FEBRUARY 1993 • ISSUE 351 $3.50 HIGHER IN CANADA

Amtrak's California Corridors

FOND FAREWELL TO THE RIO GRANDE PIONEER RAILCORP SILENCE IN THE SANDHILLS Subscribe Today to Passenger Train Journal' from the editors of PACIFIC RAILNEWS .

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8 Fond Farewell to the Rio Grande 1 A father and his sons say goodbye to a Western legend Dick Dorn

28 Amtrak's California Corridors Intercity passenger service is booming in the Golden State

Charles Seifert

34 Pioneer Railcorp: A Path Less Traveled A rail enthusiast's unusual journey into the shortline business Wayne Kuchinsky

40 Focus Minnesota: Staples Converging main lines mean nonstop Burlington Northern action

Steve Glischinski

Images: Silence in the Sandhills A Cowboy linetrain nears the crew change point at 50 Long Pine, Neb., on Sept. 27, 1989. Carl Swanson North Western ends service on Nebraska's Cowboy Line

PACIFIC RAILNEWS and PACIFIC NEWS are registered trademarks of Interurban Press, a California Corporation. I DEPARTMENTS I PUBLISHER: Mac Sebree

EDITOR: Don Gulbrandsen 4 EXPEDITER 44 BURLINGTON NORTHERN ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Andrew S. Nelson CP RAIL AMTRAK/PASSENGER ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Carl Swanson 6 45 CONTRIBUTING EDITOR: Elrond G. Lawrence 8 TRANSIT 46 CHICAGO & NORTH WESTERN EDITORIAL CONSULTANT: Dick Stephenson 10 SANTA FE 48 SOUTHERN PACIFIC ART DIRECTOR: Tom Danneman 12 REGIONALS 50 IMAGES OF RAILROADING SHORT LINES THE LAST WORD ADVERTISING MANAGER: Richard Gruber 14 54 CIRCULATION MANAGER: Bob Schneider 16 UNION PACIFIC 55 PRN ADVERTISING INDEX FOCUS MINNESOTA PRN CLASSIFIEDS © 1993 INTERURBAN PRESS 40 55 Mac Sebree. President/CEO Jim Walker, Senior Vice President Don Gulbrandsen, Vice President

COVER: An Amtrak 773 train (Santa Barbara San Diegan) pauses at the new Simi Val­ ley, Calif., Amtrak/Metrolink station. California is experiencing a boom in intercity passenger trains, and the state now boasts of three successful short-haul corri­ dors-and other exciting rail developments are on the horizon. Don R. Flynn

PACIFICRAlLNEWS (ISSN 8750·8486) is published monthly by Interurban Press (a corporation), 1741 Gardena Ave., Glendale, CA 91204. Second·class postage paid at Glendale, CA 91209 and additional mailing of· fices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: PACIFIC RAILNEWS, P.O. Box 6128, Glendale. CA 91225. SUBSCRIPTION RATES: $30 (U.S.) for 12 issues, $58 for 24 issues. Foreign add $6 for each 12 issues. Single copy $5 postpaid from Glendale office (subject to change without notice). CHANGE OF ADDRESS: The Post Office does not regularly forward 2nd Class Mail and PACIFIC RAILNEWS is not responsible for copies not forwarded or destroyed by the Post Office. Replacement copiesfPO notifications will be billed. Please allow us at least four weeks for any address change. ADVERTISING RATES: Contact Interurban Press, P.O. Box 379, Waukesha, WI 53187; (414) 542·4900. MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE: For all subscription problems and inquiries call: (800) 899·8722. Regional carrier Gateway Western gave the rural communities it serves a Christmas treat in running its third annual Santa Claus Special, between Godfrey, III., and Blue Springs, Mo., on Dec. 19-20. Here two GWWR GP38s lead the special's consist-two GWWR cabooses-in front of the depot at Slater, Mo., on Dec. 20. Enthusiastic crowds greeted the special along its entire route. Randy Woods

SP TO SHED 3,000 MILES: would begin in mid-January. SP adjacent 60-year-old bridge in­ Southern Pacific has an­ sources did confirm that lines in to the Port of Oakland, but the nounced that it plans to offer Oregon and California would California DOT thclU.ght other­ 3,000 miles of track for sale or likely be available for spinoff, as wise. That leaves just the UP lease to shortline operators in would former D&RGW branch­ and SP to work something out. the upcoming year. In 1992, es in Colorado and Utah. Sec­ The Port of Oakland is inter­ the railroad disposed of around ondary lines specifically exclud­ ested in a joint UP/SP facility, 700 miles of track-less than it ed from the program include all which would free up UP's inter­ • had hoped-so to compensate Mexican gateways, Colorado modal facility on the Oakland a SP will accelerate its branch coal branches and the petro­ Estuary for the port's own use. and secondary line sales. If chemical-rich branches around Consolidated UP/SP ramp oper­ successful, SP will shave more Houston. ations on SP property east of than 20 percent of the trackage UP's current yard would handle off its 14,000-mile system. SANTA FE NIXED OUT OF both international and domestic SP has formed six regional PORT OF OAKLAND: South­ containers for those two roads. teams to identify low-density ern Pacific and Union Pacific A joint facility would also bene­ lines suitable for disposal. To are discussing using SP prop­ fit the City of Oakland as five expedite sales and attract more erty for a joint intermodal facil­ miles of UP trackage could be buyers, the railroad is expected ity in Oakland, Calif. Santa Fe eliminated, part of it running to deal with larger chunks of is absent from the discussions down the city's Third Street. trackage than has been the because it lost a key bargain­ norm with current line sales. ing chip when the California NEW CARS FOR AMTRAK: On California's 416-mile Coast Department of Transportation Dec. 2, 1992, Amtrak's Board Line, which has been offered elected not to provide state of Directors awarded Morrison as a passenger rail corridor to funding to rebuild the bridge Knudsen a contract for 50 sin­ the Los Angeles County Trans­ that provides Santa Fe its limit­ gle-level Viewliner sleepers to portation Commission, is in­ ed access to the Port of Oak­ be delivered in two years. The cluded in the 3,000-mile total. land. Santa Fe had contended cars are to be built at both At press time, SP officials that replacing the highway Chicago and Hornell, N.Y. declined to name other possible bridge damaged in the 1989 Three prototype Viewliners lines to be included, but stated Lorna Prieta earthquake will were built in the 1980s and LLI that public announcements prevent it from rebuilding its have been tested in service

4 • FEBRUARY 1993 837,000. Santa Fe set monthly records for intermodal loading in August (101,660), Septem­ ber (103,330) and October (110,796), with the new busi­ ness attributed to increases in imported holiday merchandise and the flourishing J.B. Hunt partnership.

MISSABE TAKES A HIT: More than 120 Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range employees will be laid off until spring because one of Missabe's biggest ship­ pers, Eveleth Mines' Minorca Plant near Virginia, Minn., is likely to remain closed until then. Eveleth is slated to sup­ ply 3 million tons of pellets to Ford's Rouge Steel Co., in Michigan, so the affected Eveleth and Missabe employ­ ees won't be without work in­ definitely. Armco Steel, one of Eveleth's owners, decided to LTV Steel in Hoyt Lakes, Minn., has taken delivery of three rebuilt ex-BN GP20s from Precision National for buy taconite pellets from a service on taconite trains between Hoyt Lakes and Taconite Harbor. These units will free up three to four Brazilian supplier. Because Alcos for crude ore runs and plant switching, displacing LTV 's Baldwin S 12s. Doug Buell Eveleth is closed, DM&IR's ore dock in Duluth, Minn., is tem­ porarily shuttered, but its Two since 1987. The distinctive fea­ contract similar to the ones INTERMODAL BIG AGAIN IN Harbors, Minn., docks, which ture in these cars will be a sec­ covering Santa Fe's recent lo­ 1992: Santa Fe originated handle taconite from USX's ond row of windows, permit­ comotive acquisitions. 1,047,000 containers/trailers Minntac Plant, are open. ting additional natural light to Santa Fe also announced for 1992, earning it top rank­ Both Missabe and Eveleth enter the car as well as afford­ that it has $365 million slated ing among the nation's "Super employees hoped Armco ing a window for upper berth for capital programs in 1993, an Seven" Class I carriers. Fol­ would buy pellets from Eveleth passengers. These will be the increase of 41 percent over lowing AT&SF were Southern in 1993, but Armco decided to first new single-level sleeping 1992 expenditures. Included in Pacific with 950,000 contain­ buy at least 2.5 million tons of cars since Amtrak began oper­ these programs are 217 miles of ers/ trailers originated, Union pellets from one of Eveleth's ations in May 1971. Because of new rail, 168 miles of second­ Pacific with 890,000, and BN, neighbors, Northshore Mining their lower height, Viewliners hand rail and 1.2 million ties. which placed fifth, with Co., of Silver Bay, Minn. PRN will be able to roam the entire Amtrak system, unlike its cur­ rent Superliner fleet.

UP SHEDS MORE TRACKAGE: As reported last month, Union Pacific's sale and lease of 522 miles of branch lines in west­ ern Missouri, north central Arkansas, and southeast Kansas to the Missouri & Northern Arkansas Railroad was finalized. M&NA began operating the lines Dec. 13 and is headquartered in Carthage, Mo. Most of the 120 employees affected by the salellease were offered transfers, early retire­ ment or severance packages.

MORE GES FOR CHICO: Santa Fe ordered 40 Dash 8-42CWs with a scheduled delivery for the second quarter of 1993. The new 4,135 h.p. units will be painted in the red-and-sil­ ver " Super Fleet" scheme. The new GEs will be maintained at AT&SF's Locomotive Mainte­ The autumn Klamath Basin sugar beet harvest continues to provide business for Southern Pacific along nance and Inspection facility the Modoc Line. The harvest was in full swing as three SP SD9Es led an outbound Copic Local ladened at Kansas City, Kan., under a with beets out of Klamath Falls, Ore., at Te xum Siding on Nov. 27, 1992. Greg Brown

PAC IFIC RAILNews • 5 CP RAIL SYSTEM

complete the relocation of its D&H dis­ patchers to Milwaukee by Jan. 16, 1993. Rumors persist that CP plans to eventually centralize its rail operations control func­ tions in the Beer City, while marketing op­ erations will be consolidated in Chicago.

So Long Inean

Operation of the 388-foot ferry, IneanSupe­ rior, out of the Duluth-Superior port ceased on Nov. 21. For 19 years, the rail car ferry moved newsprint between the Twin Ports and Thunder Bay, averaging 150 trips per shipping season. The typical 400-rniJeround trip, including loading and unloading (26 cars in each direction), took an average of 30 hours to complete. CP will use the 1973- constructed vessel in British Columbia in 1993, deadheading via the Panama Canal.

Rerouting?

While CP has been concentrating its ener­ gies towards the development of new traffic in the U.S., speculation has surfaced again that Toronto-to-Western Canada traffic will be diverted via the U.S. early in 1993. Supporting that notion, it is rumored that Toronto-Thunder Bay crews are taking a serious look at their bumping rights over junior employees in the Toronto-Windsor corridor. To that end, CP's contract for over­ head traffic on CSX between Detroit and Chicago remains limited to 28 trains per week. CP Rail System's Heavy Haul U.S. Timetable NO. 9 lists trains 500/501 and 504/505 operating between Chicago and Montreal on a daily basis, with symbols 502/503 operated as required. The first set of trains operates out of the former Milwau­ kee Road yard at Bensenville, while the lat­ ter pair use the IHB Blue Island facility as their western terminal.

Trains Over NS Start

Effective Oct. 19, Norfolk Southembeg,an six-day-per-week service between Chicago and Buffalo for CP System intermodal traf­ fic, using symbols 83 and 84. These trains are classified as haulage trains and are not permitted to handle NS business. Accord­ ingly, they are assigned CP System power With Mount Field as a backdrop, four Canadian Pacific SD40-2s lead a loaded grain train in­ (usually the 670-series, ex-KCS SD40-2s ac­ to Field, B.C., in November 1992. Most of this train is still on the grade that includes the fa­ quired from Helm Leasing, or Soo units) and mous Spiral Tu nnels leading up to the Great Divide. Patrick Lawson are hauling single-level equipment thus far. CP refers to these trains as numbers 261 million from 1991 levels. The severe income and 262. NS No. 83 is scheduled out of Buf­ Dismal Financial Results drop was due to a $50.8 million decrease in falo (SK Yard) at 2:20 p.rn.,arriving at Os­ revenue (due to continued labor problems borne Yard in Chicago at 5:30 a.m. Number For the first nine months of 1992, CP report­ at Western coal mines as well as lower traf­ 84 should depart Osborne at 12:20 p.rn.,ar­ ed a loss of C$174.9 million, reflecting a fic levels) and increased expenses. Grain riving at Buffalo Junction at 3: 10 p.rn. $270.2 million write-off to cover employee traffic duringthe period was up significant­ Because of space problems and contin­ separation costs (up to 1,600 positions will ly from 1991 levels, while CP reports that ued yard modifications, CP is handling be eliminated). Excluding the special 1,700 fewer people were employed in Cana­ some of its Chicago intermodal business charge, operating income for the first nine dian rail operations this year than in 1991. at Belt Railway of Chicago's Clearing Yard. months was $95.3 million, a decline of $88.2 In other cost saving measures, CP will Plans are still being made to begin Chica-

6 • FEBRUARY 1993 go-Minneapolis doublestack service in the-art-rear end devices for U.S. service in February, as tunnel modifications at Tun­ 1993 ...CP is actively lobbying for $20 mil­ nel City, Wis., should be completed by lion to upgrade tunnels and bridges on its PACIFIC RAIL" contractor Morrison Knudsen by Jan. 31. Montreal-Philadelphia route, operating via NEWS To that end, Soo operated a vertical test D&H and CR trackage rights. train from St. Paul to Portage, Wis., on Nov. 7, consisting of GP40 2003, a CP auto NEWS STAFF rack with clearance detectors and CP van Motive Power News 434921. The test train operated east from Newslinformation submissions: If you would like to Portage to Chicago on Nov. 8. CP plans to As of Nov. 20, all six-axle MLWs rostered by share items on any of the topics listed below, please further expand doublestack service to CP were out of service, but may be returned contact the appropriate columnist at the address list· Vancouver by mid-summer 1993. to service in 1993 as CP expects traffic lev­ ed for each section. NOTE: Do not send photos to Due to continued congestion at its St. els to increase sufficiently to restore the the columnists. Paul Yard, Soo reinstituted block swapping burly six-motor units to road service. This at its Wabasha, Minn., yard in October. Up­ may be a swan song, however, as CP is on completion of track modification in St. closely looking at the 88 Burlington North­ RAILROAD COLUMNISTS Paul in December, it is hoped that this for­ ern SD40-2s that will come offlease later in AMTRAK/PASSENGER-Dick Stephenson mer Milwaukee Road practice can be ter­ the year. The potential 40 percent savings 444 Piedmont Ave. #128. Glendale. CA 91206 minated. Work on the four long departure in operating costs may entice CP to retire all AT&SF-Elson Rush tracks at St. Paul was done by Dec. 7, with remaining six-axle MLWs and replace them P.O. Box 379. Waukesha. WI 53187 the tracks renumbered one through four. with leased SD40-2s. BURLINGTON NORTHERN-Karl Rasmussen CP continues its tradition of delivering During late October and November, Soo 11449 Goldenrod St. NW. Coon Rapids. MN 55448 new EMD motive power to its western con­ made several decisions relative to its motive CANADIAN NATIONAL-Doug Cummings nections in Chicago. A recent example 5963 Kitchener SI.. Bur naby. BC V5B 2J3 power fleet. GP40s 2002, 2009, 2018, 2031, C&NW-Michael W. Blaszak found new UP SD60Ms 6361 and 6362 mov­ 2034, 2043, 4602 and 4612 as well as SD45s 211 South Leitch Ave .. La Gr ange. IL 60525 ing on a Railr unner train into Chicago on 6491, 6492 have been retired, while all six COMMUTER-Dick Stephenson Oct. 31 ...Soo's new CTC plant is being SW9s and SW1200s 322, 325, 326, 1207, 444 Piedmont Ave . #128. Glendale. CA 91206 slowly phased into service in eastern Wis­ 1209, 2122, 2126 are pending disposition. CP RAIL SYSTEM-Karl Rasmussen consin, with the Portage-Dodge West seg­ GP38-2 4507, SD40 745 and SD40A 6406 are 11449 Goldenrod St. NW. Coon Rapids. MN 55448 D&RGW-Richard C. Farewell ment operable by mid-November. The Du­ listed as unserviceable, while SD40-2 6619 9729 w. 76th Ave .. Arvada. CO 80005 plainville-Watertown segment will be has been repainted in red and GP9 2553 will ILLINOIS CENTRAL-David J. Daisy placed inservice during 1993, while the receive a similar face lift by year's end. 746 N. Bruns Lane Apt . A. Springfield. IL 62702 gap westward to Dodge West will not be Thanks to Burt Arneson, Mike Blaszak, MEXICO-Clifford R. Prather completed until 1994 ...Photographers are Mike Cleary, CP Rail, PJ. Gratz, Fred P.O. Box925. Santa Ana. CA 92702 Kroeger advised to get their Soo caboose shots this Hyde, Pete Johnson, Tom Kidd, Mike Kiri­ REGIONALS-Dave 525 6th Ave .. Mar ion. IA 52302 winter, as CP will buy 425 to 450 state-of- azis and TRAFFIC WORLD. SHORT LINES WEST-Wayne Monger 1300 Southhampton Rd. #214. Benicia. CA 94510 SHORT LINES EAST-Bob Thompson Route 6. Box 207. Paris. TX 75462 SP/SSW-Joseph A. Strapac P.O. Box 1539. Bellflower. CA 90707 TRANSIT-Mac Sebree P.O. 80x6128. Glendale. CA 91225 UNION PACIFIC-Wayne Monger 1300South ha mpton Rd. #214. Benicia. CA 94510

CONTRIBUTING TRANSIT COLUMNISTS

Robert Blymyer. Chris Cucchiara. Don Jewell, Richard R. Kunz, Matthew G. Vurek

FOCUS CORRESPONDENTS

Mike Abalos. Greg Brown, Rich Farewell. Paul Fries, Dave Gayer. Wayne Kuchinsky. Carl M. Lehman. Scott Muskopf. Dan Pope. Ken Rat­ tenne. Dick Stephenson

Compiled by William C. and Elizabeth B. Jones, with foreword by SUBMISSIONS: Articles. news items and photographs Marshall Sprague. First published in 1975, this oversizephotographic tribute to are welcome and should be sent to our Wisconsin edito· the west's most renowned pioneer photographer quickly became a best seller. rial office. When submitting material for consideration. include return envelope and postage if you wish it re­ We have acquired the original plates and added an additional chapter containing turned. PACIFIC RAILNEws does not assume responsibility many of Jackson's superl> railroad images, including several of the chromolitho­ for the safe return of material. Payment is made upon graphs reproduced in full color. The photo· captions have been expanded to in­ publication. 208 9X12 clude much more historical infonnalion in this page hardbound book EDITORIAL ADDRESS: Submit all photos. article sub­ with full color jacket. $39.95 missions and editorial correspondence to: Send $1.00 (refundable) for the CRM 1993 Book & Video Catalog PACIFIC RArr.NEWS P.O. Box 379, Waukesha, WI 53187 For Fast Service (700+ Railroad Books & Videos) For FAX Service (414) 542·4900 FAX: (414) 542-7595 Credit Card Orders! Credit Card Orders! BUSINESS ADDRESS:Address all correspondence re­ garding subscription and business matters to: 1-800-365-6263 303-279-4229 Interurban Press (Income from book sales goes toward rail preservation ) P.O. Box 6128, Glendale, CA 91225 (818) 240-9130 COLORADO RAILROAD MUSEUM FAX: (818) 240-5436 Dept. P, PO Box 10 MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE: For all subscrip· tion problems and inquiries call: Golden, Colorado 80402-0010 (800) 899·8722

PACIFIC RAllNews • 7 TRA NSIT

widening the freeway to ensure that the pillars for the monorail and the station and parking lot structures have enough room. The monorail guideway would com­ mence at the Universal City station of the subway (forcing through passengers to change trains) and be completed to the Sepulveda Basin by 2001 and Woodland Hills by 2018. CTC board members are still fighting a battle over who is going to build a fleet of automated cars for the Green Line, and how cost-effective that technology will be.

