Track Warrants

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Issue No. 31
October 18, 1996

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MoPac 9026 on the UP near Manteca, CA. August 1988
Photo by: Steve Sloan ©

EDITORIAL

THIS ISSUE CARRYING GREEN FLAGS

This issue is the second of three sections following containing news covering the period ending Oct. 05. Again, I am sorry about the delay. The third and final section is immediately following and next week we will have new news.

Also, my mail list is still out of date. These issues are going to the same list as issue 29.

Thank you for your patience:
Steve

CN

JIM BROCK ASSESMENT

The following was posted to CNet (the e-mail group of the CN Lines SIG) by Jim Brock:

I have had the opportunity to read the entire Rail Sciences Inc. report on the Yates wreck. I found it to be well written and easy to follow. (Brock says,) The conclusions of the report on the cause of the accident are as follows:

Primary causes:

1. Failure of yard crew to apply sufficient handbrakes to hold cars.
2. Failure of yard crew to test the holding power of the brakes

Contributing factors:

1. Lack of a derail at east end of Edson yard
2. Lack of an audio alarm to alert the dispatcher to uncontrolled car movement.
3. Failure of dispatcher to conclude that unexplained track signals were an uncontrolled movement.

I'm going to go over the report again, as there is a lot of detail to take in (it's 15 pages, 8.5 x 11, single spaced).

I will not be making any "editorial" comment at this time except to say that the stories I've seen in the press seem to ignore or convolute some of the facts.
Jim

I'll forward any other details he adds. I've also heard on the news that the fired employees and their union are grieving CN's actions.
via The Railroad List , (RAILROAD@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU), via Ian Cranstone

ACCORDING TO CANADIAN PRESS REPORTS

According to Canadian press reports, two fired CN Rail workers say they've been made scapegoats after a company-commissioned report blamed them for the Edison train crash west of Edmonton that killed three.

"We did nothing wrong," Ed Moore, a 12-year CN employee, told CBC Radio. "We did our jobs that night. I think we are scapegoats... They kind of tossed us off to the side here, let us take all the burden on our shoulders... We have remorse over the loss of our friends (but) we have no guilt feelings over our performance that night."

Moore and Mike Sherbluck were fired Thursday after the release of the report written by Atlanta, Ga.-based Rail Sciences, Inc. The report found the cars rolled onto the main line because the yard crew hadn't tightened the hand brakes enough or tested them to make sure they were holding. But the report also said the lack of a derail on the siding leading to the main line contributed to the tragedy CN had removed a derail, which would have flipped the loose cars off the track, in 1989.

The United Transportation Union plans to fight the firings.
via Dave Bono

M&ET

WHAT'S HAPPENING ON THE M&ET

Sep23--Being an employeee at tri-valley growers', here in Modesto, I am always keeping an eye out for what's happening on the M&ET. Today I found an interesting event occuring just north of plant #7 - in A yard were M&ET stores its heavy metal (eg. rails, switches, tie plates).

There had been an old passenger car sitting out in the back of the yard for many a year. About a month ago, as I was driving past the yard a group of neatly dressed business people were standing around this car. seem as if they were inspecting it. Anyway, today me and a fellow employee noticed a crane and other moving equipment (eg. dollies). We began to conclude that a group of individuals purchased it from M&ET and were in the process of moving it.

Two hours later, between 11:30am and 12:00 noon,we were leaving for lunch and low-and-behold heading right at us was the passenger car, being towed on dollies heading west down Tenaya Drive from Riverside Drive. the first thing I noticed was how the car flexed as it was traveling over bumps in the roadway.

Did a little research on the background of this car. According to the information printed in the spring 1994 issue of the tidewater journal, the car was M&ET #1642 (passenger coach #10). Modesto and Empire Traction began primarily with passenger service on a 5-mile stretch between Modesto and Empire. The coach was brought into service in 1911 from the Southern Pacific. for six years it traversed this stretch, which is currently running parallel with Yosemite Ave.

After six years, however passenger service was abandoned (1917). After being retired the car was used as an office for a local junk yard on River Rd. in Modesto. It then ended up at M&ET's supply yard.

My only question to you or anybody else out there is, who purchased it ? Hope this information can help out. I enjoy reading track warrants very much and keep up the good work!
Robert Silva

SP

IN EMERYVILLE SAW A STRANGE SIGHT

Oct03--I just signed up a week or so ago. but while out filming today in Emeryville saw a strange sight thought you might find interesting. SP engine #9368 with the Southern Pacific identification pulled off and the Union Pacific chalked in where the SP used to be. It was pulling a special consist of three cars: the plaza Santa Fe (#503); the native son (old up vista dome); and the silver lariat (old sp vista dome). All the shades were drawn on all cars so I assume nobody was aboard and this special was headed somewhere to pick folks up.

