February 1998 • $3.50 Issue 387

Mark Hemphill Visits SP's Painted Desert Joliet: Interesting Alter All These Years

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7 48268 88162 6 Another GTVP armchair railfan trip through the byways of rural North America

G. TRAIN VIDEO PRODUCTIONS IN Canadian National FALL ON THE DUNDAS & STRATHROY SUBDIVISI ONS

Tn the fall of 1995, GTVP captured some of CN's last days as a Crown Corporation. Starting at Bayview Junction, one of the busiest spots in Canadian railroading, follow the Dundas Sub to London, then on to the Strathroy Sub, to Sarnia, and CN's new St. Clair Tunnel with its 1.8 to 2 percent grade, in total some 140 miles of main line. Along the way, shots of the spectacular view high above Spencers Speeds in excess of 85 mph for passenger trains and 60 mph for Gorge and the high-level bridge over the Grand Rivel� Paris, enhance freights provide fast-paced action, with a varied lineup of CN, VIA, the video with the blazing fall colours of southwestern Ontario. GO, Amtrak and NS. CP's main line to Windsor joins the action just west of London, where it parallels the CN for a few miles. Nal'rated. Approximately 90 Minutes.

UNION PACIFIC Pocatello Subdivision (Green River, Wyoming to Pocatello, Idaho) Experience spectacular mountain scenery as you follow UP's 250 miles of main line through the lush valleys of the Wasatch and Aspen mountain ranges. Featured are Peru Hill, Nugget Canyon, Pescadero, Lava, a ride up the Dry Valley Branch and much more. Narrated. Approximately 90 Minutes. BURLINGTON NORTHERN Sand Hills & Butte Subs (Grand Island to Crawford, Nebraska) Travel 300 miles through the high Mid-Plains, see trains snaking their way through the valleys with wide sweeping curves (such as the large horseshoe curve at Marsland), the new SD70MACs tackling Crawford Hill, photographed from many unique vantage points. Narrated. Approximately 80 Minutes.

Each tape costs plus S&H (U.S. Funds). Also released in 1995 $33.95 $3.00 $45.95 Canadian plus $4.00 S&H. -NORFOLK SOUTHERN MAINLINE U.S. VISA orders will be charged the equivalent of $49.95 Canadian Through the Heart of Dixie (Approx. $36.95 U.S. which includes S&H.) Narrated. 90 minutes. -CSX KD Subdivision *ORDER 2 TAPES - Free S&H *ORDER 3 TAPES OR MORE - Free S&H and save additional 5% Narrated. 90 minutes. Offer expires April 30, 1996. -CSX S&NA North Subdivision Orders payable by VISA, MasterCard, Check or Money Order. Ontario orders add 8% PST. Narrated. 90 minutes. All videos mastered on BETACAM SP. Natural Dolby HIFI Stereo. Available in VHS only. -BURLINGTON NORTHERN All tapes guaranteed against manufacturing defects. Thayer Subdivision (The old Frisco) Narrated. 90 minutes. -RAfLROADING THROUGH CANYONS, To Order Call Toll Free TUNNELS AND PASSES OF THE WEST. Narrated. 80 minutes. Dealer inquiries invited (800)24 Hours667-3510 A Day � � 3811 Victoria Avenue, Vineland, Ontario, Canada LOR 2CO � ------.------�------�. .� ,... � • .,... � al ews· � February 1998 No. 387

FEATUR ES

Southern Pacific's28 Painted Desert The storm beFore the calm. Mark W. Hemphill examines Rio Grande's desert crossing between Grand Junction, Colo., and Helper, Utah. Mark W. Hemphill

Howard Ande Spectacular 38Winter Images! Winter is one of the most difficult times of the year to run trains, yet one of the DEPARTMENTS best in which to photograph them. PRN contributors share their fi nest. Contributing Photographers 4 Editorial G PRN Letters 10 Expediter 12 Expediter Special Report 50 1 G Burlington Northern Joliet: Urban Railroading at Its Best 18 Santa Fe Photographer Howard Ande explores Joliet, [II., and finds an impressive variety of 22 Freight and passenger action in an old-time railroad atmosphere. Montana Rail Link Howard Ande 24 Southern Pacific Lines GO Union Pacific Mark W. Hemphill G3 CP Rail System G4 The Information Super Railroad G5 Short Lines GG Kansas City Southern G8 Transit 70 Guest Editorial 72 The Last Word 74 PRN Classifieds 74 PRN Advertising Index

ABOVE: A Santa Fe eastbound rolls through JOliet, III. LHT: SP DVBKG-2G near Thompson, Utah, May 27, 1995.

COVER: Winter in the Sierra is spectacular, but it is difficult to photograph. SP's RVSKM rolls through Tr uc­ kee, Calif., on March 24, 1995. Brian Jennison photo

PACIFIC RAILNEWS (lSSN 8750·8486) is published monthly by Pcntrcx. Inc.. 2652 E. Walnut, Pasadena. CA 91107. Second-class posUlgc paid at Pasadena. CA 91 J09 and additiona l mailing offices. POSTMASTER; Send address changes to; PACIFIC RAILNEIVS. P.O. Box 94911. Pasadena. CA 91109. SUBSCRIPTION RATES: $30 (U.S.) ror 12 issues. $58 ror 24 issues. Foreign add $6 ror each 12 issues. Single copy $5 postpaid rrom Pasadena office (subject to change without notice). CHANGE OF ADDRESS: The Post Of fice does not regularly rorward 2nd Class Mail and PACIFIC RAILNEWS is not responsible for copies not forwarded or destroyed by the Post Office. Replacement copies/P.O. notifications will be billed. Please nllow LIS [l\ least rour weeks ror any address change. ADVERTISING RATES: Contact PAC IFIC R,\lLNEWS, P.O. Box 379. Waukesha. WI 53187; (414) 542-4900. MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE: For all subscription problems and inquiries call: (800) 210·2211 or outside U.S. (818) 793·3400. EDIT ORIAL