- Dallas

CAR CONTRACT APPROVED • The DART Board has let a $105 million contract for 40 light rail cars with a "futuristic design" for the 20-mile starter network set to begin operation in 1996. A joint venture of Kinkysharyo USA Inc. and Itochu Interna­ tional Inc. won the contract and promised to try to assemble the cars locally as they did in previous rail car contracts in Atlanta and Boston. How the San Diego transit scene has changed is nicely illustrated by this Labor Day 1992 The six-axle, articulated cars will have tableaux of a San Diego Trolley train gliding by the west side of the Amtrak/Santa Fe Depot slanted noses and will carry more than 160 while a train of brand-new Los Angeles Metrolink cars awaits return to Los Angeles. Expand­ passengers with 76 seated. DART plans to ed weekend Amtrak consists often make use of idle Metrolink equipment. Fred Matthews operate the cars up to 65 mph in trains of up to three cars. Delivery is to begin in 1995. wanted a subway to cover the approxi­ Tunneling is well under way on the un­ Los Angeles mately 16-mile distance from the end of derground portion of the system, under the the Red Line subway in North Hollywood Central Expressway between downtown L.A. DOES IT AGAIN • Apparently not to Woodland Hills in the West Valley. and Mockingbird Way. The 700,000-pound content to fight just one battle over untest­ The CTC adopted a 30-year, $185 bil­ tunnel boring machine is 21 feet tall. ed technology versus economy and com­ lion spending plan in April 1992 that ear­ patibility, the Los Angeles County Trans­ marked $3.35 billion for the subway pro­ portation Commission has now decided to ject which in itself was controversial be­ San Diego take a flyer with a full-fledged monorail. cause a light rail line could have been The CTC voted in December to build an built much cheaper on a Southern Pacific DIRT FLIES ON NEW LINE • A December aerial rail line above the Ventura Freeway spur line. The SP right-of-way had already groundbreaking signaled the start of con­ to give the San Fernando Valley its long­ been optioned to the CTC. struction on the San Diego Trolley's San­ sought east-west mass transit line. Antonovich claimed the monorail tee extension. Santee Councilman (and The vote is (as always) subject to fu­ would be more economical, but CTC plan­ MTD board member) Jim Bartell touted ture review, since arguments over such ners admitted that no detailed studies had the project with its many construction jobs things never seem to end. It was consid­ been done on either the technology or the as good economic news for San Diego. ered a victory for County Supervisor Mike cost, so no one knows for sure. Further­ The line runs from the EI Cajon Transit Antonovich and a defeat for a coalition of more, Caltrans engineers acknowledged Center north to the Santee Town Center homeowners and business groups who that there might be unknown costs in with a stop at the Gillespie Field airport.

COMING NEXT MONTH IN

• EXPLORING SP'S NEVADA BRANCHLINES

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8 • FEBRUARY 1993 Part of the line will run parallel to Cuya­ with 10 stations, running north and south. ing extended. The Denver Council of Re­ maca St., and part will utilize an existing Trolley coaches also are being considered. gional Governments has decided to ex­ freight railroad. Opening is set for late 1994. In Guadalajara, tunneling for the sec­ tend southward the previously-approved MTDB is debating a major increase in ond (east-west) light rail line is about half 2.1-mile light rail line by 3.2 miles. It's re­ on-board security. The county sheriff's de­ completed and seven of the 10 stations are ported that the pending order for eight partment has proposed setting up a full­ under construction with work about six Duewag LRVs has been upped to 11. Offi­ time squad of 30 deputies with police en­ weeks ahead of schedule. The line is to cials think the 5.3-mile line will attract forcement powers which would cost $2.4 open in 1995. 13,000 daily riders vs. 4,000 for the short­ million a year. Board General Manager er route. Tom Larwin thinks this would cost $7 mil­ - lion a year and proposed a private 50- Iowa - member security force for $2.3 million a EI Paso year. The current security staff does not OFF THE RAILS • Our item in PRN349 about the PCC car shipped to Mason City have police powers. STREETCAR REVIVAL? • Since El Paso contained numerous errors. James S. Levis, San Diego did a survey of security on lost its International Carline in 1973, city VP of the Iowa Traction Railroad, advises other We st Coast light rail properties, and officials have toyed with the idea of bring­ that the proper name for the railroad is the it makes interesting reading. The local 44- ing it back. The line, operated by El Paso Iowa Traction Railroad. The Mason City & member force is unarmed and costs City Lines, used 20 ex-San Diego PCC cars Clear Lake was sold to Iowa Terminal in $2,025,000 per year. It deals with four (some are still around, apparently) and 1961, and 1987 became the ITR. crimes against passengers per month. in connected downtown EI Paso and down­ The recently acquired PCC car itself is Compare this with Sacramento with 20 town Ciudad Juarez. However, the Rio not a former Kansas City car, but was unarmed agents costing $825,000 yearly Grande, which flows between the two one of the St. Louis Public Service cars dealing with three crimes per month. San cities and comprises the international sold to San Francisco. And, the Midwest Jose has 35 sheriff's deputies and 16 un­ boundary, was shifted into a new channel Electric Railway at Mount Pleasant has armed private guards on an annual budget and even though the car line was installed operated a former Toronto PCC since of $5.5 million dealing with three to four on the new bridges, it never carried big 1983 and recently obtained two more crimes per month. Portland, with four crowds afterward. PCCs from Boston. crimes per month, has 10 Portland officers The cars were replaced by Mexican­ Mason City's PCC car belongs to the assigned plus nine unarmed fare inspec­ owned buses which served the newer Mason City & Clear Lake Electric Railroad tors at a cost of $1 million yearly. And Los parts of Juarez east of the old downtown. Historical Society, which operates tourist Angeles spends $13,700,000 yearly for 124 Now, the city has obtained funding to service from memorial Day to Labor Day L.A. County Deputies policing the Blue study the idea of putting the line back in, using ITR trackage. However, the PCC car Line dealing with an average of only nine but not necessarily on the old route. crimes per month. will not be operated on ITR, but on a loop of track to be built on the historical society grounds. It needs a lot of work first, ac­ Chicago Edmonton cording to Levis.

CONFLICTING SIGNALS • With a $60 LRT EXTENSION HITS GOLD MINE • The short extension of light rail service across San Francisco million shortfall to face this year, the the North Saskatchewan river into Univer­ Chicago Transit Authority is giving off sity has caused daily ridership to zoom BART TO BRANCH OUT. BART's new mixed signals on expansion vs. contrac­ tion. On one hand, CTA President Robert from 23,000 to more than 36,000. Revenue President N ello Bianco says his agency Belcaster has warned that the aging Lake service began last August 28. Three-car will expand beyond its electric rail net­ Street elevated is in jeopardy because of trains are now run all day instead of only work to operate commuter trains. The re­ the high cost of rebuilding it. On the oth­ in the peak hours. gional rail network has already offered to help sponsor diesel-powered commuter er, the new Midway rapid transit line will service over SP rails from Oakland to Su­ open this year and there will even be planning on the Crosstown Corridor rail St. louis isun-Fairfield and Brentwood to relieve congestion on I-80 and I-680 and State line paralleling Cicero Avenue. Plus, funding is virtually in place to METROLINK NEARS COMPLETION • The Route 24. It may also play a role in com­ 18-rnile, 20-station St. Louis light rail line muter service over the UP from Oakland build the Chicago Connector, a multi-line was about 80 percent complete at the end to Stockton. downtown light rail project. of 1992 with two cars operating on a Now, Bianco says, BART has its eye on The Lake Street 'L' carries 22,000 pas­ three-mile test track and other track going the Peninsula CalTrain line run by Amtrak sengers a day but the inner part of it tra­ down rapidly. Milestones included com­ and formerly owned and operated by SP. verses mile-after-mile of rundown, job­ pletion of rail bridges over I -170 and I -70 This may be part of a plan to start combin­ less, partly-deserted neighborhoods. CTA near the airport, structural foundations for ing the various Bay area transit systems. is replacing rotted-out elevated structure stations at the Kiel and Delmar sites, and Bianco has not said how BART will obtain pier foundations on a selective basis but rebuilding of the downtown tunnel; a sin­ funding for its grand design. planners are conSidering a possible relo­ gle-cell concrete box has replaced the col­ Three new cable cars built by Muni cation of the line next to the nearby lapsed portion of the double-arched tunnel forces were introduced to the public De­ Chicago & North Western tracks (as was at Broadway and Washington. cember 5. Two are for the Powell Street done on the outer end of the line in subur­ The lower deck of the Eads Bridge is lines and one for the California Street line. ban Oak Park some years ago) or, worst­ nearly finished for light rail, and a dispute Officials are eyeing the venerable East Bay case, outright abandonment. over use of right-of-way through an old Transit Terminal at First & Mission as a Meanwhile, Metra, the suburban rail cemetery near the airport has been re­ possible terminus for the CalTrain line, re­ commuter system, plans a total of 10 line solved. Opening is set for July of this year. placing the remote Townsend station. If the extensions and two new links though line were electrified, a short, three-block­ funding for these is far from assured. Me­ long tunnel might be built to reach the EBT. tra and the CTA compete for scarce fund­ Mexico ing on an ongoing basis. Thanks to Ed von Nordeck, MDTB, LIGHT RAIL CATCHING ON • There's a Denver Harre Demoro, RAILWAY AGE, NEW ELEC­ proposal to build a light rail system in TRIC RAILWAY JOURNAL, L.A. DAILY NE WS, Puebla, Mexico's fourth-largest city. The LIGHT RAIL TO EXPAND • It's not even Epes Randolph, APTA and INTERNATIONAL first line would be about five miles long open for business yet and it's already be- RAILWAY JOURNAL.

PACIFIC RAILNews • 9 FE ELSON RUSH

and a former mayor of Claremont, Calif., was a woman with a mission-extending Metrolink's Los Angeles-Pomona com­ muter train service eastward to her home­ town. Trouble was Metrolink's ex-SP track­ age ended east of the station site, where a new No. 24 turnout leads into Santa Fe's Pasadena Subdivision. Lack of an agree­ ment, or even any discussions, with Santa Fe didn't stop Wright from announcing in November that the commuter service would be extended to Claremont on Dec. 7. Santa Fe protested that the Pasadena Subdivision sale was not scheduled to close till the following week and that oper­ ation of the commuter service without an agreement would expose the railroad to unreasonable risks. But AT&SF's pleading was to no avail-in the face of Wright's blistering publicity campaign, Schaum­ burg ultimately relented and Metrolink ex­ panded its service to Claremont on Dec. 7, It's rare to see Cleburne GP7Us on mainline trains in Illinois, but they do show up as evidenced just as Wright had predicted. by Kansas City-Chicago train 301 at Streator, III. The crew is picking up some cars at the yard Santa Fe's old Claremont station will on Dec. 2, 1992; the Owens-Brockway glass plant stands in the background. Steve Smedley serve Metrolink passengers. Sandwiched between a new parking structure and an commenced in 1991, APL's train will oper­ office building, the ornate depot does its The Eagle Has Landed ate over Santa Fe west of Kansas City, and best to evoke pleasant memories of the or­ over Chicago & North Western east of there ange groves and tiny agricultural commu­ AmericanPresident Lines and Santa Fe in order to reach C&NW's Global One ter­ nities that once dominated the landscape. haven't been the best of friends over the minal, APL's base in the Chicago area. There's no passenger platform yet, but past decade. In the early 1980s, when APL's According to reports, the freight to be one is being constructed. network of doublestack trains was in the handled on this train is "discretionary" traf­ Metrolink's trains deadhead east from planning stage, the ocean carrier ap­ fic that APL can route away from UP if it de­ the Pomona storage yard to Claremont each proached Santa Fe about runningdouble­ sires. Apparently Santa Fe's concern about morning, then make their westbound rev­ stacks between Chicago andLos Angeles. APL's controlling its own traffic is a thing of enue runs with an opposite procedure in Suspicious of APL's intention to market its the past-after all, J. B. Hunt has done es­ the evening. Metrolink was planning to ex­ own service and concerned that loading sentially the same thing for three years now tend its service over Santa Fe to Montclair, and unloading stack equipment would con­ with Santa Fe's full cooperation. one suburb further east, in January 1993. gest its prized intermodal terminals, Santa This shift bodes well for growth in Fe declined. APL went to Union Pacific and Santa Fe's intermodal traffic as APL's con­ ultimately developed a transcontinental net­ tract with UP expires in 1995. If Santa Fe First SCRRA Closing Completed work that provided Santa Fe's intermodal does a good job with the new train, it may operations with vigorous competition. garner a bigger share of APL's business in As required by the line sale accord, Santa Industry observers therefore were sur­ a couple of years. Fe conveyed a substantial chunk of its prised in early December when word Southern California properties to SCRRA leaked that APL would route a stack train at 12:01 a.m. on Dec. 16. Transferred in over the Santa Fe. The weekly train, sched­ Metrolink Expands onto Santa Fe the first closing were the Pasadena Subdi­ uled to begin operating on Dec. 13, runs be­ vision, the segment of the San Bernardino tween Los Angeles and Chicago. Like the K Judy Wright, a member of the Southern Subdivision between Mission Tower and Line train between the same terminals that California Regional Rail Authority board Redondo Junction in Los Angeles, the por­ tion of the San Diego Subdivision �t'rim' San Diego County (east of San Clemente), the San Bernardino station and yard office FRISCO BY FOGG and the commuter service easement over Back Issues the San Bernardino Subdivision. 18" x 24".600 Initially, Santa Fe will retain dispatch­ numbered Available ing control of the Pasadena and San Diego prints. Only subdivisions. Santa F e employees will con­ $20 ea. plus $3 AT ORIGINAL COVER tinue to work Mission Tower and Redondo shipping. Send PRICE! Junction Tower. Santa Fe will also contin­ ue to maintain the Pasadena Subdivision. 3-stamp LSSAE San Diego County assumed responsibility for huge list of Some issues are in limited quantities, so hurry! For a complete list. send a for maintaining the segment of the San RR prints Diego Subdivision it bought. self-addressed long (# I 0) envelope to: 4-8-4 Frisco Faster Freight #4524 Send check. VISA. MC info to: PACIFIC RAlLNEWS Rail-Cycle Advances TRACKSIDE PRINTS & HOBBIES P. O. Box 6128 P.O. BOX 690503, Glendale, CA 91225 Rail-Cycle, the joint venture between HOUSTON, TX 77269-0503 Santa Fe and Waste Management, is

10 • FEBRUARY 1993 making some progress toward hauling harvest coincided with a busy covered last units from the 1992 C40-8W order Southern California's garbage out to Am­ hopper fleet trying to handle the late corn were delivered in October and Novem­ boy, Calif., for burial. On Dec. 9 the Plan harvest in the Midwest. "We went from a ber. The result was a power shortage. At Commission of the City of Commerce ap­ 2,000-car surplus to a 2,000-car shortage one point in November, Santa Fe had 21 proved a conditional use permit for Rail­ in a very short period," a perplexed Henry trains on paper waiting for power. By Cycle's planned Material Recovery Facili­ Lampe, Santa Fe assistant vice president­ early December the bean counters in ty (MRF) at that location. If the City fleet management, told the Kansas Grain Schaumburg had relented, allowing a Council concurs, construction of this fa­ & Feed Association at its annual meeting few of the stored 20-cylinder units to re­ cility should begin shortly. on Nov. 20. Santa Fe coped with the heavy turn to service. An MRF receives garbage from neigh­ demand by shifting covered hoppers from When the Indiana Harbor Belt closed borhood collection trucks, sorts out recy­ other service and leasing cars on the open its bridge over the Sanitary & Ship Canal clable items for reuse and packs the rest market. Grain traffic is expected to remain at Summit, Ill., for repairs on Nov. 15, into containers for the one-way train trip high through mid-1993, as a good winter many Chicago-area run-throughs and to the desert. In addition to the MRF at wheat crop is expected. transfer freights had to find other routes. Commerce, Rail-Cycle plans MRFs at Ir­ Also on the docket at the KG&FA meet­ Santa Fe participated in one detour. windale, Victorville, San Bernardino and ing was a discussion of the pending sale Grand Trunk Western trains to and from Pomona. The last-named facility would be of Santa Fe's Kansas branch lines to Broe Chicago & North Western at Proviso Yard south of the California Polytechnic campus Companies' Central Kansas Railway. Santa and CP Rail at Bensenville Yard used on Union Pacific. Fe and Broe officials assured shippers that Santa Fe's main line between Corwith UP has not been idle in the meantime. they probably wouldn't notice the transi­ Yard and McCook. During !HB 's three­ Late in 1992 it began soliciting trash tion and that Central Kansas was "not go­ day project, Santa Fe trains 133 and 331 movements over its line from East Yard in ing to file abandonments the day we take reached Clearing Yard via the Belt Rail­ Los Angeles to a landfill at Carbondale, over. We are going to try to grow business way of Chicago connection at Nerska, or Utah, purchased by its affiliate, UP Re­ on every line." over the old route through Corwith Yard, sources. To keep UP from sewing up the rather than via the B&OCT main be­ market with its already-approved landfill, tween McCook and Argo. Rail-Cycle will have to accelerate the per­ Route of the Warbonnets Shorts On Nov. 23 Anderson Trucking Service, mit process for Amboy and the MRFs. Inc., a truckload carrier based in St. Cloud, Chicago-Houston intermodal train 195 re­ Minn., announced it had signed an agree­ turned to service by early November. It de­ ment for transportation of intermodal con­ Grain Shipments Turn Around parts Corwith around 7:30 p.rn. and reach­ tainers on Santa Fe's lines. Anderson, es Houston within 48 hours. which already has contracts with UP and We noted earlier that the 1992 grain har­ Despite the growing grain and inter­ BN, is spending $1.2 million on 50 new vest hadn't produced a tremendous vol­ modal business described above, Santa containers from Stoughton Trailer for its ume for Santa Fe. In November that Fe continued to store expensive-to-oper­ Santa Fe venture. changed suddenly as a big sorghum crop ate SD45s and F45s at Barstow as the Thanks to Mike Kiriazis.

WE'RE MORE THAN JUST CONVENTIONS

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U.S. Customers: $2.50 per order Send $15 ($7.50 in June, July and August) CanadIan and foreign: add $4.00 for first book; $1.00 for each addItional. for 1993 membership and subscription to our National Railway Bulletin (outside the U.S. and CanadIan • MasterCard Order now from: USA add $4) or write for more informa­ CredIt Card Holders • VIsa tion and locations of nearby chapters. Order Toll Free • DIscover McMILLAN PUBLICATIONS, INC. 1-800-344-1106 • American Express 2921 Two Paths Drive Woodridge, Illinois 60517-4512 NRBS IIlInoIs resIdents Write for our free list add 6-3/4% tax of books and vIdeo tapes 24-Hour FAX 1-708-910-6791 P.O. BOX 58153-N PHILADELPHIA, PA 19102

