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..the mere men/ion of the name brings forth railroad images larger than life. It wasn't just tracks and trains. It wasn't just an Indiana institution-though it MONON'certainly was that. Oh. my, no. . What the Monon was ... well. it was every American railroad. every American hometown. every American underdog rolled into one.Why, the Monon was practically human. Its birth was a cause for rejoicing. its operation a source of Hoosier pride.And when it died. a thousand legends lived on. Now. legend and fact are woven together in a brand-new, finely crafted illustrated history of the Monon. We take you from beginning to merger into the L&:N. from Louisville to French Lick to Indianapolis to Michigan City to Chicago ... from Hoosierland to hotshot. from 4-4-0 to Century 420. We're proud to announce the creation of Monon-The Hoosier Line by Gary and Stephen in production and will be published by Interurban Press in the Fall of 1981. Its ed!it!o�r==;;;�=���;
2. JULY 1988 July 1988 No. 296
PACIFIC RAILNEWS and PACIFIC Nh"lflS are registered trademarks of Interurban Press, a Morrison-Knudsen 1987 Locomotive and California Corporation. Norman Anderson 16 Carbuilding Activities/Part II .... E. PUBLISHER: Mac Sebree Concluding our annual report of M-K happenings EDITOR: Jim Walker NEWS EDITOR: Dick Stephenson
ASSO CIATE EDITOR: Mike Schafer Idaho's Logging Wonder ...... Bruce Kelly 20 EDITORIAL ASSISTANT: Don Gulbrandsen The St. Maries River Railroad ART PRODUCTIO N: Mark Danneman PRODUCTIO N MANAGER: Ray Geyer CONTRIBUTING ARTIST: John Signor David Busse 28 Rebirth of the White Pass ...... R. CIRCULATIO N MANAGER: Bob Schneider Alaska's narrow-gauge line is operating again STAFF: LaVerne W. Andrcessen, Michael W. Blaszak, Departments: David R. Busse, P. Allen Copeland, Harre \Y/. Dcmoro, R.C. Farewell, Thomas Higgins, Rail News . .. . Transit Herb Horton, Don Jewell, Ken Meeker, Steve ...... 4 Morgan, Brian Norden, Clifford Prather, Karl Letters ...... Portland ...... 6 ...... 35 Rasmussen, John A. Rushton, Jim Seal, Joe Expedited News ...... San Diego Strapac, Charles Vercelli. ... . 7 ...... 36
Railroads San Francisco ...... PAc/nc RAlI.NE\\'S (USPS 862840) is pub 37 SP Preservation ...... lished monthly by Interurban Press (a corpora ...... 8 ...... 38 tion), 1212 South Brand Blvd., Glendale, CA C&NW ...... Out West ...... 91204. Second-class postage paid at Glendale, 10 38 AT&SF Call Board ...... CA 91209 and additional offices. POSTMAS ...... 11 ... 39 TER: Send address changes to: PACIFIC SOO Photo Focus ...... 12 . ... 39 RAil_NEWS, P.O. Box 6128, Glendale, CA Books/Videos ...... 91205. ISSN 8750-8486. D&RGW ...... 14 ..... 40 BN From the Past ...... CORRESPO NDENCE: Please use P.O. Box ...... 14 .... . 43 6128, Glendale, CA 91205 for ALL correspon Regionals Photo Stop ...... 31 ...... 44 dence. UPS deliveries only to IIS-C E. Palmer Amtrak Interurbans Newsletter .... Av e., Glendale, CA 91205...... 32 46 UP Extra Board Ads ... SUBSCRIPTIO N RATES: $27 (U.S.) for 12 ...... 34 ...... 47 issues, $49 for 24 issues. Foreign add $4 for Mexico ...... 34 each 12 issues. Single copy $2.75 (subject to change without notice). First-class/air rates available on request. COVER: Biggest news of late for Santa Fe fans was the unveiling of F7A&B set 347C&B, restored CHANGE OF ADDRESS: The Post Office {from the "yellow bonnet" schemel to the Warbonnet livery which-in part, anyway-made Santa does not regularly forward 2nd Class Mail and Fe famous. The work was done for California State Railroad Museum, Sacramento, owner of the Fs, PACIFIC RAiLNEIfIS is not responsible for by Santa Fe's San Bernardino Shops. copies not forwarded or destroyed by the Post -ELROND G. LAWRENCE Office. Replacement copieslPO notifications will be billed. Please allow us at least four weeks for any address changes.
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Articles and photographs for the magazine are What's news? When is it stale? Should we bother to print it if we welcome. When submitting material for con don't have a "scoop"? sideration, include return envelope and post Our magazine serves both as a news bulletin-board and as a age if you wish it returned. PrlCIFiC RA/LNEI<'S does not assume responsibility for journal of railroad happenings. In the latter case, even if we aren't the safe return of material. Payment is made the first magazine to cover an item, we still think it should be upon publication. reported. 1988 INTERURBAN PRESS © We figure many of our readers don't also read other rail Mac Sebree, President Jim Walker, Vice-President periodicals, so they would never know about some items of interest
ARL if we did not include them. We strive to keep on top of things, but � will include items that don't come to our attention first. -JIM WALKER
PACIFIC Rail NEWS - 3 DA-I-··-�
Amtrak F40s 250 and 252 lead Pacific Railraad Society's II-car Mojave Limited westbound through Soledad Canyon near old Russ siding in Southern California on April 17, 1988. The excursion train, which carried eight privately-owned cars plus three Hi-Levels, covered SP routes through Soledad Canyon and over the Palmdale-Colton Cutoff on the same day. -WILLIAM T.MORGAN
(arising out of an antitrust case involving group of investors led by Howard Kaskel D&RGW + SP Traffic a coal slurry pipeline) in the amount of had an effect on net income, with over Impact Weighed $200 + million will have a profound effect $5 million spent on the purchase of on the company. Though there are plans shares. Lastly, profits were influenced by As part of its application to acquire to appeal the verdict, substantial costs high legal and consulting expenses associ Southern Pacific, Rio Grande has esti will be associated with the appeal. ated with KCSI's efforts to obtain control mated that diversion of traffic from other Secondly, repurchase of stock from a of Southern Pacific in proceedings before railroads to the combined system would bring in $124 million per year; Union Pa cific would lose an estimated $87 million, Burlington Northern about $26 million and Santa Fe about $8 million. The application by Rio Grande has been soundly supported by a variety of local and state governments and labor un ions.
KCS Reports Ups and Downs Kansas City Southern Industries an nounced first quarter earnings for 1988 were slightly better on a net basis than the comparable period last year. Three fac
tors greatly influenced the earnings and Chicago Central & Pac ific GPI 0 1775 (ex-Illinois Central Gulf 8156) sports the road's newly adopted value of the stock in the corporation, point scheme of red with white markings and the road's Illinois Central-inspired green diamond logo. however. The unit is shown at Council Bluffs, Iowa, on April 22, 1988, shortly before heading east with a An April 8, 1988, ju ry verdict in the manifest. Federal District Court for South Dakota -GEORGE COCKLE
4.JULY 1988 One of the locomotives UP has leased to ease its shartage of motive power is Great Western Railway GP7 1589 (ex-BN), seen here at La Salie, Colo., on March 27, 1988, with B30- 7 A 254 (ex-MP). Other GW units which have been leased include ex UP GP9s, back for a stint on home rails. -JOHN RUS
In a scene typical of poor traffic lev els on the Chicaga, Missouri & West ern Railway, No. 3020 and another ex-WP GP40 head a seven-car train southbound through Lockport, III. on Nov. 12, 1987. Operations an CM&W cantinue, though a trustee has been appointed to oversee its op- erations. -MIKE BLASZAK
4: 17 a.m. on April 30, 1987, near Odell, Ill., and this was my introduction to Chi cago, Missouri & Western. Two days before, CM&W had closed its purchase of 631 miles of Illinois Cen tral Gulf trackage between Joliet, Ill. (with trackage rights through Chicago), St. Louis and Kansas City for $81 mil lion. For ICG, the sale was the last in a series establishing large regional railroads on lines that the carrier no longer needed or wanted. For CM&W parent Venango River Corporation, the sale represented a marked expansion of its railroad interests from the 90-mile South Shore, acquired from Chesapeake & Ohio in 1984, to a system extending almost 600 miles from South Bend, Ind., to the Kansas border in Kansas City's West Bottoms. The new property represented a diffi cult marketing challenge for Ve nango's three owners, Chairman John Darling, President Jack Alexander and Vice Presi dent Tim Jorgenson. CM&W has no ma the Interstate Commerce Commission, Award for employee safety for the second jor "captive" shippers; just about every and the above-mentioned court case, consecutive year. SP's Bill Lacy, vice thing it can haul is subject to diversion. which went to trial in late January and president of operations, in a message to The Chicago-St. Louis main line is large concluded in April. all employees said: ly within sight of Interstate Highway 55, KCSI's President and Chief Executive "This gold medal award is a tribute to on which trucks can legally drive from Officer said, "Since the judgment was en the outstanding employees on this prop one city to the other in five hours. Corn tered in the South Dakota case, our stock erty, whose efforts are responsible fo r from the rich fa rmlands surrounding the price has obviously been hurt. Hindsight this honor." CM&W lines in Illinois is usually shipped is, of course, 20 /20, but there is no way we Through the end of March, SP was still via truck to terminals on the Illinois or knew or could have known at the time the in first place in the safety competition. Mississippi Rivers, due to lower barge Carol Management transaction was being (Southern Pacifi c UPDIITE) rates and ICG's disdain fo r short-haul negotiated that we would suffer this ad business. Overhead east-west traffic , verse jury verdict. Our very substantial CM&W On The Rocks, meanwhile, can go a number of other efforts to acquire the Southern Pacific ways between Chicago and Kansas City. Railroad have been fr ustrated, notwith Files Bankruptcy Knowing that it would have to expand standing what we believed was a determi ICG's traffic base to prosper, CM& W ag nation by the Santa Fe to sell the South By Michael W. Blaszak gressively sought new and long-lost busi ern Pacific Railroad to us. However, we Suddenly a position-light signal flipped to ness, securing moves from customers believe that these are temporary prob- red in the predawn darkness. A headlight who hadn't shipped by rail for as long as lems." 17 years. Shippers such as the Postal Ser (Kansas City Southern) flared on the horizon, materializing into a pair of Chicago South Shore & South vice found CM&W's overnight TOFC Bend GP38- 2s, the lead unit resplendent trains cost-effective, thanks in part to la SP Wins Safety Award in South Shore's new orange and maroon bor agreements which permitted one two paint. The rhythmic exhaust of the pass person crew to operate from lCG's lMX For Second Year ing locomotives merged into the clatter terminal in Chicago, which CM&W uses Southern Pacific announced on April 18 ing of a handful of half-full piggyback as well, to East St. Louis. As weeks that it had won the E. H. Harriman flatcars on their way to Chicago. It was (continued on p. 6)
PACIFIC RailNEWS • 5 (continued from p. 5) Richard Oglivie, fo rmer Illinois Gover Headways turned into months, however, it became nor, who had been trustee fo r the Milwaukee Please remember that when service in apparent the effort wouldn't generate Road until its acquisition by Soo Line, was creases, headways decrease, since the term enough cash to cover the payments on the appointed C&M W trustee, but died on May "headway" refers to the time between railroad's mortgage. 12 due to a heart attack. Daniel R. Murray trips. Compounding the problem, in has been appointed his replacement as -KEN HARRISON CM&W's eyes, was ICG's fa ilure to live CM&W trustee. Murray was previously in volved in railroad insolvencies; The Rock up to the spirit of the line sale agreement. Bright Red Igloo ICG had retained trackage rights over Island and also the Milwaukee Road. CM&W's Springfield-St.L ouis line, os I got a chuckle out of the cover photo and tensibly to handle its Chicago-St. Louis Rail Briefs ... caption for PRN 29 3, "In a scene that hardly looks of 1987 ..." Could some traffic. After the sale, however, ICG di The Interstate Commerce Commission one contact the boys at Nevada Northern verted this traffic over lines through Du has adopted new rules to lengthen the and ask them to either relocate their Quoin, Ill., which it had retained as part notice period when a new Class I (annual 1980s-model bright red Igloo (water jug) of its core system. The rerou ting deprived revenues of at least $87.9 million) or a or else paint it flat black? I t's an otherwise CM&W of much-needed trackage rights Class II (annual revenues between $17.6- terrific photo. charges. ICG allegedly also took rate and and $87. 9-million) road would be cre -DOUG PETERSON contract actions to keep traffic which it ated. Under the new rules, a two-stage, originated or terminated on its own lines 35-day period is required between filing Such details are a hazard of reproducing and away from CM&W. Unable to resolve of a notice of intent to file an exemption "vintage" scenes (like when you see a Ro these issues peaceably, CM&W filed suit request and its effective date. Previously, man soldier wearing a wristwatch in a H01- against ICG on Feb. 24, claiming ICG the cases were handled on seven days' ly wood movie). had misrepresented the value of the lines notice. More than 180 new railroads have CM&W bought by providing misleading been created since 1980. traffic data. ICG denies any wrongdoing (ON TRACK-A .A.R.) It's Pinecliffe and the action is pending. You made a minor mistake with the cap ICC Chairman Heather Gradison With carloadings approximately only recently told the New Yo rk Journal of tion for my picture of the Ski Train on two-thirds of anticipated levels, CM&W Commerce she would not resign despite p. 12of PRN 29 3.The name of the town soon fo und itself in serious financial trou recent rumors to the contrary. She has is Pinecliffe, but it is a fa irly common ble. The railroad was unable to complete been on the ICC since 198 2 and has been error for the final "e" to be deleted. [(In its announced $65. 4 million track up its chairman since 1985. When created in another periodical, the author managed grading program; as a result, the Kansas to spell the name three diffe rent ways in 1887, the ICC had fivecommi ssioners. It City line declined to a 10-mph railroad grew to seven in 1906, to nine in 1917 and one short article (Pinecliff, Pine Cliff and and slow orders were slapped on the Chi peaked at 11 in 1920. In 1983 it was re Pinecliffe). ] cago-St. Louis main, in turn affecting the duced to seven and in 1986 to the present -RON HILL railroad's business. Amtrak, which five.A pending bill would increase its size CM&Wearly on had planned to court as a to seven. The federal agency has ordered customer paying lucrative on-time incen all railroads in California to lower intra Potential Authors, tives, complained as its Chicago state rates for shipment of aluminum re St. Louis trains began receiving up to 40 Get Photo OKs cyclables. The action fo llowed a com slow orders fr om the dispatcher as they It is important that the person or organi plaint filed by Alcoa that railroads had left Joliet. (Ultimately, the speed limit for zation which has the rights to illustrations reduced rates for interstate shipments but Amtrak operations was dropped from 79 or information submitted to us gives per not intrastate movements. to 60 mph.) As the carrier's fortunes con mission for its use. We assume this has tinued to decline, about 100 of its 600 A bill that would have allowed "triple been done and it is the author's responsi employees were laid off. Repeated efforts bility to us. If you submit material, par bottom" trucks on Wyoming's highways to refinance CM&W's debt fa iled to re was recently defeated (by one vote) in that ticularly photos taken by others, be sure duce mortgage payments to a livable lev permission is given. state's legislature. A coalition of UP el, fo rcing the carrier to file a petition fo r C&NW, rail and other unions, a bu reorganization under Chapter 1 I of the � drivers' association and an association of Bankruptcy Code on April 1. Gremlins motorcyclists brought about the defeat. For now, CM&W continues to operate In Issue 29 2 (March 1988) our article on under the supervision of Chicago-based the Eagle Mountain Railroad fa iled to U.S. Bankruptcy Judge John Schwartz, credit Tom Gildersleeve. Also, the lower but changes are inevitable once the court photo on page 21 should be credi ted to appoints a trustee. Under the 1978 Bank Dave Busse. ruptcy Code, the trustee must determine LETTERS Further, Whitehouse Railways (mid whether the railroad can be reorganized I I dle column, page 14) should be Whyte and, if not, what parts should be sold for Amtrak "Helper" house Railways. continued operations or abandoned. Giv en the deterioration of the physical plant, I fo und the photo of the Sunset Limited in PRN 29 3 very interesting in more than a handicapper would have to quote long Trivia Quiz:Why is the former Missouri one way. First off, the GE units frequent odds against a reorganization, and one Pacific freight house in Omaha doubly wonders about the viability of a lO-mph ly are less than healthy themselves and SP significant ? line to Kansas City bracketed by fa st, freight units must assist them, and high-capacity Santa Fe, Union Pacific secondly, this does not seem to be the case and Norfolk Southern competition. The here, as there is exhaust from both units. "PIlOl Chicago-St. Louis main, meanwhile, It is interesting to see Amtrak helping a -r�lll ;}l[l 1l{8noq UIlW!llIlH "H plllMP3 seems more likely to survive, perhaps un freight, when so often Amtrak is looked 11ll{1L681 U! 8u!prrnq llll[l JO Sd;}lS ;}l{1 UO der Amtrak or Illinois ownership---but on as an impedimen t to the movement of SIlM l� pUll 'PIlOlJ!ll"M :l!JPlld uO�fl uo 8m there is a wealthy railroad tycoon in Den trains instead of a help. -PT!nqlIu��w;)l lS;}PIO ;)l{1 S! 11 :.J;}MSuV ver who may also be interested. -CAPT. JACK SPAULDING
6. JULY 1988 EXPEDITED NEWS
June 2, 1988
ICC OKAYS BID FOR KATY: On May 16, the ICC approved acquisition of the Missouri-Kansas-Texas (Katy) by Union Pacific; the merger can begin as soon as June 16. By mid-June traffic consolidations and diversions could start to take place. One especially -busy place these days is the line southwest of Kansas City where Katy operates BN (ex-Frisco) trackage to Paola, Kan. UP is detouring unit trains or coal and grain over the line, which sees 15-20 trains per day.
GP60s BEGIN ARRIVING ON SANTA FE: AT&SF began taking delivery of its 20 4000-class GP60s from GMD/EMD in late May. .As of June 2 Nos. 4000-4002 were delivered and in service. Set up at Argentine, Kan., the first units entered high speed piggyback service immediately; first trip was on May 23-and they had already been in California before the end of the month. Dash 8-40Bs from GE (Nos. 7410-7429) are expected to begin arriving on Santa Fe rails by late June (and deliveries of the same GE model are soon expected by the SP). These locomotives will ease the power shortage brought about by good business levels on AT&SF and SP (as well as other major Western roads).
NEW CM&W TRUSTEE: A new Chicago, Missouri & Western trustee has been appointed to replace Richard B. Ogilvie, who died after a heart attack on May 10. He is Daniel R. Murray, who represented creditors and shareholders in the Rock Island reorganization in the 1970s and later in the Milwaukee Road bankruptcy.
AMTRAK-GOOD NEWS IN CALIFORNIA: The June 26 startup of Amtrak service from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara was firm at the beginning of June. The first 774 train departs Santa Barbara at 7:45 a.m. on Sunday, June 26; a preview train will operate to that city on the 25th ...The only thing growing faster than Amtrak intra-state ridership in California is the connecting bus service to the San Joaqums. Geared to connect with Nos. 708-709 at Bakersfield, feeder buses handle passengers to and from Thousand Oaks, Santa Barbara, Corona, LA International Airport (LAX), Torrance and connect to San Diegan trains at LAUPT ... How are new Amtrak stops doing? Two California cities are doing very nicely! Anaheim, since its 1983 debut, is now Amtrak's 39th busiest station (148,475 passengers in 1987 vs. 133,048 in 1986). Simi Valley, served now only by the daily pair of (but slated to be a stop on the new Santa Barbara Coast .Starli.ghts trains) handled 11,197 customers in 1987.
ALASKA RAIL REVIVAL: The White Pass & Yukon reopened passenger service on May 12. The weather was rainy and there were tons of snow at the top of the pass, reports reader Bob Collins. Locomotives ran around the train at the Canadian border and returned to Skagway (Canadian unions will not agree to two-man crews-there are still no women in the WP&Y operating crews). Baldwin steamer No. 73 ran from the dock to the shops (about 1.5 miles).
EMPIRE BUILDER REROUTE STUDIED: Amtrak is seriously considering rerouting its Empire ;Builderon BN between Chicago and the Twin Cities; an inspection trip was operated over the line in early May. The Soo Line main, the present route, needs considerable work. The BN route, however, would miss Milwaukee .
NAPA VALLEY TRAIN WOES: Napa Valley Wine Train has postponed startup of passenger service until late summer, amid problems with local groups and a running battle with California's PUC on whether that body or the ICC has jurisdiction over the carrier. The four ex-VIA FPA4s are at the California State Railroad Museum portion of SP's Sacramento Shops for reconditioning work. None has actually operated for its new owner yet.
SANTA FE BRANCHES FOR SALE: More AT&SF branch lines are on the block. In California, a "package" of the Cushenbury, Redlands and San Jacinto districts has been tendered. A portion of the old "Orient" (Kansas City, Mexico & Orient) route between Cherokee, Okla. and Mary neal, Texas, is on the sale list as is the Shattuck District, from Shattuck, Okla., to Morse, Texas.
RIBBON RAIL IN ORANGE COUNTY: A June 15 ceremony was planned at Fullerton, Calif., to mark beginning of the first phase of re-railing of the Fourth SubdiviSion (its new alias is the San Diego Subdivision), which will take welded rail 12.6 miles to Santa Ana.