�PIICIHCRailNews I?Aff.NHIVS is a registered trademark or Pentrex. Inc. ' Shoot for the worst, PUBLISHER: Michael W. Claylon EDITOR: Brian Solomon ART DIRECTOR & MANAGING EDITOR: hope for the best Tom Danneman ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Carl Swanson ing; some long-rumored COPY EDITOR: Katie lorton changes never happen. In CONTRlnUTING EDI TORS: Mike Abalos. Grcg Brown. Tom Kline, Elrond Lawrence, Waync Mongcr. 1993, several priority pro­ G. Mac Scbree. Dick Stephenson. Rich Wallacc jects included SP's original PRODUCTION ASSISTANT: Dean Sauvola main line (track o. I) over Donner Pass, long-ru­ ADVERTISING MANAGER: Richard Gruber

mored to become a casual­ OPERATIONS MANAGER: Erica A. Beckcr ty of singl e tracking; SP's Modoc Line, reportedly to be shut down soon; and SP's Coast Line, which was actually up for sale. I took my photos and, in RAILROAD COLUMNISTS

mid-1993, SP abandoned AMTRAK/PASSENGER-Dick Slephenson track No. l over Donner 7219 SUJ11Jl1itrosc. Tujunga. Cf\ 91042 Summit. In early 1995, SP AT&SF-Elson Rush closed the Modoc Line P.O. Box 379. Waukesha. IVI53187 Sunset at Te rmo, Calif. SP's remote Modoc line will be aban· (though later reopened it). BURLINGTON NORTHERN-Karl Rasmusscn I 1449 Goldenrod SI. N\v' Coon Rapids. MN 55448 doned if the UP-SP merger is approved. Brian Solomon photo Currently the Coast Line is CN NORTH AMERICA-Mike Cleary busier than it has been in 1395 IV. Jessamine #206, SI. Paul. MN 55108 here have been several recent addi­ years, though its Future remains uncertain. CENTRAL OREGON & PACIFIC-Danici J. Shcets tions to the Pent re x Publishing I try to stay ahead of' change, believing it I3rittany Dr.. Eugene. OR. 97405 staff-each aimed at producing bet­ best to experience (and photograph) an op­ CP RAIL SYSTEM-Karl Rasmussen ter magazines. In November 1995, Erica A. eration before it changes. In 1992 I was dis­ 11449 Goldenrod SI. NIV. Coon Rapids. MN 55448 T ILLINOIS CENTRAL-Erik Coleman Becker joined our Waukesha office as oper­ mayed when, wi th little warning, SP closed 412Tangicwood CI.. Veillon Hills.IL 60061-1954 ations manager. She has a strong back­ its line over Siskiyou Summit. Remarkably, E·muil: [email protected] ground in accounting and circulation con­ the improbable sometime occurs; the line KANSAS CITY SOUTHERN-Michael J-Jasbargcll trol and will focus her efforts on publica­ over Siskiyou Summit received a second 1718 King Eider Drive. \Vesl Lafayelte. I '47906 tion schedules fo r PACIFIC RAILNEWS and its lease on liFe when the Central Oregon & MEXICO-Clifford R. Pralher P.O. Ilox 925. Sanla Ana. CA 92702 sister magazines, LOCOMOTIVE & RAI LWAY Pacific reopened it in 1995. MODERN POWER-Sean Graham-Whilc PRESERVATION, PASSENGER TRAIN JOURNAL My crystal ball is a bit clouded; I can­ 743 Park, River Foresl. I L 60305-1705 and VI NTAGE RAILS. In December 1995, not predict changes any better than others E·mail: [email protected] Katie orton joined our staff as copy edi­ can. 10 one knows what is going to hap­ MONTANA RAIL LINK-Ky l e Brehm tor. Her skilled use of language has already pen, but using the best information avail­ P.O.llox 20826. Billings MT 59104 E-mail: [email protected] allowed PRN to more eloquently articulate able, one can plan a good strategy. This ON-LINE COORDINATOR-David C. Warncr railroad information; she played a valuable year I have several priority projects that E-mail: [email protected] role in preparing our january issue. Both should be accomplished before changes in E-mail: [email protected] Erica and Katie are learning the subtle diF­ railroading make them impossible. The MIDWEST REGIONALS­ ferences between Southern Pacific's late­ fo llowing, I believe, warrant immediate (CC&P lind IAIS) Dave Kroeger 5720 Johnson Ave. SIV. Cedar Rapids. IA 52404 model articulated steam locomotives and its photographic attention. (All others) Andrcw S. telson most recent acquisitions, the AC4400CWs. Southern Pacific's Denver & Rio 341 S. Main. Pearl CiIY. IL 61062 As promised, PRN has expanded its re­ Grande Western Te nnes ee Pass crossing, SHORT LINES WEST-IVayneMonger gional railroad reporting. Andrew Nelson, and Union PaciFic's Missouri Pacific Hois­ 1409 Tillman 51., Suisun City. CA 94585 whom readers may recall was PRN's associ­ ington Sub across Kansas (used primarily SHORT LINES MIDWEST-Bob Thompson ate editor for several years, is assisting Dave by SP) are both up for abandonment. So Roule 6. Ilox 207. Paris. TX 75462 SP /SSW-Brian Jennison Kroeger with the Midwest Regionals column. too, is SP's Modoc Line; this intriguing, P. O. Box 3519. Reno. NV 89505 In addition, Kyle Brehm is writing a new col­ lightly used high desert crossing may soon SP (D&RGW)-Richard C. Farewell umn about the Montana Rail Link, and be done for good. When in the neighbor­ 9729 IV. 761h Ave., Arvada, CO 80005 Daniel j. Sheets is writing about the Central hood of the Modoc, don't neglect UP's TRANSI T-G. Mac Sebree 11111 N\v 191h Ave.. Vancouver. IVA 98685 Oregon & Pacific. Both columns will supple­ Reno Branch; this rarely photographed, UNION PACIFIC (West)-Wayne Monger ment our coverage of regional railroads, ap­ steeply-graded line will probably not see 1409 Tilln",n SI.. Suisun CiIY. CA 94585 pearing as needed several times a year. much action following a UP-SP merger. In E-mail: CompuScrve 73563.2652 the Midwest, there are concerns regarding UP (C&NW, MP)-Michael W. BJaszak AS AN ACTIVE PHOTOGRAPHER, searching the continued independent operation of 21 I South Leilch A ve.. La Grange. IL 60525 out railroad operations across North several regional carriers. UP is reportedly WISCONSIN CENTRAL-Mike Abalos 3425 \V. 79th St., ChicChicago Central & Pacific. If you (414) 542·4900, FAX: (414) 542·7595 Internet: [email protected] America Online: Pelltrcx ties, I highlight those projects warranting have a shot in mind, don't wait. Shoot immediate attention because of potential now, and hope for the best. Submissions sent via UPS. FedEx or similar courier: PACIFIC RAILNEWS, 223 Wisconsin Avc., Wuukcsha, WI 53186 changes. While there is advance notice of some changes, others occur without warn- Brian Solomon © 1996 Penlrcx, Inc. All righls reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.