PACIFIC RAILNews • II REG/ONALS

a BN warrant via the CC Dispatcher, handle pickups for Slater and on west. The ICC Approves FV&W, Judge Delays It trains can now talk to the La Crosse Dis­ SLME and MESL are new East St.Louis ,

patcher in Galesburg on CC Channel 4, Ill., to Mexico, Mo., locals. As previously reported in PRN, the ICC 160.755, to get a warrant. When Chicago GP38 2037 arrived from Comail's Al­ on Nov. 10 voted 4-0 to approve Wisconsin Central's locomotives get equipped with toona Shops from wreck repairs on Nov. 13 Central's acquisition of the Fox River Val­ AAR 99-channel radios, this practice will and it is wearing full Gateway Western col­ ley and Green Bay & Western, thus creat­ be done away with and CC trains use BN ors, jOining SW1500s 1500 and 1501, GP38s ing the WC subsidiary Fox Valley & West­ frequencies. 2028, 2041, 2044, 2048, and GP40 3008. ern. Already, WC customer service person­ In locomotive news, ex-Gateway West­ Finally, a roundhouse rumor on the nel are working with shippers to deter­ ern GP38 2046 has become CC 2008, sent GWWR says that the dinner train pro­ mine their exact requirements for comput­ out of the paint booth at GE Railcar in late posed for Mexico to Fulton, Missouri (see er-generated waybills and shipping re­ November. It made its first trip trailing on PRN 350) is supposedly shaping up well. ports. Interviews with nearly 400 FRVRI train 50 out of Waterloo Nov. 29. GP38 GB&W employees began in late summer 2047 will become the 2009 and should be 1992, and job offers have been made. WC done by the time you read this. Renum­ IAIS Acquires "New" Power president Ed Burkhardt says a high per­ bered, but not repainted yet, is GP10 8188, centage of FRVR and GB&W employees to the 1788. Comail GP40s continued to Iowa Interstate has purchased ex-CSXT will be offered jobs on the new railroad or show on the CC in November, with the GP16 1860 and reportedly is looking at an­ WC. Physical connections between the 3201 and 3002 seen trailing CC GP38s other one of these units. Number 1860 is two roads and new CTC at Neenah, Wis., 2001, 2005, and the 2000 out of Waterloo currently in Council Bluffs at the shop as are ready to go when the FV&W starts op­ on a coal train Nov. 20. of December, and will not see service for erations. The track rehabilitation program on some time, probably a few months. In late December a federal judge in subsidiary road Cedar River Railroad in Union Pacific power continued to move Chicago put a 30-day injunction on the Iowa made it as far north as Charles City, back and forth from Council Bluffs to Na­ WC takeover of the GB&W/FRVR so that raising speeds to 25 mph from Waverly to tional Railway at Silvis, Ill., in November. FRVR employees could decide whether or Osage. This rehab also included the Sta­ Twenty-one units were handled, mostly not to vote in the United Transportation cyville Branch as well. Other late fall im­ SD40-2s except for SD60s 6011 and 6065. Union, which would give them equal foot­ provements included rebuilding yard Iowa Interstate also moved units to the 1. ing with GB&W employees when it comes tracks in Marion on the Louisa-Marion in­ Bork & Sons Scrapyard in Peoria on the to job protection. So, the earliest the WC dustry lead in the Cedar Rapids area (once "Peoria Rocket" local. Seen on Nov. 4, was could start assimilating GB&W/FRVR op­ part of Milwaukee Road's Chicago-Omaha ex-CSXT U36B 5754, and on Nov. 19, ex-UP erations is Jan. 28, 1993. Stay tuned. line). Reportedly, for 1993 the 42-mile GP30s 702,706, 711, 730, and 732 (previ­ A new doubles tack service has started Manchester-Cedar Rapids branch will be ously stored by the Soo/CP in Minneapo­ from Stevens Point to Los Angeles. The rebuilt with surfacing, new ties and some lis) went down to Peoria to meet their final new venture is in cooperation with Inter­ stretches of welded rail. destiny with the scrapper's torch. dom Inc., and will provide fifth morning The test coal train with the BN that we service to the L.A. area, hauling mostly reported last month never did run , and paper products. Service beyond Chicago is Big Sky Report IAIS officials were not available for com­ coordinated with Santa Fe. ment as to why. Montana Rail Link has now taken over op­ erations of the line between Helena and Green Diamond Items Phosphate, Mont., known to railroaders as Regional on a Regional the Gap. This 51-mile stretch was previ­ Beginning in mid-November 1992, Chica­ ously controlled by Burlington Northern. Dec. 18 saw the first Wisconsin Southern go Central trains can now talk to BN's La This acquisition will enhance operations train exercise track rights over the Wis­ Crosse Dispatcher, thanks to the installa­ and provide improved service for traffic consin Central between Slinger, Wis., tion of a wayside radio near Galena, Ill. moving to and from Montana Western at and Waukesha, Wis. A crew is called at As reported in last month's column, west­ Garrison, Mont. MRL also purchased 12 Horicon between 7 a.m. and 9. a.m. to bound CC trains must get a track warrant miles of track from Whitehall to Spire Rock make a turn to Waukesha, meeting an­ before entering BN's Portage-East in Montana. Unused for several years , this other WSOR turn operating out of Dubuque segment, previously owned by line will allow access to a new ballast Janesville, Wis. Current patterns is for Chicago Central. Now, instead of getting quarry under development at Pipestone. these two trains to meet in Waukesha There are two new BN trains now run­ two to three times per week. ning over MRL: Train 203 from Chicago to WSOR also lost a locomotive on Dec. Pasco (via Northtown and Mandan, N.D.) 21. Former Wisconsin & Calumet GP7 616 TRACTION and train 100, Pasco to Galesburg (via was leading a train from Janesville, Wis., Prototypes and Models Gillette, Wyo., and Lincoln, Neb.). Train to Madison, Wis., when it ran into grain "The magazine for the traction enthusiast" 211 from Northtown to Pasco has now hoppers fouling the main at Milton Junc­ been discontinued. tion, Wis. The hoppers where shoved be­ • Great Photos • Book Reviews • 36 to 44 pages • Hints yond the fouling point by a local shipper • Letters • Maps so they could be loaded, but failed to ask Gateway Western Train Changes permission from the WSOR to do so. The 616 suffered approximately $50,000 In November, some minor adjustments worth of damage and will likely be SUBSCRIBE TODAY were made to GWWR train 268. This train scrapped for parts. is now handling TOFC and loaded au­ Thanks to Wisconsin Ce ntral, P. J. 6 Bi-monthly Issues toracks. Train 233 will handle traffic for Gra tz, Richard J. Sklenar, THETRAIN OR­ Only ...... $1 600 Argentine east and west, as well as Gate­ DER, Ch icago Ce ntral, Craig Williams, ...... 53000 12 Issues Only . . . . . way Western traffic for Kansas City and Nick Tharalson, Montana Rail Link, Bob Mail to: Box 526, Canton, Ohio 44701 Slater, Mo., Mexico, Mo., traffic is now We lke, So nny Se llers, Michael Ud elhoven, Dealer Inquiries Welcome handled by SLME, and 233 will continue to Allan Hunt and Matt Hoyle .

12 • FEBRUARY 1993

SHORT LINES

Junction. This is actually trackage rights over the SP main line from Oil Junction to Famoso and then over the Exeter Branch from Famoso to Ducor). Other lines included in this deal in­ clude the eight-mile Orange Cove Spur near Cutler, the two-mile Mattei Spur, the one-mile Sunland Spur and the one-mile Strathmore Spur. Not included is the 25 miles of the Visalia Subdivision from Cor­ coran through Tulare to Visalia. Because the ex-SP Exeter Branch and the ex­ AT&SF Porterville Sub closely parallel each other for 30 miles between Ducor and Exeter, SJVR has stated that it will soon determine which line is in better condition and then tear the other out. The planned takeover of some of the joint AT &SF-SP branch lines in the Bakers­ field area also took place. Included is the Arvin Subdivision south of Bakersfield, the 36-mile Sunset Railway west of Bakers­ field to Taft (the western 16 miles to Taft have not been serviced for years) and the three-mile Oil City Subdivision north of Bakersfield. To shuttle motive power between the Bakersfield-area operations and the rest In October 1992 Minnesota Commercial purchased two Alco C-424Ms for transfer service in of the SJVR, the short line has begun us­ the Twin Cities area. Both are former Delaware & Hudson units built in 1963 and rebuilt by GE ing its trackage rights over the SP Fres­ in 1980. The units work Thursday-Saturday into Soo's St. Paul Ya rd, and into BN's Northtown no-Bakersfield main line. With this ser­ Ya rd, as well as other jobs, the rest of the week. Steve Glischinski vice expansion and a need for larger loco­ motives to better handle the increasing added 44 miles of AT &SF's Visalia Subdi­ train lengths on some runs, Kyle began San Joaquin Valley Railroad Expands vision from Calwa Yard in Fresno to shopping for more units. In early Novem­ Visalia via Cutler, plus 56 miles of track ber, SJVR management made a trip to the Kyle-owned San Joaquin Valley Railroad and 40 miles of trackage rights on UP yard at Stockton to inspect some of has expanded operations as mentioned in AT&SF's Porterville Subdivision (Note: the ex-WP GP35s, and a decision has the feature article in PRN 348. In Decem­ The map in PRN 348 on p. 35 is incorrect been made to purchase three of them for ber, SJVR took over operation of several in showing the Porterville Subdivision as $70,000 each from owner Connell Leas­ Santa Fe branches south of Fresno. SJVR a separate railroad between Ducor and Oil ing. The three selected GP35s will arrive

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14 . FEBRUARY 1993 on the SJVR once the 15-year lease with 2 914 (ex-WP 3559) and another UP unit the two railroads are dispatched out of UP for these units ends on January 1, were being used on the Palouse River the depot at Walla Walla by FAX and cel­ 1993. A leased GP28 has also been spot­ Railroad lines to the north. According to lular telephone. Until a deal is made with ted on SJVR operations in the Bakersfield Watco president Rick Webb, BLMR has BN for its four remaining miles of isolat­ area in December. arranged to purchase at least four ex­ ed track in Walla Walla, the BN local that Western Pacific GP35s from Connell departs from Pasco, Wash., at 6 a.m. on Leasing. Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday will Genesee & Wyoming Comes To Oregon There is hope for an extensive track up­ continue to use trackage rights over grade project for the lines in the Walla what is now Blue Mountain Railroad's In Oregon, Southern Pacific's long-suffer­ Walla area. Currently, the Port of Walla Wallula Branch between Zanger Junction ing branch lines in the Willamette Valley Walla is attempting to secure $1 million in and Walla Walla. will emerge in March as a new 193-mile state and federal loans for this project. At shortline railroad. From a field of four com­ the top of the list for necessary upgrading petitors, SP chose the East Coast-based is the line to Weston. Colorado & Wyoming Sells Southern Genesee & Wyoming to operate these Operations on the Walla Walla area Division branches. Even though Genesee & lines have already settled into a five-day Wyoming operates seven separate short­ routine. Working out of Walla Walla start­ Awaiting action by the ICC in December lines in the U.S., the closest "family mem­ ing at noon on Monday, Wednesday and was the proposed sale of the 30 miles of ber" to the Oregon lines will be the Friday, the Watco crew and train first op­ the Colorado & Wyoming Railway's South­ Louisiana & Delta, created from SP branch erate south 26 miles to the Green Giant ern Division to the new Trinidad Railway, lines inLouisiana. The key to the prof­ frozen food plant at the end of the line at Inc. This line near Trinidad, Colo., runs itability of this group of branch lines in­ Weston, Ore., then back to Walla Walla from the D&RGW/BN/AT&SF junction at volves the good traffic base on the Toledo and out to the UP connection at Wallula. Jansen 30 miles to the New Elk Mine. Branch, running from Albany to the coast On Tuesday and Thursday, the crew and This coal mine was opened 1988. Accord­ at Toledo. Other trackage involved in this train leaves at noon and works north 38 ing to the petition filed with the ICC, the agreement are the West Side Branch, the miles to the end of the line at Dayton. new Trinidad Railway will allow one or Willamina Branch, the Dallas Branch, the On the Palouse River Railroad, opera­ more of the Class I railroads that it con­ Bailey Branch and a portion of the New­ tions are based out of the depot at Col­ nects with at Jansen to have overhead berg Branch. SP will also grant the new fax, Wash. Here, too, operations are Mon­ trackage rights on this line. This would short line trackage rights over the SP main day through Friday starting at 8 a.m. nearly eliminate the need for the new line for 42 miles from Albany south to Eu­ with the daily destination of the train de­ Trinidad Railway to retain several locomo­ gene Yard, allowing the short line to pendent upon the needs of the shippers. tives and the crews that run them. The speed up interchange with SP by running Besides outbound grain, the primary in­ disposition of the C&W's Frisco-painted directly in and out of the SP's major freight bound commodity is coal for the steam GP38s is unknown. facility in Oregon. heat plant at Pullman, Wash., for Wash­ Thanks to Paul Dideli us, Vic Neves, The operating base is expected to be ington State University. All operations of John Ford, Greg Brown and Mike Blaszak. the SP yard and yard office at Albany. Some estimates show that this new short line will need 25 locomotives or more for operations, but no word yet on where the motive power will come from.

Blue Mountain Railroad Gets Underway

On Nov. 20 Watco-owned subsidiary Blue Mountain Railroad (reporting marks BLMR) took over operations of 203 miles of Union Pacific branch lines in eastern Washington and western Idaho , one month later than expected. As reported in PRN 349, this new short line is actually two separate groups of branch lines. The $10.95 single copy price southern group is the leased 90.6 miles of Shipping and Handling: U.S. Customers $1.50 per order UP's Wallula and Dayton branches in the (Canadian and foreign add $3.00 for first calendar. $1.00 for each additional) Walla Walla, Wash., area. This half will of­ Special Offer: order additional calendars and save money ficially be known as the Blue Mountain Railroad. The northern group is the pur­ Buy two fo r $ 79.95; three for $28.95: fo ur or more: $9.60 each chased of 112.8 miles of UP's Tekoa, Pleas­ NOTE: Offer valid for any mix of calendars if ordered ant Valley and Moscow branches in the at one time and shipped to a single address Pullman, Wash., area. Although this half Our popular Santa Fe, Conrail and Burlington Northern color calen­ will be operated by the Blue Mountain dars are back. and they are as great as ever! To celebrate our lOth year Railroad, it will be officially referred to as of publishing calendars. the 1993 Santa Fe Calendar will be an all the Palouse River Railroad. warbonnet edition. Each calendar fe atures 14 color photos. pleasing From the Nov. 20 start-up through graphics and high resolution printing on excellent paper stock. Opens to mid-January operations changed little 14x22 incJ:.es. Calendars make excellent gifts. Take advantage of our from UP practices except for the lack of multiple. dIscounts and order several for your fr iends and relatives. cabooses and two-man crews. So far, the U.S. and Canadian • motive power used by the Blue Mountain MasterCard Order now fro m: has been UP's four-axle EMD products Credit Card Holders • Visa Order Toll • McMillan Publications, Inc. that had been used on these lines in the Free Discover • merican Express 2921 Tw o Paths Drive past. For the operations in the Walla 1-800-344-1106 A Woodridge, Illinois 60517-451 2 Walla area, the locomotives on lease Illinois residents please were UP GP40-2 909 (ex-WP 3554) and add 6-3/4% sales tax 24 Hour FAX 1-708-910-6791 UP GP39-2 2377 (ex-MKT 378). UP GP40-

PACIFIC RAILNews . 15 UNION PA CIFIC

Three Union Pacific Dash 8-40Cs lead an empty coal extra eastbound for the Skyline loadout on Southern Pacific's Pleasant Valley Branch in Utah on Sept. 5, 1992. The train is ascending the 1.8 percent grade to Scofield, which is followed by a 2.8 percent grade to the mine. James S. Belmont

with $12.5 million going to acquire four again as reports mention that one problem Alameda Corridor Project One Step miles of property and trackage on UP's after another was encountered. Closer to Reality line to Long Beach Harbor. Still to come The first day's departure out of Mem­ are agreements with AT &SF and 20 miles phis was delayed by several hours as The first concrete step toward consolidati­ of railroad owned by SP. neither water or fuel trucks had been ar­ ing all rail traffic moving to and from the SP is reluctant to participate in the ranged by CSX, a problem that occurred ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach was Alameda Corridor Project as it fears it will repeatedly throughout the trip. Tension approved in late November and early De­ lose some of its competitive edge in the between UP and CSX personnel was un­ cember. The plan, called the Alameda Cor­ intermodal traffic. The Alameda Corridor derstandably high. ridor Project, will use portions of Union Pa­ Project will allow both UP and AT &SF to There were also a few physical prob­ cific, Southern Pacific and Santa Fe track­ expand on-dock container transfer while lems for the 3985 on CSX trackage. CSX re­ age to form a corridor for trains. A special SP's current ICTF site might become obso­ built the wye at Kingsport, Tenn., in prepa­ truck-only highway will also be built for lete. If all goes well, the corridor could be ration for the Santa Train. Unfortunately, moving containers between ships and the ready as early as 2000, but delays involv­ there was not enough extra room in the inland rail intermodal facilities on each of ing SP and the local populations could track gauge needed by large steam loco­ the participating railroads. push completion back to 2005. motives on curves, resulting in 3985's ten­ Despite local NIMBY (UNot in my back der derailing three times on the first leg of yard U) resistance to a single rail corridor the wye before the crew finally gave up. versus the current traffic-snarling align­ Few Ho-Ho-Hos From the Santa Train A potentially more dangerous event oc­ ments in southern Los Angeles, plus SP's curred during one of the ferry trips. The reluctance to agree to the project, the Union Pacific's ambitious 1992 steam pro­ 3985 and train were on the main line when commissioners of the Port of Long Beach gram ended on some rather sour notes. they met an empty coal train standing in a approved their half of an $18 million The 3985 and crew spent the end of siding. On a curve toward the middle of agreement with UP. Two weeks later, the November and early December on CSX op­ the siding, the overhang of the boiler at commissioners of the Port of Los Angeles erating the 50th anniversary run of the for­ the front of the locomotive glanced off of a approved their half. mer-Clinchfield Railroad's Santa Train. few of the empty hoppers in the siding, The money is to be split between land Steve Lee and crew may decide to never tearing off nearly 15 feet of the walkway and track acquisition plus track upgrade, to take the Challenger far from home rails along the boiler on the fireman's side as

16 • FEBRUARY 1993 well as banging up some of the piping in go Yard in Seattle. There are eight other November. These units are 4118, 4262, the area. Luckily, neither train derailed. local projects slated for work in 1993. The 4266, 4272, 4275, 4285, 4298, 4299, 4300, Once away from CSX rails, problems most expensive is $17 million for an inter­ 4301 and 4305. continued for the 3985 and crew. While modal facility at Stockton, Calif., while $16 operating from Kansas City to Omaha by million is to be used on Phase II of the way of the Falls City Subdivision, the 3985 new freight yard at Livonia, La., started in Armour Yellow Shorts suffered a partial collapse of the firebox 1992. In Southern California at Wilming­ bricks and minor damage to the firebox. ton, an additional $8 million will be used UP's efforts to abandon 71 miles of the Wal­ Diesels were called from Omaha to drag to expand the new Toyota facility. In con­ lace Branch in northern Idaho continue the train the rest of the way to Omaha. nection with General Motors' decision to without success. First, the ICC decided to That night, the "dead" 3985 trailing extra keep the auto plant in Arlington, Texas, allow UP to cease operations in early Febru­ tenders and tool cars departed Omaha be­ open, UP will spend $6 million on improve­ ary 1993, but placed several expensive envi­ hind diesel power for a slow trip west to ments to the auto facility there. The loco­ ronmental conditions on the decision. Then, Cheyenne, an ignoble end for UP's 1992 motive service facilities at North Platte, the ICC ruled that an offer of $1 for the en­ steam program. Neb., and on a locomotive repair facility at tire branchby Hecla Mining Company is a Previewing the upcoming season, plans Kansas City have each been allocated $5 valid offer and that UP must negotiate with are being solidified for the 1993 Pacific million. Another $5 million will be spent to Hecla on the sale of the line. Hecla states Limited which will be pulled by 3985 dur­ increase freight yard capacity at North Lit­ that the value of the line to UP is limited as ing the first two weeks of June. The train tle Rock, Ark., plus $2 million to do the the branch line runs through seven miles of will operate between Salt Lake City and same at Houston. a federal Superfund cleanup site. Portland in conjunction with the 150th an­ UP finally reached agreement with niversary of the Oregon Trail. Side trips AT&SF on allowing the Pittsburg Locals to out of Portland to Seattle and down he Motive Power Notes remain on Santa Fe tracks between Pitts­ Oregon Trunk to Bend, Ore., are also burg and Port Chicago, Calif. This allows planned. The sponsoring groups, as with As we reported here in PRN 348, all of the UP to abandon the old street trackage the past two years of Western excursions, ex-WP GP35s in the 782-series, most of the through downtown Pittsburg plus avoid will be the Central Coast and Promotory ex-WP GP40s in the 651-series and most of moving loaded bomb trains over the seven chapters of the NRHS, the UP Historical the ex-MKT GP40s in the 501-series were miles of former Sacramento Northern main Society and the Feather River Rail Society. to be stored until the leases ran out on Jan. line to reach the Concord Naval Weapons UP has indicated that it would like all fu­ 1, 1993. Most all of these urlits were stored Station at Port Chicago. The first train rout­ ture public excursions west of Salt Lake for two or three weeks in late October, but ed over the Santa Fe ran in late November. City handled by this Pacific Limited group. by mid-November all were back in service. A major derailment occurred on Dec. 2 A vast majority of these three locomotive 15 miles west of Pocatello, Idaho. An east­ groups had quickly migrated to UP's South­ bound HKNP (Hinkle Yard to North Platte) 1993 Capital Projects Selected ern Region by the end of November and derailed one unit and 35 cars, closing the were in heavy use on everything from lo­ main line across Idaho for more than a day. Union Pacific has slated $147 million for cals to "Z" trains in December. As a result of the congestion on this busy upgrade projects in 1993. All of these pro­ While awaiting the conclusion of the route, UP detoured eight low-priority jects are intended to increase train capaci­ 15-year lease, shortline operators were al­ freights off of this line. The detours were ty to stay ahead of gowth in coal, auto and ready expressing an interest in the ex-WP run between Salt Lake City and Portland by intermodal traffic that is expected in the GP35s that were rebuilt by MK in 1980. So using the ex-WP main line to Flannigan, near future. far, at least seven of these units are await­ Nev., SP's Modoc Line to Klamath Falls, Similar to last year, the largest single ing 1993 when they will be turned over to Ore., and then the SP main to Portland. dollar amount will go toward the "Project new owners. The Kyle-owned San Joaquin The city and county of Denver hosted a Yellow II" unit coal train capacity upgrade Valley Railroad has stated that it has pur­ special train on Dec. 1 to further promote on the lines between South Morrill, Neb., chased three at $70,000 each, while the the idea of the "Air Train" rail service pro­ and St. Louis. UP will spend $35 million on new Watco-owned Blue Mountain Rail­ posed between downtown Denver and the this corridor project alone. Another $6 mil­ road in eastern Washington has indicated new Denver International Airport. lion is to be spent to increase capacity on it will acquire at least four. Correction: In PRN 350, we inadvertent­ the Chicago-Texas/Mexico corridor. In No word on the fate of the ex-WP and ly listed Bergman, Ark., as Bergman, Mo. connection with American President ex-MKT GP40s has been received. The last Thanks to P.J. Gra tz, Steve Kalthoff, Line's decision to expand its use of the end-cab switcher to retain the MP blue James Schiro, Chris Fry, Elrond Lawren ce, Port of Seattle, $4 million will be used to paint was painted yellow on Nov. 16. This William LaLonde, Paul Didelius, Nelson increase capacity between Seattle and unit was MP15DC Missouri Pacific 1378, Enrietto, Kevin Leyerle, Vic Neves, George Granger, Wyo. UP also expects to spend $3 now UP 1378. Eleven former MP SD40-2s Cockle, Ken Meeker, Great Plains Chapter­ million on a new intermodal facility at Ar- were converted into "B" units during NHR S, THE MIXED TRAIN and Union Pacific.