PACIFIC RailNEWS • 7 R�S i
This scene could herald things to come. SP 8357 West, with two Rio Grande SD40T-2s in the consist, grinds upgrade through Cajon Pass between Canyon and Hiland on March 12, 1988. A decision by the I.e.e. in spinning off the SPT is expected by the end of the summer. -BOB FINAN
rails through the south harbor and Jack that it will change its name upon comple London Square areas of Oakland, elimi tion of the sale of SP to Rio Grande Indus nating considerable street running. UP tries. It intends to become the very logical trains will return to home rails at Adeline Santa Fe Pacific Corporation once the SOUTHERN Street in We st Oakland. SPTCo. is no longer part of the corporate family. The Grande will gain exclusive KCS Purchase Attempt PACIFIC rights to the corporate name "Southern Kansas City Sou them Industries, Pacific" upon approval of its purchase ap which wants to buy Southern Pacific plication. from Santa Fe Southern Pacific Corpora New and Upgraded Locomotives tion, was itself faced with an apparent for hostile takeover bid. In late March, the 1988 Kaskel Group proposed buying the KCS As mentioned previously, SP is pur Joseph A _ Strapac for about $60 per share, or a total of some chasing 50 new four-axle, high horsepow $587.6 million. A proxy fight might have er diesel units for delivery during the ensued; Kaskel is openly critical of KCS's summer of 1988: New Trackage Rights for SP and UP management bid against the Rio Grande In an exchange of trackage rights, SP has to purchase SP. However, KCS and Hall Numbers Builder Model H.P. obtained the use of UP (formerly We stern mark Cards bought Kaskel's 11.3 per 8100-8 134 GE Dash 8-40B 4000 Pacific) rails between Lathrop (near Tra cent share, thereby derailing the takeover cy) and Fremont, Calif., in the south San attempt. (See News pages for other KCS 9620-9634 GMD GP60 3800 Francisco Bay Area. In return, SP has related items.) granted UP rights to its line through Oak At this point, neither road numbers nor Name Change for Parent Corporation land. Construction should begin shortly delivery schedules are certain, but look on a connection between UP and SP at The Santa Fe Southern Pacific Corpo for all 50 units to be in service by late Melrose, in the southeastern quarter of ration, which presently owns both Santa summer. The GE locomotives represent Oakland. When complete, this new Fe Railway and the Southern Pacific another advancement in technology, deli trackage will allow UP trains access to SP Transportation Company, has announced vering 1,000 h.p. per axle; the highest yet
8.JULY 1988 in American practice for production gine from the CSRM collection. Museum but ownership of the rails and land has model diesel-electrics. (The familiar F7 fo rces and volunteers had previously re already changed hands. was rated at just 375 h.p. per axle; even stored E9 6051 from the same donation; Familiar Towers Bite the Dust an SD45 rated only 600.) still to come is a renewal of F7 640 2, built The new GP60 model features a by Electro-Motive in 195 2. If the loss of first -generation diesels 3,800 h.p., 16-cylinder 710 engine (7 l0 California still lags behind the East and cabooses isn't enough, add interlock cubic inches per cylinder), in place of the Coast in diesel preservation efforts, but ing towers to the growing list of endan 3,500 h.p. 645 engine applied in the your columnist is pleased to see a resur gered species on the railroad. SP, in com GP40X and GP50 models. The exterior gence of classic SP diesel paint jobs at the mon with other roads, is rapidly appearance of the GP60 is similar to that various operating museums around the eliminating its last few manual interlock of the GP50 fo und on Santa Fe, BN, state. ing facilities, operating junctions and C&NW and Southern. Radiator grill remotely controlled crossings. As a re Amtrak on SP? area, like that of the GP50, is consider San Joaquins sult, landmark towers are being torn ably greater than on a typical G40- 2. A In response to a proposal that Amtrak's down everywhere. A recent casualty was minor change, not seen on the EMD passenger service be moved from Santa the tower at Oakland-Adeline Street, demonstrators, is a return to wheel-type Fe to SP rails in the San Joaquin Va lley, which was demolished to make room for hand brakes. On the other hand, the SP points out it will cost possibly $75 mil additional inter modal facilities. The yard GP60's dynamic brake blister appears to lion to do so. Furthermore, SP's single office was also demolished. be asymmetric, extending outward much track between Martinez and Lathrop by Downtown San Francisco Access fu rther from the hood on the engineer's passes the major population center of side than on the left side. On SD units, Stockton, which Santa Fe serves directly. A proposal has been approved in prin with their longer hoods, EMD was able to The Santa Fe line is maintained for 79- ciple to extend the Southern Pacific (Cal move the dynamic brake function away mph passenger trains, whereas at least a trans) line in San Francisco northward via from the hot environment above the en third of SP trackage is restricted to a 1.5-mile-long subway. This under gine, but there is no room for this luxury 50 mph. SP is more congested, too. Be ground rail link, between Third and on the shorter GP hood. Likewise, the fore land development in the northern Townsend and First and Mission (the site central air intakes on each side of the suburbs of Frr-sno closes out all possibili of the present Transbay Bus Terminal) hood, behind the cab, are of differing ties, shouldn't the interested parties re has been tentatively budgeted at an esti proportions. Note that the rounded cor turn to the presently-on-the-shelf Santa mated cost of $45 1 million, but will re ners on the cab (featured on EMD dem Fe Southern Pacific (remember them?) duce the Peninsula commuter's present onstrators 5-7) were not carried through proposal for a joint line and build a con portal-to-portal time by perhaps ten to onto SP's production models, due to nection between Santa Fe and SP? A rela fifteen minutes in each direction. Cal greater fabrication costs. tively short stretch of track north of Fres trans would thus obtain the downtown no would get both Santa Fe and Amtrak San Francisco rail station that no rail mo The 1988 Sugar Beet Season off city streets and fulfill the City's long gul in the history of SP was able to get! As this is written, SP's sugar beet sea time dream of a "union station." son has begun again, providing another Waco Branch Abandonment occasion for the railroad to exercise its Dallas Transit Buys SP Trackage Requested trackage rights over UP (formerly WP) On April 4, the Dallas Area Rapid In March 1988, Cotton Belt asked the between Lathrop and Fremont (including Transit Agency bought 34 miles of SP ICC for permission to abandon its 53-mile Altamont Pass and Niles Canyon) in right-of-way for $58 million, to put the Waco Branch between Wa co and Corsi Northern California. Sugar beets origi land to work as a future light rail route. cana, Texas; no local traffic has moved nating in the San Joaquin Valley will be The purchase includes SP's present main over this line for the past two years. refined at Betteravia (on the coast near line from Plano to Dallas, the Soumethun This trackage was originally built in Santa Maria), requiring a haul over Alta Branch, and the Dallas end of the Athens 1881 and 1882 as the narrow-gauge Texas mont, via San Jose and Salinas, to an in branch. This trackage will be leased back & St. Louis. Reorganized in 1886 as termediate destination of Santa Margar to SP for operation until the railroad's St. Louis, Arkansas & Texas, on Jan. 12, ita. There the entire train will be set out planned realignments are concluded; by 1887 the company rebuilt to standard and the power returned to Salinas. Light then, DART will need the land for con gauge its main line in Texas (which then engines will come up from Guadalupe, struction of its planned trackage. The sale reached westward to Gatesville from picking up the cars at Santa Margarita, provides DART with more than 20 per Waco). Once SP took control of the Cot making as many trips as necessary to cent of its planned right-of-way. Look for ton Belt in 1933, the principal inter move the loads over Cuesta. This year few changes here until the early nineties, change between the two roads was located there will be no through power or point to-point trains. Beets also began moving out of the Im perial Valley to Betteravia in early May, South American Steam with the first train through Los Angeles 1988 Tours on May 8. Tours to: Argentina, Paraguay, Ecuador, �S1:.."O$ri • Baldwin Power Rides Again Colombia and Guatemala BOOK & GIFT SHOP Charter Steam Trains In late April, the California State Rail 01 the • • Plenty of Photo Run-bys and Cab Rides road Museum rolled out its newest jewel: CALIfORNIA STATE RAILROAD MUSEUM • Linesiding Opportunities Over Southern Pacific 5208, a 1949-built Bald 1000 Titles Always In Stock! • In-Depth Study of Rail Systems win AS-616 roadswitcher donated to the � CALL US FIRST! � • Spectacular Scenery· Extra Time for Railfanning or Sightseeing Pacific Coast Chapter of the Railway & Milepost 1 and the State Railroad Museum • Locomotive Historical Society in 1969 . are open 7 days a week lOAM · 5 PM • Write or Call for Brochure and Itinerary Cosmetically and mechanically restored to as-delivered condition, the big Baldwin PHONE ORDERS (916) 447·9665 VISA/MC Trains Unlimited, Tours c/o The Travel Experience made its second debut on the CSRM 115"1" STREET' OLD SACRAMENTO, CA 95814 1430 Myers Street, Suite H turntable on April 23, prior to a passen SEND $1.00 FOR CURRENT CATALOG (P) rovil e , 95965 (916) 534-8555 ger run down the branch along the riv O l CA PACifiC COASI CHAPlfR RAilWAY & IOCOMOIlVf HISIORICAI SOCl[lY.INC. Tours organized by Chris W. Skow er-usually the preserve of a steam en-
PACIFIC RailNEWS • 9 FROM THE at Corsicana; for the last five decades, period established by the RLA. At WILLIAM P. PRICE 8mm FILM COLLECTION trackage to the west of there has been 12:01 a.m. on April 22, at the end of that declining in importance. period, C&NW would be free to imple Bay Area Operational Notes ment new work rules permitting two-em ployee freight train operations, and UTU The changing scene in Northern Cali would be free to protest that action by fornia is reported by Jim Harrison and striking. George Manley. First generation power While C&NW publicly maintained (up to five GP9 or SD9 units, for exam that it planned to effect the new rules and ple) is used on the Salinas Turn from take the strike, it continued talks with Tracy. This heavy train should go east UTU toward a settlement. On March 29 over Altamont Pass in the morning hours, the carrier offered to increase its one-time although we make no promises! Another payment to severed brakemen from turn operates from Tracy to Mission Bay $25,000 to $37,000. The union, however, Yard in San Francisco, setting out and rejected that proposal and negotiations picking up along the way, especially at broke down. Wa rm Springs. This operation also North We stern management made de should return over Altamont around ten tailed plans for operations under strike in the morning, and is (theoretically) Filmed in 1953 and 1954 by William P Price on the Pittsburgh conditions. With only 800 managers DIvISion over Sand Patch Grade and the Cumberland scheduled so that it should not conflict DIvISion's west end. See these classics In action. "Big Six" available to operate trains, at least initial 2· 0·2. EM· 12·8·8·4. P·l d 4·6·2. Olba2·8·2. Alco FA Diesels with the commute rush hours on the Pen t ly, the company had no illusions about famous "WashinglOnlan" and other passenger trains insula. Even though a turn serves Warm 8&0'5 maintaining a fu ll schedule of train ser are also featured . Documentation provided by Harry Springs from Tracy, SP still operates a Stegmaier, Jr and Bill Price Narrated by Rege Cordic vice. Instead, C&NW planned to run Presented with a musical background 55 minutes $49.95 Warm Springs Turn out of Oakland. only the "core" system it had identified in Both SP and Santa Fe are currently internal line-sale studies, reportedly con short on power and are dispatching many sisting of the east-west main line, the Wy trains with two-unit locomotive sets to oming coal line and the line to Kansas conserve power. In fact, Santa Fe has City, plus relatively short stretches of been seen using some SP power! track connecting the east-west line with Miscellaneous Locomotive Notes such important points as coal-fired Wis The red-and-yellow pre-merger paint consin power plants, the General Motors ed units are now being repainted back to assembly plant at Janesville and unit gray and scarlet. Recent repaints include grain train loading facilities in Iowa. The 8335 and 7565. Those last few General company planned to concentrate its re Electric U33C units are being collected at sources on movement of trainload traffic; Sacramento prior to trade in or sale for only limited single-car industry switching scrap. A couple of units remain service would be attempted. Most significantly able, however, such as 8717 which was from a political standpoint, C&NW an seen in Los Angeles May 8-9. Finally, by Bill Price nounced well before the April 22 strike Photos by Filmed In 1953 and 1954 by William P Price on the Mainline to the time this column is printed, the Sacra date that it would not attempt to operate Connellsville and the Elkins SubdivISion al famous locations mento Locomotive Wo rks ought to be fin commuter service in the Chicago area. such as the Salisbury Vladucl. Big Savage Tunnel. Helmstetters Curve. Black Fork Grade and morel Features ished with cosmetic touches, repainting North We stern noted it would not have Decapod 2·10·0. Challenger 4·6·6·4. H·92-8·0. Pacl"c 4-6·2. the Napa Valley Wine Train FPA4 loco enough management employees to run a Potomac. 4-8-4. F-7 and Aleo RS-2 Historical documentation motives. by Harry Stegmaier. Jr. and Bill Prrce Narrated by Rege CordlC full rush-hour schedule and had safety Musical background 52 minutes ... $49.95 concerns about attempting to run a limit OTHER TITLES AVAILABLE ed schedule, with trains inevitably over o Challenger '82 3985 1982 Trips. 55 min ...... $49.95 . U.P. crowded, under strike conditions when o U.P. "Ch.llenger" 3985 . 1981 Coverage. 55 min...... 39.95 life-threatening vandalism could occur. o Diesel. W O&RGW. Rwy. 55 min. . 39.95 ..t· U.P. Utah o Legend of the Rio Gr.nde Zephyr· 52 min ...... 49.95 CHICAGO & The prospective loss of C&NW com o Ote.el. on the U.P .. 00A40X. 50-40. U30-C. 60 min . . . 49.95 muter service for an extended period o Dle.&I. on the Union Pacific ...The Sequel· 60 min .. .. 49.95 Steam Over Sherman· Steam in ·SO·s. 55 min. .... 49.95 NORTH bothered Illinois Governor James o U.P. o Rio Gr.nde TheRockle. - '50's Std. & N.G. 59 min . . . . 49.95 Thompson, who about April 18 asked Of . o Excur.lon to the ThIr1le.· Rare 8mm Colo. N.G. 52 min .. . 49.95 WESTERN President Reagan to exercise his power o Rio Grande H.G. In the Aftle•. 8mm N.G. 58 min. . . 49.95 under the RLA to fo restall the strike by o A Fortle. Memory- D&RGW.ATSF.S.P .. RGS. 24 min.. . . 34.95 o Harrow Gauge Video Vlgne"e . Colo. N.G. 55 min .. ... 39.95 appointing an emergency board to inves o O&RGW N.G. Frt. Tr.tn•. 1967 (Silent) 60 min. .. 49.95 tigate the dispute and issue a fa ct-finding o O&RGW N.G. Stock & P .... Tr.· 1967 (Silent) 60 min .... 49.95 Michael W. Blaszak report. Iowa Governor Terry Branstad Rail. Acro•• The Summit· Cumbres & ollec. 28 m n.. .. 34.95 o T i o Doubleheader '83 - Cumbres & Toltee. 28 min. 24.95 and Rep. Thomas Tauke (R.-Iowa) also o Snow Train: Rio Grande'. Ski Special· F·9 28 min .. . 34.95 Strike Averted-For Now wrote to the President requesting his in o The Sugar Cane Train· Hawaii's 3' LK&P. 20 min ..... 24.95 North Western nearly brought its year tervention, citing concerns over disrup o Lalt Ste.mer. olthe C&S· 1958 Std. Ga. 52 min...... 49.95 o Tehachapi I: The Santa Fe Diesel. 57 min...... 49.95 long effort to reduce freight train crews tion of service to agricultural shippers on pt. . Tehachapi II: TheSouthern Pacific· 52 min...... 49.95 o pt. from four to two (by eliminating brake C&NW branch lines in the event of a o The RIoGrande Today - 2 Hr. Special. 120 min...... 59.95 men) to a head in late April, only to have strike. o The Aftle. Expre.s - Steam on 15 roads. 52 min. .. .. 49.95 SPECIFY VHS or BETA II • DEALERS WELCOME the fe deral government intervene. In our The President responded on April 20 Shipping handling S2.50 (U.S. & Canada) Foreign 55.00 & last column we reported C&NW's an by signing an emergency order prevent FREE DESCRIPTIVE BROCHURE nouncement that it was willing to submit ing C&NW from effecting its new work its dispute with the United Trans rules and UTU from striking. The order, - -is VISA or -= == MasterCard portation Union over the crew consist is in accordance with RLA procedures, re sue to arbitration under Railway Labor quired empaneling of an emergency --- (303) 770-8421 Act procedures. The union, however, re board of neutral members to study the �VIDEO PRODUCTIONS -= jected that approach, which started the dispute, report on the facts and recom 6447 S. Herilage PI. W'/Englewood. CO BOlli clock running on the 30-day "cooling off' mend possibilities for settlement. The
10 . JULY 1988 board's report must be issued within group, had terminated their agreement High Plains Blizzard 30 days of the President's order. While covering a $578 million leveraged Great Plains weather can be unpredict the report will not be binding on the par buyout. CNW cited continuing uncer able, and severe snowstorms in late win ties, it will in theory reflect the public's tainty over C&NW's ability to complete ter and early spring are by no means un view of the dispu te and thus give an indi line sales as the reason for the termina common. Such a storm occurred on cation as to how Congress might resolve tion. CNW says it is not considering any March 10-11, dropping up to 31 inches it. C&NW and UTU will be required to other purchase offers. in Nebraska's Panhandle and whipping maintain the status quo for 30 days after up huge drifts with its fi erce winds. Ser the report is issued, or until about Wisconsin Operating Changes vice on C&NW's line across northern Ne June 19. If no agreement is reached dur braska was interrupted by the snow, forc ing that period, RLA procedures will In the wake of establishment by ing We stern Division headquarters in end, but President Reagan, if he so de C&NW of a new Norfolk & We stern Chadron to call out the wedge plow. sires, could seek emergency legislation transfer in Chicago (covered in our last A drift a couple of miles east of Gordon from Congress foreclosing a work stop column), the railroad has revamped was too much fo r the plow extra, though, page and submitting the dispute to bind freight train schedules in Wisconsin. breaking the windows in the plow's con ing Congressional arbitration. Trains BRDWA and DWBRA, which op trol cab before miring the three following Thus, April 22came and went without erated between the Duluth, Winnepeg & Geeps. The extra was not freed until the a strike, and C&NW passengers and ship Pacific connection at Superior, Wis., and afternoon of March 12; it wasn't until pers enjoyed continued service. Howev Belt Railway of Chicago's Clearing Yard some time later that service on the "Cow er, the outcome of management's re in Chicago, avoiding Proviso Ya rd, were boy" line was restored . The Powder Riv duced-crew initiative is yet to be discontinued about April I. er Subdivision kept operating its coal determined. C&NW found that much of the traffic trains despite drifts up to 26 feet deep. carried on these trains was bound to or Brushed by a Comet Thanks co MichaelM. Barlels, Bob Slein from points on Norfolk Southern lines and Amid management's preparation fo r and could be handled more efficiently via THE NCJRn-1 WESTERN DISPATCH. strike operations, the charismatic Jack Proviso and the new N&W transfer. Re Haley appeared on the scene to suggest placing these trains are PRITA and IT fu ndamental changes in C&NW's corpo PRA between Itasca (Superior) and Pro rate philosophy. Haley, the Chicago Cen viso. PRITA is scheduled to depart tral & Pacific fo under who left that com Proviso at 10:30 a.m. and to arrive at pany during a dispute with its lenders in Itasca at 4:30 p.m. the fo llowing day. IT September 1987, has formed a new con PRA leaves Itasca at a minute past mid SANTA cern called H. Comet Industries to mount night and is scheduled into Proviso at FE a proxy battle fo r control ofCNW Corpo 7:30 p.m. the next day. As all Chicago ration, C&NW's holding company. Ac Wisconsin trains now originate and ter cording to a CNW announcement on minate at Proviso, much of the block April 15, Haley had notified the corpora swapping that took place at Butler Ya rd tion of his intent to solicit stockholder near Milwaukee, to keep BRC traffic on support for replacing fo ur CNW board DWBRA/BRDWA and Proviso traffic on Dave Busse members, including Chairman James other trains, has been eliminated . Wo lfe, with an H. Comet slate including Power Shortage Haley, who would succeed Wo lfe as chair Locomotive Joyride Ends in Disaster The spring power shortage on Santa Fe man; Ellis Johnson, chairman of an Inter was evident across the system. Just about national Brotherhood of Electrical Wo rk C&NW's North Av enue Ya rd, located every locomotive that could possibly be ers local; Thomas A. Meyer, general on Chicago's North Side, is the home made operable saw service anywhere. On manager of a Buffalo Center, Iowa, coop base of several city switch jobs, including the West Coast, fo ur-axle GEs were seen erative elevator; and B. D. Vlasin, H. the second-trick engine which sets cars of in helper service in Cajon Pass and on Comet's chief operating officer. Haley re newsprint into the CH I CAGO TRlI3uNE'S local and secondary runs where they are portedly told CNW management that he printing plant fo r the next morning's pa not commonly fo und. On the other hand, believes CNW could "provide greater per. At II:3 0 p.m. on the evening of six-axle SF30-C and SD45- 2 units were value for its shareholders by developing March 26 , GP7 4437 was idling at the fo und on 30-mph branch line grain trains. constructive relationships with its em deserted yard when two men, after break Another way of easing the shortage was ployees, shippers and the communities in ing into the yard office and damaging the use of pooled units running off hours which it serves rather than the adversarial computer equipment, boarded the unit owed. This found units from SP, UP, relationships which prevailed in the and started it toward downtown, about Conrail and BN plying Santa Fe rails dur past." CNW initially voiced the opinion two and a half miles away. In the Clinton ing April. An example of a couple of these that Haley was acting as front man for a Av enue Tower area just north of the pas sightings is from April I on the Plains union effort to derail C&NW's efforts to senger station, the intruders reversed di Division, when the 348 train left We lling cut train crew size, but union sources rection and began heading westward on ton with 8030 and SP SD40R 7334 and quoted by the WALL STREET JOURNAL the Geneva Subdivision at speeds of up to four BN SD40- 2s sat at Waynoka Ya rd. claimed the bid was purely Haley's doing. 50 mph. When the unit approached the Earlier, Conrail units made several trips CNW formally responded to Haley's let We stern Avenue tower, however, Soo on the Plains and Kansas City Divisions ter on April 21, when its board rejected Line's operator recognized the dangers main line. H. Comet's proposal. It remains to be presented by this unauthorized move Another means of dealing with the seen whether Haley will gain significant ment and diverted the engine into the shortage of power has been by reducing support fo r his candidacy among CNW California Avenue coach yard, where it the number of units per train, especially shareholders. derailed and overturned on a IO-mph on flatter territory in the San Joa turnout. quin Valley or the Plains. Some of these Gibbons, Green Buyout Cancelled The offenders fled the scene but were shortage problems will be eased by the CNW Corporation announced on later apprehended by police after a pair of deliveries in May, June and July of new April 26 that it and Gibbons, Green, Van sunglasses belonging to one of the culprits GP60s and Dash 8-40Bs from EMD and Amerongen, a New York investment was recovered from the locomotive. GE. They will be a welcome addition to