I have been filming the pedestrian crossover at the Emeryville depot being constructed and put in place as well as the i-80/i-880 interchange construction. lots of changes in this area. hope to contribute in the future
Rolland Meyers

DESERT SOLITAIRE
A VISIT TO THE FORMER SP OGDEN LINE AND FORMER WP 6TH SUB

During September 19-21, 1996, I visited the Elko and Palisade Canyon areas of north-central Nevada along the former Western Pacific (FWP) and former Southern Pacific (FSP) trackage now owned by the Union Pacific Railroad (UP). Since World War I, the FSP and FWP lines have operated on what is known as the "Paired-Track" arrangement on the double track main line through this area. Eastbound trains used the FWP while westbound trains used the FSP. So, even before UP's purchase of the FSP, rail operations in the Elko area have always presented a "merger-like" appearance.

Thursday morning September 19 dawned overcast in Elko with snow on the peaks of the nearby mountains. This was in conflict with that day's statewide weather forecast but later in the day the clouds fled for the remainder of the week. It would be a TRI-X morning and mid-day. Just before nooon, I drove into the downtown area looking for any reminders of FWP and FSP facilities. Aside from a turquoise water tank and a few active industrial spurs, nothing remained. Both the FWP and FSP main lines had been relocated to the south of the downtown area in the mid-1980's, complete with street and pedestrian overpasses. Sound walls and cyclone fences cocooned the main line. This is the type of alignment the city of Reno should have done when they had the chance. Even the Amtrak "Am Shed" station prevented access to the tracks. A sign on the cyclone fence read: "Conductor will unlock gate for passengers." Amtrak trains 5 and 6, the California Zephyrs, make nocturnal stops in town.

A highway overpass embankment provided a good perch under the brightening overcast to photograph trains passing the depot. While walking up the depot, an Elko city police car drove up next to my parked truck and the officer began looking inside. I hollered down from the embankment at the officer. He waved and got on his public address system and said, "Train pictures? You've got more patience than I do." He then drove into the depot parking area and stopped to talk with the occupant of a black Ford Bronco (let's face it; every one in Nevada drives either a pick-up truck or a 4 wheel drive; the dirt roads are better than many of Santa Clara County's paved ones). A few minutes later, they both drove off right before the westbound UP "CSOAZ" container train led by three EMD SD60M's came through the depot.

Meanwhile, the westbound FSP "SNTAC" (Sunnyside, Utah mine to Trona, California) loaded unit coal train had "gone on the law" in the middle of UP's Elko yard but a relief crew was awaiting them. Soon, the train was zipping along at 55 mph past the Am Shed, led by GE AC4400CW 306 and two sisters. UP plans to reroute all of the FSP southern California-destined unit coal trains off of the Overland Route to the Los Angeles & Salt Lake route. This will shorten the traveling route for these trains by over 200 miles.

A few minutes behind the SNTAC was the UP Valmy, NV unit coal train. It was led by a CNW GE widecab, a UP SD60 and an MPI SD40 and had a long string of graffiti-free coal hoppers -- all with VALM reporting marks. I heard an eastbound train radio a "highball" to the coal train and soon saw the UP "STNP" blast under the overpass. It was led by ex-CNW SD50 5078, Conrail GE lease fleet C30-7 543 and CNW SD40-2 6886. Another eastbound was close behind him so I decided to abandon the overpass and head for east end of town where the new UP yard and crew-change facility was.

The yard is, appropriately, off "Union Pacific Way." The FSP main line runs north of the UP facility. Paved roads lead right to the main line fuel rack, the yard office and the hangar-like car repair facility. A pair of ex-MP GP15-1's served as the yard switcher, using 160.740 MHz for their radio channel. The STNP was in the process of being fueled while it awaited its new crew. A westbound FSP "ROEUM" led by two dirty SP tunnel motors and a GE DASH 8 popped into the yard and continued on towards the FSP crew-change point to the west in Carlin. This was a Modoc Line train. After it passed, the STNP departed and the eastbound train behind it, the "OANP" made its way slowly into the yard, led by SD40-2 3268, C30-7 2659 and SD40-2 3679. I photographed it passing the UP "Feather River Service Unit" sign at the entrance to the yard. I then noticed a public gravel road on a bluff to the south of the yard back towards town. I drove on to it and found it to be an excellent vantage point to observe the train action at the west end of the yard without power lines or getting in anyone's way.