The NORTHWESTERN PACIFIC RAILROAD HISTORICAL SOCIETY

NORTHWESTERN PACIFIC RAILROAD HISTORICAL SOCIETY P. O. Box 667, Santa Rosa, CA 95402-0667

• MEMBERSHIP - $20 per year - includes subscription to THE NORTHWESTERNER and THE HEADLIGHT newsletter.

• THE NORTHWESTERNER - Illustrated historical journal, current issue $5 plus $1.25 postage. Back issues: write for prices, availability.

• 1993 NWP HISTORICAL CALENDAR - 15 never-before published photos, 2 in full color. $8.00 each plus $1.25 postage.

PA CIFIC RAILNews • 17 t's 10:30 p.m. I am cruising south on California Highway 99 headed for Tehachapi after a good shoot on the Southern Pa­ I cific in the San Joaquin Va lley. My mind wanders, suddenly focusing on my upcoming summer trip. I had planned to head for Arizona and shoot the Santa Fe and SP, but somehow baking my brains for 10 days in Arizona's notorious 100-degree blast furnace doesn't sound as enticing as I fIrst thought. Two words pop into my mind-Rio Grande! The mountains of Colorado and Utah seem much more inviting than an Arizona scorcher, and my sons Justin and Kevin, hardened railfans after two previous summer trips with Dad, would get to experience the vestiges of a railroad that might someday just be a faint childhood memory for them. Fond Farewell for the ran

Soldier Summit

Locations such as Gilluly, Rio, Castle Gate and Helper are etched in the minds of fa ns when Soldier Summit is mentioned. Along with these words are images of sets of black-and-orange second generation diesels conquering the summit with traditional short, fast Rio Grande freights. But now there's a whole new image-Southern Pacific'sscarlet -and-gray dominates tile picture. Daylight our first day on the Rio Grande provided dramatic lighting as an eastbound tllUndered past, and then tile storm clouds that chased us across Nevada caught up and soon we were experiencing a slushy snowfall that we certainly didn't expect in mid:June. This first train was a fo rebearer of what was to fo llow in the days to come, Witll locomotives from three railroads repre­ senting five differen t models. Sets of black-and-orange Rio Grande power are a rare find indeed on the present day D&RGW. The railroad seemed to cooperate by putting tiger-striped units on the point of most lash-ups. In a cloud of brake shoe smoke, a short westbound descended tile steep grade between Gilluly and Narrows ( left) . Leading was GP40 31 46, a refugee from Conrail. These units are easily identifiable fr om a distance as they have no gyro-lights on the low nose, unlike other second gen­ eration units on the Grande. Daybreak the next day fo und a westbound manifest cresting Soldier Sum­ mit led by SD45 5331 (above), one of 26 D&RGW SD45s purchased in 1967- 1968. When the D&RGvV was constructed, the flat top of Soldier Summit was TEXT AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY DICK DORN tllought to be a perfe ct location fo r a yard and locomotive fac ility, thus en­ EXCEPT AS NOTED abling helpers to work both sides of tile mountain. This was a great idea in the balmy summer weatller but howling winds and sub-zero temperatures at an elevation of 7,000 fe et make winter intolel-able.The yard lasted a short time and was relocated at Helper, tile eastern base of the climb to the summit. In tile bright sun at Narrows, SD40T-2 5353 led a short manifest laden Witll lumber from the Pacific Nortllwest (right) . The 5353 is one of a group of 15 SD40T-2s tllat ushered in the tunnel motor concept on the Grande in 1974. These firsttwo days proved to be a dramatic introduction to the Rio Grande for Justin and Kevin.

PAC IFIC RAILNews . 19 Utah's High Desert Crossing

As a railroad photographer, I have always fo und deserts uniquely appeal­ ing: stark, bleak, barren, unrelenting and at times unforgiving, deserts pro­ vide special challenges fo r photographers. Justin and Kevin are true desert rats having survived a IO-day stint in Nevada on a previous summer'sjourney to shoot the SP. They have been well educated by Dad as to the hostilities of the desert. Wash , Vista, Desert and Solitude are all places they will soon be­ come fa miliar with. Our desert journey began at milepost 591 between Cedar and Grassy where we discovered a hot DVROT in the capable hands of a pure Rio Grande lash-up-SD40T- 2 5386 and GP40 3143 (top left) . This was the sec­ ond set of solid Grande power in two days. VlTe made our way east to Green River and a quick stop at the state park for a shower and a call home to

20 • FEBRUARY 1993 Fond Farewell for the Rio Grande

Mom-an opportunity for Kevin to complain about the shower. Access to desert locations is a problem. In attempting to traverse the railroad access road, we encountered difficulties in several washes and the road became impassable. After doubling back to the old highway, we were able to make it into Solitude, a favol-ite location. Afternoon faded into evening with no trains, but we were rewarded with a spectacular sunset after doing battle witll gnats. The next morning the RODVT roared east with GECX 3008, SP 7343, AT&SF 7487 and D&RGW 3095 (above) . Following this train, we decided to hike up to the top of one of the lower levels of Book Cliffs overlooking Solitude. Our reward: A brief encounter with a sidewinder rattler and Dad's continual warnings about these snakes took on some meaning. We headed east to Cisco, where our goal was to photograph the once-a­ week Potash Local. On finding the train between Arch and Lee (opposite bot­ tom) we got a preview of things to come as power was D&RGW 5375 and an SP GP40 in SP's new speed lettering.

PACIFIC RAILNews . 21 Fond Farewell for the Rio Grande

22 • FEBRUARY 1993 Tennessee Pass

Te nnessee Pass was one part of the trip I was antici­ pating-this was all new territory fo r me. It was Father's Day and the boys treated me to breakfast in the Round­ house Restaurant adjoining the yard office in Minturn, Colo. After checking with the trainmaster and obtain­ ing a line-up, it looked like it would be a profitable day on the pass. The first train of the day was an eastbound drag we photographed the previous morning at Thompson, Utah. Some trains don't move over the railroad expedi­ tiously. After a fo ur-unit Rio Grande helper set was cut in, the battle began with the 4 percent ruling grade to the summit. Once there, the helpers were cut out and ventured east ahead of the train to help a westbound. The eastbound continued on, going in the hole at Kobe fo r westbound SP 9718 and a trio of Grande GP40s un­ der a sky of billowy clouds (right) . At Buena Vista it was time fo r beans in the local park. \"'hile we were waiting for a westbound, Kevin paraded out of the bushes with a hen mallard in his arms. "Look what I caught Dad!" I couldn't believe it. The afternoon wore on and clouds continued to build as large thunderstorms moved up the Arkansas River valley. These afternoon thunderstorms are a regular occurrence in the Colorado Rockies and often the bane of rail photographers. Fortunately fo r us the PUROM, a loaded westbound coke train bound fo r the steel works at Geneva, Utah, were just ahead of the oncoming storm. In the lead were a pair of Rio Grande tunnel motors plus a single SP GP40. The sun highlighted the side of the train with a dramatic sky overhead as the train approached Kobe (above) . The PUROM continued its battle with tile unrelenting climb to the summit as it negotiated a long S-curve approaching Te nnessee Pass under snow-covered Mount Massive, towering 14,421 fe et above sea level (left) . The Grande's "Main Line Through the Rockies" is now better represented by the Te nnessee Pass route as the majority of the traffic now o-avels this line instead of the Moffa t route. Current operations fi nd a four-unit set of D&RG\N SDs stationed at Minturn in helper service for the heavier tonnage trains that need help over tile pass. Traffic can vary from streetcar regularity to long so-etches of silence. This is an excellent area fo r photography with Colorado's highest peaks providing dramatic photo opportunities, and it is easily accessible from parallel U.S. Highway 24.

PAC IFIC RAILNews • 23 Fond Farewell for the Rio Grande

Craig Branch

Mention the Craig Branch and one thing comes to mind, coal. The sole rea­ son fo r this branch is to serve the coal fields of northwestern Colorado. Empty trains depart Denver and immediately confront the Front Range before arriv­ ing at Bond, where they leave the main line and head up the bran.ch. The emp­ ties begin an immediate tortuous climb out of Bond to the summit near Vo l­ cano. This area between Bond and Vo lcano contains the most photogenic loca­ tions on the branch. It's downhill all the way from Vo lcano to Phippsburg with the exception of one small hill at To ponas. "P-burg," as train crews refer to it, is a crew change point and center of operations on the branch. The Denver crew turns their empty train over to a new crew, which makes the run to one of the mines to load the u-ain and return it to P-burg. It takes about 90 minutes to load a 100-car train. Some of the heavier trains exceed 14,000 tons. Present day operations find unit coal trains loading at three mines. The ColoWyo mine at Axial is at the western terminus of ule Axial Branch, which runs 25 miles southwest out of Craig. Closer to Craig, on me Axial Branch, is the Empire Energy Mine. The Cypress Energy Mine is located on a spur Ulat leaves ule Craig Branch at Hitchens, east of Steamboat Springs. One additional interesting operation is the shutue train that brings loads fr om all Ulree mines to a large Tri-State Generation power plant near Craig. Two shuttle trains of 55 cars each serve the power plant daily. The Craig Branch is the almost exclusive domain of D&RGW SDs. As the loads begin their eastward journey, they usually pick up a fo ur-unit helper set before reaching Steamboat Springs. The awesome immensity of these trains was evident as the AINI1C ground up the short grade near Toponas with 105 loads, weighing 14,450 tons with a train length of 6,587 fe et (above). Earlier, the same train glided through a pastoral scene near Dawson siding (above right) , with a u-io of tunnel motors leading the way. These tunnel motors are the backbone of the Rio Grande coal trains, with a sprinkling of SD50s tossed in. At historic Oak Creek, a peaceful small town , tranquillity was shattered by the passage of westbound empties led by SD40T-2 5356 (right) .

24 • FEBRUARY 1993 PACIFIC RAILNews • 25 Fond Farewell for the Rio Grande

JUSTIN DORN

Moffat Line

""hen railfans conjure up images of the Rio Grande, they often visualize the fa med Rio Grande ZephYT rounding Big Te n Curve and blasting through nu­ merous tunnels on the climb up the Front Range to Moffat Tunnel. Today's operations on the Moffat Line are dom­ inated by unit coal trains, the heart and soul of the D&RGW. With the majority of the traffi c now diverted to Ten­ nessee Pass because of the SP merger, the Moffat's role is now diminished. The most regular trains are the hot DVROT and counterpart RODVT carry­ ing intermodal traffic between Denver and Roper Ya rd in Salt Lake. The DVROT usually departs Denver around daybreak and its counterpart RODVT leaves Salt Lake shortly before midnight. Both these trains carry a cut of UPS trailers, so they are easily identifiable out on the road. Following the DVROT out is a second intermodal train, the DVOAF. There are two junker m:mife st trains, one east and one west, both running fa irly heavy and handling on-line work. Coal trains are run on cycles between the mine and the power plant they serve. This means there can be heavy coal traffic or next to nothing on any given day. Mountain railroading is clearly at its peak when you look at the climb up the Front Range. This is certainly the main rationale fo r tl1e railroad purchas­ ing the 73 tunnel motors. Including Moffat Tunnel, there are no fe wer than 29 bores between the summit at Winter Park and Denver. The ruling grade is an almost constant 2 percent compounded with dozens of 10 degree curves used to climb 4,041 fe et out of Denver, resulting in the ultimate challenge fo r both train crew and locomotives. We st of Moffat Tunnel the Grande traverses the spectacular scenery in Fraser, Byers, Gore and Rock Creek canyons before joining the Te nnessee Pass line at Dotsero. The dichotomy of the Moffat Line is evident in two photos taken at Bond. The final rays of sun illuminated tl1e flanks of a coal train helper set as it tl1rot­ tIed up departing Bond fo r the run to North Ya rd in Denver (right) . A west­ bound DVROT witl1 an almost solid set of Grande power highballed west with a short consist in tow (above left) . After a wild chase fro m Bond we were able to catch the hotshot fo r one additional photo entering Dotsero (above right) . As our trip progressed, tl1e date fo r me nationwide lockout drew nearer, final­ ly sending us home to California when me trains stopped running on June 24. Not only had our Rio Grande odyssey ended, but we had to fa ce the reality tlnt me remnants of me tl1e tough and independent railroad were fa ding. PRN

26 • FEBRUARY 1993

MAIN PHOTO: Amtrak's 774 train-an L.A.­ bound Santa Barbara San Diegan-skirts the surf near Ventura, Calif., in February 1992 with a new P32BH leading the way. Don R. Flynn LEFT: Along the route of the Capi­ to/�Amtrak's newest corridor-train 722 ar­ rives at Davis, Calif., the last stop before Sacramento, on March 8, 1992. John C. !limon BELOW: F40 254 waits for departure to L.A. at San Diego on Dec. 21, 1989. Mel Finzer Amtrak's IFOR ORRIDORS ABOVE: San Joaquin 703 is 30 minutes late as it rolls through River­ least temporarily, received a major setback. The bond issue bank, Calif. (the stop for Modesto), on March 6, 1992. Joe Blackwell would have purchased new passenger rail cars needed to TOP RIGHT: Amtrak 50 1, one of two Caltrans-owned P32BHs, pulls a increase frequency, and improvements to tracks and grade 774 train through Chatsworth in April 1992. Don R, Flynn BOTTOM crossings to increase speed. RIGHT: Eastbound Capitols train 724 crosses the massive Suisun Bay "There is still money available from 1990," said van Loben Steve Brown Bridge near Martinez on Sept. 22, 1992. Sels, "but our program of improvements has slowed, while we decide the next step," That could include going back to the voters sooner than 1994, increasing the size of the 1994 only in California, but in the country, people would have ballot measure, or a redistribution of available funds. laughed at me," Larson said, The Capitols service is a good example of starting a new "The answer is simple," said James van Loben Sels, director rail service and seeing immediate public acceptance. Three of transportation for the State of California. "Californians have daily trains began in December 1991, offering morning, mid­ long been married to their cars. But, that is changing, and they day and late afternoon service between Sacramento and San are now willing to get out of their cars and use public trans­ Francisco/Oakland/San Jose . , . the first intercity rail service portation not only for commuting, but for intercity travel. " over the route in more than 30 years. "It was one of the very Larson added, "While a number of states have ambitious few times we have begun a new service with as many as intercity rail programs, California is clearly a leader in terms of three daily trains," Larson said, magnitude and commitment, California was one of the first Passenger acceptance was immediate ...helped by a fare states to join Amtrak as a partner to provide improved rail ser­ structure aimed at drawing people out of their cars (Interstate vice. The people in California have a clear vision of where they 80 parallels the tracks) and promotional fares of one-way plus want rail passenger service to be 10 and 20 years from now, $1 return. Officials expected 1,400 daily passengers by the and what it will take to get there, and there is a strong philos­ end of the first year of operation, but that number was ex­ ophy at the California Department of Transportation with re­ ceeded in March, after just three months of service. Ridership gard to providing good rail service to passengers." has leveled to approximately 900 per day, and remains very With the demand established, it just takes money to expand encouraging. and improve rail passenger services in the state, California offi­ Plans call for six daily round trips in late 1994, and 10 daily cials created a blueprint for funding rail developments and im­ trains, carrying 6,000 passengers, by the end of the decade, provements through legislation that provided for three major New stations will be added along the route, primarily be­ $1 billion bond issues on the 1990, 1992 and 1994 ballots. tween San Jose and Oakland, and at the other end with a ser­ The 1990 issue was passed by the voters along with vice extension from Sacramento and Roseville to Auburn. Proposition 116, a $1.9 billion bond issue, to plan and imple­ ment a number of major expansion projects, including the The San Diegans start of the Capitols service between the San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento. The San Diegan, between San Diego and Los Angeles, is But, a $1 billion bond issue failed to pass in the Novem­ probably California's biggest rail success story. Amtrak began ber 1992 general election, and the California program has, at operation of the line in 1971 when it took over the nation's pas-

30 • FEBRUARY 1993 California Corridors -= senger rail lines, continuing service that was started in 1938 by the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe. The state became mvolved m subsidizing the service in 1976. Since then, frequency has grown steadily from three trains per day to nine in October 1992. The route of two of the trains extends from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara. The San Diegan carries 1.7 million passen­ gers per year, second only to the Northeast Corridor, and the farebox returns 99.3 percent of the operating expense. The San Diegan serves some of the state's most beautiful and popular spots, as well as its most densely populated ar­ eas. It stops at some of Southern California's finest beaches, the famed Del Mar race track, Disneyland and Knotts Berry Farm, the Anaheim Stadium (baseball's California Angels and football's L.A. Rams), with convenient connections to Beverly Hills, Universal Studios and the San Diego Zoo. The San Diegan offers a Custom Class service (popular with business trawelers) with reserved seats, extra leg room, complimentary coffee, tea or juice, and a newspaper for a $5 surcharge. Telephones (GTE's Railfone) are located in Custom Class and the train's cafe car. Plans call for a 10th San Diegan to be added in late 1994, with the third extension to Santa Barbara, and possibly be­ yond to San Luis Obispo in mid-1995.