4. February 1996

READERS RESPOND Letters

Geneva Sub Additions leans area to expand my collection and gather UNION PACIFIC POWER information for my someday pike-to-be. I have In reading John Leopard's article on the UP been published, my work appearing twice in Historical Roster of Diesel, Geneva Sub in the December issue of PRN, I the January issue of RAILFA I & RAILROAD mag­ noted two error that should be corrected in Turbine and Electric Locomotives azine, and I contribute information to the an otherwise fine article. LOUI SIA A RAILROAD QUARTERLY. I spend The depot in Morrison , III., a fine brick 1: about 20 hours a week watching and record­ Volume Diesel Cabs structure that the city wished to retain, was ing rail activity in the ew Orleans area, in ad­ 1934 -1962 demolished a few years ago. It was in relatively dition to my regular 40-hour-a-week job. good shape, but the city was not able to pro­ The point of the preceding information i vide the necessary funds to move the building not to toot my horn. My contribution to the away from the tracks as the C&NW had re­ reservoir of rail information is as yet small. I quested. lt was demolished by C&NW in the wanted to establish that I take this as far more early 1990s. than a hobby; I see what we are doing as Union Pacific closed the massive C&NW recording history and attempting to deepen our Clinton Shop complex Aug. 31, 1995. (If I may, it was the subject of an article in our soci­ ety magazine, NORTH WESTERN liNES, Fall is­ sue, Vol. 22 No. 4). The UP does not repair cars in Clinton anymore. Readers may want to know that the reason the coal towers are still in place at De Kalb and elson (also Boone and Council Bluffs, Iowa) is that the cost to demolish them, when by they pose no threat of fa lling, was always a Dick Winegar factor in the minds of C&NW management. They remain as long as they are physically sta­ ble, with ladders being removed to minimize • Unit by unit roster of danger to trespassers and possible liability. SP SD40T-2 8527 seen on CSX at Gentilly Yard Alco, EMC, EMD, FM, Finally, best wishes to the new editor. I in New Orleans. Patrick B. Harris III photo and GE cabs. look forward to seeing the magazine arrive each month. • Unit by unit history including understanding of how rails shape us and we renumbering, rebuilding and Donald E. Vaughn them. I do allow myself to see beyond the tech­ disposition. Hampton, Iowa nology, to see the men inside the locomotives. I choose to see the interplay between railroads • Complete UP rosters for: More on Differing Perspectives and their environment, and to view the ma­ May 1947 A young woman named Stephanie accidentally chines and steel rails as existing in a vacuum June 1957 reintroduced me to railroad ing in spring 1994, goes beyond inane and callow. It is insulting to October 1965 and 1 have been photo documenting with a the men who operate them at all hours in all vengeance since that time. I have shot more weather. It ignores the very reason the roads ex­ • Spotting features - body than 8,000 photos this year, most of which are ist, and to dismiss detail and atmosphere as panels, fans and pilots. either the classic three-quarter views or detail "trash" and "artsy-fartsy" only serves to open a shots of locomotive/rolling stock. 1 use this window on the wintry, sterile and myopic minds • 185 pages with photos. material to model and to archive information of persons such as the two letter-writers in the for the day my children enter this world. I also December 1995 of issue of PACI FIC RAI LNEWS. photo-swap with other railfans in the New 01'- These two examples of mechanistically-fixated Only $29.95 plus $4.00 shipping/handling