A headlight appeared behind the OANP. It was an eastbound UP empty grain train led by CNW GE C44-9W 8655 and UP SD40-2 3428. Still another headlight poked into view behind this train. It appeared that the eastbound main line had become gridlocked, but why? Monitoring the UP (160.470) and FSP (161.550) railroad radio channels revealed that some sort of single-tracking was in progress in the Elburz area crossovers several miles east of town. The UP and FSP train dispatchers seemed to having a contest as to who could stack up the most trains at each end of this bottleneck. Caught in the middle was an FSP flagman who was trying to direct things. The UP dispatcher wanted to turn her trains loose to the east and the FSP dispatcher wanted his westbounds through first.

The OANP finally moved on and the grain train was given permission to proceed east. The train behind the empty grain train turned out to be the FSP "EUCHQ" which is a Modoc Line train.. It had the bizarre but colorful consist of Conrail SD60 6848, SP SD45T-2 9213, CP Rail SD40-2 5345, CP Rail high-hood SD40-2B 5482 and SSW SD45T-2 9265. Again, things ground to a halt as crews were changed on the grain train and air tests were made. The EUCHQ crew radioed the dispatcher that they needed to take fuel at Elko, although the two CP Rail units in this train were dead. It was now about 2pm and things started to slow down although nothing could move. There had not been any eastbound trains since the early afternoon's passing of the FSP "ROEUM."

No more westbound UP trains appeared that day despite the sun coming out. At about 3pm, the eastbound FSP "RVKCM" led by a pair of GE AC4400CW's, rolled past and eastward towards Ogden. 35 minutes later, the eastbound FSP "ASRVM-15" led by still another pair of GE AC4400CW's, 129 and 184, came through the UP fueling area on to a connecting track to the westbound main line. About one hour later, another FSP "ASRVM," this time led by filthy SP SD40T-2 8556, Conrail SD60M 6185 and SP SD40T-2 8569 again came through the fueling area and via the connecting track to the westbound main line. 8556 would be the last dirty SP unit I would see leading a train in this area during my trip. As sunset approached, the FSP managed to send one more train west, led with clean locomotives at that. The "KCRVT" (Kansas City to Roseville Trailers) again took the connecting track route from the eastbound to the westbound main line at about 6:15pm. It was led by sparkling SSW GP60 9625, SD40R 7331, GP60 9688 and SSW GE DASH 8-40B 8063. Now it was time for dinner and rest.

Friday September 20 dawned sunny and clear. This time, I would abandon the city for Palisade Canyon west of Carlin. I took a brief detour to Carlin to photograph the FSP yard office. Only westbound trains stop here as eastbound trains use the FWP a few blocks south of the area. It is similar in design to the FSP Tracy, California yard office. There is also a crew locker room nearly identical to that next to the FSP Newhall Street yard office in San Jose. A small yard is located here and is the home terminal for the "Carlin-Lovelock Local" (on duty at 12 noon M/W/F; it returns east on TU/TH/SAT; another "Lovelock Local" is based in Sparks). The desert here has a number of chemical and mineral industries which are served by rail. These support the existence of the Lovelock Locals as well as UP's Winnemucca-Elko "Paired-Track Local." A school in Carlin has a boxcar red bay window caboose on its athletic field, unlettered, but probably ex-SP.

Palisade Canyon is reached by driving south on Nevada state route 278 from Carlin. After crossing the FSP and FWP main lines, the road climbs a bluff along the east side of the canyon which gives an excellent view of the trackage. The Humboldt River bisects the main lines. Telephone poles pollute the view of the eastbound FWP tracks. I continued south on route 278 and turned right on to a dirt road that leads to the two main lines. The trackage, which disappeared from road view in the canyon, re-appeared in the distance across an irrigated field. The dirt road continues up the side of the mountain which contains FSP tunnel 1 and FWP tunnels 39 and 40 respectively. The dirt road then slopes back down to the townsite of Palisade, one a typical "Wild West" frontier city, now reduced to a large ranch house and some scattered but crumbling outbuildings. A new concrete highway bridge crosses the river. The old one to the southeast is long gone but the "weight limit 16 tons" sign remains; Eureka County is in no hurry to retrieve it for use elsewhere.