The San Joaquins

The remarkable growth experienced on the San Diegans is what Amtrak and Caltrans officials predict for the San Joaquins. The San Joaquins offer four daily round trips be­ tween San Francisco/Oakland and Bakersfield via the Central and San Joaquin valleys, with extension by connecting bus from Bakersfield to Los Angeles. The service operates over both Southern Pacific and Santa Fe trackage. Each of those railroads operated four daily pas­ senger trains during the 1950s and 1960s. Cutbacks later re­ duced the service to two trains per day, and they were dis­ continued in 1971 when Amtrak took over rail passenger ser­ vice and the San Joaquin was not included in Amtrak's origi­ nal mandated route system. In 1974, one daily train was inaugurated by Amtrak. It was threatened with elimination in 1979, but the State of Califor­ nia stepped in to save the route, and increase service to two round trips a day. The route has grown steadily since that time, thanks not only to the infusion of capital by the state, but a network of connecting buses that bring passengers from Southern California (including downtown Los Angeles) and Northern California areas (including Sacramento) not served by the train. In fiscal year 1992, more than 620,000 passengers rode the San Joaquin trains, ranking it fourth largest in the Amtrak system. Another factor adding to the success of the San Jo aquins is the fare structure that allows passengers to ride all year, except during certain holiday and peak periods, for the Southern Pacific Transportation Company, " Larson said. the one-way fare plus a $7 return fare. "The SP wants us to switch from the Santa Fe line to the SP line The growth of the San Joaquins bodes well for the future. between Fresno and Stockton. What SP must realize is that we It is one of the lines that has been targeted for expansion ... and the state are not going to wait forever for a decision, and partly because the passengers are there, and partly because the Union Pacific has parallel lines and offers an alternative." the improvements are needed. Caltrans continues to push for "The railroads are interested in improvements to the San extension of the all-rail route north to Sacramento and south Joaquin Valley service because they see the potential for prof­ to Los Angeles. it and improvement to their infrastructure," Larson said. "I "Both extensions of this service are necessary, called for, and can't remember the last time we had competing railroads even demanded by many railroad riders and organizations," seeking passenger business." said Larson. "But, it's not going to happen right away. To extend the San Joaquins from Bakersfield to Los Ange­ "The major hang-up to the Sacramento extension, frankly, is les will only be practical with an overnight train. The differ-

PACIFIC RAllNews • 31 � California Corridors �

ence in time is five and a half hours by rail versus two and a opment over the next six years, will link San Diego, Los Ange­ half by bus connection. les, San Francisco/Oakland and Sacramento with trains reach­ "The answer is that one train traveling overnight can oper­ ing speeds of 120 mph. ate with a slower schedule, which will not adversely affect "The high speed rail corridor will serve a population of 24 freight schedules," Larson said. "This service would be espe­ million people, will make travel more convenient with down­ cially attractive to business travelers who could leave San town-to-downtown service, and relieve congestion on our Francisco in late afternoon after a full day's work and arrive freeways and at our airports," said van Loben Sels. in downtown Los Angeles the next morning, refreshed and The high speed trains will cover 655 miles. Six round trips ready for morning appointments. " a day between Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area The addition of sleeping cars and the cooperation of the with a projected ridership of 1.3 million are scheduled for railroads that operate freight trains over the route would be 1998, and 14 daily round trips between San Diego and Los required before this service is inaugurated. Angeles by 2002 will serve an annual ridership of 5.1 million. "We also have an option of adding a second Coast Starligh t, To make the high speed corridor a reality, California is plan­ to leave Los Angeles in the evening and travel overnight to the ning massive improvements to grade crossings, grade separa­ San Francisco Bay Area, then on to Portland and Seattle. This tions, closure of redundant crossings, and track upgrading. would give us increased frequency in this market as well as of­ "It will take time, but high speed rail is coming to Califor­ fering passengers daylight travel through the Mount Shasta nia, " promised Van Loben Sels, "In the meantime, we are area in Northern California, one of the most scenic in the coun­ seeking to improve our conventional rail system. " try. However, we need a significant amount of equipment be­ And, California is building its own passenger coaches and fore this service can be implemented," Larson added. locomotives to insure that expansion of intercity services goes forward without the delays caused by Amtrak equip­ High Speed Rail in Future? ment shortages. The passenger cars, called California Cars, will have an innovative design that incorporates the same The route through the San Joaquin Valley is also designat­ body for intercity, commuter and regional passenger service. ed as part of California's high speed rail corridor. That corri­ Under a $155 million contract awarded to the Morrison dor, one of five selected by the federal government for devel- Knudsen Corp., a total of 88 California Cars will be built, 40

32 • FEBRUARY 1993 OPPOSITE PAGE: P32BH 51 1 pushes a 771 train through Santa Susana Pass and toward its San­ ta Barbara destination on March 12, 1992. Don R. Flynn LEFT: Passenger trains are becoming part of the good life in Cali­ fornia as Capitols train 725 aHests at Pinole on July 25, 1992. Dick Stephenson

for intercity use, and 48 for short-distance commuter service. The first cars, scheduled to start delivery in AMTRAK'IS late 1993, are being manufactured at the Morrison CALIFORNIA Knudsen plant in Hornell, N.Y. Thereafter, MK expects to assemble California Cars in Pittsburg, Calif. CORRIDORS "By manufacturing the California Cars, we are creat­ ing a single, interchangeable car that gives us greater flexibility to meet the increasing demand for rail pas­ senger service," said van Loben Sels. The present Capitols and San Joaquin trains are stocked with cars from Amtrak's Horizon fleet built by Bombardier Corp. and assembled at the Bombardier facili­ ty in Barre, Vt. Coaches built in 1989 incorporate deluxe CAPITOL CORRIDOR seating, which recline for greater comfort, pull-down tray tables, overhead luggage racks, climate control and sound __ SAN JOAQUIN ROUTE proof systems, seating for 77-82 passengers with accessi­ ble seating and rest rooms for disabled passengers. SAN DlEGAN ROUTE The California Cars will be built of stainless steel, mak­ ing them more durable and easier to maintain. Their OTHER AMTRAK ROUTES state-of-the-art technology will provide a safe, comfort­ able and efficient ride for passengers. They will feature MAP BY DON GULBRANDSEN AND TOM DANNEMAN large picture windows, comfortable seating, bicycle stor­ age areas, audio/visual displays, computer connections, telephones and FAX and optimum accessibility for per­ sons with mobility restrictions. The cars will be compati­ ble with all equipment in service in California, Amtrak in­ tercity cars and commuter cars, providing the ability to couple differently designed cars mechanically, electrically and pneumatically to operate in the same train consist. SOUTHWEST "The California Cars are a very positive step, which may set the standard for the rest of the country. Califor­ nia can increase its service in a positive way with the addition of this new equipment," Larson said. Amtrak now has approximately 36 cars in San Joaquin and Capitol service, and 46 in San Diegan service. "We are committed to delivering a safe, efficient and dependable network of trains connecting population cen­ ters in the state. By increasing frequency and adding SUNSET LIMITED stops to existing lines, and establishingnew routes, we TO PHOENIX will be better positioned to offer more and more Californi­ ans an alternative to driving their cars as they travel across the Golden State, " said van Loben Sels. PRN

PAC IFIC RAILNews • 33 • loneer • 81 cor

WAYNE KUCHINSKY

ack in the mid-1980s, ads appeared in rail­ PRN: How did you get started? fan publications offering an investment Brenkman: Well, I was living in Peoria at opportunity in a railroad. At the time, a the time, in the stock brokerage business. B prospectus for a new railroad was not ex­ I had been interested in railroads all my actly common in the likes of the WALL life. I worked for the TP&W as a conductor STREET JOURNAL or FORBES, let alone a rail­ for seven years back in the late 1960s and fan magazine. Stranger yet, the company early 1970s. Never stopped looking at did not own even a single tie. trains I guess, three generations of people The campaign to raise capital was not in my family had been railroaders before exactly a rousing success, but it did provide me, so it was in the blood to a degree. seed money to underwrite a stock offering I got a few people together, some that launched Pioneer Railcorp. Despite its friends and associates that had similar in­ Midwestern roots, Pioneer's first operation terests. We decided this was an industry was a former Pennsylvania-Reading worth getting into. The problem was that Seashore Lines branch in New Jersey ac­ between all of us, we didn't have two nick­ quired in 1988, two years after PioneerRail els to rub together, and it's a cash-intensive incorporated. Despite operating in the era industry. We went to the states, we went to of Class I divestiture, Pioneer would not ac­ the local shippers, we tried everything quire its second railroad for a year and imaginable to get the free and easy dol­ half-Missouri's Wabash & Grand River. lars-they don't exist, you can't get them. With the West Jersey and W&GR under So we decided to do a stock offering, raise APath its belt, Pioneer shifted into high gear by ac­ some money and get into the business. quiring three new operations within a year We figured that we could really offer -Fort Smith Railroad, Alabama Railroad something genuine. We were going to and the ex-Kyle operation, Natchez Trace. raise this money and put it in real, hard Less The company has also armounced formation assets. We were going to buy land, track, of a subsidiary corporation, the Peoria & locomotives and tools, things that are real­ Eastern Railway Co., to bid on Comail's so­ ly there. We did a little private placement called Danville Cluster in Illinois. stock offering, we sold penny stock-l0 This five-railroad empire has its head- cents a share stock for seed capital. We Traveled quarters in the former Santa Fe railroad ho­ raised $35,000 and used that as the seed tel at Chillicothe, Ill. Behind the still-num­ money to fund the underwriting process, bered doors, all the billing, financial, opera­ the preparing of the documents for the Se­ tional, legal and administrative functions curities and Exchange Commission ... are handled by a small staff. In addition, and managed to get it all done for $35,000, Amtrak is a tenant in the historic structure. a process that normally costs $250,000. Heading this growing operation is Pioneer's CEO and founder, Guy Brenkman. I caught PRN: How did you en d up locating in up with Brenkman, a self-professed rail en­ Chillicothe, Illin ois? thusiast, last summer in his second floor of­ Brenkman: We had been negotiating with fice overlooking the AT &SF main. Listen in Santa Fe to buy the depot while we were as we find out what makes Pioneer Rail tick. still in Missouri. We could not get together

34 • FEBRUARY 1993 LEFT: Pioneer RS3M 7802 leads a Wabash & Grand River train southward through the wildlife-rich marshlands near Sumner, Mo., in December 1990. John A. Swearingen BOT­ TOM: GP9 1902 shuffles cars for Pioneer sub­ sidiary Fort Smith Railroad in March 1992 in the railroad's namesake Arkansas city. Bob Plough BELOW: Pioneer CEO and founder Guy Brenkman-a rail enthusiast who saw the profit potential in the shortline busi­ ness-at work in the W&GR headquarters in Chillicothe, Mo. John A. Swearingen

with them. We moved to Fort Smith-we no sooner landed there when Santa Fe called and said 'we'll take your offer.' The first impulse was 'sorry guys its too late,' but the more I thought about it the more I decided that it was a good excuse to own our own building.

PRN: Ho w many people do you have working in this building? Brenkman : We have 10 working here in­ cluding the operations center. Our concept on operating these railroads is a bit differ­ ent than most of the big shortline opera­ tors. Most of the big shortline groups make each operation a complete stand­ alone. Each railroad has its own account­ ing, payroll and local management. We handle all of that for the five railroads un­ der one roof. The customers call in their car orders on toll-free lines. We get our conductor's wheel reports by fax here, we do all our EDI [Electronic Data Inter­ change] here-we're totally EDI compati­ ble with every railroad. Northern is virtually gone. We haven't got ma and Natchez Trace, have had some PRN: How many people do you employ? a covered hopper from BN in a year. We've problems. The first four months of 1992, Brenkman: Total, with all subsidiaries, we had a standing order for 25 cars the entire the Alabama was shorted about 160 cars. are approaching 50. We have a chief me­ time. Something is wrong. We have decid­ Those are 160 lost loads. Those are loads chanical officer that roves around and ed that we are going to hedge our that went to truck the same day we did takes care of locomotives. We have gener­ bets-we're going get our own car fleet on not deliver an empty. You know what we al counsel-we got to a point that we each railroad. I am a firm believer that the have found is customers won't wait any were paying so many legal fees, that we recession is over and if we don't get cars more. These big railroads are still operat­ decided to have our own lawyer. locked in now, we could be in big trouble. ing under the assumption that if they're three or four days late with a car, well so PRN: Wh at about car supplies, do you PRN: Wi th the car shortage, what addi­ be it, the customer will wait. But that is own any cars ? tional business could you have done? not the case. You don't get the car there Brenkman: Just a couple. We got some Brenkman: We could have easily done an­ the day they want it, it's diverted. cars leased in revenue sharing agree­ other 10-20 percent. The Fort Smith, we ments with a couple of big companies­ haven't had any problems there-the PRN: How about the locomotive market? GE Railcar as an example. The car supply Union Pacific has been a good supplier of Brenkman: Its not a tight as it was a couple is terrible. Car supply from Burlington cars. Our two newest railroads, the Alaba- of years ago. Prices are starting to pick up.

PACIFIC RAILNews • 35 Prices were dirt cheap 6-12 months ago. We bought GP7s recently for under $30,000. They weren't running. We had to spend $5,000-10,000 each to get them running, but they're darn reliable locomotives. This is cheap compared to the $90,000-150,000 some dealers were quoting two years ago. Wabash &

PRN: Is service the only fa ctor in attract­ ing customers? Brenkman: You can provide a customer 15 switches a day, but if the rate is too high, you're not going to get the business. We Grand River occasionally lose one because of rates. I am of the belief that if you have excess ca­ pacity in a train, its not costing you to move that car. The big railroads should study what the airlines do in their pricing.

PRN: Do the big railroads cooperate in getting rates? Brenkman: We do fairly good in getting rates. You've got to go to them and say guys, this is what it will take to get this off the trucks and on to the rails. You've got to have your research done before you go to them. You can't just go them ask them for their best rate.

PRN: Do you fin d UP's streamlined man­ agement makes them easy to deal with ? Brenkman: UP is a top-notch company. It's a big company, but by and large they take good care of us.

PRN: Wh y do you think UP gave up on the Fort Smith operation ? It's not your typical short lin e volume. Brenkman: It raised a lot of eyebrows. A lot of people asked why did they do this? But for the same reason that all big railroads spin these off-their labor costs RS3M 7802 reposes next to the Wabash & Grand River Railway headquarters, the former are so much more than ours. They had one CB&Q depot in Chillicothe, Mo. The rebuilt Alco has since transferred to Pioneer partner Fort Smith Railroad, where it serves in a back-up role. John A. Swearingen switcher a day in Fort Smith and couldn't take care of the business-and regularly missed customers. The cost was so high JOHN A. SWEARINGEN they couldn't justify a second switcher. We have two switchers. Car counts are going up, customers are happy. It's a tough call ioneer subsidiary Wabash & Grand line carrier to preserve rail service between for a company like UP. What they do best River Railway (W&GR). leases and op­ Chillicothe and Brunswick. The line came is move cars from point A to point B. The P erates 37.6 miles of former Norfolk & under the ownership of Green Hills Rural switch move is not their cup of tea. Western trackage between Brunswick and Development, Inc. (GHRDI) and was oper­ Chillicothe, Mo. The line dates back to 1870 ated by Chillicothe, Sumner & Triplett Rail­ PRN: Ha ve you been able to lure any busi­ when the Chillicothe & Brunswick Railroad way Company. Service was maintained ness back to the Fort Smith Railroad that branched off the Missouri River Va lley Rail­ along the route with a twice-a-week local. In the summers of 1988 and 1989 the CS&T was not using rail at all? road in Brunswick. The extension to the Brenkman: Oh yes, we built a track to a northwest was promoted by Jay Gould in dabbled in the railfan excursion business company called H. J. Baker that is getting an attempt to link his roads in St. Louis operating Th e Bedford Limited, a 20-mile round trip out of Chillicothe. four or five carloads a day. We put a switch with the Union Pacific at Omaha. This ex­ tension reached Council Bluffs, Iowa, in Enter W&GR. Apprizing a short line that back into Sun Pipeline. While Sun does not 1880 under the auspices of the Wabash, St. could become and remain viable, and even use it, they leased out the track to an Louis & Pacific-later the Wabash-thus grow, W&GR leased the line in April 1990 ethanol company, and grain alcohol comes completing a line from St. Louis to Kansas and began operations. W&GR President Guy in tank cars. We got a feed dealer started City with an extension to Council Bluffs. It 1. Brenkman, set up office in the old BN (ex­ up, we got some transloading going on, and stayed under the Wabash flag until 1964 CB&Q) depot in Chillicothe. The first order a warehouse that stored insulation. when the railroad became a part of Norfolk of business was to establish a presence and & Western. N&W kept the line from make the place look like a serious railroad. PRN: Wh at's an ideal size for short line? Brunswick to Council Bluffs active with two W&GR's approach was to address both the Brenkman: Ten thousand cars a mile! Size round-trip freights each week until 1983 cosmetic and the substantive. The depot, a is not important, but ideally, something is when the line was put up for abandonment. solid brick structure built in 1912, was reno­ manageable in the 40-60 mile range, Any­ Enter the Green Hills Regional Planning vated inside and out. Installing modern thing bigger than that and you're looking Commission, a quasi-governmental entity communications equipment also gave notice at a couple of crews to switch the line promoting regional economic and industrial that the W&GR meant business. development. In 1986 the Commission, The railroad's first locomotive was in­ PRN: As far as expansion, you told me working with several other organizations herited from CS&T, ex-SCL GP7 2348, still retaining Family Lines paint. For a time, that you expect to acquire and operate 20 and a community of concerned shippers W&GR had an Alco on the property, RS3M railroads. along the line, developed a Class III short- Brenkman: Very definitely; I believe we

36 • FEBRUARY 1993 WABASH & GRAND RIVER FREIGHT HOUSE CHILLICOTHE MUNICIPlE " UTIlITIES . ' ...... \ c:�� ��I.c:�!.��.... . j{ • . • •••••• ". . . " . . . . c;:J - N5 ...... N5 <::�== \ .... -ryo I ;; ...... J' � \ MFA EXCHANGE r::DONALDSO N INC DEPOT MILBANK MillS � "p0 LEGENDNOT TO SCALE WABASH & GRAND RIVER

OTHER RAILROADS 7802. These units have since drifted off the skirts the wooded, ABANDONED RAILROADS roster (the Alco now serves on the Fort marshy wetlands of Smith Railroad) and GP7 7801 is W&GR's Fountain Grove ROADS (NOT ALL SHOWN) lone locomotive. Wildlife Area. "That RIVERS Days begin on the W&GR at 7 a.m. land can turn into a N MAP BY JOHN A. SWEARINGEN when the company's two regular employ­ sponge during a peri­ AND TOM DANNEMAN ees, Curtis Provance and Larry Lee, report od of heavy rain or a for work. Provance, a former conductor for quick snow melt," re­ the Rock Island, and Lee, a former track­ ports engineer Provance, man for the Burlington Northern, are now "but in high summer "Universal Short Line Men, " meaning that when we see pheasants, they do whatever needs to be done. One turkeys, foxes and deer day may find them repairing and maintain­ along our right-of-way, ing maintenance-of-way equipment, anoth­ that's some of the pretti­ er may find them doing mechanical work est country anywhere. " on the locomotives or rolling stock. In addi­ Sumner, with 178 resi­ tion, they man the trains that operate as dents, bills itself as the "Wild service requirements dictate, which aver­ Goose Capital of the World" ages once a week. owing to its proximity to the On days when a train is run, the consist Swan Lake Refuge. Each fall the is usually built that morning. In Chillicothe, Sumner area hosts tens of thou- cars come from: Donaldson Inc, an air filter sands of wild geese on their migra­ manufacturer for trucks ; Kavanaugh Sal­ tion south, and the thousands of vage Scrap Yard or Anderson Iron and Met­ sportsman who hunt them. At Sumner, ST. TOLOUIS al; Hope Haven Industries, a recycler of alu­ W&GR has a 2,200-foot run-around minum cans, plastic and paper; and Mil­ track and a siding that serves the Ray-Car­ N5 bank Mills or MFA Exchange, each buyers roll elevator. More important, however, is and sellers of grain. the interchange with the BN Chicago­ W&GR gladly serves any other shipper Kansas City line. As W&GR approaches the wishing to use rail service. In the past this diamond it gets a green signal automatically yard at Brunswick; this movement is con­ has included anything from supplying coal ifthere is no approaching traffic on the BN. trolled by the NS dispatcher in Decatur, Ill. hoppers for Chillicothe Municipal Utilities If the signal stays red the crew calls the BN Once permission is given, W&GR hustles to boxcars for shipping brick from the Mid­ dispatcher in West Quincy, Mo., who manu­ into Brunswick Yard, drops off its cars at land Brick Division of Glen-Gery at Utica. ally turns the red to green when the traffic the east end, picks up interchange at the Future business may include inbound pattern allows. On almost every trip there is west end in front of the depot, and starts Caterpillar tractors on flatcars to Dean Ma­ switching to be done at the interchange. for home as soon as possible. "We don't chinery Company. "We told them we could From Sumner it is 10 miles to Triplett. tarry there," exclaims Brenkman, "or else do it, and hope to have them as customers On this stretch W&GR slides under the we may get stabbed by one or more NS soon," said Brenkman. AT&SF Chicago-Kansas City double-track freights, and we don't need any of that as The train usually gets underway by 8:30 main line. There is no interchange track our day of trying to cover 80 miles of 10 a.m. heading east, with Provance working as here. Triplett, an agricultural community of mph track, and do switching too, is long engineer and Lee working as conductor/ 191, is surrounded by large, prosperous­ enough already. " brakeman. After passing under Soo's Ot­ looking farms. Here, W&GR has a 1,100-foot The operation of W&GR trains is not gov­ tumwa, Iowa-Kansas City line (W&GR does run-around track and a siding that serves erned by any arbitrary rules. Basically, the not interchange traffic with the Soo in Chilli­ another Ray-Carroll elevator. "They are one short line does whatever it can to best serve cothe) the train reaches ex-N&W iron at the of our best customers," reports Brenkman, its customers and to operate most efficiently. edge of town and begins heading southeast. who notes that they will soon begin taking Trains may pick up and set out while travel­ Trains average 10-12 cars. Heavier trains rail deliveries of tank cars of anhydrous am­ ing in either direction or even tie up at Sum­ generally need to double the hill just south of monia, a liquid fertilizer. ner overnight to await BN interchange. town. The largest W&GR train to leave Chilli­ From Triplett it is seven miles to the con­ A similar stance is taken regarding the cothe was 38 cars in the summer of 1990. nection with Norfolk Southern at Kelly routine paperwork-it is handled as effi­ It is 20 miles to Sumner, the first town Switch, just west of Brunswick. Near the ciently as possible. All communications are where there is usually work to do. With a crossing of U.S. 24 W&GR trains, lacking a made by phone or by Fax machine, and all 10 mph speed limit the crew settles in for siding, occaSionally spot a hopper on the waybills are handled by connecting carriers a steady two-hour pull. Eleven miles into main to be loaded with crushed rock while BN and NS. Free from the time-consuming the trip they pass Bedford, a 300-foot run­ the locomotive goes ahead to conduct its tedium of written communications, ascer­ around track that used to serve a town of business in Brunswick Yard. On the way taining freight rates and making out way­ the same name. Used as a turnaround back the locomotive pushes the loaded hop­ bills, management is able to involve itself point for CS&T's "Bedford Limited," the per to Triplett, where it uses the runaround more directly in solving the day-to-day siding is used by W&GR to set out bad-or­ track to get around the car. problems of railroad operations. der equipment. At Kelly Switch, W&GR track meets the What about the future of the Wabash & At first the trip is through rolling farm NS St. Louis-Kansas City main line. W&GR Grand River? "We like it here, and we like land, but just past Bedford the railroad has two miles of trackage rights into the what we are doing", says Brenkman. PRN

PA CIFIC RAllNews • 37 will acquire one to three more railroads this year. The process that has evolved with the big railroads selling a lot of little lines, that's going to come to an end-it's within sight. I think in two to five years it will be over. But you have got to remem­ ber that a lot of short lines have gone into Ft. SDlith business in the last 10 years, and a sec­ ondary market has almost developed.