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6-February 1996 Highball over TEHACHAPI SP's oil cans thundering up the grade at9 mph with9 units screaming to the heavens, followed by a Santa Fe double stack at 12 mph with a brand new SD7 SM leading, SF's oldest power -GP35's and F45's on it's newest trains over Tehachapi -the double stacks, SP tunnel motors blasting out of Tunnel 5, huge SFpig trains draped around the loop, SP & SF in the glorious light of early morning, the oil cans in the soft light of dusk -these are just a few of the things you can see on our newest release -"Highball over Tehachapi". You'll see this world famous line from Mojave to Caliente Narrows in the golden light of late November, with lots of action. So order your copy today and sit back and enjoy two hours of non stop action in spectacular surroundings for only $34.95 plus $300 S&H. To order call toll free 1-800- 345-698 5. We accept Mastercard & Visa. Or, send check or money order to: Highball Productions, 6 Blake Road, Epping, NH 03042·3000 pin-headedness give me even stronger incentive to explore the world sur­ rounding the railroads without sacri­ ficing the hard-information side of rail Ne. photojournalism. 1 suggest to anyone who appreciates railroads and their ••gaRn e world to check out books such as Greg l McDonnell's HEARTLAND or the now out-of-print RAILROADS: THE GREAT AMER ICAN ADVENTURE by Charlton Og­ burn. These are photo-heavy books that show that the railroads cannot be removed from their ambiance and environment. They define each other. One would suppose that Wharton and Smith would have matured enough to understand that the differ­ Former New York Central depot at Pleasant Lake, Ind., ence between Northern Pacific and on a rainy summer day in 1990. Ben Kerr photo the Denver & Rio Grande was more than just a paint scheme. With no soul, the eye dulls with the mind. coaches were part of the Little River excur­ Please print as many "Differing Perspec- sion line which was "exiled" to Michigan be­ tives" as you like. cause of the track condition on this line.

Patrick B. Harris 111 \ Ben Kerr New Orleans, La. Santa Clarita, Calif.

I will sleep soundly tonight knowing that To m Expand Our Coverage? Smith has finally delineated what the editorial I have tried in vain to find a magazine similar and photographic content of rail magazines will to yours that covers rail news in the Midwest be. I expect he would be happiest with a rail and near south area. RAILPACE covers the 'J1U3 1'Jl.J,jJJJ:.1JJJ2 oj' CfuJiJit news journal, printed in black-and-white, on Northeast but does not go south further than newsprint, full of three-quarter wedges, taken Pennsylvania. We Midwesterners are "dying fJteam L£lluf!f)ieiJefiJ only with the aftel1loon sun lighting the tlUcks. on the vine" for a magazine such as yours However, I commend you on your photo­ about Midwest and Southern rail news hap­ graphic art. There is beauty, if looked for, in elive American railroading's penings. Have you given any consideration to � the most mundane items in railroading, or any expanding your coverage or publishing a new most colorful era - the 40s, 50s, and other industry. I wish I had found, and pho­ magazine for these areas? 60s! Ride aboard luxurious passenger tographed, what you have. You have underex­ posed, and intentionally unfocused your sub­ Jay Snider trains; experience the thundering jects: I expect that Tom Smith, and r know I, Clarklake, Mich. glory of main-line steam; witness the have underexposed and poorly focused many Salute to the Santa Fe Special transition to colorful diesel-powered photos. You did it with purpose, and we did it II accidentally; you have beauty and we have Thank you for the fine November AT&SF issue. locomotives. From Pennsy to Santa Fe, junk. Photographic art, just as paintings and I sometimes wonder why 1 appreciate the from Milwaukee Road to Southern sculpture, deserves to be shown and given the Santa Fe so much. This admiration is likely the Railway, the great railroads of chance to be enjoyed. You already have an ex­ result of a couple of round trips made as a cellent magazine, chock-full of rail news and 20-something in the 1960s, on The Super Chief' yesterday will come to life in every very good factual, realistic photography; the between Chicago and La Junta, Colo. Sure, quarterly issue of VINTAGE RAILS. inclusion of photo art just makes it that much those were great journeys, but 1 had some better. I admired that issue, both for "Differ­ memorable trips on the Pennsy and the "Q" This Is the ing Perspectives" and for "Images," both artis­ during the same period. Yet, there was some­ aapUne tically excellent in their own way. thing: the conductor's welcome-"Good you.'we a):W", 5 wantedt Please don't change your editorial policies Evening, Mr. Leake"-at the gate at Dearborn on this matter, and don't let the unimaginative, Station; the perfect gentleman in charge of the gray-world Luddites get to you. sleeping car; the fresh scent of the cars; the cleanliness; Jack Benny and entourage relaxing Henry Bielstein in the table section of the lounge; the experi­ Ft. Washington, Md. ence of sitting in a swivel seat in the peerless Pleasure Dome, with thoughts of meeting Jack Your cover on the September issue was the Benny passing through the mind while the stars Four quarterly issues of subject of some discussion at the hobby shop passed above; a restful sleep. The next day VINTAGE RAILS - where I regularly pick up PACIFIC RAILNEWS. brought fresh-squeezed orange iuice and a fine After going into your photo section it was eas­ breakfast while seated at a banquetle in the only $14.951 ier to understand the cover. EXCELLENT Fred Harvey diner; the sense of speed, both at photography-especially the snow shot at Call Toll-Free: breakfast and in the dome afterwards; a speed Palmer, Mass., (p. 33). That one photo is a quite remarkable: 100 miles from Garden City, 1-800-210-2211 reason for me to want to return to the Mid­ Kansas, to Lamar, Colorado, non-stop, in 73 west. Enclosed is a slide taken on a rainy, cool minutes, all the while skipping along jointed day in northeastern Indiana in August 1990. rail presided over by semaphore signals. I was VINTAGE RAILS The line was operated as the Hillsdale County able to greet Mr. Benny on the platform at La Box P.o. 16897 at the time-now it is the Indiana Northeast­ Junta-"Good Morning, Mr. Benny"-as he North Hollywood, CA 91615-6897 ern still using virtually the same equipment. took his constitutional and I took my leave. MAGS The shot was taken through the window of I love the Santa Fe for lots of reasons, just the depot in Pleasant Lake. The depot and like the rest of us. And, a ride 011 Amtrak's