The Palisade Canyon area offers many vantage points for photography. I parked off the dirt road on top of the tunnels hoping for eastbound trains before the sun angle changed. Instead, a westbound UP NPST popped out of tunnel 1 at about 10am. I then drove down a rocky jeep trail to just outside tunnel 1 and parked. Each main line crosses the Humboldt River here via two trus bridges; FSP's is black and the FWP's is silver. Twenty minutes later, I was then able to photograph the next UP train, a westbound doublestack led by three SD60Ms, blasting out of the tunnel. Things then dried up traffic-wise so I drove along the dirt road that paralleled the FSP trackage east into the canyon area in the Palisade "ghost town" area along the riverbed. The FSP crosses the river on another black truss bridge just east of tunnel one as depicted in Gordon Glattberg's beautiful shot (on the cover of the August 1995 Pacific RailNews) from October, 1964 of a PA-powered westbound mail train. The chiseled cliffs soar high above main lines. The FWP trackage is carved out of the side of the canyon and has telephone pole lines clinging to its side. Slide detector fences have no shortage of employment here.

Near the end of the spur near what was probably the old depot site, I photographed a westbound UP doublestack train led by UP GE DASH 8-41CW's 9511 and 9515 which rolled by at about 12:20pm. The sun continued to move westward and I again drove deeper into the canyon where the tracks curved to the northeast. At 1:50pm, clean SD45T-2's 9308 and 9385 lead the westbound FSP "KCOAT" with a long string of autoracks and piggyback trailers. Beyond this spot, about FSP milepost 526.5, the road splits into several more dirt roads. Another spur came off the FSP main line here to a gravel loading dock. Farther up the rugged mountainside appeared to be the remains of a concrete base for some other sort of gravel or rock loading system.

I drove back out the dirt road to the "twin bridges" area. I passed a boulder the size of a Maryland colonial-style house that had crashed down from the canyon walls some time previous. No wonder the FSP moved the telephone pole line across the tracks to the riverbed side just prior to where the boulder had landed along the dirt road.

Between 3pm and 6pm, this "twin bridges" area became an excellent area for photographing westbound trains from the rocky outcropping to the west. It is reached by crossing the new concrete bridge into the "town" of Palisade's wooden wire spool picnic table area and driving on a narrow, sagebrushy dirt road that leads to a fenced gate at the tracks. This may be former Eureka & Palisade right of way, but it may not be. As soon as I drove up, the westbound FSP "Lovelock Local" with a pair of clean GP40-2's popped out of tunnel 1. After this, several eastbound UP trains passed, including a doublestack train led by a pair of CNW GE widecabs and the "Paired Track Local" led by SD40-2's 3442 and 3142. Finally, at 4:55pm, the westbound FSP "KCRVT" blasted out of the tunnel and crossed the truss bridge. It was led by sparkling clean SD40T-2 8397 and SD45R's 7406 and 7427. With the FSP train dispatcher announcing on the radio that no more westbounds were coming for several hours, I climbed down from the cliff and drove back to my Elko motel.

Saturday September 21 was another sunny day. I drove back to Palisade Canyon but this time chose to spend the morning at the east end of the canyon along state route 278. Two cowboys on horseback drove a herd of cattle north of the FSP tracks with the help of two border collies. Evidently the ranchers wanted to avoid locomotive-created hamburger as the FSP Carlin yard office radioed a westbound UP doublestack track warning them about the cattle drive. By the time the train showed up at about 8:35am, the cattle were over the hill as the train rumbled by, led by a pair of CNW EMD six axle units. 35 minutes later, the eastbound FSP "RIGVC/LBUTC" combination loaded Richmond coke/empty Long Beach coal train exited the canyon led by three GE AC4400CWs. Ten minutes later, it was followed by the UP MINPBV led by GE DASH 9-44CW 9712 and a CNW DASH 8. It was here I discoverd that the UP detector at milepost 639.1 transmits on both the UP (160.470) and FSP (161.550) road channels, although it identifies itself as an SP detector. A road repeater on 160.575 has an FCC license on the FSP for this area, but I forgot to program it in and the "railfan timetable" (COPYWRIGHT WARNING!) had no listing for it. A bunch of radio equipment and antennae were on the top of the hill through which tunnel 1 passes. With the light angle changing, I drove back on state route 278 and again turned off on to the dirt road to Palisade.