PACIFIC RailNEWS • 11 the mainline fleet and will allow some Santa Fe's exhibit car, No. 88, fe aturing cornerstone of the facilitie s im GP30s and GP35s to return to yard and displays covering the railway's history as provements scheduled fo r 1988 is the local service. How many other roads so well as current operations, will be seen reconstruction of 50 miles of fo rmer Mil frequently rely on these models as main mostly in the Midwest this summer. waukee Road trackage, located between line road power? Schedule includes June 11-1 2 appearance River Jct. and Wa basha, Minn. The in Another common sight across the San at the Galesburg, Ill., "Railroad Days" stallation of CTC and heavy rail sections ta Fe system is an increasing number of celebration; June 25 at the Williamsfield, highlight this project, aimed at reducing "sport model" locomotives fe aturing low Ill., centennial; July 2 at the Newton, long-term maintenance costs, while nose lights and relocated air horns. All Kan., "Chisholm Trail Festival"; and eliminating the relatively high propensity locomotives going through Class 3 over Aug. 27 at the Ethel, Mo., centennial. for derailments this line segment has suf haul get these modifications, designed to The 85-foot museum was fa shioned out of fe red in the past three years. increase crew comfort. a baggage car in 1979 and refurbished last year ... Santa Fe's classic Arroyo Seco 1987 Intermodal Perfo rmance New Nomenclature bridge at Highland Park, Calif., near Los In the release of its 1987 statistics, Soo Angeles has been declared a historic-cul announced that overall inter modal traffic The Los Angeles and Va lley Divisions tural monument. The 77 1 -foot span increased 14 percent from 1986 loadings. were scheduled to become the California which carries Second Subdivision traffic Not surprisingly, some two-thirds of this Division on May IS. Present plans call over the Pasadena Freeway and the Ar business was handled in containers, for all dispatching functions to be han royo, was built in 1895 and is the highest underscoring the connections with CP dled in San Bernardino from a yet-to-be railroad bridge in Los Angeles County Rail and Espee to fo reign markets. With built center, currently planned to be lo .. . Train watchers in Cajon Pass on the loss of short-haul trailer business to cated right over an earthquake fa ult zone April 17 saw some excitement in the Blue BN between Chicago and the Twin (but within walking distance of several Cut area. A Riverside-based medical heli Cities, this trend will undoubtedly con good lunch spots). Numbered subdivi copter tangled with power lines and tinue throughout 1988. sions will be renamed as follows: crashed in the creek next to the Santa Fe These presumptions are verified by re Old New main line. Two crew members on the cent observations of traffic in the Twin chopper were killed in the mishap, but L.A. First Cajon Cities terminal. On April 9, an 80-car train traffic was unaffected ... It ain't L.A. Second Pasadena No. 950 arrived in St. Paul with II cars the Izaak Walton Inn, but the new Trave L.A. Third San Bernardino of trailers and no less than 17 cars of con Lodge under construction at 1-15 and L.A. Fourth San Diego tainers. As late as 1985, traffic into Min S.R. 138 in the heart of Cajon Pass should neapolis from the two western CP connec Valley First Bakersfield be a real hit with visiting fans, even tions would heavily fa vor trailers, Va lley Second Stockton though the strong nightly chorus of perhaps in excess of 80 percent. The loss SD45s, C30-7s and Tunnel Motors will of trailer business to BN was exemplified Arizona Wreck be tempered with the roar of Peterbilts, by a stubby No. 20 9 into St. Paul on One crewman was injured and five lo Kenworrhs and Jake Brakes on I-IS. Sug April 14, fe aturing ten cars of trailers, comotives damaged when two eastbound gestion: if the motel has a meeting room, one of containers, pulled by GP40s Santa Fe intermodal trains collided at how about calling it the "Descanso 20 66/460 2. East Flagstaff crossover in northern Ari Room" in honor of the streetcar-turned zona on March 30. The 851 train was railfan bunkhouse that sat at Cajon Sum Update on Off-Line Power crossing from the north to the south track mit for many years? and Cabooses at 6:38 p.m. when it was sideswiped by Thanks co11lribuIOrs L.A. "Bud" Jell, 10 With the return of milder spring the eastbound 891, which apparently Jay Hawkes, Sleve Zalm, An Frosl, Bill weather (with the reduced stress on its failed to stop. The impact derailed nine Farmer, Charles Baden, D.B. Anhur, S. tired motive power fleet), the quantity cars of the 85 I, five locomotives and three Pacer and S/INTII FE RIIILW/l NEWS. I' and variety of off-line motive power on cars of the 891. A fire broke out in the Soo has substantially dropped from the derailed units and was extinguished by levels reported in last month's column . local firefighters. Heaviest casualty ap Reports indicate that most of the fo reign peared to be GP50 3813, lead unit on the power has been of Rio Grande ownership 89 1, which suffered heavy damage be in recent weeks, primarily used in the hind the cab. Four other units were de Soo Kansas City-to-Chicago corridor. Several clared salvageable, with the fate of 3813 types of road units have been observed, still a question at presstime. The main LINE including GP30s, GP 40s, GP40- 2s, line was closed for almost 20 hours, forc SD40T- 2s and SD45s. A typical example ing Amtrak to cross-bus passengers on fo und tunnel motors 5366/541 2 in Na the Soulhwesl Chief. Cause of the mishap hant, Iowa on March 25 . is under investigation. In addition to the D&RGW locomo tives being used across Soo, several ca System Shorts Karl Rasmussen booses from the "Action Road" have Santa Fe has put the biggest chunk yet been spotted on sections of the fo rmer Capital Expenditures for 1988 on the block for prospective shortline op Milwaukee Road. Examples include the erators. The 410-mile "Orient Line" In its 1987 annual report to stockholders, 01519 in St. Paul on March 24 as well as from Maryneal, Texas, to Cherokee, Soo Line announced a significant increase the 01457 on No. 222 out of St. Paul on Okla., is offered to prospective buyers in capital expenditures for 1988. Having April 10. Katy waycars continue to fre who " ... have the skills or background gotten its financial house back in order quent Soo as well, including car 118 at experience necessary to operate a rail with the sale of the Lake States Division Nahant on Feb. 20 and the 21 4 in road," according to a company news re to Wisconsin Central Limited, the com St. Paul March 30. A more unusual ob lease. Santa Fe purchased the line, part of pany plans to expend some $65 million on servation found MKT hack 21 2 in Glen the old Kansas City, Mexico and Orient equipment and improvements this year. wood, Minn., on March 29, probably Railroad, in 1928. New equipment will include 21 addition awaiting the assemblage of a unit grain Rumor has it that four investment al SD60s (6021-604 1) as well as 121 auto train for southern climes. groups are looking at the property ... racks and 23 0 covered hoppers. The Other off-line locomotive action has
12 • JULY 1988 been limited, with CN SD40s 5016/5215 situation, several Soo SD40/SD40- 2s patched fo rmer Milwaukee SD40- 2s indi spotted in St. Paul on April 7. Adding a have been tied up on equalization duty on cates a possible shift in management phi bit more variety to the "rainbow" of en both BN and C&NW. The variety of 700- losophy. It is possible that selected units gines summarized in last month's report, series units on BN is elaborated upon in may be retained when the original IS-year reader Darren Hill reported GATX (for this month's BN column, while a typical lease agreement expires. mer B&O) GP40 37 27 in Muscatine, C&NWapplication fo und SD40- 2 6300 at Many additional fo rmer Milwaukee lo Iowa, on Feb. 20 . This unit undoubtedly East Minneapolis on March 19. comotives received patch paint jobs with worked into Chicago on a 500-series Rail in the past month, including SW 1200 Motive Power Status Report RUllner train and was commandeered to 1222, MP15s 1504 (ex-438), 1526 (ex- handle an underpowered westbound out As reponed in last month's column, 460), 1540 (ex-474), 1543 (ex-477), 1547 of Bensenville Ya rd . Soo's first SD45, the 649 1, was released (ex-48 1), 155 2 (ex-486), 1554 (ex-488), from Shoreham Shop on March 19, in yet 1560 (ex-494), 1561 (ex-495) and 1563 Major Derailment in Annandale another rendition of the "black patch" (ex-497), GP 20s 95 1 and 956, GP40s 20 04 Due to the volume of hazardous mate paint scheme. The fo rmer BN 6678 and 20 41 as well as SD40- 2 6368 (ex- 207). rials in its 9,500-ton consist, the derail shows all three ownerships in its present In a related "paint out" activity, all mark ment of 28 cars of Train 940 at Annan attire, as the Frisco mandarin colors show ings on SDL39s 586-590 have been cov dale, Minn., on March 19 received through the Cascade green applied by ered in black, pending the possible move national media attention. The 85-car drag BN. The unit is rated at 3, 200 h.p. by ment of these units to Wisconsin Central. out of Portal, N.D., was traveling Soo, indicating the retention of the V20 The number of engines remaining in through the central Minnesota communi prime mover. The second SD45 to original Milwaukee Road markings is ty at about 40 mph when the incident oc emerge from the dead line will be the rapidly decreasing, with all non-retired curred, apparently caused by equipment 649 2, this unit being the fo rmer BN 655 2. units scheduled to be "banditized" or ful fa ilure, according to an eyewitness. Due BN 6659 remains stored outside of the ly repainted into Soo colors by year's end! to the presence of methanol and sulfur roundhouse at Shoreham, as of mid At this writing, SWI200s 1207, 1209 and dioxide in several derailed tank cars, the April. 1213 are stored at Shoreham in Milwau community was evacuated for nearly ten Wo rk has begun on the five for mer ICG kee dress, while 30 or so MP15s remain in hours immediately after the incident. SD40As acquired fr om Helm Leasing, original condition. All remaining GP 20s, The wreckage was cleared by the 21 st, with the 64 10 also emerging from Shore GP38- 2s and SD lOs have been patched or with operations restored by mid-day. ham on March 19. Unfortunately, this repainted, while only seven GP40s in op During the two-day cleanup period, "rustbucket" received the minimal black erable condition have yet to be modified Soo detoured several trains over both par patch treatment and looks very shabby. with black paint. A similar number of alleling BN corridors (via Willmar and This unit is the fo rmer HLC 50 23, nee untouched SD40- 2s remain as well, so get Staples). On the 20 th, for example, ICG 60 23. In early April, the 6409 was those pictures while you can! No. 91 operated via Staples, while trains released from the paint shop, this time in Equipment Odds and Ends 937 and 940 were routed via Willmar, fu ll Soo attire. The long fr amed SD looks meeting on BN trackage within the city quite sharp in red/white dress, complete Roster "orphan" 730 (GP35) was re limits of Minneapolis . with its nose-mounted headlight. This stored to active service in late March, em In a much less serious incident, fi ve new Soo road number corresponds to the phasizing the depth of the power short cars derailed on the fo rmer MN&S bridge HLC 50 22, nee ICG 60 22. age. Concurrently, all of the GP7s are on over the Minnesota River, located in Sav Another fu ll repaint emerging from lease to the Cedar Va lley Railroad or age, Minn., on March 15. The empty Shoreham during March was the 6357, DM&E. GP40s 20 05, 20 22- 20 24 , 20 30, grain hoppers were headed back to Min one of the early Milwaukee "banditized" 20 61-2063 and 20 65 have been retired or neapolis for western Minnesota and Da SD40- 2s. The fu ll repainting of one of the are stored unserviceable, all at Shoreham. kota loading points. The cars were easily retrieved fr om the ad joining ditches and the mess received minimal media cover age. A MAGAZINE Operating Highlights OF DISTINCTION In an effort to reduce crews dying with "The rail industry has never in the Chicago Ter minal district, Soo now had such an important fo rum has C&M (Chicago and Milwaukee) Divi to insure that our rail sion personnel handling trains 20 1 and transportation heritage does 20 4 between Milwaukee and Gibson Ya rd not go the way of the dinosaur. " on the IHB. Southeastern Division crews Fred Bartels go to work/tie up at Gibson, helping to Strasburg Rail Road keep the IHB f1uid north to Franklin Discover Locomotive & Railway Preserva· ti n - a one·of·a-kind magazine that brings Park, Ill. o you Railroading as it once was, Railroading The shortage of desirable road power is as it was meant to be- Railroading as it is ref1ected in two unusual motive power again. consists reported within the past month. We build each magazine like a finecrafts · No. 60 2 departed St. Paul on March 20 man restores an old coach or locomotive with 75 cars, pulled by SD lOs 53 2/543 with care, respect and an eye for detail and and GP9s 4229 /4228 . Similarly, beauty. Mark Smith CN/DW&P connection No. 40 2 worked Editor/Publisher through St. Paul on April 10, with 120 cars, powered by "albino" SD40 Locomotive & 640 2 and a trio of fo rmer Milwaukee Railway Preservation P.o. Box 246-Subscriptlon Dept. GP40s (2059/ 2007/ 2015). The delivery of Richmond, VT 05477-9983 more SD60s this year should make con $16.00-1 Year (6 Issues), $31.00-2 Years sists such as these two only a memory. (12 Issues) To fu rther complicate the tight power $18.50-1 Year, $36.00-2 Years
PACIFIC RailNEWS • 13 Ex-Milwaukee cab 179 has appeared in based on a "hands-on" physical survey, suit is that both eastbound (upgrade) and patch paint, while the 159 received the current as of March 22, 1988. westbound (downgrade) trains now liter new maroon attire, complete with "SOO ally roar over this part of Rio Grande's Model and Fleet Notes LINE" spelled out on either side of the system. The only bottleneck remaining is Numbers bay window ! Glenwood Canyon. A project deep within Thanhs LO JOIiI1 Bauhus, Mihe C/emy, S07/9 5305 active at Grand Junction, the depths of Glenwood to lengthen Allen 5300-5304, 5306- Dan'en Hi/!, Fred Hyde, Kim Larsol! and Colo. All other units stripped/ siding and connect it to the west with 5314 v ry poor condition Sao Line Railroad. e and not op r le Shoshone siding has been completed, e ab . forming some three miles of badly needed double track. Dual-direction signals have
GP9 These units arc slowl�1 being been installed to allow fo r ultimate train ?903, 5904, 5913, sold/traded off. They arc in verI' handling flexibility. 5922, 5924, 5931, poor condition and arc not oper 5934, 5941, 5942, able. RIO 5951, 5953, 5954 GRANDE Rio Grande Radio Changes GP30 These GP30s are not in use due Denver's North Ya rd and Salt Lake 3020-3024, 3026- to not meeting current FRA 3028 crew usage standards. 'rhcse City'S Roper yard now have separate ra GP30s, however, arc stored in dio channels for their yard switchers. 3025 serviceable condition. was Each yard engine has a radio frequency wrecked ; its remains were traded matched to a portable radio. This change to EMO. R. C. Farewell is designed to reduce conflict on the exist ing yard channel.
GP35 Ali unilS in this class are present Bottom Line Improves 3029-3050 ly !norcd in servicc 14 • JULY 1988 Headquartered in Irving, Texas, the sub through ro Chicago, pausing in lvl inne sidiary will have sales offices in New apolis to "swap blocks" as required . Yo rk, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles The delivery of more LMX B39-8s, Carl Loucks and Seattle. The objective of the service coupled with the leasing of additional mo .. .sELLING RAILROADTIMETABLES will be ro package rail, truck and ocean tive power from DM&IR and Helm Leas transportation inro an integrated inter ing, has allowed BN ro return all Oakway modal network. S060s ro coal service. Earlier this year, 199Wayland St., North Haven, cr06473 The fu ture of the Winona Bridge Rail upwards of 20 of the husky EMDs were SPECIALS OF THE MONTH... way Company has become murky in re being used on manifest and intermodal a few of the more than 100,000 items cent weeks, as BN has reached an appar trains across the Montana "highline." in our stock. We do NOT sell any reo ent stalemate in dealing with its unions The availability of sufficient road pow prints. All are original railroad issue. regarding the inauguration of two-man er has allowed BN ro contribute motive You'll learn about railroad operations intermodal service between St. Paul and power to trains operating on CN's two from these .. Seattle. The company announced on major U.S. subsidiaries. The 8154-8162 March 18 that William J. DeWitt has series "internationalized" SD40- 2s have RULE BOOK - been named president of the subsidiary, been used commonly on DW &P run SEABOARD SYSTEM 1984. Over 200 succeeding Stephen C. Nieman. through trains in recent weeks, not neces pages with operating, signal and com Several months ago, PRN described sarily limited to BN connections. CN munications rules. BN's unusual contract to haul sewage ash traffic bound for both C&NW and Soo Hard Cover Binder $20. from St. Paul to Igloo, S.D., to a metal has featured multi-hued power consists CONDUCTOR'S INSTRUCTIONS: - reclamation contractor. In late March, with BN 8100s mixed in with CN and Amtrak 1981 . Fare Rules, Safety Rules, the company announced that it had sued DW&P SD40s. During March, BN pow Operating Rules, PA Announcements, etc. 200 pages, Hard Cover three ring Consolidated Management Corp. of er has been used at least twice on the + Binder ...... $20. Reno, Nev. , in order ro recover $1.6 mil Detroit-to-Chicago ExpedilOr trains oper lion in unpaid transportation costs. Some ating over GTW. On the 27 th, for exam AMTRAK EMPLOYEE TIMETABLE 28 0,000 rons of the treatment plant efflu ple, GTW No. 20 6 fe atured GTW Northeast Corridor, Schedules, ent had been moved ro South Dakota, but GP38AC 6213 and BN SD40- 2 6719 for Instructions. maps, Over 400 pages, Binder $20. environmental concerns have prohibited power. the extraction process from getting un Accompanying the incredible variety of EMPLOYEE TIMETABLES: Line by line derway. It appears BN will be caught in locomotives operating across BN these trackage, instructions, speeds etc .. CN-Prarie 1986 the middle of a lengthy court battle be days, a few unusual cabooses have been $ 8. GTW-System 1982 ...... $ 6. tween the extraction contractor and observed as well. On Feb. 29, a Rio ICG-Midwest 1983 $ 6. South Dakota environmental officials. Grande caboose was spotted in the middle MILWAUKEE RD Syst-82 $10 The Track Wa rrant Control system on of Train 161 across southern Iowa, while N & W-Pocahontas 1981 $ 6. BN became totally functional on Jan. 16, on March 7, a red N&W waycar was not NS-Crescent 1987 ...... $ 8. as the last train order was issued on that ed on the rear of a drag of westbound PRR-Eastern 1965 $ 8. PC-Eastern 1971 date. The company has developed a com empty grain hoppers passing through $ 8. SBD-Florence 1984 $ 6. puterized means of generating warrants, Burlingron, Iowa. On April 7, wayward SBD-Nashville 1985 $ 6. easing the paperwork load for dispatch D&RGW hack 01503 was logged inro the SBD-Raleigh 1985 $ 6. ers. The auromated system does have a caboose track at NorthrownYard in Min SOO-SYSTEM 1986 $1 0. few drawbacks, such as trains on the Min neapolis. SSW-Kansas City 1981 $ 8. neapolis ro Superior, Wis., line, where SP-Eastern 1986 $ 8. SP-Northern 1986 $ 8. cardinal directions change during the BN Motive Power Notes UP-System (with MP) 1986 $ 8. course of the trip. With the swelling of the fleetof LMX Citing an increase in intermodal car PUBLIC TIMETABLE SPECIAL: GEs in the Chicago and Denver regions, loadings of 22 percent for 1987, over the The history of your favorite road told in BN has balanced shop responsibilities by preceding year, BN has added 30 sets of timetables. One from the 1940s. one reassigning most of the fo rmer CB&Q double-stack platform cars ro its fleet. from the 1950s, one from the 1960s ...3 GP40 fleet to Northtown. The remaining The company has amassed a fleet of 27 5 System timetables for only $ 12.00. 3000 ro 3039 series EMOs are used on all Choose from ATSF,ACL,CB&O, double-stack sets, the largest railroad types of trains out of Minneapolis, rang MILW.CRIP,CV,C&O.B&O,IC,GN.NH, owned fleet in the country. ing fr om regional junkers, up to the C:xpe NYC,N&W.NP.PRR,SAL,SOU,UP. Six The growth of grain, coal and intermo dilO/' trains ro Chicago. sets for $60.00 dal traffic on the western half of the rail S O/CAT 6330 suffered yet another en EMPLOYEE TIMETABLE road has compelled BN ro consider capac gine fa ilure in early April and was STARTER KIT: Ideal for the new col ity improvements on the section of shipped east fr om its Interbay home. On lector. Ten employee timetables, hours "gauntlet" track located between Sand the 10th , the dead unit was spotted arriv of interesting reading about railroad op point (Idaho) and Spokane. While several erations. One each from the SP. ing in Minneapolis on the point of siding extension and double tracking UP,ICG.SCL,SOU,ATSF,BN.MP, No. 12, behind S040- 2s 800 116787 and projects are on the drawing boards, the ROCK ISLAND. and CPo All ten for SP-rebuilt SD45T- 2 6789. The dead lined only construction physically underway is $25.00. SD was promptly forwarded ro Soo fo r the six miles of double tracking between movement to the Ziegler shop in Athol and Ramsey, Idaho. Our monthly catalogue lists hundreds Bloomington (local Caterpillar agent). By of items. No charge, sent with each the 14th, the 6330 was back en route to order, or send a SSAE. BN, delivered ro Northrown by Soo's Operating Highlights Northrown transfer out of Pig's Eye Ya rd in St. Paul. With the concentration of West Coast On March 14, wreck-damaged GP38 generated manife st traffic out of Pasco, 21 35 was released from the We st Burling Wash., BN has set up yet another new Carl Loucks ron shop, rehabilitated and in fresh paint. symbol in an effort to better pre-block . SELUNG RAILROAD TIMETABLES SD40- 2 7009 was also recently released eastbound carloadings. Train 110 han 199 Wayland St., North Haven, IT 06473 dles Conrail traffic from the We st Coast Continued on page 31 PACIFIC RailNEWS - 15 Storm clouds threaten on Oct. 10, 1987, as Metro-North M2 pair 8820-8821 undergo testing on the Morrison-Knudsen Hornell facility test track. The test track is equipped with 11 kv catenary and 600 v d.c. third rail. -Mark S. Warner MORRISON-KNUDSEN 1987: LOCOMOTIVE AND CARBUILDINO ACTIVITIES PA RT II Text and photos by Norman E. Anderson, except as noted. Florida Commute Locomotives cab-carbody selection. The first was to fa bricate an F40 cab and carbody (as it The first of the commute locomotive had done previously when performing projects, received by M-K in March, was with a 500 kw HEP plant to fu rnish 480- major wreck repairs to Amtrak F40PH from the Florida Department of Trans volt, 60 hertz, 3-phase power to the cars. units 242 and 274 in 1980 and 1981), but portation (FDOT) for five locomotives to This locomotive configuration would re due to the massive sell-off of surplus loco begin a new service over the Chessie Sys semble a traditional EMD F40PH in motives by major railroads, M-K also tem between Miami and West Palm which the 16-645E3A diesel engine, oper fo und itself with a second option-to pur Beach, Fla. This new service was being ating at its full speed of 916 rpm, would chase a number of fo rmer Burlington planned by the State of Florida in provide propulsion power as well as pow Northern F45 locomotives. M-K chose conjunction with some major freeway er the HEP alternator through a drive the second option and decided to pur renovation work. Anticipating highway shaft and 1:2 gear box. The HEP alterna chase the BN units as a source of cabs and traffic problems, Florida opted to offer tor would therefore turn at 1,832 rpm carbodies. The F45's real attraction was alternate rail commuter service during a and produce up to 500 kw at 61 hertz. the large supply of reusable components minimum five-year period. After the road The FDOT specification called for the which would be available for the FDOT reconstruction is completed, the State locomotive to be remanufactured from a units, as well as all the other units being will re-evaluate the rail commuter service GP40. remanufactured at the Boise Industrial to determine if it should continue. For this project, M-K purchased five Complex. So, the remanufacturing pro With this scenario in mind, FDOT Conrail (ex-Penn Central) GP40s, cess began on the locomotive that M-K went out in search of "conventional" de Nos. 3230, 3238, 3240, 3252 and 325 6, as chose to designate an F40PHL-2, the L sign push-pull commuter service equip core locomotives. Because of the F40 meaning long since the GP40 frame is ment-which could easily be sold after wide cab and carbody requirement and three fe et longer than a standard F40PH. five years if the commuter service was the necessity of upgrading the electrical The core locomotive is completely terminated. For passenger coaches, equipment to Dash-Two standards, only stripped; the only part of the carbody re FDOT placed an order with the Can-Car the frame, engine, alternator, equipment maining on the frame is the clean air Wo rks of UTDC, Canada for standard rack, air compressor, trucks, radiators, compartment. The cab and carbody of GO Transit coaches-six control cab cars cooling fa ns and traction motors of the the F45 are very carefully cut from its and 12 trailer cars. For its locomotives, locomotive were usable. The cab, car frame and set aside for sandblasting and fo llowing a competitive bid analysis, body and HEP equipment would have to repair. The diesel engine of the GP40 is FDOT awarded a contract to M-K fo r be new to the unit. overhauled and upgraded to a 16-645E3A five "F40PH" -type locomotives complete M-K fo und itself with two options for configuration with exhaust silencer. The 16 JULY 1988 • New Jersey Transit GP40FH-2s under construction at the Boise M-K shops in fa ll 1987. Left: the under-frame of 4133 rests on shop trucks while the AR 10, the 16-645E3 diesel engine, the air compressor and the HEP plant are placed in position. Right: the propulsion engine, equipment rock and HEP plant are already in place while the corbody is being erected on No. 4139. The F45 clean-air comportment is welded to the GP40 cob, and the small toper section between the F45 profile and the GP40 profile has been added. propulsion alternator for the locomotive place them with three six-inch cores per driven 350 kw HEP plant (with the ad must be a model ARlOA9 version with bank. The F45 nine-bladed fa ns are re dition of optional, and additional, equip standby HEP output leads, and the moved for use on MDOT locomotives ment to make the locomotive suitable for AR IOA7 from the F45 is used since it can (see next topic), and the eight-bladed fa ns 100 mph push-pull commuter service). be more easily upgraded than the one out from the GP40 are installed. Changing As successful low bidder, M-K was of the GP40. The radiators, cooling fans, cooling system components to those stan awarded a contract in March for five loco equipment rack, traction motors, trucks, dard to the GP40 and F40 allows the motives; a sixth optional unit was added etc., are overhauled for reuse. A new hatch to be shortened to fi t the carbody. to the contract in October. Dash-Two cabinet is assembled with all Since FDOT was beginning a com Shortly after contract award, M-K the appropriate circuit requirements. pletely new service that wasn't replacing went about the task of designing a loco The main frame is prepared to receive an existing operation, there were many motive that would be called a GP39H- 2 all the new equipment in the engine areas without standards after which to with the H added to the basic model to room. New equipment mounting pads pattern the equipment-except many of designate a HEP unit. To fill this order, are required for the HEP gear box and the standards were those of the Chessie M-K came up with an interesting collec alternator, as well as the relocated air System. tion of GP40 core units to be modified to compressor. These are added along with When it came to the paint scheme, fit the MDOT specification. First, M-K anticlimbers on both end pilots. Step however, since the locomotives would not purchased from General American Trans wells are eliminated in favor of end lad be owned by or leased to CSX, it was portation Leasing (GATX) former B&O ders to go along with the wide carbody. decided to paint them in a scheme that GP40s 3703 and 3710 which had been in The 3, 600-gallon fuel tank is cut down to would recognize the operating territory. Boise since June 1985. M-K was then do a 2, 600-gallon size to reduce locomotive FDOT submitted a conceptual paint ing some reconditioning work for GATX weight.