S-February 1996 Southwest Chief can emulate Th e Super Chief tel in New Mexico. Indeed, the third Montezu­ CurtiS Hill Update experience, especially when No. 3 skips along ma built on the site of two earlier buildings, I would like to offer an update to your PACIFIC jointed rail governed by semaphores between still stands overlooking (he Hot Springs. RAI LNEWS Novem bel' 1994 "Focus" article Garden City and Lamar-still 100 miles Your author is among (he many who can about Curtis Hill, Okla. non-stop-in 71 minutesl equate Fred Harvey only with a handful of lux­ The Santa Fe has done extensive trackwork ury hotels. He fa ils to understand that Harvey durincr summer 1995 on Curtis Hill. With about Geoffrey H. Leake operated many ordinary hotels and restaurants three 110nths of work behind, Curtis Hill is very jamaica Plain, Mass. 7 along the tracks for the accommodation of different but remains photogenic. Gone are the passengers and railroaders alike. These were I have read that we of like generations all four sidings at Heman, Belva, Quinlan and Cur­ the places that created the Harvey reputation tis. Double track now extends from the east share certain "definitive" moments in our life in the West with first-class food and service. and th at of our nation. Hearing those words switch at old Heman siding to the west switch of old Curtis siding. There are crossovers at Bel­ "One small step for man, one giant leap for Vernon Glover j. va and Quinlan with the track separation west mankind," seeing the helicopters lifting the Manassas, Va. staff from the roof of the embassy in Saigon, of Quinlan removed. The old alig1ll11ent is still those awful scenes of the boosters Good, New and Fast? used for the access road. The Santa Fe has ex­ tensively re-worked the old main track, a d corkscrewincr into the sky after the Chal­ I want to express my appreciation for Don � where possible, used the siding alignments tor lenger exp\o ion, the anti-aircraft fire into Gulbrandsen's viewpoint in October's editori­ � the south track. However, most of the new the night sky above Baghdad. Certalllly we al "What's wrong with good track, new pow­ south track and some of the old main (north all recall where we were and what we were er and fast trains?" I have naively assumed track) have been re-worked with concrete ties doing that day in November 1963, when that railfan publications such as PACIFIC RA IL­ on curves, new wooden ties, and ballast. Like President Kennedy was shot. NEWS are inundated with Union Pacific pho­ most Santa Fe track projects, a parallel access My family and I were pulling into Raton, tos and stories, and are forced to hold back road (south side only) has been built and graded N.M., on the Super ChiefiEI Capitan, and be­ UP coverage. I-laving thus saved room for the for hicrh-clearance vehicles. My jeep Cherokee fore the train stopped a young man ran from others, I have been left anxious for more. neo·ot ated the access road from end to end the depot alongside with the terrible news Maybe this explains the relative absence of i wi 10ut incident, except for three places where from Dallas. T was only four at the time, but 1 UP imacres contained in "Images Texas" in ju­ rl the access road does not cross flowing creek remember peering over the open vestibule ly's PAc F1c RAILNEWS rather than just having 7 beds. I would guess they did not cross these for door and seeing every detail. We were on our intended nostalgia. Environmental Protection Agency reasons. way to Disneyland from our home in Illinois, My enthusiasm and inspiration in railroads Photo possibilities exist as before with few and for a boy of four who loved trains, what have almost exclusively been aroused by the changes. The double main is still on the same could have been better? We had a cardboard Union Pacific-maybe because of its transcon­ track elevation and roadbed. There are many Christmas tree in our room to decorate, but I tinental historical significance. Possibly it be­ small photo hills where the old track cuts have didn't need the diversion, not with all those came my favorite because, as a child living in . been widened. The area west of the QUillian cars to explore! Iowa, real train trips were taken on UP City crossovers has been extensively contoured, with Even thoucrh \ became an avid Union Pa­ streamliners to Colorado. just as likely, it has no vegetation in places for more than 200 ymds cific enthusia t , there will always be a very remained my favorite because having never : � from the tTack. just watch your exposures With important place in my memory for the Santa permanently resided in a state served by the all that Oklahoma red dirt out in front of you. Fe. When I fi nally returned to Raton in UP, I have never seen enough of it. . Most of the grade contouring has been on the September 1994, it was different than I re­ I have only recently learned by the fallen south side of the tracks, making for unobstruct­ membered in many ways. It was a cold rainy railroad flags, that I am very excited about the ed views of the trains. The east/west aliglllnent day, the depot was a bit decrepit, and there Chicaao & North Western, Missouri Pacific, and aradient remain the same, with just a wider was not much going on there. No one was M-K- Western Pacific, C&EI, T&P, Rock Is­ T, trac profile from end-to-end. Both bridges around for me to tell my story to. Soon the land, SP, etc., from a different perspective. I k mentioned in the November 1994 article have ground began to shake as a York Canyon coal have found it very interesting to learn the his­ been replaced with new concrete structures, but train rolled by, and when I saw those red-and­ tory of these railroads and how they have they remain in the same locations. The first silver units I felt some closure with 1963. I evolved into the broader UP system and POSSI­ bridge, between Belva and Quinlan, allows a remembered those F-units and that beautiful bly have forever changed the meaning of good view of CTC signals from the bridge. The silver train and heard the brake squeal and 'Union' in UP. I would not have gone to the Quinlan bridge, howevet; sits directly above the the depot door slam and that day, from my Feather River Canyon, photographed trains CTC signals there. The buttes on the east end first vacation trip to the West, that wasn't along the Spine Line in Minnesota and Iowa, where the tracks start thei r climb out of the quite as important as the event that upstaged and have a desire to go to Arizona, New MeXI­ Cimarron River valley were left untouched. it in Raton, .M. co-let alone Te hachapi, Beaumont Hill and However, a new double track bridge now spans Winnemucca, of all places-were it not for the the gravel road used for access to the area. Brad joseph Union Pacific. In August, I took my first train Belleville, III. pictures in Texas, inspired in part by the PRN Spencer j. Pattison Fred Harvey Corrections article "Fort Worth: The Rail Capital of Texas" that appeared in April 1994. I never took pic­ Carrollton, Texas The memorial to the Santa Fe Railway was an tures of trains in Dallas/Fort Worth while I exceptional effort. 1 know several of the lived in Arlington from 1978 to 1980-be­ Deja-Vu! authors from my own researches into the New cause it was not the Union Pacific. Deja-Vu ! I discovered in back-tracking Mexico history of the railroad, and I can cer­ Don Gulbrandsen reminded me of the thrOlJ