Back inside the canyon at 10:15am, UP sent the westbound "NPST" with SD40-2 3297 and ex-MP SD50 5050. 40 minutes later, it was followed by the UP "NPOAT" led by C44-9 9706 and three SD40-2's. The FSP finally got into the act when the westbound "KCOAT" showed up at 11:45am with a sparkling clean trio of SD45T-2s (9391, 9400, 9392). Right on his blocks was the UP "Paired Track Local" with the same SD40-2 pair which had come east the day before. With the light angle changing and another westbound due into Carlin for a crew change, I drove back to state route 278 to await its passage. The FSP presented a hint of things to come when the eastbound "EUCHQ" rolled by at 12:45pm with two Wisconsin Central EMD SD40-2's sandwiching two SP EMD units. Why was all of this weird pool power running on Modoc Line trains? 30 minutes later, a Kodak moment was in effect when a solid set of relatively clean D&RGW SD40T-2's (5343, 5363, 5357 and 5353) led the westbound 2-RORVM1-20. More photo opportunities were realized when axle 84 popped the hotbox detector at milepost 529.7 across the canyon from me. This permitted me to change lenses on the 35mm slide and 120mm black & white cameras and get different photo angles of this now-rare consist. A Nevada Department of Forestry fire truck even pulled over and began looking at the train and then drove off. I didn't volunteer that the train was stopped due to an overheated freight car axle. When the RORVM radioed the FSP dispatcher to inform them of their problem, the dispatcher told them to take their time, as the next train wouldn't be run for 4 hours. The train then went and set the now-bad order car out on the Palisade spur.

With no more westbounds running and clouds beginning to fill the sky, I decided to begin my return to the San Francisco bay area, with an overnight stop in Winnemucca. I saw several eastbound trains while driving along I-80 but there were no westbounds. The RORVM eventually caught up with me in Winnemucca and I photographed the train passing the paint-less FSP freight shed there, under cloudy skies. The sun came out one more time and I took the opportunity to photograph the new UP Winnemucca freight office. Then it was time for fuel, Arby's roast beef sandwiches and Southeastern Conference college football (LSU at Auburn Univ.) on ESPN cable television in the motel.

The next morning, a huge cloud blocked the sun over town while blue skies prevailed everywhere else. The eastbound UP "STEK" with CNW GE C44-9W's 8700 and 8629 sandwiching UP SD60s 6020 and 6285 was switching in the modest yard. I committed this train to TRI-X from the U.S. highway 95 overpass, albeit with power line pollution. Wanting a leisurely drive west back to Silicon Valley, I didn't wait for the eastbound OANP that was coming and hit I-80 west. The sun came out and stayed out just west of town for the remainder of my trip.

I stopped in Lovelock to photograph the boarded up FSP passenger depot and freight shed. I drove into the freight yard which is located west of the depot area. SP C-50-9 bay window caboose 4666 (built 3/79) was on a spur but still in good shape (no graffiti or busted windows) and is still on the active roster. The yard was full of old DRGW hoppers. No motive power around as Sunday is the day off at the home terminal for the FSP "Lovelock Local."

Back on I-80, I continued on to Sparks. A westbound FSP freight had to rearrange its consist at Fernley but that was all of the action on the SP for the remainder of my trip to the state line. Sparks was devoid of any motive power except for GP40-2M yard switcher 7109. Fortunately, I was finally able to shoot the depot from trackside as freight cars were not blocking the view of it. An added treat was a clean orange DRGW cupola caboose 01427 on the tail end of an empty ribbon rail train parked near the Nugget Casino in the west end of the yard.

After rostering a few clean ATSF and GTW freight cars (along with a very clean SP "Speed-Lettered" boxcar) in the yard, I drove to north Reno to check out the UP intermodal yard. Driving up the hill on a dirt road next to the yard brings one to a great high vantage point to photograph the freight trailer office and the intermodal cars being unloaded. No motive power around nor was the "Reno Local" nearby. This hill has large high tension wire towers on its summit. Farther north on this hilltop, "executive homes" are being built that face the city and give an excellent view of same.

My last stop was in Truckee where raggedy, letter-less GP40-2 7624 (but still with gyralights and redlight on the front) was tied up on a cabooseless work train. An unlettered, wooden bay window caboose painted green was on disconnected track south of the FSP depot.
MATT VUREK

I can't answer your question Matt but I can tell you that the CP SD40-2B unit you saw seems to be a regular on the Modoc line. Two weeks ago when I was up there I saw it twice!! Also I saw two WC units on a very short westbound train out of Wendel (one was dead). In all I saw at least 6 CP units(mostly SD40-2), 2 WC units(SD45s), one NS Dash9(non-wide cab), and one Conrail Dash8(non-wide cab). All in all there was as much foreign power as there was SP power. One train I saw arriving westbound into Wendel had a dirty tunnel motor on the point with 3 clean CP SD40-2s following!! As for the work being done on the modoc line there were at least 3 work crews replacing rail, ties, and regulating balast. On my last day I was talking to the conductor of a train at Wendel and asked about the slow orders. He said there were only a few 10mph orders left and they should be gone within a few days. So it now only takes about 8-10 hours to cover from Wendel to K-Falls.
"Trainman"

CONTINUED

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