(The tank has a 100-gallon capac scheme utilizing the Tri-Rail interwoven on a group of former B&O GP40 units ity drain retention tank built in, so that arrows logo of the Tri-County Rail Oper being leased to Canadian Pacific (PRN fu el capacity is actually 2, 500 gallons.) ations which represents the three counties 27 5 and 28 5), and they had been designat When all locomotive components are of Dade, Broward and Palm Beach ed as spare parts units. Even though the remanufactured and available, the reas through which the new service will oper locomotives had been stripped of their sembly process begins. The diesel engine, ate. M-K's engineers then optimized the engines, traction motors and other major ARlO, HEP gear box and alternator, air paint scheme utilizing the three county components, the cab, carbody, frame and compressor and associated drive shafts colors of lime green, blue and orange, trucks were in good condition and the are installed on the GP40 fr ame and lined plus the passenger car colors of GO green GP40 engine would have had to be re up. The Dash-Two electrical cabinet and and GO white to complement the wide placed anyway. The other three base other components are installed. The F45 carbody design. Road numbers 801-805 units were ex-Conrail Nos. 3062 and cab is welded to the frame so that its rear were selected, with FDOT approval, to 3066 (former Penn Central and New Yo rk wall is in the same position on the frame fitin a three-digit slot not conflictingwith Central) and 3243 (former Penn Central). as was the GP40 cab. The F45 clean air any CSX locomotives. When the optional sixth locomotive was compartment is positioned around the The FDOT locomotive delivery sched added, Milwaukee GP40 20 50 was select GP40 compartment walls to fill out the ule was somewhat flexible and tied to de ed as the core unit. These units will carry wide body.The rear carbody nose piece is livery of the cars so the first locomotive MARC (Maryland Rail Commuter) road welded to the frame so its end is flush and first cab car could undergo joint test numbers 70-75 from Conrail 306 2, 3066, with the end pilot plate. The F45 carbody ing. The five FDOT units were to be 3243; B&O 3703 and 3710; and Milwau side panels are then cut into shorter sec completed during the fi rst quarter of kee 20 50; respectively. tions and welded to the GP40 frame so the 1988. The locomotive's major design prob equipment access doors line up with the lem was arranging the engine room equip Maryland Commute Locomotives engine room components of the GP40. ment to make enough room available at Two engine room doors are also provided To supplement its locomotive fl eet in the end of the long hood for the for maintenance and operating personnel. its Washington, D.C.-area commuter ser 35" x 102" HEP engine-generator and its The F45 dynamic brake hatch-with its vice, Maryland Department of Trans two electrical cabinets. The main gener six grids and two fa ns-is shortened to portation (MDOT) advertised for bids ator (ARlO) and the rear engine mounts accommodate the four grids and one fan for four to eight remanufactured locomo remain as they are on a GP40. Replacing used on a GP40 or F40. Likewise, the tives to be the equivalent of a GP39- 2 the 16-cylinder engine with a 12-cylinder radiator hatch is modified to delete the locomotive with a 12-645E3 propulsion moved the front of the engine and equip fo ur eight-inch cores per bank and re- engine and a separate Cummins engine- ment rack 38%" toward the front of the PA CIFIC RaiINEWS . 17 unit. (The front of the engine is toward turing is straightforward. A new Dash ny. These additional locomotives were the rear of the unit.) The air compressor is Two electrical cabinet is installed to make needed to operate with new and remanu moved 30W' fo rward. To make the total the electrical upgrade. The cab is up factured push-pull cars coming from required space available, the long hood is graded to include a new control stand, Bombardier and M-K's Hornell shop and lengthened 12%" near the rear of the radi radio, PA system and cab signal controls. to replace aging F7 and E8 locomotives. ator hatch. Within this extra space, the To operate at high speeds, the trucks are Compared to the MDOT locomotive, HEP plant is placed on the right side and remanufactured to the latest design with the NJT design challenges were tougher the two electrical cabinets to the left. single shoe brakes, shock absorbers, low because it was necessary to pack more Lengthening the long hood places the profile elliptical springs and Timken roll onto the same frame-a bigger prime point even with the rear pilot plate. With er bearings. An anticlimber is added to mover, a bigger HEP plant, and more the long hood extended back, the rear the front; the snowplow pilot is retained radiator cooling. Preliminary equipment stepwell becomes unusable in that form, on Conrail units and added to the others. layouts indicated what NJT wanted could and it is covered over with diamond plate. Locomotive control, communication and be accomplished, and detailed design lay Rear ladders and a rear anticlimber are HEP receptacles are added to both pilot outs began when the contract was award added to provide egress and crossover ac plates. Couplers are changed to Type F ed in May. These layouts indicated the cess to the rear of the unit. tightlocks with alignment control draft 42" x 106" engine-driven HEP plant Once the engine room space was made gear to prevent buckling and excessive could fit in the engine room if the carbody available for the HEP plant, the next de slack during push-pull service. was extended beyond the rear pilot plate sign problem was to provide adequate The fo rmer B&O units were completed to be flush with the end of a new anti cooling fo r the prime mover and HEP first, since they were already in Boise and climber. engine, a problem not that difficult when could be started immediately; the Conrail With this basic configuration con considering that the GP40 radiator hatch units had to come fr om the East. By firmed, the first chore was to select ten contained six double-length six-inch year's end, three units were completed GP40 core locomotives. Again, this selec thick radiator cores (three per bank) and (MARC 73 and 74 from the B&O units tion process resulted in an interesting sto three 48-inch, eight-bladed cooling fans and No. 70 from the first Conrail unit). ry. Eight of the locomotives are fo rmer to cool a 3,000-h.p., 16-cylinder engine. The other three units will be outshopped Conrail 1967-vintage ex-Penn-Central Since the engine was being replaced with in 1988. GP40s, Nos. 3058, 3061, 3064, 3067, a 2, 300-h.p. 12-cylinder engine, the loco 3068, 3070, 307 1 and 3078. The last two New Jersey Transit Locomotives motive cooling system was reduced to units have an even more interesting back fo ur radiator cores (two per bank) and Just when M-K's engineers were satis ground, they are fo rmer Rock Island two 48-inch, nine-bladed cooling fa ns. fied they had solved all of the MDOT GP40s 384 and 389, originally part of the The cooling fans were taken from the BN locomotive design challenges, along came 38 2-396 group financed by a leasing com F45 units being scrapped for the FDOT New Jersey Transit (NJT) wanting ten pany. When the Rock Island went under, project. The reduction in the locomotive remanufactured GP40 locomotives re arrangements were made by the owner to cooling system left plenty of room for two taining the 16-cylinder, 3,000-h.p. engine store the units at M-K in Boise-they ar single-length, six-inch cores and a 48- and adding a larger (494 kw) HEP plant. rived in May 1985. Following a long stor inch, 480-volt fan to cool the HEP en In addition, NJT wanted the engines en age, the owner realized the non-dynamic gine. closed in a ful l - width F40-type brake units were not readily saleable as The other main consideration was carbody but with the GP40 cab retained. running locomotives and began selling weight, both its distribution and total 10- The locomotives would be used for high them for parts through a scrap dealer. comotive weight. To offset the added speed, push-pull commuter service on Numbers 384 and 389 left Boise on weight of the HEP plant, fuel tank capac the fo rmer Erie-Lackawanna districts Jan. 16, 1986 for the Chrome Crankshaft ity is reduced from 3,600 to 2, 600 gallons and for new service between Hoboken (at dismantling yard in San Bernardino, Cal (of which 100 gallons are used for a drain the end of the E-L district) and Trenton, if. All of the other units were scrapped retention tank and 2, 500 gallons fo r fu el). N. J ., on the Northeast Corridor via a new out but, fortunately, the frames, carbo The rest of the locomotive remanufac- connection between the two lines at Kear- dies and trucks of these two units were still intact when M-K began shopping for core units. M-K purchased them, and they again arrived in Boise on June 11, 1987. An early design analysis indicated that a major problem was going to be weight balance and equalization, even more so than for the MDOT units, since the HEP would be located even further behind the rear bolster. Like the MDOT units, the 3,600-gallon fuel tank was reduced to 2, 500 gallons, with a 100-gallon drain re tention tank, to reduce the fu el weight. The tank is mounted as far fo rward as possible, but even with this reduction, it was determined that approximately 12,000 pounds of ballast would have to be added to the front of the unit to equalize the weight between trucks and that this ballasting would push the total locomo tive weight to 28 4,000 pounds- 7,000 pounds more than a typical four axle EMD unit-requiring that the truck The first of the new GP40FH-2 passenger locomotives undergoes testing at Boise on Oct. 10, 1987. side frames be reinforced above the ped The vorious new features in the conversion process transforming ex-Conrail GP40 3061 into NJT 4131 estal and that heavy-duty springs be used are Quite obvious in this photo. in remanufacturing the trucks. For high 18 • JULY 1988 speed service, the trucks receive all the other modifications mentioned fo r the MDOT units. Since M-K had already made the car body make-buy analysis for the FDOT locomotives, the same decision was ap plied to use modified BN F45 carbodies to fo rm the engine room. The clean air compartment of the GP40 is retained, and the corresponding compartment of the F45 is shortened slightly for cosmetic fit only. The cross section of the F45 is sLightly different than the GP40 cab, so a small transitional filler piece is applied. Since NJT doesn't use dynamic braking, the grid hatch is gutted to reduce weight, This view of NJT GP40FH·2 shows how the BN F45 carbady was applied aver the rear anticlimber to and the grid and fan openings are covered maximize the size of the engine room. The front three fans work to coal the main engine, while the over. The main side panels, people doors fourth fan operates off the HEP alternator to coal the HEP engine. The two reservoirs behind the fuel and equipment doors are repositioned to tank store air for starting the HEP plant. A 15" wide emergency entrance daor is provided at the rear of critical locations, and the sections in be the long hood. tween shortened to fit. On the left side, new removable panels are installed adja Iision-resistant. Locomotive control, however, restricted to the Port Jervis cent to the HEP plant so the engine-gen communication and HEP receptacles are line, and it may be seen operating on any erator skid may be slid out the side for installed on both pilot plates. A low-pro of the NJT push-pull commuter lines. changeout. The rear nose section is fi le snowplow is added to the front end In the past, the MNCR equipment has changed considerably to maximize the only (these snowplows are surplus items been in the fo rm of Comet passenger cars, space for the HEP plant. The rear door is being removed from the rear of the Mil three Budd RDCs, and U34CH 4183. In reduced from 21 inches to IS, and the waukee SD40- 2 units being remanufac more recent times, NJT felt there was a rear nose angle is reduced from 25 de tured for Mexico). need fo r MNCR to add more locomotives grees to 13 to match the anticlirnber.New The model designation for these loco to adequately protect the service. Since smaller five-cubic-foot sand boxes are in motives was jointly developed by NJT MNCR didn't have any surplus units to stalled in the corners to leave room for a and M-K to be GP40FH- 2 (standing for transfer to the NJT operation, MNCR walkway around the end of the HEP GP locomotive and cab configuration, 40 agreed to purchase fo ur GP40FH- 2 units plant. Dash-Two control; F for fu ll-width car from M-K to be built to the same NJT The real challenge of the locomotive body and H for Head End Power). Road specifica tions. design was the radiator hatch-how to get numbers selected by NJT are 4130-4139 Therefore, in October, MNCR award enough cooling capacity for both engines which fall right behind NJT standard ed a contract to M-K to build fo ur within the confines of the F45 hatch, F40PH- 2 41 13-41 29, which in turn fall GP40FH- 2 units. They will be painted in which contained four eight-inch thick right behind NJT (ex-CN]) GP40PH a Metro-North color scheme and will be cores per bank with three 48-inch, nine units 4100-41 12which NJT recently con numbered MNR 4184-4 187 to fa ll at the bladed cooling fans for the 20 -645E3, verted from steam generator GP40P units upper end of the NJT 4100-series com 3,600-h.p. engine. Analysis of cooling to GP40PH HEP units. Road numbers mute locomotive number series, right system performance indicated that three for the ten units are assigned to the core after U34CH 4183. These locomotives of the cores per bank and three 48-inch, units in their serial number order, mak will be delivered in the early months of eight-bladed fa ns could cool the 160 cylin ing units 4130-4137 Conrail and units 1988 fo llowing completion of the IO N JT der, 3,000-h.p. propUlsion engine, and 4138 and 4139 Rock Island. During the units. one core per bank and one 48-inch, fo ur last quarter of 1987, seven of the units Miscellaneous Projects bladed, 480-volt fan could cool the HEP were completed. engine. There wasn't room in the hatch When M-K was about to outshop the The first of two single-unit projects in for two more radiator headers to separate first of the GP40FH- 2 locomotives, an volved wreck repairs to SEPTA Silverlin the cores into two systems; there was, interesting development occurred which er IV 9030, one of several wrecks that however, room for one more header. So in effect increased their quantity from ten SEPTA put out to public bid. In October M-K designed and fabricated special to 14. One of the lines NJT operates out 1985, M-K was awarded a contract to re headers with a diagonal baffle dividing of Hoboken, New Jersey, to the north pair it. Following a lengthy special mate the header into two chambers. In this serves customers in that part of the state rial procurement period, the repairs pro way, water can flow through the three of New York between Suffe rn and Port ceeded at Hornell, and the MU passenger and one-core radiator sections through Jervis. Under the existing jurisdictional coach was completed in May 1987. one header having isolated water cham agreements, each state is responsible to The second miscellaneous project took bers. provide commuter service to its respec place in Boise in October when the 20 - The balance of the remanufacturing in tive customers. Consequently, service on cylinder 645 diesel engine of a City of cludes installation of a new Dash-Two the Port Jervis line north of the New Jer Seward (Alaska) 25 00 kw generator set electrical cabinet, a clean cab control sey-New York border is the responsibility was overhauled. stand with a combination radio/PA con of the MNCR arm of the Metropolitan trol head, cab signal controls and sound Transit Authority (MTA). However, Summary proofing for the cab. An exhaust silencer from a practical operating standpoint, the A total of 156 units were completed in added to the EMD engine plus a muffler Port Jervis line is totally west of the Hud 1987. This figure is down from that of on the HEP engine cut down on noise son River where service is more easily 1986 as a result of the transitional nature pollution. provided by NJT. Therefore, MTA com of the year. However, with so many new The cab receives strobe warning lights pensates NJT for providing this service projects beginning late in the year, this and both ends get new FRA red marker by furnishing MNCR equipment equiv ensures that 1988 will get off to a good lights. A large anti climber added to the alent to the quantity necessary to operate start, and there will be some interesting front pilot plate makes the unit more col- this line. The use of the equipment is not, projects to look at in further detail. PACIFIC RaiINEWS . 19 In the deep reaches af the St. Maries River canyon near Latus, Idaho, GP9s 102 and 103 lead the St. Maries River Railroad branch train past milepast 7, on May 4, 1987. While the grade isn't very steep, the sharp, blind curves and light rail keep the branch train's speed belaw 20 mph alang this stretch of the former Milwaukee Road. 20 • JULY 1988 IDAHO'S LOGGING WONDER The St. Maries River Railroad picked up where the Milwaukee Road left off, serving the sawmills of northern Idaho Text and Photography by Bruce Kelly ith Class 1 transcontinental outfitslike Burlington hundred miles of track were purchased from Milwaukee Northern and Union Pacific stealing most of the Road by Potlatch to guarantee the shipment of logs into Wshow in the Pacific Northwest, shortline oper St. Maries. Being based in St. Maries and having a vast ations such as Idaho's St. Maries River Railroad are rare, majority of its right-of-way flanked by the St. Maries River pleasant exceptions to the rule of big-time corporate con gave STMA its appropriate name. trol-proving that small enterprise can still make a profit The 52 miles of backwoods railroad between St. Maries while adhering to some of the practices of a bygone era. and Bovill are the stomping grounds of STMA's branch Taking up where Milwaukee Road left off, St. Maries train. In the summer months, when timber cutting is at its River Railroad (reporting marks STMA) was assembled highest, the branch train runs Monday through Friday; the piece by piece during the months following CMStP&P's crew is usually called for departure from St. Maries between abandonment of its Lines West in 1980. noon and 3 p.m. The off-season months, winter especially, Potlatch Corporation's giant sawmills in St. Maries and see the branch train dispatched to Bovill as fe w as two days a Coeur d' Alene, Idaho, depended heavily on the steady deliv week. Two of STMA's three GP9s are standard power for ery of logs from Avery, Clarkia, and Bovill. Trucks could this job. The Geeps were among Potlatch's initial purchases manage hauling some of the timber pulled from the fo rests of from Milwaukee Road, and in December 1980, they went the Bitterroot Range, but only a railroad could keep up with through remanufacture at Morrison-Knudsen in Boise, Ida Potlatch's demands. Five locomotives, two cabooses, neces ho. Former Milwaukee GP9s 292, 301, and 322 became sary freight cars and maintenance equipment and over a STMA 101, 102, and 103. In addition to having their inter- STMA GP9 103 idles in front of the St. Maries depot prior to departure with the south bound branch train of April 6, 1987. The depot has been renovated and its appearance is vastly improved over days when the Milwaukee Rood was abandoning local trackage. PA CIFIC RailNEWS • 21 On April 30, 1987, STMA caboose 996 follows the south bound branch train through the log reload yard at Clarkia, Idaho. Here, empty flats are filled with logs for the return trip north to St. Maries. nal components rebuilt, the units' noses were chopped down and ditch lights were fitted to the pilots for better visibility on STMA's twisting trackage. On the southbound run, trailing tonnage behind the branch train's twin GP9 road power usually amounts to several boxcar loads of finished lumber and 30 to 80 empty log flats. A bay window caboose, painted in STMA's unique three-tone scheme of black, cream, and maroon, brings up the rear. The empty log flats areset out at the reload yards in Clarkia and Bovill, and in a couple days are loaded and ready to transport back to St. Maries. In Bovill, the units are cut off from the train and spotted alongside the caboose on an adjacent track; this is lunch time for the three or four branch train crew members. Burlington Northern enters Bovill from the south on trackage of the Washington, Idaho & Montana Railroad, and its twice-weekly turn creates modest interchange traffic for STMA. Late in the evening, loaded log flats and various other loads and empties are gathered during the return trip to St. Maries. Track speed is kept below 30 mph most of the time because of the light rail, aging ties, and tight curves. Over Lakes and Canyons Where Milwaukee Road once ran its mainline freights and passenger service, the St. Maries River Railroad switcher performs its weekday task of shuttling log loads from the St. Maries yard to the hometown's Potlatch mill, plus the twice-weekly (Tuesday and Thursday under normal ship ping cycles) 19-mile run west to Plummer. What goes into the St. Maries mill as logs comes out in the form of studs and plywood, wrapped in Potlatch sheeting and shipped out in boxcars via the connection with Union Pacific at Plummer J ct. Any logs that aren't milled in St. Maries are rolled west to Ramsdell, where they are dumped into the St. Joe River, tied together as barge floats, and towed by tugboat across Lake Coeur d'Alene to Potlatch's Coeur d'Alene and Post Falls plants. STMA's SW1200s 501 and 502 (ex-MILW 612 and 618, also rebuilt through Morrison-Knudsen) handle the switcher assignment. One of the units is usually sufficient horsepower for the journey to Plummer, but both are used when ten or more loaded cars are on the manifest. An abbreviated branch run (40-50 car trains are more typical) ambles along We st of Ramsdell, the switcher negotiates a short tunnel, side the St. Maries River, approaching Lotus from the north on April 16, then crosses Benewah Lake on a low wooden trestle. From 1985. Benewah Lake to Plummer, STMA climbs several hundred 22 JULY 1988 • /"" ,� . 1' � ,� .\ .. ' �' I i I , � \ A :!.\ " I ', " ! �" . <'1", ,)· t2 �! , �� , J ' I ' ,. I • It � . J <,,� • " � .;-f� .. � .�:- -- , . '" � .. � . ,.� . �� . ., ' � , . . ,.J , , '' � . , -. � ,' T \ , � f", I', " .j, :.:, , ,.- "/. ' ''', '",t... ' )� ' 'V" - ' ,\ ' � i .....