PRN: So you think that this is wh ere the opportunities lie? Brenkman: Yes, what we have been able Railroad to see is that we are able to operate these railroads more efficiently and for less mon­ ey than a stand-alone railroad. It's getting tougher and tougher for single operation WAYNE KUCHINSKY to survive. It has the overhead on one rail­ road that we have on two or three. ention northwest Arkansas to the the viCinity and still stands in dilapidated average rail enthusiast and the all­ condition. With the car spotted, we trundle PRN: Wh at does Pioneer look for in a po­ Alco Arkansas & Missouri quickly north to pick up an empty bulkhead flat at tential aquisition ? Mcomes to mind. However, there's a new­ Fort Smith Lumber. The journey north of the Brenkman: When we look at one of these comer in the area-the Fort Smith Rail­ office was unusual for the day crew. Nor­ projects-and we pass on more than we road-that should be added to any itinerary mally, work on the north side is handled by have bought-even more than condition of with Arkansas as a destination. the second trick switch crew. Conversely, the plant and cost of operation, I'm keenly Fort Smith Railroad came into being on the night crew seldom ventures south of the concerned that the demand for rail service July 7, 1991, when Pioneer Railcorp leased KCS interchange on the near south side. is there. You can go to people and hear Union Pacific's Paris Branch. The line was Soon we passed an A&M Alco T-6 built in 1897 as the Arkansas Central. It switcher working in the yard. Jim and Terry "we want rail service," but what I would quickly carneunder the control of the St. are both ex-A&M employees and they ban­ like to know is how many cars did you Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern (Missouri tered with their A&M counterparts while move last year, and what are the truck Pacific) and was formally absorbed in 1920. rolling past. We were destined for the Sub­ rates versus the rail rates-this really de­ The prime reason for Pioneer's leasing the urban Lead. After throwing the switch to termines if the business is there. Number line was not the traffic on the branch, but access the line, Jim walked over to activate two is the condition of the railroad. From rather the terminal operations in Fort the timer on the gate interlocker protecting there, price: Is it a lease or sale? Smith. Railroading in Fort Smith is a throw­ the A&M main. After closing the gate be­ back to 1950s when railroads served cus­ hind us, we crept down this remnant of the PRN: Lease versus purchase, what do you tomers through a labyrinth of spindly in­ Fort Smith Suburban Railway, complete prefer? dustrial leads and sidings. This labor-inten­ with tight curves, light rail and a loop con­ Brenkman: We really like to own things. sive service is a perfect match for a short­ figuration. After dropping an empty, we re­ We leased three and are purchasing two. line operation. FSR generates 14,000 car­ traced our route, stopped to pull inter­ You don't find yourself as much under loads annually-75 percent of this traffic is change from the A&M-only two cars-and somebody's thumb when you purchase. terminal movements. returned to the yard. The compact FSR yard UP, as nice a company as they are, are go­ Recently, I had an opportunity to spend interchanges about 75 cars a day from UP, ing to dictate to us to some degree. In a day on the Fort Smith Railroad. I arrived a Kansas City Southern and A&M. The next 8 a.m. and found that the first trick switch New Jersey, we have to give detailed fi­ order of business was to get the inter­ crew of engineer Terry Rogers and general change tracks ready for the connecting lines nancial information on what we are doing manager/conductor Jim Chudy had been on and to build a train for the daytime switch and come the day the lease is up for bid, duty for an hour. We climbed aboard one of run. Switching with a two-man crew takes our competitors can use this information to FSR's two ex-BN Geeps (an ex-Conrail teamwork and good communication-Jim hurt us. And like most governmental agen­ RS3M serves as backup) and headed the and Terry made this difficult job look easy. cies, despite the good job we are doing, seven-track yard south of the railroad's of­ This daytime train takes seven to 30 cars to they will probably show no preference. fice to pull a carload of beer for the local customers on the southeast side of Fort Busch distributor. Smith. Jim and Terry finished train building PRN: Wh at about your competitors such a Across the tracks from the beer ware­ a little after 11 a.m. It was time for me to Rail- Tex and Kyle? house is the restored ex- Frisco depot. The catch up with the Paris Local. Brenkman: We are not afraid to bump up ex-Missouri Pacific freight house is also in The end of the line for the FSR is Paris, against them. We butted heads with Kyle on the Alabama and Rail-Tex on the FSR.

PRN: What's in the future for Pioneer? FORT Brenkman: Our game plan at this time-and I will raise a few eyebrows in saying this-we're going to be operating SMITH 20 or more short lines, a couple of region­ als and if we're not operating a small Class RAI LROAD I, we'll be sniffing at one. We plan to be the premier company in this business. We've got the machine built for it now, all we have to do add on a few personnel.

PRN: Railroading is still a meat and pota­ toes business ... Brenkman: It is. I used to stand up in front -- ROADS (NOT ALL SHOWN) of potential investors and tell them it's � PLANTERS SPUR MAP BY WAYNE KUCHINSKY AND common sense business. You've move the TOM OANNEMAN car, you've got to satisfy that customer. It's pretty simple. PRN

38 • FEBRUARY 1993 Ark., 49 rail miles east of Fort Smith. Once away from the area the first trick switch job patrols, the down side of the FSR can be seen. The entire railroad is operated under FRA-excepted rules for good reason-the landlord had allowed this property to decay. Fortunately, help was on the way as UP had sent a private contractor to patch up the railroad with 15,000 ties. The contractor's schedule of eight days on and six days off caused service disruptions to the two main customers on the branch, Arkansas Char­ coal and Tyson Foods. As we caught up with the Paris local, we passed the other big customer on the branch, Fort Chaffee. Whole trains and occa­ sional cars are delivered to a three-man switch crew using a Cat-repowered locomo­ tive. UP power is normally used on trains to the fort. With the downsizing now going on at the Pentagon, this traffic may soon be dry­ ing up-the impending move of the Mainte­ nance Command to Fort Polk will signal an end to this important source of business. We caught up with the Paris job at Arkansas Charcoal. The local had already cleaned out the empties at Tyson and was ABOVE: Fort Smith Railroad currently uses ex-Burlington Northern GP9s 1791 and 1902 waiting for two cars of tonnage to be un­ as its first-string power. The 1902 is shown at work in Fort Smith in March 1992. Bob loaded at what is reported to be the world's Plough BELOW: The FSR day switcher works one of the short line's largest customers, largest charcoal plant. The local's crew had Western Kraft Paper, in June 1992. Wayne Kuchinsky Robert Williams at the throttle and Mike Selby working as conductor. Robert was previously with BN while Mike toiled with and Western Kraft Paper. Their train had the Chicago & Illinois Midland for 21 years. been left in front of another customer, These gentlemen represent the growing Planter's Peanuts. pool of experienced railroaders set loose by We kept moving to catch up with Pio­ Class I buyouts that short lines and region­ neer's Vice President-Operations, Orvel als can draw from. Since they are generally Cox. Orvel was in town to check on the far short of retirement age, this growing progress of the track rehabilitation and iron group of rail refugees needs a bridge to re­ out some other problems. In between tele­ tirement. As a result, thousands of people phone calls to Chillicothe, we talked about like Robert and Mike have found their way his perception of the 11 operating employ­ to railroads like the FSR. ees that make the FSR tick. Orvel, with 27 The unloading took about a half an hour years of service on the GM&O and ICG, and Robert and Mike soon had a 14-car spoke with pride of the job they were do­ train coupl ed together. While Robert negoti­ ing. We were interrupted by a phone call. ated the roiler-coaster trackage, Mike and I Western Kraft Paper was having difficulty discussed various topics-punctuated by opening a boxcar door; he agreed to attend Mike's frequent checks of the snaking to the problem the following morning. Orvel string of trailing cars. Mike's views on the hung up and said he would have gone out railroad industry's indifference to taking there that night if they had needed it. Try care of customers were insightful. Mike's that one on a Class I. reference to customers in the possessive Although it was 30 minutes before supported Tom Peters' ass ertion that it's scheduled starting time, the second trick not the worker but management that makes switch crew of Gary Brown and Willie American companies non-competitive. Our Coleman were already at work. Engineer conversation continued as we eased Coleman is from the BN while conductor through a series of short tangents and Brown came from the KCS. Despite the fact treacherous-looking curves. that they weren't yet on duty, Gary and It took three hours to negotiate the Willie were getting organized for that rails between Paris and Charleston. With night's work-something rarely seen in the time running out and more to see, I parted rigid environment of the Class Is. Gary and Short lines such as the Fort Smith Rail­ company with Robert and Mike. On the Orvel went over the yard check and dis­ road face the difficult task of rebuilding a way back to Fort Smith, we caught up cussed evening plans-not your usual mul­ customer base that has been eroded by the with Jim and Terry finishing up switching ti-layered management hierarchy associat­ Class Is indifference and neglect. Howev­ at their two largest customers, Mac Steel ed with railroads. Orvel and I resumed our er, with good customer service and skilled conversation and it quickly employees like those I found on the FSR, turned nostalgic as we talk the battle can be won. With the continued about the GM&O. He lamented divestiture by the Class Is, short lines and the loss of what he considered regionals will take over or supply an ever­ to be a good railroad. As we increasing portion of the "Super Seven's" RATC LIFF concluded, Orvel struck a chord traffic base. This should increase their that seems to be Pioneer's phi­ clout with the major railroads and enable losophy: "Railroading is a sim­ the smaller railroads to be stronger advo­ ple business, basic nuts and cates for their customers. If this occurs, the bolts, all you have to do is take FSRs of the industry will be around for care of the customer. " quite some time. PRN

PA CIFIC RAILNews • 39 NorthernPacific Histor y Northern Pacific first laid rails through Staples in 1871 as it marched west from Thomson's Junction (near the present day Carlton, Minn., 120 miles east of Staples) to the West Coast. The railroad located its original headquarters along this line at Brainerd (later moved to St. Paul), 30 miles east of Staples. NP built south from Brain­ erd in the 1870s and 1880s to reach the Twin Cities; it also reached Minneapolis/ St. Paul directly from the Twin Ports of Du­ luth, Minn., and Superior, Wis., by pur­ chasing the St. Paul & Duluth Railroad in 1900. Staples became a junction for NP in 1889 when a 33-mile line from Little Falls TEXT AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY (on the original St. Paul-Brainerd main STEVE GUSCHINSKI line) to Staples was opened for service. This line was a shortcut for NP trains heading west across Minnesota, bypass­ urlington Northern is the dominant ley, which abandoned the eastern 94 miles ing Brainerd. While most of NP's St. Paul­ railroad in the rolling countryside of of the route. But BN has retained the ex-NP Fargo route was eventually double central Minnesota. While predecessor main that slices through the heart of the tracked, the Little Falls-Staples segment roadsB Great Northern and Northern Pacific state as its primary route for transcontinen­ remained single track. Staples became an honeycombed the central part of the state tal traffic, now the Third Subdivision of BN's important division point for NP, complete with trackage, the March 1970 Burlington Dakota Division. One of the better locations with a mUlti-story brick depot, round­ Northern merger brought all of them under to observe BN action is Staples, Minn., 125 house, and yard facilities. one owner. Since then, BN has pruned off miles northwest from Northtown Yard north In 1964, the single track between Staples the branches and sold the ex-GN main of Minneapolis and the first crew change and Little Falls was equipped with CTC, through central Minnesota to Otter Tail Val- west of the Twin Cities on the Third Sub. helping speed traffic through this bottle-

40 • FEBRUARY 1993 A sure bet fo r Burlington Northern action with converging mains fr om the Tw in Cities and Twin Ports · neck. The remainder of the main line is equipped with Automatic Block Signals, ex­ cept for two short stretches between Big Lake and Becker and the first seven miles out of Northtown Yard, equipped with CTC. When the BN merger took place on March 2, 1970, the NP St. Paul-Casselton, N.D., main line was designated as the preferred route for priority transcontinentaltraffi c, and Staples became busier than ever. Staples To day In rnid-1992 Staples served as the junc­ tion point of the 227-mile Northtown-Dil­ worth, Minn., Third Subdivision of the Dakota Division and the 120-mile Fourth Subdivision from Staples to Carlton, where it connects with the Fifth Sub to the Twin Ports. In fall 1992, BN once again revised its divisional structure. BN's Minnesota lines were divided up among the newly created Minnesota, Willmar, Superior, and Fargo divisions. The former Dakota Division Third Sub is BN's main artery for intermodal and merchandise train traffic to and from the ABOVE LEFT: Back in days when well-worn F-units still roamed Midwestern Class Is like ex-GN "High Line" across North Dakota, Burlington Northern, Milwaukee Road and Soo Line, train 123, led by an A-A-B-B-A set of F9s, Montana, Idaho and Washington. Coal rumbles along the BN north of Cushing, Minn., on Feb. 19, 1981. ABOVE: Chicago-Laurel, trains also use the Third Sub, coming off Mont., train 19, behind a Caterpillar-powered GP20C and an SD40-2, speed westbound un­ the former NP line across southern North der the U.S. 10 overpass just east on Lincoln, Minn., on July 5, 1992.

PAC IFIC RAILNews • 41 ABOVE: F9 778 leads a leased Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range SD9 168 on Superior, Wis.-Laurel, Mont., train 157 past the former Northern Pacific depot in Staples, Minn., on Jan. 14, 1979. RIGHT: Chicago-Seattle train 1, one of the hottest trains on the BN, flies through Lincoln, Minn., on July 5, 1992, with GP40M 3506 and a B30-7AB in charge.

Dakota at Fargo, Minn.lMoorhead, N.D. although a few tracks remain to hold both Coal trains are also the main reason the coal and merchandise trains. former Fourth Sub to Carlton still exists. Even better photo opportunities can be Save for the Superior-Brainerd local that found along the single-track line between handles paper mill traffic at Cloquet (a Staples (actually Philbrook, where double short seven-mile side trip from Carlton track ends six miles south of town) and up the Fifth Sub) and Brainerd, this line Little Falls. This stretch of single iron is used exclusively for coal trains des­ passes through rolling countryside and tined to the Superior Midwest Energy the towns of Lincoln, Cushing and Randall Terminal in the Twin Ports, where the before reaching Little Falls, boyhood home coal is transloaded into lake boats. This of aviator Charles A. Lindbergh. $25 million terminal, opened in 1976 by Following the BN west along U.S. 10 utility Detroit Edison (DE), typically loads from the Twin Cities, you encounter Gre­ five to seven lake boats each week with gory just three miles south of Little Falls. low-sulfur coal during the Great Lakes Here, the double-track main line reduces navigation season, much of it destined to single track and CTC control begins. for DE plants in Michigan (11,971,435 Once into Little Falls proper, the main if there is a meet. Another CTC-controlled tons of coal were delivered to the termi­ crosses the Mississippi River. There are passing siding, Darling, is four miles north nal from BN trains in 1991). All this coal good photos to be had here, or in the cen­ of Little Falls and is a frequent meeting traffic funnels from Montana and North ter of town, where trains pass the A-frame point. From Little Falls north the railroad Dakota through Staples. ex-NP depot, designed by noted Minneso­ is paralleled by U.S. 10, but it is a four-lane ta architect Cass Gilbert, who also de­ roadway most of the way, making it diffi­ Followingand Photographing signed the Minnesota State Capitol build­ cult to turn around if you should spy an ing in St. Paul. oncoming eastbound train. Photographically, Staples itself is good North of town the tracks pass beneath There are several vantage points be­ location, thanks to the large ex-NP depot U.S. Highway 10. This bridge is a good tween Darling siding and Randall, six that makes an excellent backdrop for de­ vantage point for westbound trains in the miles to the north. One of the better spots parting eastbounds (in the morning) or ar­ afternoon. The Little Falls passing siding is about a mile south of Randall, where riving westbounds (in the afternoon). The extends under the highway overpass, so westbound trains can be photographed roundhouse is gone, as is most of the yard, another train could block your photo here from a small hill as they curve northeast.

42 • FEBRUARY 1993 .l TO INTERNATIONAL .... FALLS, MINN.

BN IN THE STAPLES. MINN.. AREA

210 PILLAGER

TO SUPERIOR, WIS. ----1210'----

By far the most popular and oft-pub­ KEY lished photo location in BURLINGTON this area is where U.S. 10 NORTHERN bridges the BN about two miles CAMP RIPLEY south of Lincoln. Eastbounds come ABANDONED through a sweeping curve as they ap­ FORMER NP MAIN • • • ••• •• BURLINGTON NOW USED AS proach the overpass, while westbounds NORTHERN � t:����p��y travel a short tangent after coming out of ROADS a distant curve. The single track through (NOT ALL SHOWN) this stretch is laid with concrete ties, and shops BELLE PRAIRIE MAP BY ANDREW S. NELSON AND the trains really fly as they whip under from the TOM DANNEMAN the highway bridge. County Highway Once in Lincoln, the tracks make a bee­ 25 overpass just east line for Staples, away from the main high­ of town. Another good way. Exploring some of the back roads can photo can be had in Brainerd yield some nice shots, including the begin­ proper, where BN crosses the ning of double track again at Philbrook, Mississippi River on a new bridge. halfway between Lincoln and Staples, a East of Brainerd, the tracks head away distance of 12.5 rail miles. From Philbrook, from the highway, but can be picked up County Highway 7 follows the tracks into again at Deerwood, 17 miles to the east. the division point. From Deerwood, SH 210 follows the that are easily picked up on a scanner West of Staples the countryside flattens tracks closely 10 miles through lake (BN ChanneI 1 161.100). Activity is best out considerably as the main line encoun­ country into Aitkin, where the NP depot for eastbounds in the morning, while late ters the vast prairie that extends through has been preserved and now houses a afternoons are best for the westbound North Dakota and into Montana. Two loca­ museum. The tracks then head into away fleet out of Northtown Yard in Minneapo­ tions of note west of Staples are the ex-NP from the highway again for 20 miles until lis : trains 1, 15, 19, and 33, all head west depot at Wadena (17 miles west) and the they reach McGregor. in the afternoon. For navigating around U.S. 10 overpass between New York Mills With the exception of the CTC on the central Minnesota DeLorme Mapping and Perham, both offering good photo an­ transcontinental main between Gregory Company's Minnesota Atlas is very use­ gles in both directions. and Staples, all the lines in the Staples ful; it's available at convenience stores There are more photo opportunities area are dispatched using track warrants across the state. PRN east of Staples along the 4th Subdivision. U.S. 10 and State Highway 210 parallel the tracks the seven miles from Staples to Motley, where U.S. 10 heads south to Lincoln, while SH 210 continues to follow the railroad east. At Motley the railroad swings through a big curve (good for westbounds in the afternoon) then cross­ es Crow Wing River on a deck bridge. There is a nice wood trestle along the highway between Motley and Pillager, nine miles to the east. From Pillager it's only 13 miles into Brainerd. Brainerd was always an NP town. In addition to serving as the railroad's first headquarters, Brainerd was home to NP's major steam locomotive shop for the east end of the system. Brainerd Shops rebuilt many of NP's steam locomotives, and when the end came for steam, many of the machines were scrapped there as well. The shop buildings still stand to­ day, a small portion of which are occu­ pied by BN engineering and mainte­ nance forces. One of the better photo locations in Brainerd is for eastbounds paSSing the

PAC IFIC RAILNews • 43 BURLINGTON NORTHERN

An 5040, an 5040-2 and two GP50s lead a Burlington Northern train through scenic Rock Creek, Mont., on the little-photographed former Great Northern "High Line" west of Marias Pass on Oct. 7, 1992. The 5040 leading the freight wears a one-of-a-kind paint job that BN experi­ mented with when a scheme was sought to improve the visibility of the locomotives, especially at grade crossings. Greg Sieren

so boost north/south business as evi­ rnaby 60 percent. To handle this planned Winter Grain Traffic Prospectus denced by a number of G34/G35 grain increase, BN has establishedunit train G87 trains expected to run during the winter. between Spokane, Wash., and Tacoma. A late fall com harvest coupled with an Out on the West Coast, Continental expected surge in export demand should Grain and Harvest States Coop have formed provide Burlington Northern with heavy a joint venture to handle com and soybeans Abbreviated eN Trains grain traffic during the winter months. through Continental's Tacoma, Wash., ele­ The normal November closing of the Up­ vator. Tacoma Export Marketing Company BN's new operating venture with Canadi­ per Mississippi Basin to barges should al- hopes to increase shipments through Taco- an National between Superior, Wis., and

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44 • FEBRUARY 1993 Chicago was a feeble enterprise during its Delivery of GP28Ms from MK has acceler­ ity south of Boise-Cascade's paper mill in first month. CN trains 340/341 have been ated, with No. 1519 on line as of Nov. 23. International Falls, Minn. Paper products providing superior scheduling for some All of these units remain based at North­ are increasingly moving by container, meager consists. Over Thanksgiving town, though have been wandering to oth­ with connecting carrier equipment now weekend, two 341 trains were spotted er points on the system ...The Alliance, spotted amongst a sea of BN America with around 10 empties in tow. A typical Neb., backshop has also been busy with containers. This trend will reportedly train ranges between 20-30 cars, and eight more C33-7s and one C36-7 placed change in early 1993 as a large chunk of longer on those days when potash or sul­ into service ...Ten coal service SD40-2s this lucrative business will be handled fur unit trains are moved in concert with were moved from Alliance, Neb., to Spring­ south of Superior, Wis., by Wisconsin Cen­ regular manifest business. Motive power field, Mo., ...Pacific Pride GP38 2075 has tral. At this writing it is unknown for 340/341 remains two pairs of Grand been rebuilt to Dash 2 standards at West whether WC plans to continue handling Trunk Western SD40-2s alternating with Burlington, Iowa, and was returned to In­ this traffic on doublestack equipment or CN international service SD40s. terbay in Seattle in mid-October. shift to long trailer flats used in its Chica­ go-Green Bay, Wis., corridor.

