the two railroads is on a fast track. UP officials said last week that financial activities would be consolidated in May, with integration of activities extending from May to December.

UP plans to cut the combined work force by about 4 percent through a voluntary buyout at both that will be followed by involuntary cutbacks if the buyout does not reach target numbers. UP has approximately 29,000 employees, while C&NW has 6,000.

Dick Davidson, chairman, told securities analysts last week that staff reductions would begin immediately after the tender is completed.

"For all rail mergers, this will be world record time," he said. The two carriers' activities combined to produce in 1994 a railroad with $6.4 billion revenue and earnings of $838 million. In the first quarter, UP and C&NW together had revenue of $1.69 billion and operating income of $350 million.

Union Pacific said it now holds 99.5 percent of C&NW stock. UP previously owned 29.5 percent of C&NW's shares.

Completion of the tender offer, which cost UP $1.1 billion, leaves just 235,000 shares of C&NW stock outstanding.

UP said the tender prompted a change in C&NW's board, including resignation of three directors and the addition of three persons designated by UP. The other four board members, including one UP seat, will remain the same.

Brian P. Kreimendahl

==========================================================================

CHICAGO--May 5--Less than two weeks after it took over Chicago & North Western Transportation Co., Union Pacific Railroad said Thursday it will close four North Western repair shops and shift their work elsewhere.

Three of the shops are in Iowa and the other is in suburban Milwaukee. About 380 employees at the facilities will be offered transfers before school re-opens next fall.

The railroad's shops in the Chicago area will lose 9 jobs, as some maintenance work done at North Western's facility on Chicago's West Side will be moved. The bulk of the work there is done for the Metra commuter service and will not be affected.

But the west suburban Proviso shops at Northlake will gain an undisclosed number of jobs from Marshalltown, Iowa, which will lose 98 locomotive-repair jobs. Some of these jobs also will be transferred to North Little Rock, Ark., and Kansas City, Mo.

Three dozen jobs at a freight-car maintenance shop at Cudahy, Wis., will be transferred to similar facilities at Belvidere, Janesville, Wis., and DeSoto, Mo.

Hardest hit will be Clinton, Iowa, which will lose 230 jobs at the freight car, wheel and locomotive parts shops as its work is spread out to facilities in DeSoto, North Little Rock and Pocatello, Idaho, Union Pacific officials said.

Thirteen jobs at the North Western freight facility in Council Bluffs, Iowa, will be transferred to a nearby Union Pacific shop.

Union Pacific officials said they had given representatives from various unions 90 days notice of the proposed transfers as required in the contracts.

Union Pacific acquired the C&NW in a $35-per-share tender offer April 24. Early last month, Union Pacific offered buyout packages to various North Western executives at the company's Chicago headquarters.
Brian P. Kreimendahl ==========================================================================

The OANP out of Oakland about 1030 on Wednesday May 17 was lead by OAKWAY SD60 9074, probably a vagrant visitor from BN
Gerry Salsig, Martinez CA

TRACK WARRANTS

• An electronic newsletter about railroading, published on a weekly basis.
• Special editions a piece of cake for hot news!
• Yes it's time has come!
• This newsletter will be all text and distributed only via E-mail.
• It will be text only so it can be sent to anybody running any system.
• It will carry railroad news from the US-Canada-Mexico and *IT* *WILL* *BE* *FREE.* (But I may ask for VOLUNTARY contributions to defray the cost of the service I am using and the Web Site I hope to build here.)
• I will ask that all news submitters please break up your news by railroad.
• There will be minimal editing, it won't be FANCY but it will be FAST. It will be the quickest news source short of being there.
• Send this to all your friends!

FREE AD:

Flimsies

COMMENTS & EDITORIALS

EDITORIALS

BACK ON LINE:

It has been an eventful last couple of weeks. I came down with a killer flu and then finals. One of my finals was a huge web project for my multimedia class which I did on the department where I work. Those who are interested can view it on my home page via the department where I work button. It will continue in production over the summer.

Thank you all for your patience. Please don't quit sending news. We are back on the tracks and the crew is back at the throttle.
Steve Sloan
PS-I desperately need a better mailer for Mac environment. Technonerds help!