� J' . . � � J� � t. STMA's switchers descend the grade east from Pedee, Idaho, with empties picked up from UP at Plummer Jet, on May 5, 1987, Seen crossing the steel trestle above Howley's Londing on Lake Chatcolet{a southern extension of Loke Coeur d'Alene), the SW1200s and their string of cars leave behind a faint plume of broke shoe smoke that will linger long after the train has continued its trek to St, Maries, feet, and the grade is highlighted by tall steel viaducts above resources go to waste, STMA has been using its newly ac Hawley's Landing and over Peedee Creek (on the railroad, quired 90-pound and 116-pound rails to replace the 80- old Pedee station is spelled with one less e) and the horseshoe pound rails found in the Potlatch mill and several other curve east of Plummer Jct. The loads are spotted and emp heavily operated locations. The trackage west to Plummer ties picked up at the UP interchange track at Plummer J ct., contains 116-pound and 132-pound jointed and welded rail, then the SW1200 power starts back to St. Maries. The so little attention is being directed to the switcher's route for STMA switcher rarely runs with a caboose. now. All of this maintenance activity may be a sign St. Maries Recent Happenings on STMA River Railroad plans to be hauling logs and lumber for at During the mid-1980s, St. Maries River Railroad moved least a while longer. Anyone interested in photographing more than 5000 carloads of logs annually, and the additional STMA should call its St. Maries yard office (208/245-4531) a revenue from shipping milled wood products gave the short day in advance to find out if and when the branch train and line enough extra capital to reinvest in its property and switcher will make their runs. Scanning radios should be equipment. A hotly debated struggle for ownership of the tuned to 160.275 to monitor STMA's main road channel, ex-Milwaukee Road grade east of St. Maries to Avery and on and 161.055 will pick up any repeater transmissions. Upon across St. Paul Pass ended in the U.S, Forest Service's recla arrival in St. Maries, a rail buffs first duty is to check in mation of the 13 miles of right-of-way west of Avery. with the yard office staff so they know who you are and what STMA's log and gravel loads from this segment were given you're doing. STMA welcomes well-behaved visitors who to local truckers, and track gangs pulled up all of the rails come from far and near to marvel at its impressive operation, and ties, which are now stockpiled in the St. Maries yard. hidden deep within the mountains of northern Idaho. (South of town on Highway 3, veritable mountains of ties and rails from Milwaukee's line up St. Paul Pass are being Many thanks to Trainmaster Jim Tuel, Master Mechanic sold by A&K Railroad Materials.) Rather than let these Gary Hart, and the entire crew of St. Maries River Railroad. PACIFIC RailNEWS • 23 -MAP BY JOHN SIGNOR 24 • JULY 1988 With eight loads of finished lumber in tow, SW1 200 501 takes the westbound STMA switcher run of April 11, 1988, across the Benewah Lake trestle west of Ramsdell, Idaho. The uphill climb toward Pedee and Plummer actually begins in the middle of the trestle. PA CIFIC RaiJNEWS • 25 Amidst the beautiful Clearwater Mountains, STMA's branch arrives at Bovill, Idaho, the southern terminus of the St. Maries River line. The lumber loads towed by the Geeps will be left for the BN switcher, which services the town twice each week via Washington, Idaho & Montana Railrood trackage. The STMA branch train begins its climb into the St. Maries River canyon on a snow-cov ered day in February 1985. Amazingly, the STMA manages to keep its locomotives clean, even in winter. Master Mechanic Gory Hart confesses that the GP9s were "filthy" when acquired from Milwaukee Road. 26 JULY 1988 • Almast campleted with a day's work, SW1 200s 50 1 and 502 lead the STMA switcher run through Plummer Jct. with empties from the UP interchange track. The sound of first generation diesels in action ech oes off canyon walls as SW1 200s 502 and 50 1 lug the westbound switcher train across Pedee trestle, east of the old Pedee station. Rebirth of the White Pass t WP&YR's unique shovelnosed, six-axle "90-class" diesels were built by GE, but their innards are unmistakably Aleo. The units, featuring Aleo 251 prime movers which generate 900 h.p. each, will be active in the ra ilroad's new tourist operation. A more familiar role for the locomotives is displayed at Utah, Y.T., in 1981 in the days when hauling ore cars was WP&Y's primary occupation. Alaska1s famous narrow-gauge line is operating againl but only to serve the tourist trade Text and photography by David R. Busse he White Pass is rolling again ! be a substantial difference between the White Pass of today Thanks to the boom in Alaska cruise ship busi and the railroad of 1982." Any plans to resume freight ser T ness, Alaska's fa med narrow-gauge line, dormant vice on the rejuvenated line? "None whatsoever," said for 5lfz years, resumes limited operation as a tourist line Heits. May 12, 1988, hauling passengers from Skagway to White The old White Pass owed its longevity to an early embrace Pass Summit, Alaska, on a spectacular 20-mile segment of of the very progressive containerization concept. Everything the llO-mile-long three-foot-gauge railway. from bulk commodities to merchandise rode WP&YR rails Trains will use the line's original turn-of-the-century pas in containers. Raw ore from remote mines in the Yukon was senger cars and will be pulled for the firsttwo miles from the transloaded from trucks to trains at Whitehorse fo r the rail Skagway docks to the railway's shops by 2-8-2 No. 73, a trip to the Skagway dock. (Tank cars hauling fuel oil were handsome 1947 Baldwin product restored just a year before the only exception to the containerization policy.) The com the railway went into mothballs Oct. 8, 1982. The unique pletion of the parallel Klondike Highway in 1981 and a GE-built, Aleo-powered, 90-class shovel nose diesels will subsequent agreement between the Alaska and Yukon haul the trains for the rest of the trip, which follows the governments to keep the road open year-round made it im Alaska Gold Rush "Trail of '98." possible for the White Pass to compete with trucks for the "The White Pass will live again , but it will live as a entire haul. railroad fo r nothing more than passengers," said WP&YR* The railroad hauled passengers in mixed trains right up Manager of Passenger Operations Steven Heits. "There will until the end and ran special passenger trains to accommo date summer tourists, but passenger revenue was never in itself enough to cover the considerable expense of keeping the *Footnote: White Pass & Yukon Route is really an um mountain railroad open. brella name that covers three different railroad companies. Tourist Boom Officially, in Alaska it is the Pacific & Arctic Railway and Navigation Co.; in British Columbia, the British Columbia Since the 1982 shutdown, the summer Alaska cruise ship Yukon Railway Co. and in the Yukon the British Yukon business has exploded. While Skagway remained a popular Railway Co. Passenger cars are lettered "WP&YR" and port-of-call for cruise liners after the railroad closed, other sublettered "P&AR&N Co." remote Alaskan towns such as Sitka, Valdez and Whittier 28 • JULY 1988 WP&Y parlor car 268 (ex-Sumpter Valley coach 268) brings up the rear of north bound mixed train No. 1, in the siding for a southbound ore extra, on Oct. 12, 1981. This section of track could be reactivated if the Wh ite Pass decides to extend tourist service to Lake Bennett. Left: No, it's not a Disneyland dioromo' Passengers in combine 21 1 (ex-D&RGW) on mixed southbound No. 2 were mostly locals who didn't pay much attention to the spectacular scenery along Loke Bennett. Seven revenue passengers and 98 ore cars were along for the ride on Oct. 11, 1981. Below: 85-ton shovel nose GEs (such as No. 100) were typical diesel power on White Pass trains before operations were suspended. In the background, 0 set of MLW DL535Es pull 0 northbound mixed; the 1 ,200-h.p. hood units ore not likely to see service on the new WP& YR ond ore reportedly for sale. PA CIFIC RailNEWS • 29 which parallels the railroad. Even while the railroad was shut Time T_ble No. 158 June I, 1981 Yukon Subdhblon Footnotes down, workers rode the rails on motor cars to patrol and repair the pipeline and did some minor track and drainage Southbound :O;onhbound work to keep the rails clear fo r the motor cars. Crews began First Ctass Station )liles Yard Yukon Orflce Sidin): Second Class clearing the line of brush March 1. Heits said there was no �o. From Limits Subdl"hlon Si):nal Capacit}' . \ I i xc d Skagway In Fect Mixed major rock slide damage on the rugged Alaska Subdivision Daily Stations line and that the trestle and bridge work scheduled for April 9:'1; a.m. III 1 10. - lX'hitehorse CKPWYZ ;:00 p.m. I I O� 6 Yard had been planned in 1982 before the shutdown. 5.2 Passengers this summer will still be reminded of the rail 1 06. 5 Yard 10:05 106 10':;. ':; utah HO road's heritage as a frontier freight hauler. None of the I O.U Yard lOA railway's collection of narrow gauge rolling stock has been 10: .H 9; 9':;, 1 Cowlcr 828 4:1; disposed of and the Skagway yards are full of now-unused [;,i 11:1; -9 -9.'1 lome 18J6 .H S freight cars and work equipment, including two ex-Colorado 11.9 & Southern boxcars, an ex-East Broad Top hopper and the 68 . .\ Yard 11:45 6- 67.':; Carcross PZ CX 2340 J,OI fleetof ex-Rio Grande "Gramps" tank cars formerly used for 66.6 Yard hauling heating oil to Whitehorse. 8.1 1!:05 59.4 ' ;9 lX atson 1656 2:40 10. 1 New Wo rk Rules 1!:30 ,9 49.J Hener 2154 2:10 87 Employees on the reincarnated White Pass will work un -1 1.7 Ya rd der new labor rules negotiated with UTU and the Teamsters. 12: 5; p. m. " '10.6 Benncll CPRWYZ J960 1:45 p.m. Dail) Three-man crews will be the rule on passenger trains, two +t Daily !{ule� 'II and lppliclhk Rullo I).H :l]lplll'� man crews will handle work extras. The "old" WP&Y had about 180 employees; the new operation will have 30, all veterans. began wooing the cruise ships to stop. Skagway officials fe lt the presence of the tourist train would gi ve the small town an Canadian Expansion Later edge in the increasingly competitive tourist trade. Next year, Heits says the railroad could extend operations Readying the Line another 7.3 miles from White Pass to Fraser, on the British Columbia-Alaska border. Legal authority from the Canadian Heits, who started as a baggage handler with the White Transport Commission to operate across the border would Pass in 1972 and worked his way through various operating take too long this year, but is a real possibility in 1989. If the positions, said parent WP&Y Corp., Ltd., is spending first two years of tourist operation are successful, the railway $1.5 million to get the railroad back in operating shape. could also experiment with reopening the line to scenic, Much of the money will be spent to extensively rebuild the isolated Lake Bennett and on to Carcross in the Yukon fleet of decaying passenger cars whose heritage reads like a Territory. "Who's Who" of narrow-gauge railroading. Their canvas But the chance of restoring service all the way to White roofs and interior furnishings didn't take kindly to outside horse is only slightly better than the possibility of riding a storage in the harsh weather of Southeastern Alaska. Wheels Rio Grande narrow-gauge train from Durango to Alamosa in started rolling in Skagway March 2 when veteran White Pass the near fu ture. Heits says the track on the relatively un engineer Gus Lingle firedup shovelnose diesel 93 and began spectacular line north of Carcross "requires serious work" shuffling cars into the shop area for repairs. because of ground settling in the unstable permafrost. Be The Alaska end of the White Pass is in "excellent" shape, yond Carcross, it is a 45-minute highway trip to Whitehorse partially because of the WP&Y-owned petroleum pipeline but a laborious three-hour grind on the train, even with the track in good shape. Even the most dedicated railfan tourist Time Table No. 1S8 June I, 1981 MAjka Subdhlslon Footnotes would probably opt for a bus beyond Carcross. Southbound Station Operation .' liles Yard Alaska Office Siding �orthbound 1988 First Class No. From limits Subdhlslon Signal Capacity First Cb.ss Sk:l.gway In Feet The 1988 operation will run from May 12 through �Ii.'(ed Mixed Sept. 27. Two trains a day will make the three-hour round Dail)' $t:l.tions 1:50 p.m. 40.6 Bennett trip leaving Skagway at 9 a.m. and 1:45 p.m. on Tuesdays, " CI'RIX'YZ J960 12:35 p.m. J9.1 rard We dnesdays and Thursdays. Additional trains will leave at _ . 7·9 9:10 a.m. and 3 p.m. On those days, Heits said there could 2:15 JJ 32.7 log Cabin 1656 12:10 5.0 - be as many as five cruise ships docked in Skagway. 28,; S 2:30 18 Fraser Unlike most tourist railroad operations, the reincarnated 27.7 I'Z Hll S I I : 50 n.; White Pass is a business venture of the line's original owners, 7.; 11.0 who have diversified into trucks, shipping and petroleum 1:50 20 20A lX'hite Pass Cl'l 1296 11:;0 pipelines. The White Pass was born in the Gold Rush of 1898 19.7 6J and survived the lean times of the 1930s and the traffi c boom F,H5 1 4 14.1 Glacier \.i3l FIO:5; of Wo rld War II. Parent Federal Industries and the citizens 5.6 - of Skagway hope the "tourist gold" of 1988 brings new 8.5 C1iflon j:3; i9! 10:35 6.6 prosperity to the historic old railroad. 2.5 Yard "The challenge to the White Pass will be to learn the 4:00 1.9 Shops BCP\l'Z 10:10 1.9 passenger excursion business of the '80s and '90s," said -1: * 0.0 Skagwa� . 15 ' Ki'YZ 1>1 rard 10:00 a.m. Steven Heits. "Alaska is Disneyland to the cruise ship indus Rules -11 and 44 applicable Dail), Rule 93A applies I try and the reopening of the White Pass & Yukon Route is -Times sbolt'l! are for conHnlence ooly .. d coo"ey no aulhorlty on AI.,k. SubdhbloD. like reopening the Matterhorn ride." 30 . JULY 1988 Railroads columns er worked local No. 31662into Mitchell, tors on both the CC&P and nearby continued from page 15 S. D., on April 2, fe aturing six Dakota C&NW branches, so it is merely a matter and Iowa Geeps: 22/2111 9/3/ 20/8 . These of trucking the grain a short distance to from shop work, with red and white num are presumed to be a variety of second an elevator with rail service. Most trains ber boards spotted previously on C30-7 hand BN and UP GP9/ 20 s acquired by run as extras, as almost all schedules were 5040. Oakway SD60 9067 has received aggregate contractor L. G. Everist. removed from current timetable No. 2, similar treatment in recent weeks. One of the most colorful power consists except for 24 -25, which operate from Ce David Gasal scanned recent BN motive reported in the last month worked dar Rapids to Chicago and return, and the power status reports and determined that Train 836 into Minneapolis on March 29 , Fort Dodge to Waterloo local, trains 30 the fo llowing locomotives were retired including EMD GP38- 2s 80 21798/8 22, and 31. All other trains operate as extras. during 1987: HL GP38- 2 20 25 and DM&IR SD9s Work is nearly completed on the instal Model Number(s) 1421152 11 39. Some scant six days later (on lation of the centralized traffic control NW2M I April 4), the same train employed EMD governing the rerouting of Iowa North SW I200 219 GP5 1355. 1357 GP38- 2 816, HL GP38- 2s 20 22/ 20 21/- ern trains between Cedar Falls and Wa ter GP9 1703, 1728, 1850, 1861,1918, 1938, 20 52 and BN SD40- 2 6798 and GP40 loo. A new timetable station has been es 1939, 1954 30 29 for propulsion. tablished on the northwest edge of Cedar GPIO 1415, 1438 Falls-where Iowa Northern's ex-RI line GP20 2008, 2057, 2060 Editor's Note GP30 2229, 2244 joins CC&P-called Cedar Falls Jct. It is GP35 2521, 2523, 2524, 2544 Many thanks to the readers of this col equipped with an electric switch, as is U30C 5306, 5308, 5313, 53 14, 5317, 5318, umn who religiously fo rward news clip existing Mona J ct., where Cedar Va lley 5320·5322, 5325·5327, 5329·5334, 5352, pings and information of local signifi Railway joins CC&P. Susie, location of 5390, 5393, 5800·5802, 5804, 5805, 581 1. 5832, 5900, 5933 cance to the editor. While your data may the start of double track on the west end SD9 6205 not appear immediately in a column, all of Waterloo, has been equipped with an S D40 6300, 6340 letters are filed for fu ture reference and electric switch as has a new location near It should be noted that many of these are duly appreciated. old West Tower-now dubbed West Wa units remain on the property and depend Thanks to John Baukus, Burlington terloo and the point where the IANR ing on fu ture power demands as well as Non/urn, Bill Ewinger, David Casal, Je!! trains leave CC&P and follow the old Wa Hendricks, Darren Hill, terloo Railroad to C&NW. All four the availability of replacement units, No/uHwEsr RiII/.F/IN and Ri l lLlV/1 switches will be under the control of the some of them may be restored to the ac \' A(;E. tive roster at a later date. CC&P Waterloo dispatcher. Foreign Motive Power Highlights Cedar Valley Railway As cited earlier in this column, the vari The CVAR continues to utilize Soo ety of off-line motive power visiting BN Line GP7 No. 375. Cedar Valley obvious during March and April borders on the ly needs it with heavy grain traffic to both incredible. The fleet of leased EMD, REGIONALS of its principal connections-the Soo GATX and Helm Leasing units has been Line at Charles City and CC&P in Wa ter augmented with more SD9s from Mis loo. CVAR has started to rebuild track sabe (a total of twelve DM&IR units were between Charles City and the Minnesota on line as of April 2) as well as more Kyle border, but the extent of this project is GP40s. Helm Leasing is involved with unknown as of mid-April. the latter Geeps, as the 3114 was observed Meanwhile, a sister Cedar Valley cor in Minneapolis on April 7 in full Kyle LaVerne W. Andreessen poration, Trains Unlimited, has an paint, with a small "HL" painted in white nounced it will launch a second dinner on the cab. Chicago Central and Pacific train this summer.The train will be called A wandering herd of assorted motive The rumored repainting of CC&P mo the Newport Express and will operate on power fr om Soo, SP and UP sees service tive power has come true-at least fo r a the state-owned Old Colony and Newport across the entire system, often mixed to couple of units. GPlO 1775 (ex-8165) Railroad line betweeen Newport and the gether in unlikely strings with BN, LMX emerged from the Waterloo paint booth Sakonnet River near Fall River, Mass. and leased locomotives. Such an example on March 22, resplendent in red with a was grain train GCIWE noted in Seattle white sill and a horizontal white stripe Iowa Interstate on March 24, using LMX B39-8 8533, about midway on the long hood. Howev UP SD40- 2 3737, B30-7A 4090 and SP er, within a day the CC&P was removed A little known winter movement has SD 45R 74 12fo r power. On the eastern from the long hood and replaced with the been the coal trains operated from Rock end of the railroad, coal empties 39CC 275 initials "CC", which are the company's Island, Ill., to Iowa City, Iowa, where worked ou t of Aberdeen, S.D., on reporting marks. A few days later the they are handed over to CRANDIC for April 7 behind the power-balancing set of 8019 was removed from service and re movement to Cedar Rapids. BN delivers SD40- 2s 7815179 2116740/8 119/67411- painted in a style similar to the 1719. For 31-32car blocks at Rock Island every two 6736, Soo SD40- 2 6300 and HLC SD40A several days, the units were kept in the to three days. Unit potash trains have 5019. Soo SD40 739 was also observed roundhouse, but were released for road been handled as well-a recent train had splicing BN SD40- 2s 780 2 and 68 23 on service on April 8, when they departed 80 cars from BN at Rock Island with 70 No. 103 at Northtown on March 25 . westbound on the Ft. Dodge local. The set out on line at Durant and the balance Some wayward Rio Grande power has two units were headed for LeMars, Iowa, delivered to CRANDle. The IAIS con been gracing BN rails in recent months as to partake in April 11 fe stivities marking tinues to receive ample tonnage from well, including SD40T- 2 5373 on the beginning of a state-shipper-railroad CRANDIC's Iowa City interchange track No. 49 2 across southern Iowa on Feb. 2. funded rebuilding of the old Cherokee with starch, grain alcohol and grain being On March 6, 3/69 2 was noted at Va ncou District from LeMars to Tara, Iowa. the principal commodities. CRANDIC ver, Wash., behind SD40- 2 81 25, SP Business remains brisk on CC&P, with has operated up to six units on the 5 p.m. SD40T- 2 8274, D&RGW GP 40- 2 3128 grain continuing to be the principal com Cedar Rapids-to-Iowa City train-two and SP SD45T- 2 9346. modity handled. Several large western former Milwaukee GP9 units and four of A very unexpected assemblage of pow- Iowa farm cooperatives have grain eleva- CRANDIC's switch engines. PACIFIC RaiINEWS . 31 This month, we will begin describing a few of the trains operated by the IAIS. Seven days per week it operates a turn from Iowa City to Rock Island. Occasion ally, it operates as far as Bureau, Ill., where the crew ties up for rest. Since am ple motive power is generally available, the next day's turn operates eastward from Iowa City and meets the returning Bureau train. Iowa City also operates an 8 a.m. yard job that makes a road trip over to Wilton, site of a scrap steel pro cessing plant. The 6 p.m. Iowa City yard engine works the CRANDIC interchange and may head as far west as Marengo per fonning station switching. On April 16·18, Wisconsin Central ltd. hosted a private-car excursion train between Chicago (Frank Newton has two or three Geeps as lin Park), Superior and Ashland, Wis. Here, the three-car special, hosted by High Iron Travel, Inc., of signed. A morning job operates five or six Cambridge, Mass., swings away from the former 500 line Rhinelander main to head down the days per week, and in addition to its New Marinette, To mohawk & Western to To mahawk, Wis., on April 17. WCl upgraded GP35 No. 4006 ton chores, operates about three times per {ex-MP} led to the special for all three days. -J ON WOLFE week on the Pella branch. The latter point is home for a large window manufacturing facility requiring many carloads of lum What the Coast Guard and Amtrak do ber each week. A late afternoon job oper have in common is the need for federal ates from Newton to Des Moines and re appropriation money in order to continue turn. operations. The proposal calls for a two Atlantic, Iowa, is the home base of the percent ($12.4 million) reduction in six-day "Rover" which operates both di AMTRAK/ Amtrak's appropriation, with a like cut in rections from Atlantic and on the Audu PASSENGER mass transit funding to assist the Coast bon branch as traffic warrants. The west Guard. Congress, however, may well end also has Council Bluffs with first and have other ideas as to how the money second shift yard engines that occasional should be divided. (FAST MAIL) ly venture out on the road to service a nearby town. Money Men on the Santa Fe Trail Dick Stephenson Santa Fe operated a special train Iowa Northern April 26-28 for invited security analysts from various financial institutions and April 13 marked the first day of Iowa Yo u might wonder what the U.S. Coast brokerage houses. This provided a very Northern (IANR) operation over C&NW Guard has to do with Amtrak? They cer good chance to see the railroad close up in Wa terloo and CC&P from Waterloo to tainly don't operate in the same markets, on either the Kansas City-Albuquerque Cedar Falls. Engines 1856 plus 2493 and and yet the Reagan Administration's 1989 leg of the trip, or on the second half be C&NW GP50 5069 handled a 20-car train budget proposal includes increased mon tween there and Los Angeles. The special that passed through Cedar Falls at ey for the Coast Guard in order to step up departed Kansas City just a few minutes 9:40 p.m. enroute to Manly. The latter drug enforcement patrols, at the expense behind its 7 p.m. schedule time. It sped unit was headed to C&NW en route from of Amtrak and some highway projects. across the plains during the night through Oelwein shops and is one of many C&NW units the IANR continues to handle. A March 25 run from Waterloo to Manly had, in addition to the two IANR units, four C&NW units including 6564, an SD45 containing an Oelwein-supplied EMD 12-cylinder engine. It was the first trip following its May 1987, derailment at Tama, Iowa, when it and two eastbound companions struck a derailed westbound train. Oelwein affixed a long hood from a former Conrail SD45, and the unit was en route to Chicago for painting. With grain and the added C&NW ton nage moving via Waterloo, IANR has op erated a few surprise trains including one on March 20 when units 1856/2493/- 1843/1886 teamed up to handle 112 cars from Cedar Rapids to Waterloo. An earli er "big train" on March 17 featured Soo Line 172/783/779 pulling 70 cars of Cana dian potash with Soo cab 4. This job worked from Manly to Waterloo with de livery to C&NW for local unloading. The Private cars Cannon Ball, Maroon Bells and Palm Leaf adorn the rear of Amtrak No. 35, the Desert empties and power worked northward the Wind as it pauses at las Vegas, Nev., on April 17, 1988. The special move was en route from Chicago next day enroute to the Twin CitieS. to los Angeles. Thanks to Allan Hune and Roger Wa rd. -MARK WAYMAN 32 . JULY 1988 Emporia and Wellington, with arrival in This interesting collection of equipment, when it struck a truck which had attempt Amarillo the next morning on its way to arrived in Los Angeles at approximately ed to make its own crossing; the Toyota Albuquerque via Belen. Representatives 7: 10 p.m. was unoccupied when the train struck it. from subsidiaries of the corporation made The other special passenger train oper Control line between cab car 9630 and presentations there. An evening depar ated during April was a Pacific Railroad F40s 244/220, nine cars back, were da ture carried passengers across the Conti Society excursion from L.A. to Mojave maged. The engineer retreated to the cab nental and Arizona divides at night. The and return, operating via both Soledad of the F40 to operate the train, so one of .. next day the train paused in Barstow, and Canyon and the Palmdale-Colton Cutoff the assistant conductors relayed instruc continued on to Los Angeles for a mid on the same day. This was a wonderful tions and signals from the cab car. After afternoon (and ahead of schedule) arrival. experience for many fa ns who had not meeting No. 584 at Santa Ana, the train F45s 5998/5979/5993 handled the 14- previously had the chance to ride either or was turned on the wye at Orange (connec car train, which included a generator car, both of these non-Amtrak routes (though tion with the Olive Subdivision). all six Regal-class sleepers, business cars both have carried detouring Amtrak All of this took time, however, and the Atchison, Topeka and Mountainair, plus trains at one time or another). F40s 250 train arrived in L.A. about two hours the big dome lounge, diner, bar lounge and 252 powered the special, which has late. The Southwest Chief was held for and track inspection car. The equipment El Capitan coaches 39963/39945 and connecting passengers. One other delay deadheaded back to Kansas City, depart 39918, and private cars Belle McKee, Sil occurred when police met the train to re ing Los Angeles just after midnight on ver Patio (dome), PA R 2397, the ex-Audu move passengers who had become unruly April 29. bon Park (with its new name Regina during the delays after hitting the truck We ndt not yet applied), PA R 5001, Na and turning the train at Orange. tional Forum, Amber Trail and Native Son Work on track rehabilitation at L.A. Southern Pacific Special (dome-observation) . Union Station was delayed when insur Southern Pacific operated a special The train was wyed at Mojave, then ance problems forced the contractor to train on May I for officers and invited departed for Los Angeles via We st Col halt the work. Track 12 is out of service; guests from Los Angeles to Indio. GP40- ton. Weather in the L.A. Basin was when work continues, the switch to track 2s 7676 and SSW 7250 made easy work of cloudy, and in Cajon Pass fog and drizzle 13 will be reinstalled. The additional the five-car train comprised of baggage made photography impossible. Up on the track will be needed when tracks are generator car 295, sleeper 292, diner 290, desert, however, there was plenty of sun, shifted during Metro Rail construction lounge 29 1 and business car 100-Airslie. with a 25-30 mph wind to remind visitors later this year and next year. The ramp at Passengers debarked at Indio, and the what the area is all about. There were no the northeast side of the depot off Macy train deadheaded back to L.A. The en route photo stops permitted. Even Street will be removed. Work is starting equipment moved to and from Oakland with a somewhat tardy departure from on a new ramp for baggage vehicles. on the rear of the Coast Starlight. The L.A., the train easily made its scheduled A freight derailment near Lamy, N.M. northbound move was assisted by SP running time, and returned to L.A. early affected the Southwest Chief on April 30 SD45T-2R 6790, needed for extra power that evening. and May 1. Number 3 was over 11 hours fo r the 17-car train, which included the late into L.A. on May 1, and four hours fo ur SP cars on the rear to Oakland, Other Amtrak Happenings late the next day. where the locomotive was also removed. A number of shop releases from Beech SP operated its cars 289-City of An Grove shops have helped improve the ap gels and 106-0regon on the Coast Star pearance of F40s operating out of Los light and Sunset Limited in late April for More Specials Angeles. Wreck-repaired unit 248 re use in Texas. The cars were through L.A. Amtrak operated a special train from turned in late April, and 223 returned on San Diego to L.A. on April 17 for Pre me the Sunset Limited, arriving L.A. on dica International. With equipment in May 2. It was placed into San Diegan ser short supply that weekend, it was deter vice the next day. Work continued into mined (fortunately) to operate AmFleet May on the rebuild of GP7 762, while coaches on this train, while the Mojave CF7 598 saw service on a regular basis Limited (see photo on p. 4) special train during April. got El Capitan coaches. This proved to be Another car in San Diegan service re handy since San Diegan 774, with two ceived its name during April: AmCafe units and nine cars, experienced a hot 43043-City of Oceanside. About fo ur food wheel on one of the units, and was set out service cars remain without names, and at Fullerton. It continued on southward, who knows, they might be named for arriving in San Diego over two hours late. towns on the slow-to-start Santa Barbara To protect northbound train 581, the lo route? Old comotive and three coaches off the special On busy weekends this spring there ..