Motive Power News Hola, Mexico E-unit Update BN is reportedly very impressed with the Hoping to reap the benefits of the North 9500-series SD60MACs, particularly on American Free Trade Agreement, BN has The sale of surplus 9900-series E-units from heavy grades of the eastern Rocky Moun­ been marketing its new rail connection with the Chicago commuter pool has begun, tains. With an expected upswing in the Mexico at Presidio, Texas, in a venture with with MARC purchasing the six "best" economy in 1993, BN may feel confident short line South Orient Railroad. Service units. The first three units were moved to enough to acquire at least 50 SD60MACs started on Sept. 18 with 40 carloads moved Cicero, Ill. ,for preparation to ship east in or SD70s, but 50 new units may not be by early November. A temporary glitch de­ early December. Concurrently, the two Es enough to replace the 88 SD40-2s and 35 veloped at that time, however, as South Ori­ reacquired by BN are preparing for a full­ C30-7s that will reach the end of 15-year ent uses 11 miles of Southern Pacific main time return to service in 1993. The 9920 leases in 1993 ...BN has leased all three line to reach Presidio. South Orient pre­ was slated to be released from the West EMD BL20-2s and assigned them to North­ sumed that former Santa Fe trackage rights Burlington (Iowa) shops around Jan. 4 after town for maintenance ...The first set of were transferable, a claim that SP has ar­ being overhauled. The 9919, though not yet "Third Generation" hump power is now in gued. SP filed suit seeking to stop BN from shopped, was was shipped to ILS in Bethel, service at Murray Yard in Kansas City. diverting traffic off its own route. A settle­ Minn., for repainting, apparently in the ex­ SD38P 6264 and TEBC6 slug 6291 were de­ ment has been reached, allowing BN to pro­ ecutive scheme. On Jan. 13-14 one of the Es livered to BN at Paducah, Ky. , on Nov. 4 ceed with marketing plans. (probably the 9919) was scheduled to haul a and moved west for service ...BN now K.C.-Denver director's special in concert has 35 GP38-2s, with 14 based at Spring­ with Fs BN-l and BN-2. field, Mo., four at Glendive, Mont., and 17 BN and Boise-Cascade Thanks to Burt Arneson, Mike Blaszak, at Northtown ...The ten 6300-series Mike Cl eary, Jim Durham, Daniel Grossell, SD40-2s leased from EMD have been trans­ One of BN's traffic coups in recent years Mike J(jriazis, Bill Maltby; NORTHWEST RAIL­ ferred from Alliance, Neb., to Denver ... is building a major container loading facil- FAN, Tom Robinson and TRAFFIC WORLD.

AMTRAK/PASSENGER

The California Zephyr due in Oakland late. Supporters of Amtrak have been very A Tough Season on Dec. 7 was eight hours and 51 minutes concerned about the poor performance of late, arriving just after 2 a.m. on Dec. 8. Amtrak trains (such as No. 784 or No. 11, November and December continued to be Then two days later, NO. 5 was behind a which conflict with outbound Metrolink tough months for Amtrak with late trains UP freight derailment west of Salt Lake Moorpark trains). The conflict was to a dotting the system. The Southwest Chief City, where it sat for two hours before run­ great degree anticipated in talks between due in Los Angeles on Thanksgiving Day ning back to Salt Lake and continuing SP, Amtrak and Metrolink. had very little to be thankful for other than westward, arriving Oakland 6 a.m. on Dec. When there is a conflict between an Am­ finally reaching its destination, albeit 15 11. Credit goes to the crews that serviced trak and a Metrolink train, preference is giv­ hours late. A variety of problems plagued that train, and got it back on the road en to the train headed toward L.A. in the that train, from motive power failures to a eastward that morning without delay. morning, and outbound in the afternoon, diner that didn't work. When the train fi­ Delays to the Coast Starlight were, for­ with no penalty for an Amtrak train delayed nally made it to California, the power was tunately, not of the same magnitude. The by a revenue Metrolink move. Never in the Santa Fe B40-8W 180, GP35 2946, F40 249 problem is that on any given evening you 21 years since SP started handling Amtrak (the only unit that worked for the entire can count on at least an hour's delay to No. trains has it had to deal with multiple priori­ trip) and P32BH 517, which died en route. 11 into L.A. On Dec. 9, No. 11 was three ties, so this sets an important precedent Santa Fe units were picked up at La Junta hours 21 minutes late out of Santa Barbara, that other commuter operators will want to and Trinidad, Colo. The train was so late and took an additional 22 minutes delay take note of. Another party to this situation that a replacement set of equipment had meeting the San Diegan at Strathern siding is Caltrans, which funds a good portion of to be assembled in L.A. to become east­ in the Simi Valley. The segment between the intercity service within California. bound No. 4 that evening and met a tardy Oxnard and L.A. has been like a mine field NO. 3 at Pomona. since Metrolink commuter service started This was not an isolated event, howev­ on Oct. 26, with a number of interesting New Equipment Ordered er, as the NO. 3 scheduled to arrive L.A. on situations presented, such as meeting Dec. 7 did not get in until early on Dec. 8, trains at Strathern, Chatsworth, Burbank, An important step for Amtrak was the re­ 16 hours and 63 minutes late after endur­ or Glendale due to operating restrictions cent announcement that a 50-car order for ing mechanical problems with a car, a and the distance between sidings. View liner sleepers had been awarded to dead locomotive, a "dead" crew, a broken It appears that trains such as San Die­ Morrison Knudsen. Beside the first 50 cars, rail and the need for additional supplies gan No. 784 fall down quite a bit; on bad there is an option for an additional 227 cars for the dining car. days the train straggles into L.A. an hour of various types that would be built later,

PAC IFIC RAILNews • 45 signaling the end of the historic, but tired, efit underprivileged and handicapped chil­ for the dedication of the depot in that city, Heritage fleet. Bombardier, which is busy dren. Starting from Richmond, two groups Amtrak's Southwest Chief was operating building the Superliner II cars, was not in were handled through the San Joaquin Val­ about six hours late, and had to pass the serious contention for this order in great ley on Dec. 4. The next day the special origi­ Metrolink special at Claremont, and meet part because it could not meet the project­ nated at San Bernardino, made a round-trip the Santa Fe Special at Olga siding in ed delivery times. MK will manufacture the to Summit in Cajon Pass, then deadheaded South Pasadena. All of that made it a day car shells, and ship them to their facility at west to Duarte, where kids from the City of for keeping freight traffic on the San Hornell, N.Y., for final assembly. Hope hospital boarded for the trip to L.A., Bernardino Subdivision. The Superliner IIs are scheduled to replaced by kids from the Shriner's Hospital, One tradition expected to end soon is start arriving in July 1993, while GE may who rode to Duarte, then the train returned the annual Rose Parade Special on Santa have the first of 37 AMD103 locomotives again to L.A. The train then deadheaded Fe, operated to Pasadena on New Year's on the property in April. Unconfirmed re­ back to San Bernardino. Day. The 1993 operation is expected to be ports indicate that Chicago will be the ser­ Power for the five car special was C40- the last in a long string of such specials. vice base for these units, and the Califor­ 8Ws 853/846, while the cars were bag­ A related item is the 1992 Super Bowl nia Zephyr will be the train to which the gage car No. 77, sleeper No. 64-Regal in Pasadena on Jan. 31, 1993, is expected new GEs are initially assigned. Hunt, diner No. 61-Fred Harvey, Big Dome to generate extra business for regular Am­ No. 60, and Track Inspection Car No. 89- trak trains, and bring a number of private Wi lliam Barstow Strong. cars to Southern California in connection Santa Claus Rides The Santa Fe An interesting aspect of the Dec. 5 op­ with the event. eration was finding three passenger trains Thanks to Ed Von Nordeck, Rail Ven ­ Santa Fe sponsored a series of Santa Claus on the Santa Fe's Pasadena Sub all at tures, Elbert Simon, Glen Fra zier, Eddie trips in California in early December to ben- once. Metrolink had a special at Claremont Sands and Norm Peterson. CHICAGO & NORTH

Norfolk crew arrived in Norfolk with 48 additional two million shares in Chicago It Died With Its Boots On cars at 11: 10 a.m. & North Western Holdings Corp., from Today's C&NW is not a particularly Blackstone Capital Partners at the begin­ One hundred and seven years of opera­ sentimental organization, and the last ning of December? tions over the 320-mile line between Nor­ runs were "not a big event on our rail­ The CHICAGO TRIBUNE suggested that folk, Neb., and Chadron, Neb., by Chicago road," according to spokeswoman Leslie Blackstone decided to sell some of its & North Western and its predecessors Cleveland Hague. Management's only in­ stock before year's end in order to beat came to an end on Dec. 1, as the last terest now in the Cowboy ·isin the sal­ the expected effort by the incoming Clin­ C&NW trains over the Cowboy Line ar­ vage value of its rails, ties and real estate. ton Administration to hike income taxes in rived at their home terminals. In a deci­ Cleveland told the press that salvage 1993. After all, the sale netted Blackstone sion reached March 31, 1992, the ICC had companies have offered to buy the line about $27 million. authorized C&NW to stop running trains and scrap it, but the railroad is willing to Despite the sale, Blackstone remains in over the line, but not to abandon the track. wait a little longer for a purchase offer control of C&NW Holdings, owning slight­ C&NW later agreed to keep serving the from a new operator. ly more stock than UP. This prevents UP line with once-a-week trains through the There is a small chance that the North­ from controling the C&NW without ICC end of November to give the State of Ne­ ern Nebraska Railway Preservation Asso­ authority, which would violate the Inter­ braska a chance to buy the line and find ciation will be able to put together a bid to state Commerce Act. As of Dec. 15, UP still someone to operate it. But the state failed buy and revive the Cowboy. John Brice, had not filed its application to control in its efforts, and C&NW exercised its vice president of the association, told the C&NW with the ICC. right to shut down the line. press his group continued to negotiate The last eastbound C&NW train from with C&NW, but couldn't make details Chadron departed at 6:40 a.m. on Nov. 30 public until the deal solidified. Time is No Protection for C&NW with 17 cars. C&NW's Rapid City train­ running short, though. According to master and a marketing representative Cleveland, "If something can't be finalized At its Nov. 10 voting conference, the ICC paced the train by car to make sure all the [with the association], I think that some­ unanimously approved Wisconsin Cen­ sidings were cleared. Up to four carloads time next year we have to look at reapply­ tral's proposed acquisition of Fox River of railians chased the train as well. A few ing to abandon the line." Valley and Green Bay & Western. The residents of Merriman and about ten Separately, C&NW agreed to sell its Commissioners also unanimously decided denizens of Ainsworth saluted the train as Western Division office building in not to grant C&NW the Milwaukee-Green it rolled slowly past, and the proprietor of Chadron, built in 1986 and mostly vacat­ Bay trackage rights and local service the picturesque general store at quaint Eli ed by the railroad in 1989, to the U.S. For­ rights the carrier had sought over FRVR's (pop. 6) stepped out to take a picture of est Service, which plans to move in ex-North Western trackage. the last run. around Jan. 1. C&NW is planning to relo­ Big shippers like Kimberly-Clark shed The eastbound train arrived at Long cate the crew based at Chadron, who op­ no tears over the anticipated demise of Pine about 6 p.m., just as the last west­ erates the Chadron-Crawford and Dakota the short-lived FRVR and loss of their bound train from Norfolk appeared. The Junction-Rapid City lines, up to Rapid C&NW connection. "From a service stand­ consist of this train couldn't have been City, S.D. Locomotives will be shuttled by point, WC does a much better job," said much smaller-a solitary Iowa Interstate Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern between Kimberly-Clark transportation director gondola trailed SD40-2s 6929 and 6893. the now-isolated western lines and the Patrick G. Wynn. Once upon a time a fair amount of switch­ main part of the C&NW system for main­ North Western's only public comment, ing took place in the Long Pine yard, but tenance and repairs. by Leslie Cleveland Hague, was that the on this last trip the crews simply took company would reduce its 1993 business their rest in the company bunkhouse. forecast by 2 percent to account for traffic When the crews completed their eight­ UP Increases C&NW Stake lost to the WC. C&NW left the door open hour rest, they climbed on their respective to filing a judicial appeal of the ICC's de­ trains and headed for home. The Chadron If Union Pacific isn't interested in taking cision, but industry observers don't ex­ crew completed the long, lonely, last trip over C&NW, as both parties insist, then pect one. Privately, Chairman Schmiege with a 12:05 p.m. arrival at Chadron. The why did UP spend $39 million to buy an reportedly called WC president Ed

46 • FEBRUARY 1993 Burkhardt to congratulate him on the re­ sult and to suggest that the two compa­ nies move ahead with new coordination projects to save money. WC's control of FRVR severs C&NW's trackage north of Green Bay from a friend­ ly connection, trackage that would appear to fit well into the WC system, but whether WC and C&NW begin moving to­ ward a sale remains to be seen. The C&NW-FRVR Proviso-Green Bay trains continued to operate through mid­ December. However, an internal notice stated that, effective in early December, FRVR locomotives would be changed out at Butler and no longer would run through to Proviso.

E&LS Serves C&NW Oconto Falls Shippers

One coordination that had escaped our at­ tention until recently involves the C&NW's Oconto Falls spur, extending 13 miles from Oconto to Oconto Falls, Wis. This branch off the Marinette Subdivision crosses Es­ canaba & Lake Superior's ex-Milwaukee C&NW S050 703 1 leads a train of taconite empties bound for Superior, Wis., and ultimately Road trackage at Stiles Junction. The track USX's Minntac Pellet Plant on the OM&IR at Mountain Iron, Minn. The train is shown on the is in terrible shape, and the employee Adam's line west of North Lake, Wis., on Sept. 13, 1992. Greg Sieren timetable restricts loads on the line to 220,000 pounds. hardly a day off as they tried to handle Apparently due to the track conditions, the business. By December, though, the Proviso Notes C&NW has not operated this branch be­ corn wave had subsided and things got C&NW built a new yard lead at the Global tween Oconto and Stiles since February back to normal. 1992. Instead, shipments to and from Two intermodal terminal at Proviso Yard Oconto Falls are routed via E&LS north of during October and November. The lead, Green Bay. E&LS operates the Stiles Junc­ Locomotive Notes about an eighth of a mile long, is just north tion-Oconto Falls segment of the spur un­ of the Berkeley commuter station. This track der a reroute order. SD60 8017 is the first of C&NW's 55 SD60s is noteworthy because it was constructed to wear the current "old yellow" paint. It with concrete ties, to our knowledge the was spotted at the Proviso diesel ramp first such application on the North Western. Waves of Corn Flood the C&NW and on a westbound freight at Glen Ellyn The new lead will allow yard crews to by different observers on Dec. 1 ...C40-8 switch Global Two without interfering with The tractors worked far into the Novem­ 8541 was the last of the original 42 GE lo­ the departure tracks at County Line. It is ber nights on farms across the Midwest. comotives to travel to Mid-America Car for called the KP Lead after Ken Paternoster, The wet weather that had prevailed old yellow paint on Dec. 2 ...GP7 4324 the C&NW engineer who had the idea. through October had abated, giving farm­ was reported at Bethel, Minn., that same According to one report, Proviso Job 75 ers a brief opportunity to harvest the re­ day for repainting by Independent Loco­ to UP's Dolton, IlL,Yard Center actually mainder of the record 9.3 billion bushel motive Service ...FP7 217 has made it to made two runs before C&NW dropped the corn crop before snow flew. Much of the the Hub City Heritage Museum at Oel­ assignment in favor of giving the transfer corn was routed over C&NW and other wein, Iowa. According to reports, though, business to Indiana Harbor Belt. railroads for movement practically all at C&NW hasn't donated the venerable ex­ Thanks to Kenneth J. Larson, Bruno once. As a result, C&NW ran short of cars CGW unit to the museum; instead, the Berzins, Bob Stein, P. J. Gra tz, Jim Ford, and rested crews. Proviso Yard employ­ railroad is demanding payment of $15,000 Michael M. Bartels, Jim Seacrest, Rick ees worked through the month with before it will pass title. Mills and Jim Reisdorff.