Pacific RAILNEWS ·S BREAKING NEWS �pedite,.

dies limited rate regulation is­ sues under the standards set by the Staggers Act of 1980. As under ICC jurisdiction, a basic "public interest" standard has been retained for mergers and consolidations. However, the STB has been given a new time limit of 15 months for reviewing Class I rail mergers, rather than the 31 months previously allowed by the ICC. Procedures for the review of rail abandonment applications have been streamlined, while pub­ lic convenience and service neces­ sity standards have been retained. One area of change is the broad­ ening of the public interest stan­ dard to encompass the "national rail system" rather than just the affected region, as was the case with the ICC. The STB has the power to require merged railroads to divest paralleling routes or grant trackage rights to compet­ ing railroads. These changes are in response to increasing concerns about the effects of recent rail mergers, presumably Burlington Photo Courtesy To ny Campbell; EFFINGHAM DAIlY NEWS Northern Santa Fe and UP-SP. At press time, the ICC's pub­ On Dec. 22, 1995, Conrail suHered a catastrophic three-train collision at EHingham, III., that resulted in four lished procedural schedule for re­ deaths. A fire caused by the wreck forced the evacuation of more than 30 nearby homes. view of the proposed UP-SP merger had not changed.

ICC Sunset come news for Union Pacific and by applying its standard anti-trust Effingham Wreck Southern Pacific because it en­ criteria, would view the consoli­ After months of political wran­ sures their merger proceeding will dation unfavorably. On one of the longest nights of the gling in Congress and a threatened progress as scheduled before the STB's responsibilities include year, Dec. 22, 1995, Conrail suf­ veto, President Clinton signed the STB, rather than the Justice De­ the review of rail mergers, con­ fered a catastrophic wreck west of ICC Termination Act of 1995 on partment. The potential of Justice struction, abandonments and Effingham, III., on the former Dec. 29-two days before fu nding Department review was a signifi­ trackage rights, rate undercharge Pennsylvania Railroad main line to for the Interstate Commerce Com­ cant concern for UP and SP; issues, and reasonable-rate de­ St. Louis. The tragic event unfold­ mission was set to run out. This many felt the Justice Department, termination. The STB also han- ed as train STBN (Sterling brought an end to the nation's old­ Heights, Mich.-Burlington North­ est regulatory body on Dec. 31. ern, which primarily hauls parts The House and the Senate had ap­ for Chrysler's St. Louis plants) proved the bill a week earlier in stopped at CP (Control Point) 144 separate votes, after considerable to allow two eastbound trains to argument over labor issues. The pass. At this location, the track is president had hoped for greater in a cut on a reverse curve coming deregulation of the transportation out of the Little Wabash River Val­ industry and stated this bill fell ley. Following the STB was train short of his intended goals. INTR (Indianapolis-Terminal Rail­ During its 108 years of exis­ road Association of St. Louis­ tence, the TCC had been responsi­ Madison, 111., yard). Reports indi­ ble for the economic regulation of cate that INTR's crew was alert rail; since 1935, it had also regu­ and understood instructions to lated both domestic water and stop behind STBN and wait for the motor carriers. Now the commis­ eastbound trains. However, that's sion has been effectively abol­ not what happened. ished, and its remaining responsi­ Mike Robertson The first eastbound train, St. bilities have been transferred to Louis-Boston intermodal train Union Pacific's General Electric AC8000CW "Convertibles," temporarily the Surface Transportation Board, TV-6, passed by the STBN without a new arm of the Department of featuring 4,400 h.p. prime movers, were being delivered in late December incident. Then, instead of stopping Transportation. This shift is wel- 1995 and early January 1998. UP 7024 is seen at South Bend, Ind. safely behind STBN, the INTR