��� � and the one other spare coach were put have been a number of days when every together to cover No. 581 (without food available AmFleet car was in service on SKUNK! service), and departed just 44 minutes the San Diegans. Normally fo ur of the This summer ride the worldfamous Skunk Trains. Be taken on a scenic late. Train 576 brought an extra F40 seven cab control cars are in use at any adventure through majestic redwoods. It·s No. 220 to San Diego for the special, and one time, and sometimes two are used on the perfect affordable day's outing: leave that motor and the first five cars off the same train on the weekend, making a from Willits depot. just three hours north of No. 576 were added to the special, which consist reduction easier (as seen on San FranciSco via U.S. 101 ... orfr om Fo rt Bragg on the . departed 26 minutes late. The special did April 30, when a set of six cars plus three -'I .,- • Mendocino coast. Write �� '11i. not need the baggage car and Custom cars made up a nine-car train). The rear California Western 0 Class coach, so they just went along fo r three cars went south on No. 572 and re Railroad. P.O. Box 907P. the ride. Cars on the special included bag turned on No. 583, so each of these trains Fort Bragg. CA 95437 fo r a free color brochure. Or gage 1353, Custom Coach 44837, AmCafe had two cab cars in the consist. phone (707) 964-6371 43014-City of San Diego and coaches So far, luckily, there have been no seri fo r information and reservations. 44064 and 440 10, plus private car 5011 ous accidents with trains using the cab (an ex-UP lunch counter-diner-lounge), cars in the push mode. On April 24, and cafe-lounge observation La Condesa. No. 583 did have a problem near Irvine PACIFIC RailNEWS • 33 on April 23 eastbound, and returned to departing on May 13, and returning to UP Loco Shorts L.A . on May' 2, where they laid over until Oakland on May 15. GP40Xs 90-95, which are usually re May X (as there were other priority Ex-Santa Fe dorm lounge 1393 was served for use on passenger specials, have moves mentioned above). spotted in La Mirada, Calif. in early May. been spending a lot of time in the Pacific This car was rescued from a scrap yard Private Car Activities III Northwest recently, including dedicated El Paso, where it had sat for some time. service on the Seattle-Portland Sprint Some of the private car activity for the The exterior appears to be very complete, trains and also in local service on branch month of April has been mentioned even down to the skirting. It will make an lines in Washington. Number 90 was above. In addition, cars Palm Leaf and interesting addition to the local private spotted on the Lewiston-Ayer Local on Native Son operated from L.A. to New car scene. March 13. (Dean Ferris) ... The two Orleans and return on the Sunset Limited, Thanks to John Arbuckle, Bill Farmer, leased McCloud SD40s, Nos. 36 and 37, departing April 24 and returning May 2. Ed Vo n Nordeck, El Simon, James Law, were sent to the Salt Lake City shops in That same day also saw the return of and Cliff Prather. early April to be equipped with radios sleeper-lounge (ex-NKP) City of Cleve and toilets and were then assigned to the land and 35-Louisa, which had taken Provo Local. Three ex-SP SD39s, Nos. AAPRCO members to their regional meet 5319, 53 22 and 53 25, most recently in in Albuquerque the weekend of April 29 - service on the Utah Railway were leased May I. The cars moved on the rear of the UNION from Helm Leasing in April and were Southwest Chief, departing L.A. on assigned to local duties out of Salt Lake April 28 . PACIFIC City. Pacific Railroad Society 6-4-6 1207- National Forum (ex-UP) operated to San SYSTEM Diego to participate in the Rail Fair. It was on No. 57 2 on May 6, and returned from San Diego on No. 585 on May 8. We will have a full report on the Rail Fair next issue, along with photos of a number Ken Meeker MEXICAN of recent passenger-related events. Dome car Maroon Bells, owned by the Locomotive News RAILROADS Roaring Fork Railway, was in L.A. only Delivery of UP's latest order of new loco briefly, after working westbound as part motives, SD60s 6060-6084 was complet of a three-car move from Chicago. The ed in late March and the railroad wasted car was moved to San Antonio on the rear little time in disposing of several of its of the Sunset Limited leaving L.A. on older, out of service or retired motive April 17 so that the Texas Southern Rail power. C. R. Prather road could take a look at it. This car is Locomotives sold recently included a , pictured on page 32. PV Cannon Ball group of 16 units purchased by Helm Fi Passenger News which was with Maroon Bells on the Cali nancial Com. including GP30s 827 and fo rnia Zephyr and Desert Wind,was cov 840 and SD40s 3010, 30 29 and 3050 (ef The image of the Mexican railroad system ered in some detail in the January 1988 fective March 24 ) and 30 22, 30 24, 3033, PRIVATE VARN[SH, continues to change. Some locomotive fa issue of our sister pub 3036, 3039, 305 1,3062, 3075, 3081, 3094 lication (published for the American As cilities are a sea of blue as locomotives of and 3095 effective Jan. 14, 1988. All of all types are painted into the new color sociation of Private Railroad Car Own these units were delivered to the Iowa ers). scheme; in many places the old NdeM Interstate Railroad at Council Bluffs , Former SP baggage car 6743 has been emblem is being replaced by the new Iowa, in late March pending disposition acquired by Tom Pearson. The car was FNM logo. Nowhere are the changes by Helm. moved from Oakland to L.A. in April more noticeable than in the improved Other recent sales included former WP and is in the process of being given first a passenger service that continues to ex GP 20 No. 20 02 to Relco Locomotives coat of primer and then standard SP gray. pand. Inc. at Minooka, Ill. and ex-WP 20 04- Though not used in many years, it is in In early March, a new train on the 20 07 and 20 10 plus DD40AXs 6904 and relatively good shape. Mexico City-Zacatecas route was inaugu 6937 to Precision National Corp. at Mt. Virginia City operated from Oakland to rated. The train has been given the dual Ve rnon, Ill., all effective March 2. Aaron Sparks on April 22on the rear of the Cali names of E I San M arqueiio and E I Zacate Ferer at Omaha, Neb. purchased SWIO fo rnia Zephyr. It returned on April 24 . cano. The overnight trains offer regular 1245 (March 29 ) and SD40- 2s 34 28 and Roanoke arrived L.A. on May 4 on the first-class coaches, special fi rst-class 3617 (effective March 18). Single unit coaches, a diner and 10 roomette/ 6 bed rear of the Sunset Limited. It laid over transactions included the sale of U30C room sleepers serving Aguascalientes and until May 7 when it operated to Oakland, 29 12to St. Louis Auto Shredding at Na then continued on its way east on the rear Zacatecas. The fo llowing schedule has tional City, Ill. and U30C 29 30 to South been established for the trains. of the California Zephyr on May 10 from west Railroad Car Parts at Longview, Oakland. Texas, both effective Feb. 9 plus wreck Another pair of cars making the Oak damaged C30-7 25 39 to Gray Supply Lv 9:30 p.m. Mexico City 7:20 a.m. Ar land-to-Sparks round trip were Plaza Company at North Little Rock, Ark. on 3:45 a.m. IrapualO 2:10 a.m. 4:40 a.m. Leon [2:50 a.m. Santa Fe (dome lounge) and Santa Cruz, March 24 . Gray Supply is acting as an . 5:35 a.m. Lago de Moreno 11:35 p.m. agent for GE who received the 25 39 as a 8:00 a.m. Aguascalientes 9:05 p.m. trade-in on UP's recent order of Dash 8- Ar 10:00 a.m. Zacatecas 6:30 p.m. Lv Back in business ...THE WESTERN RAILROADER 40Cs 9100-9174. Serious Rail History Only! Recent locomotive retirements includ Shonlines-Trac(ion-Logger s-Sream-Elecrric-Diesel Fifty years of service by rhe West's senior hisrorical journal ed SD40 3013 on March 4, U30C 29 53 The Mexico City-Cd. Juarez passenger Now Published Quarrerly-$ 10.00 per year and SD40 309 2 on April 7 and U30C trains (Nos. 7 and 8) continue to operate The Western Railroader 28 98 on April 29 . Additionally, MP over the same route, however these trains Post Office Box 1.1.68 SD40 3009 was stored unserviceable, require nearly two hours more to cover Huntington Beach, CA 91.647·01.68 awaiting retirement effective April 7. the approximately 400-mile trip. 34 • JULY 1988 The passenger stations at Veracruz, narrow gauge service. The narrow gauge state 20 5 is a north-south bypass freeway Ve racruz; Guadalajara, Jalisco; Matias locomotives in the Yucatan are being con on Portland's east side. An 1- 205 light rail Romero, Oaxaca; Ciudad Juarez, Chi verted to standard gauge. line would run north and/or south fr om huahua and Aguascalientes, Aguascalien Thallks 10 Ed \1011 Nordeck , Sam King, Gateway station (and bus transit center) tes are being rehabilitated and modern Bob Hargerin, E.'\cEI.SIOa and Fuu�() on the existing line (MAX). The northern ized to provide better service to the tra TIU/J lJN,I . leg (5.5 miles) would terminate at the velng public. Portland International Airport, while the During Easter week reserved space was other line would run 6.9 miles south to totally sold out on trains in Mexico. The Sunnyside Road , terminating at Clacka NdeM reported that it was carrying about mas Town Center, the region's largest 55,000 passengers per day at Mexico shopping mall. Ei ther or both segments City. TRANSIT could be built, and either one could be partially through-routed with the existing We st Coast Report Banfield Freeway line, to provide some There are plans to upgrade the port and trips direct to/from downtown Portland. railroad at Topolobampo, the western Because the 1- 205 freeway was built rel end of the fo rmer Chihuahua al Pacifico; atively recently (it was completed early a new rail yard and a container facility will this decade), local planners had the fo re be built. Perhaps Topolobampo will final sight to make provisions for transit in the ly become the important seaport that Ar PORTLAND design; the freeway has a wide median, thur Stilwell envisioned when he attempt presently unused but reserved fo r a fu ed to construct his Kansas City, Mexico & LIGHT ture transitway (either light rail or a bus Orient Railway to the port. way). Thus, most of the right-of-way for In other news, NdeM will purchase RAIL this proposed LRT line is already in pub 70,000 wood ties fr om producers in the lic hands (eliminating virtually all land state of Sinaloa. Southern Pacific is work acquisition costs for the project), and the ing with the Mexican railroad system to Steve Morgan construction could be done relatively in improve service for freight shipped expensively compared to the other corri through the western border points of No Future LRT Corridors dors being considered for LRT. The Met gales and Mexicali. The principal passen Future light-rail construction in Portland ro study predicts that the Gateway-to ger train on the west coast, El Cosleiio or could take place in any of a number of Airport segment would carry 8,250 daily as it is commonly called La Bola, should different corridors. Following a four-year riders by the year 20 05 , while the Gate be upgraded by the time this is printed . study by the Metropolitan Service Dis way-to-Clackamas Town Center segment The proposed start-up date was in May. trict ("Metro," the regional planning au would handle 11, I 00. The construction Shorts thority for the Portland area), local offi cost is estimated at between $80 million cials have prioritized the various and $90 million. There are also various The NdeM is buying 12,000 tons of corridors which will be considered in the political forces at work promoting 1- 205 112-pound rail from Somisa of Argenti fu ture for LRT. light rail. I n view of all of these factors, na ...Since there are no turning facili As expected, the highest priority is giv local transportation officials say it is possi ties at San Miguel Allende, El Conslifll en to the Westside corridor, running from ble that light rail might be built in the 1- cionalisla is turned at Escobedo and the downtown Portland, along Sunset High 20 5 corridor before the We stside corri train is pulled backward for the final way (U.S. 26 ) and Oregon Highway 21 7, dor. 20 miles. A positive article on EI C01'lSli to Beaverton. Preliminary engineering The Milwaukie corridor refers to a Uicionalisla appeared in the April 10, for the proposed We stside light rail line light rail line which would cross the Haw 1988, edition of the ORANGE COUNTY through Beaverton to 185th Av enue has thorne Bridge from downtown, and then (Calif.) REGISTER'S travel section. Perhaps been underway for several months now follow either the Portland Traction Com word of the improved passenger service and should be completed by early 1990. pany right-of-way or McLoughlin Blvd . in Mexico is leaking out . . A reserved The Metro study estimates that daily ri south to the city of Milwaukie, a distance seat coach (pril11era especial) is now in ser dership on this line (without a tunnel) of about six miles. A line following the vice between Mexico City and San Luis would be about 30,000 by the year 20 05. PTC right-of-way would be cheaper to Potosi in the consist of EI Regiol11oll Two other corridors are ranked in the build, but would be somewhat less useful, lana . . . The new line between Mexico top three: 1-205 and Milwaukie. Inter- since the PTC line runs primarily through City and Ve racruz has 32 tunnels. The longest is about 9,900 feet long and is named El Mexicano ... The employee magazine for the Pacific Region, FERRO has suspended publication be 1988 CATALOG READY TRlI3UNA, "RIDE" THE cause of the financial conditions in Mexi The Portola Railroad Museum, operated by the Feather River Rail Society, is one of the SAN DIEGO "TROLLEY" co. The magazine was first issued in May fastest growing museums in the country, 1977 by the public relations department now with over 75 pieces of rolling stock, including 25 engines. OUf sales are what of Pacific Railroad (FCP) and continued keep us going. All PROFITS go back into to provide information about the railroad the museum. Our items are DISCOUNTED: T ·Shirts, Mugs, Buckles, Hats, Books, and its employees after the merger with Tacks and much more. Also we have the NdeM last year. The last issue was thousands of paper items like: Timetables, No. 127 and it had a color photo on its Forms, Photos, Brochures, and Printed with CARSON HOME VIDEO matter from railroads all over the country - BETA - 8 cover of a piggyback train nearing No VHS VIDEO for sale. Many rare items. Large SSAE for only $22.00 (incl. postage) gales in the snow ... Feb. 18 was the our 18 page catalog. many others, similarly priced! For more info on high-quality traction railroad videos, start of standard gauge operation over the & last NdeM (former FUS) narrow gauge Send SASE to: route in the Yucatan. With the conversion CARSON HOME VIDEO P.O. Box 8 of the Peto line, only the Oriental-Teziut BOX 42582, Phila., PA 19101 Portola, CA 96 122 Ian line in Puebla state remains in regular PA CIFIC RailNEWS • 35 undeveloped territory near the Willam cial commemorative postmark, and possi won't get an Oscar, however. The movie ette River, while the developed areas are bly also special envelopes engraved with a Inside Adam SWill, featuring actor River on a bluff above. McLoughlin Blvd. is the pictorial cachet. Phoenix and filmed locally in 1985, has major artery between downtown and the Since it was not yet known at this writ never been released-it has several Trol outer-southeast suburban areas around ing whether the trolley service would be ley scenes, including running over a Milwaukie, so a McLoughlin alignment running in July, the postmark/cancella flying pizza. That's what they call fun in would serve more people. Nevertheless, tion had not yet been designed, but it was San Diego. both alternatives would follow McLough thought that it might incorporate a steam The MTS Tower project is moving lin south of where the PTC right-of-way locomotive of the type which operated on swiftly ahead, with the building structure crosses it (near Ochoco Street), and most the line a century ago, along with the completed up to ten stories by March 18. of the potential ridership for this light-rail double-deck streetcar used to operate the Shop expansion is also seeing heavy line would come from south of there. present-day service. If cacheted enve ground and piling activity. An unexpect Metro estimates daily ridership for the lopes are produced, postmarked versions ed sewer line break on Monday, Milwaukie line would be 14,000 by 20 05. may be available from the OERHS, P. O. March 14 caused shuttle-busing west of The construction costs are estimated at Box 1891, Portland, OR 97 207. Civic Center station for five days. All $79 million for the PTC alternative vs. Persons wishing to obtain the postmark trains westbound crossed over to the east $88 million for the all-McLoughlin alter on a plain envelope should send their bound track at 8th Street and ran to Gas native. It is intended to move this project stamped, addressed envelopes to Trolley lamp or Civic Center, where a shuttle bus into the alternatives-analysis phase (i.e., Postmark, c/o Postmaster, Lake Oswego, took over to the Santa Fe Depot terminal. to decide which ofthe two options to pur OR 97034-9998, 110 laler IhallJuly 24. En A unique shuttle train operated from Gas sue) sometime during engineering or con close a card board filler in each envelope lamp to Civic Center during daylight struction of the Westside and/or 1- 205 you want postmarked, to keep it stiff. hours to help minimize delays. The leak, lines. Again, a word of caution that, if the trol caused by a contractor's drill, flooded the All other potential LRT corridors in ley service is not resumed, there will be floor of a new building project with raw the Portland area have been given a lower no postmark, so interested readers would effluent, and sections of C Street were priority. Perhaps highest on this list in the be wise to check with the Greater Port undermined, while other areas were Bi-State corridor, which would be a light land Convention and Visitors Associ needed for manhole access. It just wasn't rail line between downtown Portland and ation, at (503) 222- 2223, before sending fe asible to run trains in the area, and the Vancouver, Wa sh., via either Interstate 5 any envelopes to the Postmaster or infor contractor with the drill will be getting or Interstate Avenue (estimated cost $132 mation requests to OERHS . several hefty bills from the Trolley and million, including a necessary new bridge City for the trouble. A revision of the over the Columbia River; or $87 million local fare structure may occur in July. if only to the Expo Center, on the Oregon Recently the monthly pass and Day Trip side of the Columbia). Also in this group per tickets were changed slightly. There of lower-priority potential light-rail op have been hints that financial reviews tions are a line from downtown Portland SAN DIEGO may result in subsidy changes, which to Tigard (or Tualatin) via Barbur Blvd. TROLLEY could in turn lead to fare increases. Of (U.S. 99W) or, alternatively, an exten course, it isn't getting any easier to get sion south to Tigard via Highway 21 7 capital and operating money, so annual from the Westside line at Beaverton; a reviews and potential increases are com line from downtown Portland to Lake mon to the transit industry. Oswego; an extension from Milwaukie to As the Proposition A fu nds come on Clackamas Town Center; an extension to line starting April 1, capital money for Oregon City either from Lake Oswego or Herb Horton fUl ure projects should be more readily from Clackamas Town Center; and an ex available. Up in North County, there has More Duewags tension from western Beaverton to Hills been more discussion of diesel commuter boro. It turns out that new cars are coming in service on Santa Fe's Oceanside-Escon both the near and long term future. In dido branch, with various quotes on the Willamette Shore Railway Update late February the MTD Board approved line's availability. The line is ultimately filling an option for 21 more Siemens planned for light rail, but Prop. A may At this writing (early April), the Or Duewag U2s, giving the Trolley a total of make interim commuter service a possi egon Electric Railway Historical Society 71 by 1991, when more extensions should bility. open up. Near-term capacity will be was still arguing its case in fa vor of re Down at San Ysidro, the hoped-for ad boosted by the move. The 20 -car order sumption of the highly popular gener ditional gate into Mexico has been for 1989 will be assembled in Sacramento ator-trailer-powered trolley service on the shelved for unknown reasons. Riders starting this spring. former-S.P. Jefferson Branch line to bound for Mexico must still make the Lake Oswego. Track Kinks Out long trek over Interstate 5 using the The Jefferson Branch opened in two steps. The Trolley added another [our The East Line horseshoe curve track sections: the stretch from Dundee via car train in the morning, leaving the bor problems are resolved, after a month of "Oswego" (as it was then known) to Elk der at 7:17 a.m. This means that 25 cars night work by a contractor. De-stressing Rock was inaugurated on Jan. 1, 1887. are in use each morning out of a fleet of and bending of rail were performed, and Following the construction of a long, 30. There is talk of a second afternoon several hot days since the work have curving trestle around the rock (replaced four-car train also, leaving just before the shown that the kinks are apparently gone. in 19 21 by the 1,396-foot Elk Rock Tun 5 p.m. train. The fo ur-car trains now run The contractor was the same one that re nel), the remaining five miles to Portland downtown in two halves, thus putting an built L Street Chula Vista station in Janu- were opened on July 24 , 1888. The latter extra two-car train on C Street at peak ary. stretch comprises the majority of the six times. In the Movies mile line used by the modern-day vin tage-trolley