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PACIFIC RAILNews • 47 SOUTHERN PA CIFIC LINES

the process of divesting its branchline op­ Moffat Tunnel main line as a two-section Surprises in 1993 Business Projections erations in Oregon. In addition to the movement. Each section requires four SDs pending deal with Genesee & Wyoming, on the head-end plus a three-unit SD Southern Pacific has defined 1993 revenue SF's Molalla Branch is likely to become the swing mid-train helper set. Interestingly, and volume expectations for its various Molalla & Eastern, operated by the East the swing helpers are entrained and uti­ railroad business groups. A few surprises Portland Traction Company. The West lized from Grand Junction all the way east were noted. SP's coal traffic was expected Stayton, Geer and Mill City branches ap­ to Denver. Additionally, a two-unit SD to grow from 1992's volume of 21.8 million pear to be slated for sponsorship by the helper set is utilized on the rear-end of tons to 22.6 million tons for 1993. This in­ Lewis & Clark Railway (Battle Ground, each train to help shove the tonnage up crease reflects an increasing switch from Wash.) if all goes as expected. Winter Park Hill between Tabernash, Co­ consumption of high sulfur Eastern coal to Mentioned in this column recently was lo., and East Portal. cleaner-burning Western coal. But SF's ex­ the accident damage to the swing-span SP operated another of the rather ob­ port coal business is expected to decline drawbridge on Coos Bay, struck by an er­ scure BNOGU (Burlington Northern-Ogden from 1.99 million tons in 1992 to 1.83 mil­ rant barge. After $750,000 in repairs, the unit train) potash operations on Nov. 23, lion tons for 1993. Coal traffic accounted bridge was reopened in early December. 1992. These heavy unit trains of potash for 14 percent of SF's 1992 business. The Coos Bay Branch, while not specifical­ originate in Canada and are brought to Two other large contributors to SF's ly mentioned in spinoff talks, is a likely Denver by BN. SP then routes the loaded bottom line were chemical products, 16 candidate with its solid traffic base. covered hoppers west over the Moffat percent of the total, and bulk plastics, at 15 Tunnel main line to Grand Junction, then percent of total revenue generated. A sec­ to Roper Yard for distribution to Salt Lake ond surprise involved TOFC/COFC traffic Routing Changes Valley area consumers. revenues. Although highly visible and heavily solicited, trailer and container traf­ In a move to reduce the traffic bottleneck on fic only contributed 3 percent of SF's traffic the Tennessee Pass main line, as of Dec. 1, GP30s Stay Active revenue stream, one of the smallest cate­ 1992, much of the eastbound unit coal traf­ gories noted as a separate business unit. fic dispatched from Grand Junction is being D&RGW GP30s active in Denver include routed over the Moffat Tunnel main line to 3014 and 3016 as North Yard's inter-rail­ Denver. In a move to help the east-west uti­ road transfer power. GP30 3018 was re­ Oregon Branches on Sales Block lization of pool crews, GJNSM (Grand Junc­ leased from this duty in late November, re­ tion-Norfolk Southern merchandise) was placed for a few days by D&RGW GP40 As reported in both Expediter and the moved from a Moffat Tunnel-Denver-Pueblo 3136. It was expected that the era of Short Lines column, Southern Pacific is in routing back to its old routing eastbound North Yard's GP30 transfer power was from Grand Junction via Tennessee Pass to about to end, but as it came to pass GP30 Pueblo effective the same date. 3014 was inspected at nearby Burnham shops and sent to North Yard, freeing up 3136 for other more important duties. Unit Train Notes GP30 3024 passed through Denver on Dec. MISSABE 5 working in the head-end of DVROM; RAILS DVBKG (Denver-Bakersfield unit grain). GP30 3022 was noted on Dec. 10 getting a 2 Hours once a late-week departure fixture from midnight fueling at North Yard. 540 • 95 Reg. 44.95 Denver, has declined in frequency of late. look at the However, in its place has appeared & IRON RANGE DVPTG (Denver-Portland unit grain). oper­ Industry Intermodal Reopens LTV STEEL ated in the same manner as DVBKG with massive rear helpers sets utilized for the In December five years of inactivity came ORE LINES Front Range climb west of Denver. to an end for the intermodal terminal at the Total 1992 tonnage for the coal contract City of Industry, when it was reopened to between the Axial Mine on Rio Grande's reduce the overload on the Los Angeles Craig Branch and Central Power and Transportation Center (known to genera­ Light's generating station near Coleto tions of railroaders as "Shops" because of Creek, Texas, was met at the end of its location on the site of SP's long-gone November. Not unexpectedly, to keep a steam locomotive maintenance facility). In­ flow of coal moving to the Coleto Creek termodal traffic between Los Angeles and power plant, supplementary shipments Chicago and other Midwest destinations is have been necessary. Included in these growing faster than LATC facilities can be shipments have been two new and distinct expanded, so the alternative was to reopen unit coal operating cycles from D&RGW's the mothballed site at Industry, which has North Fork Branch to Grand Junction, east plenty of room to grown, unlike LATC. over the Rockies via the Moffat Tunnel main line to Denver, then south over the Joint Line to Pueblo and transfer to BN for Moffat line Derailment movement to Coleto Creek. These two cy­ cles began on Dec. 1, 1992, and are referred Friday, Dec. 4 was not a good day for the to as ARCLC/ CLARC (Arco Mine to Coleto Moffat Tunnel main line west of Creek unit coal) and TCCLC/CLTCC (Terror Denver. Eastbound GJDVM (Grand Junc­ Creek Mine to Coleto Creek unit cOal). tion-Denver merchandise) derailed near The frequency of CVCRC (Converse Plainview siding during its eastward de­ Mine to Conrail unit coal), also originating scent of the Front Range. A Santa Fe box on the North Fork branch, has increased. car loaded with canned fruit and vegeta­ Moreover, this symbol is commonly oper­ bles that burned off an axle bearing on its p ated eastbound over the Rockies via the trailing truck was the culprit. A hotbox de-

48 • FEBRUARY 1993 Rio Grande GP60 3155, built in 1990 as one of three units togged onto on SP order, finds itself well off mainline trackage with the Creede Lo­ cal at Argo, Colo., on Aug. 17, 1992. The 3155 is towing 16 groin hoppers outbound from Alamosa, Colo. This light-density branch is one of several whose future is in question with SP's announced intention to pore 3,000 miles of track from its system. James S. Belmont tector a few miles west from the derail­ warning, GJDVM's crew immediately be­ fill and across a siding switch without the ment did not pick up the defect, so evi­ gan to stop the 5,000-foot train but the car going sideways and derailing the rest dently the box car's problem axle bearing momentum of the tonnage and the de­ of the train, began to disintegrate rapidly east of the scending 2 percent ruling grade made a The main line was out of service until detector. The box car derailed just west of quick stop impossible. A second talking 8:30 that evening, when traffic resumed tunnel three near milepost 25.9 and was drag indicator, located at milepost 25.4 at and things began to get back to normal. dragged along the main line with the re­ the east portal of tunnel two, was also Another three days were spent replacing mainder of GJDVM's lengthy consist. The tripped. The train was finally stopped 14 damaged ties, rail and the west switch derailed box car tripped the talking drag cars east of the west switch of Plainview trackage of Plainview siding. indicator at milepost 25.8, located at the Siding. The derailed car and its broken Thanks to H. W. Farewell, Dr. R.R. Har­ east portal of tunnel three. axle were dragged through two tunnels, men and SP Transportation Co. Inform a­ Responding to the drag indicator's around two very sharp curves, over a high tion Center, P. J. Gratz and John E. Shaw.

RAILS WEST 1993 CALL FOR PHOTOS GO WEST AND

There are also some things you can do DISCOVER! Send your best images of Western to help us with the contributions: and Midwestern railroading for in­ clusion in this year's edition: 1) Please limit your contributions to no more than 20 photos. PA CIFIC RA IL' 2) Please put you full name, and address on each photo and 1) Railroading in 1992-Send us your best color slides NEWS list subject information on either the slide mount or on the and black &: white prints of railroading in 1992. back of your print. If you wish to add more information on 2) Heritage Section-We need both color slides and paper, please do so. black &: white prints of the Western Pacific. Northern SUBSCRIBE TODAY Pacific and Missouri·Kansas-Texas dating from post­ 3) Please include a business size or larger SASE so that we can •••••••••••••••••••• WW 11 to the time of their absorption. return material as efficiently as possible. - Deadline for submissions is April 1, 1993 3) Night Photography-We need both color and black & white night photography from post-WW II to present. Please address your submissions to: CALL TOLL-FREE INTERURBAN PRESS/ATIENTION RAILS WEST, 4) People and Tra ins-We need color and black &: white P.O. BOX 379, WAUKESHA, WI 53187. 1-800-899-8722 photos of people working for railroads. riding trains or simply taking part in the hobby of railroading. If you use UPS or FedEx, please direct your packages to: (9 a.m.-S p.m. Pacific time, Mon.-Fri.) Interurban Press, 923 Friedman Dr., Waukesha, WI 53186.

PA CIFIC RAILNews • 49 ______S_ j_l e n_c_ __e _J' n__ t� h�e�s �a�n�d�h�'�' I �l s� 1� __ OF RAILROADING

hen the first Fremont, Elkhorn & Missouri Va lley Railroad o"ain an-ived in the northeastern Nebraska tmm of Norfolk on W Sept. 15, 1879, practically all of the 500 or so residents who lived there turned out to cheer fo r the new railroad. The FE&MV continued westward, bringing reliable o"ansportation to the roadless, sparsely inhabited Salldhills and in the pro­ cess turning Norfolk into a bustling division point and steam engine servicing center. For the Sandhills cattle ranchers, the railroad meant an end to an almost inconceivably isolated way of life and provided a way to ship to distant markets. For reasons now fo rgotten, railroaders soon nicknamed tl1e 32 1-mile-long so"etch of railroad between Norfolk and the western Nebraska city of Chadron, the "Cowboy Line." For 113 years, the Cowboy Line brought circus and campaign o"ains to the Nebraska cities it served and it hauled away cattle and hay. Boys who grew up on isolated ranches rode tl1e passenger trains to t"lVO world wars. On Dec. 1, Ch icago & North We stern's last Cowboy train arrived in Norfolk. Only a handful of people were there to witness the end. The train is no longer part of the Sandhilis. -CaTl Swanson

50 • FEBRUARY 1993 OPPOSITE PA GE: A crew member hands up a switch list as the west­ bound Lusk, Wyo., turn storms across Burlington Northern's main line at Crawford, Neb., on Sept. 29, 1989. THIS PA GE, TOP: A 600 mm, f/4 telephoto lens brings the westbound PRBFA (Pro­ viso-Belie Forche, S.D., freight) in close as the 'Cowboy' departs Norfolk, Neb., on June 28, 1989, beginning its two-day journey across the Nebraska Sandhills. MIDDLE: On May 6, 1989, the Lusk-bound freight meets the sunset at Fort Robinson State Park, west of Crawford. This line was destroyed by flooding two years after this photo was taken. Three photos, Interurban Press: Carl Swanson BELOW: The last east­ bound Chadron-Norfolk, Nebraska, Cowboy train was photographed east of Gordon, Neb., on Nov. 30, 1992. South Platte Press: Jim Reisdorff

PACIFIC RAILNews • 51 ______s_ i_,e__n _ c_ e i_n t_h�e�s �o�n�d �h� �' �' s___ l� __ __ i OF RAILROADING

ABOVE: With an impressive collection of early Electro-Mo­ tive products in the lead, a westbound freight rolls be­ neath the buttes of northwest­ ern Nebraska at Crawford, heading for Lusk, Wyo., on Sept. 29, 1989 RIGHT: High­ nose GP9 No. 4552 awaits the next day's switching chores outside the roundhouse at Norfolk, Neb., on June 9, 1990. Although the Cowboy Line west to Chadron has closed, C&NW plans to continue its Norfolk switching operation. Two photos, INTERURBAN PRESS: Carl Swanson

52 • FEBRUARY 1993 BELOW: The westbound Cowboy meanders out of Norfolk on July 7, 1988, passing a semaphore signal that cautions east­ bound trains of the Union Pacific crossing, a mile distant. BOTTOM: Rolling east, the Cowboy crosses the Elkhorn River, just a few miles west of Norfolk, in December 1988. Two pho­ tos, INTERURBAN PRESS: Carl Swanson

PAC IFIC RAILNews • 53 BV ED RIPLEV

ne train a day. How many times have you in­ its parallel trackage. True, BN presumably doesn't earn as quired about operations on an unfamiliar railroad much from the trackage rights as it did when it carried the line, only to be told that the owner manages to same trafficas SP's Chicago connection. However, it didn't runO just one train a day in each direction? suffer the 100 percent loss of revenue that would have fol­ Now think about the economic consequences. Millions lowed the SP-Soo deal, either. SP, of course, obtained a of dollars worth of rails and ties lying there, used for just Chicago-Kansas City route in good condition without a minute or two each day. Millions of dollars worth of lo­ spending megabucks on buying and upgrading the Soo. comotives reaching the crew change point, then Sitting In November 1992, BN reached a similar accord with idle for hours waiting for the next crew to come off its Canadian National, handling CN traffic on a haulage ba­ rest. Ditto for the freight cars. Service reliability? Forget sis between Duluth and Chicago. Once again, BN had it. If a car misses "the train," it sits for 24 hours or more. been handling much of this traffic for its own account, According to most estimates, the railroad industry op­ but it's probably better off than it would have been if erates at about 25 percent of capacity. Sure, some lines Wisconsin Central had grabbed the business. As for CN, do far better than that, but many are worse. By contrast, the economics of this arrangement probably look good America's industrial sector typically operates at 80 per­ compared to Grand Trunk Western's effort to buy the cent of capacity, or more. Few factories could survive Milwaukee Road a decade ago. with output at quarter capacity. No wonder railroads The trend appears to be catching on. In Texas, Union have a history of financial problems. How did they get in­ Pacific allowed Santa Fe to shift Dallas-California traffic to this predicament? What can be done about it? onto the former Texas & Pacific main line between Fort Simply put, railroad magnates of the late 1800s Worth and Sweetwater in September 1992. While this guessed wrong about the economic growth of our devel­ move made Santa Fe more competitive by shortening its oping nation and built too much track. Capital and labor route by 50 miles, the cash flowing from this far corner were abundant and cheap, and the ability of the virgin of UP's empire to Omaha has improved as well. West to support people in productive occupations A big issue in mainline trackage rights is control over seemed limitless. Railroads built lines in sight of each operations-when trains from competitors meet, who sits other into major cities, while every as- in the siding? Those crusty guys in the piring county seat clamored for a sec- operating departments will object that ond railroad connection as leverage they don't want the competition to con­ against rate increases by its first line. trol the dispatching of their trains. Just In an age when vision meant com- look how UP sticks it to SP around St. . pleting your railroad project to the Pa­ Trackage Louis, they might say, or observe what cific or the Gulf, no one predicted the SP does to Santa Fe over Tehachapi. As changes that would transform America trackage rights spread, though, a ten­ in the 20th century-the decline of rural Rights: ant railroad will likely be in a better po­ areas and disappearance of small sition to secure fair treatment by towns, the decimation of industry by threatening to retaliate in areas where foreign competition and environmental it is the landlord. Perhaps in time track­ concerns, and the emergence of an in­ Cure for age rights partners may even address formation economy generating less the reliability problems inherent in freight. All these had a devastating ef­ once-a-day service by hauling each oth­ fect on railroads. And, of course, few if Traffic er's cars when needed. Revolutionary? any of those whiskery old fellows who Hardly-Santa Fe and Colorado & built the railroads foresaw that the au­ Southern did it on the Denver-Pueblo, tomobile and the truck someday would Colo., Joint Line for decades. dominate American transportation. Anemia With the benefits of combining Most industries begin with a mainline routes becoming obvious to plethora of competitors, but the inefficient ones are today's asset-conscious railroads, what deals can be ex­ weeded out through competition. Not so with the rail­ pected in the future? The Wisconsin Central-Fox River roads, though. The federal government created the Inter­ Valley merger is predicated largely on the economies of state Commerce Commission in 1887 and empowered it eliminating the FRVR line in favor of the parallel WCL. over the years to control the railroads' economic destiny. Additional opportunities are available in the Midwest. The ICC prevented the railroads from using their market CP Rail could move its Chicago-Kansas City traffic onto power to gouge customers unfairly-but it also kept the parallel Chicago & North Western between Chicago freight rates high enough by law to ensure that the weak and Clinton, Ill. , in return for granting C&NW rights be­ railroad lines, as well as the strong ones, would survive. tween Milwaukee and the Twin Cities. CP's scenic but Twelve years after the Staggers Act pulled the warm traffic-poor River Line north of Clinton is another candi­ blankets off the industry's economic bed by eliminating date for rationalization, with trains moving onto much of the ICC's rate-making power, the railroads are C&NW's Spine Line. Union Pacific could discard its un­ completing their transformation into market-driven com­ needed Pueblo line if Southern Pacific would move onto w petitors. Some of the weak through-lines that the ICC the Santa Fe between Pueblo, Colo., and Hutchinson, had propped up for decades vanished, (e.g. Milwaukee's Kan. UP, BN and SP operate separate lines north of Pacific extension). In other cases, though, the railroads Houston that appear to be prime candidates for combi­ have put aside traditional animosities as competitors nation. West of the Rockies, where the track network is and consolidated traffic on a common main line. Done less dense, the opportunities seem fewer, but why can't right, trackage rights permit railroads to reduce operat­ UP get rid of its Highline embarrassment by obtaining I ing costs while cashing in underutilized assets-or not trackage rights over SP to Klamath Falls, Ore.? spending the money to acquire them in the first place. Trackage rights are the obvious cure to railroading's Burlington Northern has been leading the industlY into traffic anemia. By reducing active track miles that gener­ this new era of cooperation. When Southern Pacific's effort ate little freight, such arrangements hold the promise of to acquire Soo Line's Chicago-Kansas City trackage better service at lower cost. They sure seem like a better I- foundered in 1990, BN invited SP to make itself at home on idea than one train a day. PRN

54 • FEBRUARY 1993 PRN CLASSIFIEDS PRN AD INDEX

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PACIFIC RAILNEWS staff members look forward to You need our help meeting with subscribers. dealers. contributors and to select the best one. advertisers on March 6 at Winterail '93. in Stockton. Serving the Railfan community California. Stop by and visit with us at the Interur­ for 16 years, we align our radios ban Press table. 351 for optimum performance in the RR band.

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SEE ABOVE FOR INFORMATION AND MAILING ADDRESS "It's smart to buy from an FCC licensed technician " ARIZONA'S Order Toll Free24 Hours A Day THE GREEN SHORTLINE BAY ROUTE RAILROADS The Green Bay and The natural beauty of 800-9501-9333 Western Railroad has Arizona's desert FAX 818-793-3797 had a love affair with landscape creates a Alco diesels since dramatic setting for the ALONG THE diesels first replaced unique group of HUDSON steam, and today the oJ El I iID v I cso S IONN shortline railroads that DIVISION railroad rosters a total cut across the state. of 16 operating Alcos. Come along in the cab Powered by older­ These units are well and on the ground as model locomotives from maintained, and look we follow Metro-North Baldwin, Alco, and great in their beautiful and Amtrak trains EMD, the trains of red paint scheme. north along the Hudson Arizona's shortlines are Stretching from east to River out of New York's a varied lot. The copper roads are exciting to watch. west across the Badger State of Wisconsin, the line Penn Station. The line We see the Copper Basin, San Manuel, Magma traverses many miles of scenic Wisconsin farmland. is home to the unique Arizona, and the Arizona Eastern in action. Then we Much of the railroad's traffic is related to the state's fleet of Amtrak and view the first-class operations of the new Arizona booming paper industry, and local freights are seen Metro-North FL-9 and California running in the western part of the as they work these vital industries. We also follow diesel electrics, as well �...... ",.". """"",-... state. A tour of the Apache Railway, famous for its road freights across the state, and the Alco-powered as Amtrak Turboliners, . Alco locomotives, concludes the presentation. When trams put on fascinating shows as they work over Metro-North MU cars, and Conrail freights. The these smoking diesels are filmed against a desert the hills and through small towns. In color, with live sc�nery is b�autiful, with charming vistas, vintage alive with spring \vildflowers, the result is a visually audio and narration. railway statIOns, and plenty of lineside action. stunning experience! In color, lvith live audio and 72 Minutes #PEN-GBAY $39.95 There's even a ride over Amtrak's new Westside narration. line, and the newly-rebuilt Spuyten Duyvil bridge. In 100 Minutes #PEN-ASHORT $39.95 color, lvith live audio and narration. LAST OF THE 60 Minutes #PEN-HUDSON $39.95 GIANTS­ LAST OF THE SOUTHERN Union Pacific 's PACIFIC 2472 AMTRAK'S TURBO TRAINS - Big Boys Recently-restored Cab Ride It's the greatest Southern Pacific 2472, Climb aboard an Amtrak Turbo Train for a high­ railroad film ever a 4-6-2 steam loco­ speed ride along the Hudson Division. Amtrak uses produced,about the motive, completed its these sleek speedsters between AlbanylRensselear biggest locomotives longest journey to date and New York's Penn Station, and the ride is as ever built! Witness the when it traveled from smooth as it is fast. The ever-present Hudson River mighty 4-8-8-4's of the San Jose to Los Angeles offerslovely vistas along the entire route, and Union Pacific, in the and back in September, classic old stations, bridges, and tunnels dot the cab and trackside, plus 1992. This Pacific-type landscape. Conrail freights and other Amtrak trains the development of engine, owned by the flash past. Once in Metro-North territory, FL-9's and Union Pacific steam Golden Gate Railroad MU cars are busy rushing commuters to and from power leading up to � ...-.- - Museum, performed New York City. Our ride takes us over Amtrak's new these mighty articulateds. Originally produced by flawlessly pulling the Westside line, across Spuyten Duyville bridge, and the Union Pacific Railroad, this film has it all! In full PacificLimited excursion special. On its return trip into Penn Station for our journey's end. In color, color, lvith stereo sound. Everyone will want a copy. to Oakland, it pulled the Earth Train, a special with live audio and narration. 25 Minutes #BIGBOY $19.95 charter headed fo r the east coast. The colorful train 30 Minutes #PEN-TURBO $19.95 consisted of Rio Grande Ski Train cars and private domeliners, and traveled over the Southern Pacific's Check or Money Order scenic Coast Route in both directions. The scenic SPECIAL TWO-lrAPEOFFER: VisalMasterCard VIIS or BETA Pacific Coast shoreline and the 2472 combine to Buy both ''Along the Hu dson Division" make this a most memorable journey that you won't and ''Amtrak's Turbo Trains ­ want to miss! In color, with live audio and narration. Cab Ride"for the sp ecial priceof 60 Minutes #PEN-2472 $29.95 just $49.95! Order Code #PEN-HUCOMB CA LL OR WRITE ALL TA PES ARE IN STOCK P.O. Box 94911, FOR FREE CA TALOG AND READ Y TO SHIP ! Pasadena, CA 91109 Please add $4.00 shipping per order, plus $1.00 for each additiO�al tape. Canadian customers add $5.00 shipping per order, plus $1.00 for each additional tape. . CA reSIdents please add 8.25% sales tax.All other foreign customers add $10.00 per tape.