10. February 1998 rear-ended train STBN at speed. Conrail GE B36- 7 locomotives FACT FOLDER 50 12 and 5028, leading the INTR, were crushed against the STBN, killing both INTR crew members and fouling the eastbound track. Union Pacific Shortly thereafter, train NLPI Superlatives (North Little Rock-Pittsburgh), rolled unknowingly into the re­ -The steepest main track verse curve-where the wreckage grade is a 2.4 mile section of of the collision was waiting-and plowed into the derailed equip­ 3.2 percent compensated ment. All four of NLPl's locomo­ grade (meaning the grade tives-Conrail GE DASH 8- calculation is adjusted for 40CW (C40-8W) 6259, UP SD40- curvature) on the Condon • 2 4124, CR SD40-2 6449 and UP Branch at Rock Creek, Ore. C30-7 2474-derailed, along with • • over 30 cars. The conductor on • -Tunnel No. 8, an 8,856-foot the NLPI was killed. Local author­ • bore on the Canyon Sub east ities responding to the resulting Robert Banke • fire evacuated more than 30 near­ • of James, Calif., is the longest • by homes, because of the possible On Dec. 1 1995, restored Wabash F-unit 1189 leads an excursion train on the railroad. It was built in S, • release of hazardous materials. past Mosser Tower in Decatur, III., at a junction of former Wabash routes. • conjunction with a line relo­ The grisly wreck claimed a • cation in the 1960s to avoid fifth life on Dec. 26, 1 995, when • planned flooding of the low­ a Conrail employee suffered a fa­ agreed to purchase all of Chicago most of its Iowa Division. Re- • tal heart attack while working to Central & Pacific's stock for a re­ cently IC, BNSF, and Conrail had • er Feather River Canyon on • clear the line. reportedly been vying for control UP predecessor Western Pa­ ported $139 million. Illinois Cen­ • tral anticipates integrating opera­ of CC&P. • cific. The UP merger with Chicago Central Sold tions of the two railroads by the Th anks to Rich Wallace, Paul • WP was approved in 1982. fourth quarter of 1996. CC&P DeLuca, Kevin Burkholdel; TRA F­ • On the evening of Jan. 16, 1996, began operations in December FIC WORLD, and Rick Durrant via • • -UP's highest tracks are Illinois Central Corporation 1985, when Illinois Central sold CompuServe. PRN • found at an elevation of • • 8,015 feet on the Laramie • Sub at Sherman, Wyo. UP's • former Coalmont Branch • 81 • had an elevation of 9,066 • feet at Fox Park, Wyo., but • StoStockck Prices Inde Dec. 1, 1995x this line was sold to the • • • Stock Prices Jan. 2, 1996 • Wyoming & Colorado Rail­ • road in 1987. - • � • � • -The longest railroad bridge - - = iii!! used by UP is the 4.4-mile CI.) : � • long Huey P. Long Bridge, :=::: - - - • which crosses the Mississippi «I • = • River at New Orleans. The = .- • tallest bridge used by UP is ... • Burlington Northern Santa «I • iii!! • Fe's 320-foot high Crooked = • River Bridge on the Bend «I • .- Branch at m.p. 125.8, near • - -= • Terrabonne, Ore. � «I c." = • - «I • -A 46-mi le tangent on the � • • Baird Sub between Dix and • Douro, Te xas, is the longest • • on the system. • • • Source: Union Pacific • Railroad

Pacific RAILNEWS -11 SPECIA L REPORT �pedite,.

Chicago and Northern California. Ta king on the fa stest freight trains in the world, UP claims that, "We intend to match or beat BNSF trains 199 and 991 reliably and consistently." UP train CSOAZ would operate from Canal Street (Chicago) to West Oakland in 53.5 hours, while eastbound OACSZ would cover the route in 56 hours. Both trains would have a Fresno connection at Roseville. Stack trains would operate between the Chicago-area Global 1 and 2 fa cilities and We t Oakland, and between Chicago and Stockton. In addition, trains DUOAT/OADUT would offer in­ termodal service between Dupo, III. (St. Louis), Kansas City, and West Oakland. Sunset and Golden State Routes

UP plans to upgrade SP's current route between Chicago and Southern California, which incor­ pOl'ates trackage rights over BNSF

George S. Pitarys between Chicago and Hutchin­ son, Kan., into a high-speed inter­ If the Union Pacific-Southern Pacific merger is approved, UP plans to install CTC on the Golden State Route. On modal raceway fu lly competitive May 12, 1992, an eastbound stack train on SP's Tu cumcari Line passes US&S semaphores east of Carrizozo, N.M. with Santa Fe. The $367 million capital program includes the fol­ lowing features: Blueprint for a Super As the operating plan states, the middle part of the Rio Railroad the enlarged UP would essentially Grande expected to fall by about I) installation of Centralized Traf­ be a new railroad. Because UP 50 percent because of overhead fic Control between Herington, and SP complement each other so manifest traffic diversion to UP's Kan., and El Paso, Te xas, includ­ On November 30, Union Pacific well, fitting together like two in­ more efficient route. One pair of ing conversion of existing hand­ and Southern Pacific filed their terlocking puzzle pieces, the manifest freight trains, along throw switches to power turnouts application for authority to merged system could provide new with heavy traffic such as unit 2) construction of a new siding at merge with the Interstate Com­ and improved service over dozens grain trains, would take advan­ McPherson, Kan., and five new merce Commission in Washing­ of routes. Consequently, "virtually tage of the 1 percent ruling grade sidings in New Mexico, and ton, D.C. The massive 8,100- every intermodal, automotive and of the former WP route. UP lengthening three existing sidings page document-submitted in 13 manifest train schedule on our would spend an estimated $18.3 3) replacement of 210 miles of rail volumes-con tains moun tai nous railroads was scrapped or million to improve clearances on between Topeka, Kan., and £1 Paso information about the financial, changed" for planning purposes SP's Donner Pass line, permitting 4) construction of 94 miles of sec­ commercial, and environmental to take maximum advantage of o peratio n of double-stacked ond main track west of £1 Paso effects of the proposed UP-SP the new route structure. nine-foot, six-inch containers. UP (primarily Pomona-Colton, Calif"., combination, and statements of Post-merger operations on ma­ would also signal the UP-SP and west of Yuma, Ariz.) and ex­ support from more than 1,000 jor routes (following necessary Paired Track between Alazon tending nine sidings to double­ UP and SP shippers. upgrading) would be conducted and Weso, Nev. for bidirectional length east of Tucson, Ariz. Of greatest interest to PRN as follows: movement (currently trains run readers is the UP-SP Operating west on SP and east on UP) and UP's premier trains on this Plan, contained in Volume 3. Overland Route install six crossovers at a cost of route would be the CSLAT/LAC­ Merger applicants are required $20.6 million. Contrary to earlier ST (Canal Street, Chicago, to Los by ICC rules to submit an operat­ Trains would be concentrated on UP statements, the operating Angeles), that would make the ing plan explaining how the com­ the historic Chicago & North plan does not include restoration westbound run in 50 hours. UP bination would improve service, Western-UP-SP passenger route of any econd main track over also would offer a daily stack save money, or otherwise pro­ between Chicago and Oakland, Donner Pass. train in each direction, BPLBDI mote the public interest. More 180 miles shorter than UP's pre­ Union Pacific believes the up­ LBBPD, between CSX Inter­ than 200 management employees sent route via the former West­ graded Overland Route would be modal's Bedford Park terminal participated in developing this ern Pacific. Through service over more efficient than BNSF's Santa near Chicago (used by SP) and blueprint for the super railroad SP's route via Pueblo would be Fe line that, UP admits, sets the the Intermodal Container Transfer UP expects to create. discontinued, with tonnage over service standard today between Facility (ICTF) near Long Beach,