service, so July 24 , 1988 will The movie Lillie Nikita debuted with a SD&IV Notes be the centennial of the line. If the trolley special preview on March 17. There are San Diego & Imperial Valley success service is permitted to resume, OERHS lots of Trolley scenes among the San fu lly operated a promotional train to Ja plans to mark the anniversary with a spe- Diego footage. The movie itself probably cumba on March 5. In conjunction with a 36 • JULY 1988 developmental group called Recycle 2000, summer, but it still needs quite a bit of beginning of May-Milan interurban nearly 150 guests rode the four-car special work after being in storage fo r some No. 96 and MUNI Mack diesel bus 2246. from San Ysidro to the current end of 34 years. The 506 should see some service March 29 marked the 100th anniversa usable track (a washout under the east by this fa ll. ry of the opening of the Powell Street switch at Jacumba prevents further travel The Market Street Railway Company cable car lines. Ceremonies and a parade to the east). The Special had three group has made arrangements with of cable cars celebrated the occasion, and PSRMA museum cars and Lady Gay MUNI to lease the Duboce Street storage then it was back to regular service for Laurel, a private car from EI Cajon which yard, where the historic streetcar Deet another 100 years. The Powell Street lines recently has been stored in a San Diego has been kept during each year's Trolley are not the oldest cable lines still running yard. The interior decor in Laurel in Festival, so that MSRy members will in San Francisco, as the California Street cludes a waterbed and colors which re have a place to work on restoration of the line is ten years older, dating back to mind one of John Reed's comment on growing historic collection. Streetcars, as 1878. Amtrak's Super Chief decor. The train well as trolley and motor coaches, are The 33-Ashbury-now called the 33- took three hours on the T & T segment to planned to be worked on by the volun Stanyan-trolley coach line extension fi Tecate, reaching town to greet the mayor teers each weekend, and the first two nally opened on Saturday Feb. 6 with a at noon. Then on to Campo, with a cham projects were to be moved there about the public ceremony and parade of interest- pagne reception at the old depot. The special held clear of the museum's in bound train, then slowly ran to Jacumba, arriving around 3:30 p.m. Local resi dents, alarmed by the possibility of a dump in their town, tried to organize a protest, which was defused when they were told Jacumba was not a possible site. Likely sites are Plaster City in Mexico, and any unincorporated areas out east where people wouldn't be disturbed . MUNI Don Jewell 1988 Trolley Festival Although the Market Street streetcar tracks are currently under reconstruc tion, there is an alternative Historic Trol ley Festival now planned for this year. As of this writing (mid-April) , historic streetcars will run on the Embarcadero starting Sat., May 28 . The route will be from the Ferry Building to Pier 39, as was operated for the Demonstration Proj ect last fa ll. Due to the City's present budgetary problems, this year's Festival will only operate through Friday, Sept. 9, but it will run seven-days-per-week dur ing this period. To save money, the 32- Embarcadero diesel bus line will not run during the hours of the Festival, so addi tional streetcars, and probably larger cars, will be used to provide full service along the route. Two historic trolley coaches will oper ate on Market Street this summer. Re stored MUNI Marmon-Herrington 776 is expected to run in daily service and the recently repaired ex-Seattle Twin Coach, now painted as Market Street Railway 50, will see occasional service as well. It was hoped that the newly returned 49-year old MUNI 506 would be ready to run this PA CIFIC RailNEWS • 37 ing trolley coaches. Included in the fes The fo rmer White Pass & Yukon nard suggested that his transit system, tivities were MUNI 776, Market Street Route 2- 8-0 No. 69 (BLW 1910) of the which already is among the fa stest, com Railway 50 and one of M UNl's two proto Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer, pares very favorably with the old interur type Flyer trolley coaches, model E-700 Grand Island, Neb., is now undergoing bans, when specific journeys are exam No. 500 2. boiler repair work. The museum is pres ined, rather than just the systemwide Thanks to David Phan fo r his conLribu ently raising $35,000 to pay for the re performance. lion to Ihis column. pairs; last year insurance inspectors de Bernard calculated BART operating clared the boiler unsafe. In January the times on two major corridors. He discov engine was moved to Shelton, Neb., ered that between Concord and 19th where the boiler was removed and Street in Oakland, the rapid transit trains shipped to Des Moines, Iowa, where a average 37. 11 mph. Between Concord replacement will be made. and Embarcadero station in San Francis (THE RPO, Easlern Nebraslw Chapler, co, the average BART speed is NRHS) 36. 27 mph and from Fremont to Lake Merritt the average speed is 39.33 mph. Brian Norden April 12, 1988 was proclaimed Rocky Fremont-Embarcadero trains average Mountain Railroad Club Day by the 38.54 mph. The new interpretive center at the Ne governor of Colorado. This was in recog With its long station spacing and high vada State Railroad Museum in Carson nition of the 50th anniversary of the club. speed equipment, BART has many of the City is behind schedule and may not be Over the years the club has saved several characteristics of the old interurbans. If finished for the hoped-for Memorial Day pieces of railroad equipment now dis we look at BART as a modern version of opening. Allocated funds from the State played at the Colorado Railroad Muse an interurban it looks very fa st because, are only enough for the basic building. um including Rio Grande Southern 4-6-0 as we noted in January (PRN 29 0), the The contractor donated labor and materi No. 20 and original Super Chief observa Bamberger Railroad, averaging als to finish the exterior of the wooden tion car Navaho. 36. 25 mph between Salt Lake City and station front fa cade. The "Friends of the (Rocky Mountain Railroad Club) Ogden, was consistently the fastest in the V&T" provided $6,000 and a local bank west. donated $5,000 to construct interior of The "orphan" Vancouver Duewag ar The Sacramento Northern averaged fice partitions. To complete the interior ticulated streetcar has now been pre 37 mph between San Francisco and Sac and its displays an additional $65,000 is served in a museum. The Edmonton Ra ramento, but that figure does not allow required. The Carson City Rotary Foun dial Railway Society at Fort Edmonton for the time lost on the fe rry between dation has committed $5,000 to the Mu Park, Edmonton, Alberta, has acquired Mallard and Chipps. seum and has challenged other civic (Vancouver) BC Transit's "prototype" In a few years, BART will be even fas groups and clubs to do likewise. car No. 1001, built in 1970 as City of ter, Bernard writes. This will occur when The former Dardanelle & Russellville Hanover No. 60 1 and acquired by the train control block lengths are changed 4-4-0 No. 8 (Cook, 1888) was operated at British Columbia government in 1975 to and speed commands are recalibrated. NSRM Feb. 16. Short Line Enterprises serve as a demonstrator for a proposed Also, BART schedule speeds ought to purchased the engine from 20 th Century LRT line in Vancouver. By the time the increase when all of the A-type cars are Fox Studios in the early 1970s. After use car arrived, control of the Provincial gov equipped with the improved train control on the Sierra and at California State Rail ernment had changed and the car was units that were developed for the new C road Museum, the engine was moved in stored away. cars. This equipment will improve accel 1986 to Carson City fo r major repairs pri (Tom Higgins) eration and deceleration profiles, accord or to transfer to the Nevada State Rail ing to Bernard. road Museum. Currently undergoing res The fo rmer Pacific Electric station in John F. Kirkland, author, historian toration in the Museum shop are V &T Torrance, Calif. , is to be renovated. Pos and retired Baldwin Locomotive Co. ex caboose No. 24 and Carson & Tahoe sible uses are either as a restaurant or for ecutive, agreed that the Lehigh Va lley Lumber & Fluming 2- 6-0 Glenbrook. office space. The developer proposes to Transit Co. seemed fa ster to its reverent restore the original dome which had been biographers than it really was. The LVT Downtown in Carson City the former removed some years ago and to build ad linked Pennsylvania Dutch Country with V &T enginehouse renovation is still be jacent commercial buildings. the 69th Street Terminal at Upper Darby, ing considered. As of late March the de (DIIIL), BREEZE; from RobeI'I Pelersen) a Philadelphia suburb. Between Norris veloper hoped to have secured a major town and 69th Street, the LVT ran over tenant within a month's time. the Philadelphia & We stern, which still Also in late March the Carson City Ro operates today. tary Foundation received the report of a "Ifyou get out an old OFFICIAL GUIDE consultant for a rail line along Curry of the pre- 1950 era and turn to the map of Street from the Nevada State Railroad the Reading (Philadelphia & Reading) Museum to downtown Carson City and Railroad, you will note that it had one the fo rmer V&T enginehouse. Instead of route from Philadelphia north to Bethle a steam operation the consultant proposes hem via Landsdale and another north an "historic streetcar" operation at a cost from Philadelphia to Allentown via Per of $2million . In the future there will be kiomen Junction," Kirkland writes from studies regarding the more detailed as Harre W. Demoro Menlo Park, Calif. pects (including ownership, financial, op "Their northern terminals were but eration, kinds of equipment) of this pro A number of readers responded to my fivemiles apart.This left a transportation posal. In the future there will be a freeway article last January discussing the sched void some 50 miles long and five miles bypass around town which would effect uled speeds of major western interurbans wide between these two routes. This was the downtown area. and comparing their performance with a well populated semi-rural area requiring (Carson Cily N EVIID!I ApPE!lL; the modern BART system, which aver access to Philadelphia. S!lGE13RUSH H E/IDL/GI-rr, newsleuer of ages 33 mph over its 71-mile network in "LVT's main heavily traveled route Ihe NSRM; Bill Hoffm an; Sieve the San Francisco Bay Area. was in the Lehigh Valley; it ran east and VanDenburgh) BART General Manager Keith Ber- west between Easton, Bethlehem, Allen- 38 . JULY 1988 OCTOBER Fall Festival, 9·5 both days. Trains and trol· town and Northampton. This was a typi Denver & Interurban equipment used 29-30: leys, entertainment, refreshments. S5 adults. Orange Empire cal double track street railway laid in the the same voltage as the New Haven and Railway Museum, 2201 So. "A" St., Perris, Calif. Info. PO. Box center of the streets like the Key System Pennsylvania, and D&I cars were quite 548, Pc"is, CA 92370. 296-299 route from Richmond to San Lean heavy also. CHANGE OF For information on the Katy Railroad ADDRESS: dro ... Without an efficient electric power dis Historical Society, write cia Roy V. Jackson II, 2429 Bluffton Dr., "The LVT up to its abandonment had tribution network, even the best interur Dollos, TX 75228. 296·298 some side of the road running. Where it ban cars would be poor performers. P. S. did later operate over some private rights Hedene ofEncino, Calif. , recalled that in of-way, these routes emerged at the vil the mid-1930s the Oakland-Sacramento lage limits and ran in the streets with main line of the Sacramento Northern many sharp curves and with little resem was changed from 1200 vol ts d. C. to 1500. pHOTO FOCUS blance to an interurban. The only thing No doubt the extra voltage helped the I I that it had in its fa vor to call it an interur interurban, which by then was in need of ban was that it had APB semaphore sig maintenance, achieve the same high nalling, and that was not very much," speeds that it had offered on opening day according to Kirkland. in 1913. To day's railroad enthusiasts "are mak ing much ado about this trolley line be cause in its later days, when it was strug gling to exist and could not afford new equipment, it bought the high speed cars CALL BOARD from the abandoned Cincinnati & Lake Erie and ran them through to 69th Street. In the early 1940s I rode these cars to JUNE 11th Annual great Pacific Coast Railroadiano Collec 26: Allentown several times when calling on tor's Show and Sale, 10 o.m . 4 p.m. $3. Scottish Rite Temple, - the Northampton & Bath Railroad," 6151 "H" St., Sacramento, Calif. Into from P.O.Box. 981, Sacra Dick Stephenson Kirkland writes. mento, CA 95812. 295-296 And the Chase is On ... Fred G. Howarth of Washington, JUNE 4-JULY 16: Surf and the Southern Pacific photo exhibit. D.C. , also commented on the LVT. "You Hours: Tues.-Fri. 1-5 p.m., Sat. & Sun. 1.4 p.m. The Lompoc The recent operation of a special passen are probably correct in estimating an Museum (old Carnegie Library), 200 So. "H" St., Lompoc, Calif. (805) 736-3888. 295-296 ger train in Southern California prompt average speed of only 25 mph on LV T's ed me to think that some comments about own track between Allentown and Nor JULY 9: 3rd Annual Feather River Rail Festival. AII-doy railtan chasers and pacers are needed. ristown. photo session at the Portola Railroad Museum. Photo runbys, static displays, train rides, swap meet, slide shows, etc. Tickets Now, before some of our readers jump "However, most limiteds ran through $5 advance (or $7 at gate). Information? Write to Feother River to the conclusion that here is another ser Roil Festivol, clo 1130 Goloxy Yubo City, CA 95991 295- in 1935-1938 to 69th Street on the P&W 0,., 296 mon on do's and don'ts, with dire predic with a running time of 118 minutes for tions of death on the highway, and of how JULY Mile High Railfair, Jefferson County Fairgrounds the 55 miles, or about 28 mph. That was 9.10: (near 1 -70/US 6 & 40 interchange). Details from Intermountain railfans will be held in universal disfavor with the heavy cars. Chopte" NRHS, Box 5181, Denve" CO 80217. 295-296 po. by the general public, let me state that I "Time with the C&LE cars starting in am the successful survivor of over "Railroads of the American West: Their History, Ro· 1939 was about four minutes faster until JULY 30: mance, Folklore and Technology," 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in Room 20 years of participation in the sport. all schedules were slowed in 1942," 100, Moore Hall, UCLA (Westwood Village). Speakers will Friends suggest that there is a new gen Howarth writes. "The slower schedules include Bill Fletcher, Bobb Hopkins, Ward Kimball, Mike Martin eration of fa ns on the scene, and I tend and John Kirchner. Fee is $45 (credit fee is $75). Sponsored by to lasted until the end of interurban oper UCLA Extension, 10995 LeConte Ave., Los Angeles, CA agree. This passenger special in Soledad ation in 1951. The fastest schedules the 90024. (213) 825-0641 296-297 LVTever had were for a couple of midday AUGUST 11-14: Union Pacific Historical Society will hold Monday- Friday l imiteds for about THE its annual meeting at Salt Lake City. Includes slide shows, 18 months during 1930- 1931. These prototype tours, clinics and re-enactment of the Golden Spike made it all the way from Allentown to ceremony at Promontory. Write PO. Box 5653, Arvada, .m� CO 80005. 296-298 69th Street in 100 minutes. Of course ....,,. that was in the two-man (crew) days." AUGUST 14: The CalifortJia Express railroad collector show at My comments on the sluggish perfor Buena Pork Hotel (7675 Crescent Ave., next to Knott's Berry Form on Beach Blvd .) 10 a.m.·4 p.m. $2.50. Details on tables, mance of the alternating current cars on etc. call Paul Thompson, (81 8 447-5163 or Richard Wright ) the Denver & Interurban and the Napa (714) 681-4647 evenings. Or write to Richard Wright, PO. Box 8051, Rowlond Heights, CA 91748·0051. 295-297 Va lley Route also brought a reminder from Kirkland that single-phased a.c. AUGUST Alasko excursion includes Alaska RR mile 13·27: propulsion has proven itself in high-speed age. Details from PSRMA Excursions, clo Bill Groya, 68-408 Visit Ilw Raih'nad Museum of the Nevilda Norlhern Indigo Ln., Cothed,"1 City, CA 92234, (619) 328-8469. 295- service. He used the Pennsylvania Rail Railwily and experielH:c Ihe wonderful sight. sound 297 road's 11,000-volt a.c. lines as an exam and smell uf a rt!al old lime steam railroad. Rel ive ple. rhe early days ora western mining camp amI ride Ihl: AUGUST 18-21: 1988 work project on the Cumbres & Icgl:ndaryNtwada Northern behind No, 40. A hand· Like Kirkland, I have marveled at the To ltec Scenic Railroad at Choma, New Mexico. Sponsored by sonw Haldwin ten-wheeler dating from 1!)1 Pennsy (and New Haven) lines and rid Friends of the Cumbres & To ltec Scenic Railroad, Inc. Details O. f,om PO. Bo, 222, Chomo, NM 87520. 296-298 Tlw "Ghost Train" of old Ely ,,-'i ll run on each of den them. In the article, I based some of the fo llowing dales: my a.c. comments on contemporary ac May 14. May 28-29-30. June 18-19. July 2-:1-4 and 2:1- SUMMER·FALL 1988: Steam-ups ot the Nevoda State R.R. 24. August 1:1-14 and 27-2U. and Sept. :1-4-5 and 24- counts of Napa Va lley which indicated Museum at Corson City will be May 28·30 (Memorial Day 25. that its cars, which drew only 3,300 volts, weekend) V&T 22 ond 25. V & T 25 on 6118- 19, 7/2-4, 7/16- 17, 8/6-7, 8/20-21, 9/3-50nd 10/1 -2. V&T 22 ond 25 will 0pNote Exhibits include general office. dCIJOI. shol)s and accelerated very slowly. Perhaps this was for Nevada Day Weekend Oct. 29-31. On weekends steam is rolling slock of steam-dieSf!l-eit!f:tri(: locomot ives. not operating, motor cor No. 50, the Washoe Zephyr will run. due to the weight of the early a.c. equip anlitl Ut! paSSI!nger and fr eight cars and work equip For fares and details write the museum at Capitol Complex, ment. ment. Several oldtimers, including my fa Cmson City, NV 89710. 295-298 ther, recalled that the cars vibrated while Call tH· write fo r infurmation and resen1alions: OCT. 1: Railraadiana Swap Meet. Held outdoors, 9 a. .-2 p.m. NFv\DA NORTHERN Ri\1L\\\\Y MUSEUM accelerating. "It would tickle your fe et," m P.O. Uox 40 Easl Ely. U9:n 5 my dad, the late R. W. Dqnoro, once told $2 admission. Space available (provide own table and choirs), NV Orange Empire Railway Museum, 2201 S. "A" St., Perris, Calif. (702) 289·20115 me. Write museum at PO. Box 548, Perris, CA 92370. 295-298 PACIFIC RailNEWS - 39 Canyon presented new, different and in tions as well as operational and locational cent years, from 1964 to 1985. Those in teresting scenes to enjoy and to attempt to information and photo tips. A little of this terested in details of NWP's own steam capture on fi lm. What was surprising to consideration goes a long way, especially locomotives will have to turn to the earlier me was not that a fa ir number of fa ns since you want to receive it from others as volume because most of the steam engines showed up or that it was difficult to get well. It can be provoking to see a carload pictured in these pages were lettered for ahead of the train, but that a number of of fa ns roar into a location at the last min SP-even if photographed on NWP rails. fa ns apparently hadn't really planned out ute, spraying rocks and dust everywhere SP steam gradually shouldered out the ahead of time how they were going to and crowd into a shot (and that's assum smaller NWP engines; even before World chase the train. Seeing them take a num ing that they even looked to see if they Wa r II, there weren't very many of the ber of shots from the shadow side, were in front of anyone else, or cared). home-grown product out running. An through poles, wires and other obstruc Then they pile back into the car, roar off ample chapter on both NWP and leased tions reminded me that the "grab" shot is into traffic (without looking to see if SP steam tells most of the story. alive and well. Many of these shots should someone else nearly crashed trying to Traction is not forgotten, even though never see the light of day. This plus some avoid them) and rush off down the line to Stindt has chosen to leave the story of of the fo olish-to-dangerous driving seen the next location to repeat the process. NWP's own suburban electrification to on the highway made me think that it was Consideration on the highway is appreci ELECTRIC RAILWAY PIONEER, a book time for a few reminders. ated as well as on the "firing line." written by the equally expert Harre De Three concepts will help to make the The desires of those pacing a train are moro. What is contained in these pages is chase more rewarding and probably will likely to be in conflict with those who are a detailed study, the best yet by fa r, of the assist you to come home with more qual chasing it and trying to get ahead to an Petaluma & Santa Rosa Railroad, whose ity photographs. These are I) planning other photo location. The Highway Pa white interurban cars operated from 1905 the operation, 2) knowing the territory trol officer was resoundingly cheered for to 1932-in their last days a subsidiary of and 3) showing some consideration for citing one unpopular fan who held up the the NWP. others (on and off the road). pack for quite a ways along a two-lane The book hits its pace in the diesel The before-trip planning is important road. Why earn a reputation as a nerd chapters. Ted Benson's breathtaking so that you can get together the equip brain? You'll note that we're not saying photography combines with fe llow Mo ment and supplies needed , plus peg your that either chasers or pacers are right or destan Al Rose's graphics artistry to bring expectations of what you hope to accom wrong. Just realize that they need to exist us as fine a pictorial volume as could be plish. In most instances, good research in the same environment. desired. Designer Rose wisely took Ben beforehand can save you plenty of trou ble But, with some good planning, a son's pictures to the limit of the page-in later. If you know that only one or two knowledge of the territory and consider some cases even giving us two-page good shots are possible, the trip may be ation for others, that special event spreads. Even the newly formed Eureka scrubbed, avoiding frustration. The day shouldn't turn out to be a disaster. Southern rates text and photographic at tention. of the trip is definitely l/Ol the time to be researching locations of significant side Loving work went into this book, and roads. it shows. It's relatively inexpensive for a Knowing the territory can make the hardcover in these trying times and cer diffe rence between success and failure. tainly worth its price. Highly recom At one extreme, some fa ns case a route BOOKS mended and not just for SP fans! beforehand to get an idea of where the -JOSEPH A. STRAPAC good spots are. At the other extreme is the good follower, who tags along behind THE ASIAN DREAM, The Pacific Rim someone who knows where the best loca and Canada's National Railway, by Don tions are. This can be especially helpful ald MacKay. Douglas & McIntyre, Ltd., when you are in unfamiliar territory. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Somewhere in between is the person who V5L 2HI, 1986. 223 pages, index and discusses fa miliar territory with other bibliography. (U .S.)$25 plus $2.50 s/h. fa ns whose opinions are trusted (taking into consideration traffic, sun angle, Much of the early railroad development etc.). One of the most important things I in Canada was undertaken by Grand have learned is to try to come home with Trunk Railway and numerous compo THE NORTHWESTERN PAC IFIC Je wer but beller photos. It certainly is easy nents. However, because of various fa c RAILROAD, VOLUME 2. By Fred A. to get caught up in the excitement of the tors, including finances and politics, it Stindt. Published by the author, moment and take some s hots you was the younger Canadian Pacific Rail 3363 Riviera West Dr., Kelseyville, wouldn't have taken under different cir way that was built across the vast lands of CA 9545 1. 176 pp., 344 illustrations, cumstances. Small but significant things the Dominion to connect the country for 5 maps. $31.50. such as pole lines, high tension towers, political, economic and developmental shadows, debris and bridge abutments When most of us were still in diapers or reasons. may not look large when you are whizzing not yet born, Fred Stindt was out taking After completion, Canadian Pacific past, but can be very detracting in a pictures of Northwestern Pacific locomo was very successful, but the territory was photo. tives and trains. His earliest pictures date so large and underdeveloped that large The third major concept is consider from the twenties, and his persistent ef geographic areas remained unserved by ation for others. If you work hard to finda fo rts at collecting have yielded occasional railroads. A regional carrier, Canadian good photo location, it can be very dis treasures in book form. Some years ago, Northern was eventually built to serve couraging to have someone else ruin it. As Stindt and Guy Dunscomb (another wiz the bountiful agricultural areas of what one fan commented during the chase of a ard of locomotive pictures) collaborated became Northern Manitoba, Saskatch famous steam engine, "I didn't drive a on a detailed study of the NWP in its ewan and Alberta, and partially as a result thousand miles to take a picture of the steam days, roughly from 1907 until of this challenge and a desire to build an back of your head !" 