==========================================================================

OTHER

The US standard railroad gauge (distance between the rails) is 4ft 8 1/2in (1.44 m). That's an exceedingly odd number.

Why is that gauge used? Because that's the way they built them in England and the US railroads were built by English ex patriots.

Why did the English build 'em like that? Because the first rail lines were built by the same people who built the pre-railroad tramways, and that's the gauge they used.

Why did *they* use that gauge then? Because the people who built the tramways used the same jigs and tools as they used for building wagons, which used that wheel spacing.

OK! Why did the wagons use that wheel spacing? Well, if they tried to use any other spacing the wagons would break on some of the old, long distance roads, because that's the spacing of the ruts.

So who built these old rutted roads? The first long distance roads in Europe were built by Imperial Rome for the benefit of their legions. The roads have been used ever since.

And the ruts? The initial ruts, which everyone else had to match for fear of breaking their wagons, were first made by Roman war chariots. Since the chariots were made by or for Imperial Rome they were all alike in the matter of wheel spacing (ruts again).

Thus we have the answer to the original question.

The United States standard railroad gauge of 4 ft 8 1/2 in derives from the original military specification (MilSpec) for an Imperial Roman army war chariot. MisSpecs (and bureaucracies) live forever!
Internet to Sue Sloan

TRIPPING

Nine members of the Eastern Sierra RR Club went to the loop last Sunday. Gorgeous weather, green hills, and lots of action.

5/7/95 at Tehachapi Loop
0907 Sfe WB - 577, 617, 908, 802, 806 SF
1406 Sfe - 505 ,557, 7411, 562, 903, 5387, 6407, 206 h/5212, 5831 SF
Rictor Swing

TAKING STOCK

Railroad Stock Report for Thursday, 18 May 1995
   --------------------------------------------------------
            Market Data from Wednesday, 17 May 1995


Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 4422.60, down 12.45 on Wednesday.
 
                   ----------------
                   Big Board (NYSE)
                   ----------------

Line                    Symbol    High     Low     Close   Previous
===================================================================
ATSF                    SFX       23.500   23.000  23.125  23.375
Burlington Northern     BNI       59.750   58.625  58.750  59.875
CSX                     CSX       77.250   76.625  76.750  77.000
Conrail                 CRR       55.000   54.125  54.250  54.875
Norfolk Southern        NSC       65.875   65.125  65.250  65.625
Southern Pacific        RSP       17.500   16.875  17.000  17.250
Union Pacific           UNP       55.750   55.375  55.625  55.625

Illinois Central        IC        35.375   34.875  35.000  35.250
Kansas City Southern    KSU       38.125   37.750  37.875  38.125
Florida East Coast      FLA       78.000   77.250  77.375  78.000

Sea Container           SCRA      15.500   14.250  15.000  14.625
XTRA                    XTR       50.375   49.750  49.875  50.000
Greenbrier              GBX       15.250   14.750  14.750  14.875
Wabash Natl. Corp.      WNC       34.000   33.500  33.625  33.625
Trinity Ind.            TRN       40.250   40.000  40.250  40.125
Ameri. President        APS       23.875   23.625  23.875  23.875

                           ------
                           NASDAQ
                           ------

Line                    Symbol    High     Low     Close   Previous
===================================================================
J.B. Hunt               JBHT      19.375  19.000   19.250  19.187
Wisconsin Central       WCLX      55.000  54.000   54.250  55.000
RailTex                 RTEX      26.500  25.500   26.250  26.500
RailAmerica             RAIL       5.187   5.062    5.125   5.187
Providence & Worc       PWRR       8.250   8.250    8.250   8.312
Delaware Otsego         DOCP      10.250  10.250   10.250  10.250

PLEASE SEND THIS E-MAIL TO ALL YOUR RAILFAN BUDDIES.
Also, let me know if anybody else has used the name, in case I have to pick another. But I like this one, it is like FLIMSIES---gone electronic.
To subscribe send an E-mail to Stevesln@aimnet.com and say, "sign me up."

This document was last updated May 26, 1995.