1955. This book has been ou t of print for all-Canada transcontinental (a section of I t is easier to share a spot than to start a years. Canadian Pacific's route ran through fight. By and large, railfans are an accom Now, however, Stindt brings us a vol Maine and Ve rmont), Grand Trunk also modating lot, willing to share photo loca- ume devoted to the NWP in its more re- built west to the Pacific Coast. 40 . JULY 1988 Unlike Canadian Northern, which planned to build to the growing port of Vancouver, Grand Trunk built through virtually virgin territory to the obscure port of Prince Rupert in 1913. Regardless of the original intentions, the result of both railways' expansions was bankrupt cy, a situation not helped by the outbreak of Wo rld Wa r I in 1914. After the war ended, rather than abandon the money already spent and to provide for fu ture development and a minimum of competi tion, Canadian Paci fic, Canadian Northern and Grand Trunk system (along with many other railways) were na tionalized and the Canadian National Railways was formed to operate them. During the early years of the Canadian National, the system formed a shipping line for far eastern traffic to Australia, New Zealand, India, China and Japan. The shipping line was not a financial suc Fifty yeors to the day from the discontinuance of streetcar service in Son Jose, Calif., restored San Jose cess, but the potential for business be Railways car 129 was "christened" on April 11, 1988, at Kelley Park. It is alongside an historic tween Canada's We st Coast and the Far firehouse, one of many buildings moved to this location on the south side of town and preserved. On East was recognized early on and various May 25 it was moved to the light roil facility at Yo unger Avenue. The California-type cor will be developmental schemes tried to tap into joined shortly by cor 124 and Peninsula Railway cor 93, both restored to operoting units from bodies. this market. The railroad would have Later Union Traction car 1 (ex-Santa Cruz) also rebuilt from a body, will join the others to augment the new fleet of LRVs on the downtown portion of the Santa Claro Transit rail line. liked for Prince Rupert to be a corner -MAC GADDIS stone of this Far Eastern traffic, but most shippers to Western Canada preferred Va ncouver, with its better transportation even influencing attitudes north and the wonder of riding the Super Chief, access, larger population and modern fa south of the border to this day. demonstrating how intense was Santa cilities. Prince Rupert became an impor -Po ALLEN COPELAND Fe's commitment to the finest in passen tant port during World War II, but after ger railroading. In pictures and smooth ward again declined into somnolence. In complementary text we fo llow the devel opment of the streamliners from their the 1960s, as the growing economy of Ja SANTA FE STREAMLINERS by Karl heavyweight predecessors, through the pan began to require many of the raw Zimmermann. 112 pages, 81/2 x II (hori mighty hype that introduced them to a materials (especially wood products and zontal fo rmat), paperback, over 200 pho Depression-weary generation, to the coal) that Canada could supply, Prince tos. Av ailable fr om Quadrant Press, Inc., spread across the vastness of the South Rupert's potential began to be realized, 19 West 44th Street, New Yo rk, NY west of the largest prewar streamlined and considerable development, utiliza 10036. Price $14.95. tion and growth at the port has taken fleet. Reproduction of advertising bro place. This is Karl Zimmermann's tenth train chures, car diagrams, and plenty of interi or photos show what it was like to ride in Although the subjects mentioned by book and his knowledge of what railfans comfort attended by a well-trained crew, this book cover a large area, using any enjoy reading shows (that he has a mas criteria one might choose, the author has ter's degree in English shows too). He has one that even on occasions included a managed to develop an interesting, reada as a subject those elegant, spotlessly Zuni Indian guide. The postwar fleet was introduced be ble, factual account of the development of maintained Santa Fe Chiefs and their var neath the Wa ldorf- Astoria Hotel on Canadian National and Prince Rupert in ious cousins that brought stylish accom tracks built for the private cars of the the country's far west. Since the primary modations and gourmet fo od to such sce wealthy but changed for one magic mo fo cus is on the Prince Rupert route, little nic and ever-photogenic passes as ment into a Southwest scene-cactus and mention is made of the former Canadian Apache, Raton and Cajon. all. Santa Fe understood publicity! Northern route to Vancouver and the The opening chapter brings back all branch line operated on Vancouver Is land. The book is not the definitive histo ry of CN and how it came into being, or even of the development of Canadian Northern and Grand Trunk Pacific (the western arm of Grand Trunk), but it does NEW!! provide a comprehensive picture of the social, political and economic develop "inside" ments that brought the terminal of Prince Rupert and the present day Canadian Na pro railroading tional into being. It provides an excellent M"y dlrough OClober IVHEIlE YOU Lf:ARN TO HA:-JDLE Round Trip Coach $99 r""'<'.[-".,--- 1800s (and quoted by the author) have INSIDE PRO RAILHOAOING MAIN STREET SUITE 175 had considerable effect on the develop 16701 HESPERIA. CA 92:1·15 ment of the Canadian railway system- PACIFIC RailNEWS - 41 A chapter tells once again, but never issue of PASSENGER TRAIN JOURNAL. GN is covered from its beginnings (in better, the fa miliar Fred Harvey story, When KANSAS CITY SOUTHERN ap 1856) to its March 3, 1970 merger into and reveals the secret of that still-remem peared, I was very interested in obtaining Burlington Northern. The efforts to bered French toast. Hi-levels and domes, a copy of the book so I could read what reach California, involvement with Spo equipment shufflings, and changing mo the authors and publisher had put togeth kane, Portland & Seattle and the reason tive power all receive their due. To the er on this fascinating enterprise. ing behind construction of many of the end, Santa Fe maintained the quality of As it turns out, the book is something branch lines make very interesting read the Chiefs , probably longer than was eco of a mixed bag. The book contains only mg. nomically justified, and the last chapter is enough text to set the scene for the nu If you have just a passing interest in one of special poignancy, the end of a merous photographs, many of them taken GN, one of the more photo-oriented long-lived friend who never lost her glam by Mr. Caileff. The text is concise if too books on that railroad would be better for our. brief, and many of the captions written to you. But if you are a Great Northern fan, While one may regret the absence of a supplement the steam-era photographs this book is a mliSl for your library. roster of the splendidly maintained cars provide a minimum of supplementary in -JOHN SWANSON that wrote such a glorious and innovative fo rmation. Most of what is written is ob chapter in the streamlined era-an ab vious in the photos. Very little informa sence that can be filled by consulting the tion on the complicated and involved volumes listed in the bibliography-one history of subsidiary Louisiana & Arkan VIDEO REVIEW SACRAMENTO NORTHERN RAIL can only be thankful that a writer of such sas is included, nor are the locomotives of WAY IN 1940; 50 min., VHS or Beta, skill and grasp of the subject has given us this road covered in the rosters which are $54.95 (Calif. res. add 6% sales tax). Pro this volume so truly worthy of its magnifi printed in the book. The book's primary duced by Catenary Video Productions, cent subject. For those who think this strengths are the photography of Mr. Cai P. O. Box 15185, San Francisco, CA praise too fulsome, let them read SANTA leff and the understanding of both au 94115. FE STREAMLINERS . thors of the railway and its operations in -JAMES KINGMAN contemporary times. The authors are to Combine the photogenic and beloved be applauded in their efforts to provide Sacramento Northern with the inspired KANSAS CITY SOUTHERN, Route of information on passenger cars, freight camera work of Art Alter and Chuck Sav the Southern Belle, by Terry Lynch and equipment and cabooses, but the review age, add fine reproduction of 16mm color W. D. Caileff Jr., Pruett Publishing Co., er wishes more steam-era freight equip film, a professional narrator, evocative 2938 Pearl St., Boulder, CO 8030 1, ment could have been included. The but not obtrusive sound dubbing and the 1987. 22 1 pages, index, roster and sug strengths of the book are so obvious that I result is 50 minutes of traction heaven. gested reading list. $34.95. purchased my own copy and would rec Color film was grainy in 1940 com Kansas City Southern is one of the South ommend the book to anyone with an in pared with today, and it was impossible to west's more interesting railways, running terest in the road, with the caveat that the film inside the Trans Bay Terminal in San from Kansas City south to Port Arthur, book's best and primary focus is contem Francisco, but there is little else to fa ult in Texas, and southeast along the Mississip porary, not historical. this beautiful coverage of the SN from pi River to New Orleans. The road was -Po ALLEN COPELAND south to north, 182 miles plus two built from 1890 to 1900 as the Kansas City, branches with the emphasis at just the THE GREAT NORTHERN RAIL Pittsburgh & Gulf by the visionary Arthur right places. WAY : A History, by Ralph W. Hidy, Stillwell, and when he was fo rced out Probably no interurban could equal the Muriel E. Hidy and Roy V. Scott, with by a reorganization in 1900, the road was SN for the sheer beauty of its transit of Don Hofsommer. 360 pages, hardbound, renamed Kansas City Southern. Addi the Oakland hills by way of Shepard and 11 x 8W' (oblong). 100-plus photos. tional track was added with the takeover Redwood canyons, the two connected by Available fr om Harvard Business School of Louisiana & Arkansas Railway and its a long tunnel. Almost unique among in Press, Boston, MA 02163. $49.95. routes in the states of Texas, Arkansas terurbans was the car ferry crossing of and Louisiana. The motive power of the It has been 18 years since the 1970 BN Suisun Bay between Chips and Mallard. company during steam days was some merger, and interest in the component As the cars load and unload, the former what different from the types expected of railroads of BN seems to keep on grow captain of the Ramon recounts some of the region, where most roads used stan ing. As one of these components, Great his experiences. Union Station in Sacra dard arrangements. While using typical Northern needs no introduction. mento was the dividing point of the sys (if plain-looking) 2-8-0s and Pacifics, the My first reaction to seeing this book tem and an enormous variety of equip road also rostered two types of Mallets, was "Oh boy, another history from acade ment could be photographed on its tree very large three-truck Shays, a small mia." So I prepared myself fo r some pret shaded loading tracks. The northern end group of modern Lima 2-1O-4s and used ty dry reading in the manner of the "com was mostly third-rail where elegant Niles 2-1O-2s from Wabash and Ann Arbor rail pany histories" of the 1950s. cars with graceful arch windows sped roads. The L&A used an even more eso To my surprise and delight, page 16 through the furnance-like heat of the teric collection, most of the power being started a discussion of the traffic and op Central Valley. More showing the Mul "pre-owned" and few obtained from a erations of the early years (late 1850s). berry Shops would have been welcome, builder as new. For diesel-electric power, This pattern continues throughout the but that is mere quibbling in a video that the road has always been a predominant book, along with traffic of various eras already offers so much. user of EMD products, but Alco, Bald such as the 1920s, the Depression, World Little touches abound; the "comic" win and Fairbanks-Morse also contribut Wa r II, etc., along with the problems of highway crossing signals, the emplace ed small numbers of various models and branch lines, motive power, rolling stock ment of third-rail shoes, an interior of a sizes of locomotives. acquisitions and a lot of other topics I had parlor observation with an oblivious pa To date, a comprehensive and detailed not expected to be discussed. tron scratching his head. Most poignant history of KCS has not seen print, al Make no mistake, this is not a "railfan" of all is the motorman waving to the pho though a lengthy study of the road was history-Great Northern's FTs are de tographer (and to us) out of a past now published in a two-part history that ap scribed as "5,500 h.p. diesels," for exam almost half a century gone. peared in summer 1979 in TRAINS maga ple. But there is so much information and For the nostalgic, the sentimental, the zine, and an interesting and thorough data that you do not have to dig for con inveterate traction nut, few videos yet of post- 1939 study of the road's passenger tained in this volume that it compliments fered the public can equal this treasure. service was published in the April 1986 the other books on Great Northern. -JAMES KINGMAN 42 • JULY 1988 FROM THE PAST Southern Pacific yard goat No. 1231 (0 Limo-built closs 5-1 1 0-6-0) is caught by the camero on a worm sum mer afternoon in the late 1940s be tween switching assignments at San to Barbaro, Calif. -HERB JOHNSON Under Milwaukee Rood catenary, "Little Joes" E72 and E74 are on the point laying all of their "white cool" power into the two percent grade on the east side of Butte Hill, Mont. They are getting a boost from a pair of diesels cut in ahead of dead Joe E77 -it was struck down yesterday with a burned-out journal. It's 1974, electricity will soon become a mem ory' -DICK DORN San Diego & Imperial Valley GP9 59 11 handles a passenger special over the SD&AE line on the high trestle near Jacumba, Calif., on March 5, 1988. Guests aboard were being shown the route as part of a presentation obout a possible trash-hauling train for San Diego. -WALT STRINGER Three ex-Milwaukee Road Geeps lead a freight on the Minnesota Valley Railroad sauth through Green Isle, Minn., in May 1986. This is one of three new shortline operations in that state. -ROBERT M. BALL 44 • JULY 1988 Hollis & Eastern's SW1 39 is seen working ot 0 quarry In Duke, Oklo. on April 15, 1987. -KEEL MIDDLETON • pHOTO STOp Arkonsos & Missouri C420s 48, 44, 54, ond T6 121eod the Fort Smith Turn south of Mountoinsburg, Ark., in October 1987. The oll-Alco A&M presents 0 voriety of interesting scenes. -DANIEL M. SCHROEDER PACIFIC RailNEWS • 45 CALIFORNIA COMEBACK: California now has four paltry 690 riders a day in March, allowing critics of the count 'em four-operating light rail systems with a fifth system to cry that it was already a failure. VINTAGE under construction. Only one system-in San Francisco- VIEW: Steve Morgan reports that San Jose's vintage trams evolved from a former streetcar system. San Diego, Sacra will not, after all, have to be equipped with pantographs mento and San Jose (in the order of their opening) were (thank goodness) but that overhead wiring will be made to built from scratch. Los Angeles, the state's biggest city, was accommodate trolley poles between the depot on Younger the slowest getting started but may eventually eclipse the Av e. and downtown, the downtown loop and south to the other systems in size. Nearly all major contracts for the Los crossover at convention Center Station. Speaking of vintage Angeles-Long Beach starter line have been awarded and trolleys, Portland also plans tourist service with an old-time some track has been laid, mainly on the southern end. Much flavor, but in this case two semi-new replica-vintage trams of the early construction work involves rebuilding and mov will be used (specs are now being written). ing a pair of Southern Pacific freight tracks out of the way of the LRT path. The city of Compton, through which the LET THE NEW CARS ROLL: AGE is out with LRT line will pass, succeeded in persuading officials to RAILWAY its annual tabulation of new heavy and light rail car orders move the SP freight tracks several blocks away from the and deliveries, and the figures reflect a new vitality to the fu ture light rail line. Construction on the second line-in the business of hauling passengers. Delivered in 1977: Atlanta median of the abuilding Century Freeway-is a year away, 36 heavy rail cars, Boston 9 light rail and 6 heavy rail cars, but 54 articulated LRV's are under construction (for both Chicago 36 heavy, New York City 335 Bombardier heavy and lines) by Nippon Sharyo. Incidentally, they will be num 184 We stinghouse/Amrail heavy, PAT H 69 heavy, Sacra bered in either the 100 or 500 series and carry a different mento 9 light, BART 5 heavy, San Jose 32 light, Toronto 46 color scheme than the RTD buses ...The third line of LA's light and 94 heavy, Washington DC 32 heavy. Orders "likely light rail network was to have been built in the San Fer to develop" this year include: Baltimore 35-40 light, Dallas nando Valley, to act as a feeder to the MetroRail subway. 12 light (prototypes?), Los Angeles 30 heavy (for Metrorail), But Valleyites couldn't agree on a route, so it appears that the New Yo rk City 44 heavy, Sacramento 6 light and San Diego Century LRT line will be extended south into the Redondo 21 additional light (ordered). Beach area instead. And, hearings are now being held on a new line from downtown LA to Pasadena , which could be under construction by 1990. DALLAS DARTS AHEAD: Dallas has officially autho rized construction of the first lines of its 93-mile LRT system SAN DIEGO SOUNDINGS: San Diego Trolley, which to begin this year. The work will include a 6.8-mile segment had already ordered 20 more Duewag articulated cars fo r the from Illinois Ave. in South Oak Cliff to Griffin St. in down EI Cajon and Bayside lines, has decided to add another 21 town Dallas and 7.7 miles from downtown to Park Lane cars to that order (at $1,176,899 per copy) because of con along the Central Expressway. Amazingly, not far from the tinuing increases in ridership on the South Line and project lllinois St. terminus lies the remains of the old Texas Elec ed new lines to the Old Town and Santee areas in the next five tric Monroe Shops, which will be rehabbed and enlarged to years. Sidelight: the new Los Angeles cars, roughly the same service the new light rail cars. Perhaps, by the time you read size and configuration, will cost more than $1.2 million this, the outcome of a revenue bond election to finance the apiece and they were ordered through competitive bidding. construction will be known. If the bonds are voted down, the The San Diego cars were bought at a negotiated price. They ultimate fa te of the DART rail system is unclear, since voters do not have to be built in the U.S. because they will be already have authorized the use of sales tax money to orga purchased with local funding ...revenue service on the El nize and build the system ...Articulated light rail service Cajon line is to start in July 1989, with the short Bayside line has started in Toronto, with ALRV 4204 entering revenue to open by the end of that year. Thanks to recent voter service for the first time on the Long Branch route in Janu approval, commuter rail service between downtown San ary. Ultimately, the articulated units will be used on busier Diego and Oceanside (using Santa Fe tracks) is expected to routes, such as Queen and Kingston Road. SCARBOR start in 1992 or 1993 ...powered testing of LRV service in OUGH STUDY: With service by ICTS (linear induction downtown San Jose was to start in April with the hope of motor) cars on the Scarborough line less than a complete opening revenue service in June. Passengers will be carried success, the TTC is now studying the possibility of convert around the new downtown loop, and perhaps a bit further ing the line to either a subway extension or to LRT (the south along the future south leg of the system. Meantime, original choice). Either option would require much expen ridership on the truncated northern section was averaging a sive rebuilding. 46 • JULY 1988 EXTRA BOARD oADS 0 PACIFIC RAILNEWS reserves the right to edit all Limited Edition 35mm Slide Sets. Superlative qual Fairmont Motor Cars for sale. MT- 19A, MT- 14L copy and refuse any listings. Ads cannot be ac ity! For more information, send SASE (business size) and ST-2 Inspection and Section cars for sale. Some knowledged, nor can proof copies be sent. Closing to Tom Gildersleeve, 23553 Heather Knolls PI., as new as 1980. Most units have Onan 28-h.p. air date: 20th of3rd month before issue date. Count all Newhall, CA 91321. 296-298 cooled gas engines, two-speed transmissions with for numbers, name and address. Home/office street ward and reverse. 25 units to choose from. Also part address and telephone number must accompany ad ing out some units. All types of M & Equipment RAILROAD CONDUCTORS' uniform bUllons. WI order, even if not included in copy. RATES: 13¢ a available. Newman Machinery, Inc., Altn: Dudlev Send $2 for three samples and lisl. Joseph Lajoie, word/$5 minimum. Payment in advance. Newman. 4726 E. Calle Del None, Phoenix, Box 3, Methuen, MA 01844. 294-305 AZ 85018. Telephone (800) 872-0718. 296-297 TRACTION VIDEOS. SF Cable Cars, 45 min. OVER, 35,000 LOCOMOTIVE SLIDES. 1,620 $49.50. Belgian Vicinal, 90 min. $59.50. Color and WELLS FARGO uniform bulton blazer sel. Two companies, 142 pp. catalog and first installment of sound. VHS or Beta. To p-nOlch professional large, six small, $6 .50. Joseph Lajoie, P.O. Box 3, 400 slides from the Alan Miller collection including productions. J\1ore in preparation. Free literature. Methuen, MA 01844. 295-300 + cab units of fallen flags, SI' black widow, AT &SF Transit Gloria Mundi, 36 E. 27th Sl., Depl. C I, zebra-stripe scheme and more. Our 21st year-offer Baltimore, MD 21218. 296 ECUADOR-COLOMBIA July 20-August 4. "Steam ing high quality duplicate slides. $6 for catalog, sup In rhe Andes" charter trains with Baldwin locomo plement, sample and dollar coupon. Porreca, Box 22, WA NTED: Vogelsong manual fa rebox. Also tives. Many photo run-bys incl. Devil's Nose switch Boulder, CO 80306. 293-296 wanted: Ohmer register with base. Also an backs. Train will cover the entire G&Q main line in [I1lernational portable register. John G. Graham, Ecuador incl. the Cuenca Branch. Shop tours, line STATION LISTS: Chronological listings of trains 1974 Valparaiso Ave ., Atherton, CA 94025. 296 siding, cab rides, 5% grades, sugar plantation rail serving all cities of the United Stares and Canada. roads, spectacular scenery and more. Write fo r de Send SSAE for price list. John W. Henderson, P.O. PHOTOGRAPHERS, AUTHORS, ARTISTS: tails. Trains Unlimited, Tours, c/o The Travel Box 301, Truckee, CA 95734. 296-298 New railfan magazine devoted exclusively railfan to Experience, Inc., 1430 Myers SI., Suite H, Oroville, photography, an, video and model photography CA 95965. (916) 534-8555. 294-296 needs authors and photo contributors. Send LSSAE. Gregory Monroe, 342 \'\ 1. Caley Ave., WA NTED: Rail books, paper collections, Cyclope Liltleton, CO 80120. 296 dias, pocket calendars, employee llS, railroadiana. Steve Botan, 19822 Lexington Ln., Huntington BY HOWA RD FOGG SOUTH AMERICA Oetober 27-November 17: Beach, CA 92646. 295-298 "Trains in the Southern Andes," Argentina and Para guay. Steam, diesel and electric, five charter trains, ORIGINAL RAILROAD ART by fa mous artists. private cars, dining cars and some regular trains on Over 20 paintings. SSAE for list. Serious interest three gauges for 2,500 miles. Includes charter train only. J. Hinkhouse, Box 310898, New Braunfels, TX up the fa mous Ramel C-14 1ine in ArgeI1lina to 12,916 78131-0898. 295-297 fe el. 2·10-2s, 2-8-2s, wood-fired 2-6-0s, Aleo diesels, ex-Pacific Electric equipmenl. Plenty of cab rides, phOlO run-bys and more. Send for itinerary: Trains Unlimiled Tours, 1430 Mvers SI., Suite H, Oroville, CA 95965. (916) 534-8555. 296-298 WIN A FREE TRIP RAILROAD RADIO SCANNERS. Car mobile and Win air tickets from USA to hand-held-Bearcat and Regency. Several crystal and Guatemala, all charter steam trains, bus transportation, lodging and some programmable models in stock from $119.95 to "Silver & Gold Sunrise" by Howard Fogg $299.95. Crystals fo r most We stern railroads in stock meals for six days. Sponsored by the at $5.95 each. Stop in or write for your railroad radio Feather River Rail Society and Trains Full color lithograph from original water needs. Send SSAE for information. [ron Horse Hob Unlimited, Tours as a fund raising color. 18"x24". 750 numbered prints. bies, 3529 Clayton Rd., Concord, CA 94519. 267tf drive to build a Visitor's Center at the Portola Railroad Museum. Drawing $25 postage paid first class Send check, money order, BLEDSOE RAIL SLIDES: 20 new high quality September 15, 1988, tour departs VISA' 35mm slide sets now available. Both scenic action and December 8. Valued at over $1,000. !_ Visa/MasterCard info to: �l roster 35mm slides. Great for the modeler and collec Tickets: $2 each or 6 for $10. I I tor. Send for free samples and current catalog. Bled ,----, TRACKSIDE PRINTS P.O. Box 310898 Dept PRN soe Rail Slides, P. O. Box 377, Crowley, Feather River Ne w Braunfels. TX 78131 ·0898 TX 76036. 294-303 Rail Society (Texans add 6% sales tax) P.O. Box 8 Also available: Howard Fogg print. Texas Pacific OVER 12,000 TRAIN Depot photos for sale. Send & (Trip) #610 2·10·4 Freight in West Texas. 16"x22". $15. $1 for list of your state. Robert Niesz, 1715 B Ave. Larry Fisher: U.P. "Sherman Hill-1 957"". 24"x36'·. Portola, CA 96 122 N.E., Cedar Rapids, IA 52402 296-307 $25. ppd. .....A- .. ______ The Most Unique and Colorful Magazine Ever Devoted to Electric Transportation .. Single Issue 53.95-Yearly Subscri ption 51 9.50 2nd Class il. PACIFIC RaiINEWS . 47