12·February 1998 and an LACRD train from East route would be offered for sale af­ Los Angeles to the Conrail con­ ter the merger because it plans to nection at Chicago. Most Chica­ increase capacity by converting go-Southern Ca l i fornia inter­ these two routes to directional modal units, though, would move operation. South of Dexter, Mo., on stack trains serving the former trains would generally operate C&NW Global J and 2 facilities. southbound on Cotton Belt/SP These would use the former trackage and northbound on UP C&NW main line between Chica­ trackage. Most SP Chicago-Texas go and elson, Ill.: the former traffic would shift to UP's C& W St. Louis line between Gorham, Ill., cutoff and the for­ elson and BLlda, Ill.; a new con­ mer Chicago & Eastern Illinois, nection to the BNSF ( BN ) main while St. Louis trains would con­ line at BLlda; SP's BNSF trackage tinue to operate up and down the rights to Kansas City; and the east bank of the Mississippi River. Golden State Route west of K.C. The elson-Buda line would re­ Seattle-Los Angeles ceive signals and new sidings at "Pacific Crescent" Route: Buda to accommodate this traf­ fi c. UP also projects two west­ Dave Burton UP considers this growing market bound vehicle trains, one from to be an outstanding business op­ Chicago and one from orfolk A UP-SP consolidation would allow more eflicient routing for unit coal portunity for the merged compa­ Southernat K.C., to the Mira Lo­ trains. SP regularly routes coal over the Tehachapis-such as this SNTAC ny, since truck traffic on parallel ma, Calif., auto ramp via the (Skyline mine, Utah, to Trona) seen on Aug. 3, 1995, at Caliente, Calif. Interstate 5 is heavy, and the rail­ Golden State Route. roads have never promoted north­ Between St. Louis and L.A., south intermodal service from UP would recognize its Cotton Memphis-Te xas-California Yard in Memphis proper, to be Seattle. Despite efforts to tap into Belt heritage by calling its inter­ Route shared by SP and perhaps Norfolk this market, SP was unable to do modal train the Blue Streak Southern. Service from West so because it doesn't operate Merchandise (symbol B SMFT) . Memphis would include two pairs north of Portland and cannot han­ The BSM would run from Dupo One of the most obvious benefits of L.A. trains (MELATILAMET to dle double-stacked nine-foot, six­ to the ICTF in less than 53 of the UP-SP merger is placing the East L.A., and MELBT/LBMFT to inch containers through tunnels hours. A Kansas City-ICTF train former Texas & Pacific route be­ the ICTF) and one pair of West in the Oregon Cascades. UP would also be offered, along tween Dallas and EI Paso under Oakland trains (MEOAT/OAMET, would rectify this by spending with two eastbound L.A.-St. common management with SP's running via EI Paso and serving $8.6 million to improve clear­ Louis trains. SP's small volume Sunset Route, as the builders in­ Dallas as well). Trains DALBT/ ances, allowing stack trains to op­ of Midwest-L.A. manifest traffic tended. This combination would LADBT would operate between erate the entire distance. would be routed via the orth reduce UP's mileage between Mem­ UP's Mesquite, Texas, intermodal Two pairs of Seattle-L.A. inter­ Platte hump yard. phis and L.A. from 2,533 miles facility and the ICTE Carload traf- modal trains would be offered, Between San Antonio and EI with one (SEAVT/AVSET) oper­ Paso, much of SP's traffic would ating all the way between Seattle be diverted onto the T &P, leav­ and ew Orleans. Three north­ ing ample capacity for the re­ bound and two southbound inter­ maining trains. Between Hous­ The operating plan does not include modal trains would ply the Port­ ton and San Antonio, carload land-L.A. segment, while other traffic would be concentrated on restoration of any second main track services would link West Oakland UP's former Ka ty trackage, free­ with the network. Carload traffic ing the parallel SP for faster in­ over Donner Pass. would be enhanced by a $38 mil­ termodal trains. SP carload traf­ lion renovation of Roseville Yard, fic to and from ew Orleans including replacement of the would be diverted onto UP's line hump computer and retarders, between Iowa Junction, La., and construction of a second main Avondale (New Orleans) for (via North Platte) to J ,953 miles. fic from Memphis connections track around the yard, and classification at UP's new livo­ Upgrading this line east of EI would be grouped into a West restoration of bowl tracks that SP nia Ya rd, where three new tracks Paso would be a $152 million Colton train at Pine Bluff, Ark., has been unable to repair because would handle SP business. The project. UP plans to build two while eastbound trains from Cali­ of insufficient funds. Roseville SP line between Iowa Junction new sidings and extend five more fornia would be sorted at North would also block (assemble) and Avondale, which is to be between Big Sandy, Texas, and Little Rock and assembled into Overland Route carload traffic. sold to BNSF, would see UP in­ Fort Worth. West of Fort Wort h, consists for Memphis connections. termodal trains running on track­ UP would install new ties and sec­ age rights. UP would reduce run­ ond-hand welded rail, build three Chicago-Texas Routes New Coal Routes ning times for existing SP trains new sidings, and extend 14 more. across the Sunset Route, and of­ Independen t of the merger, UP Even though the Missouri Pacific Acquisition of SP would allow UP fer new intermodal service be­ i planning to build a new inter­ and Cotton Belt main lines to piece together a new route be­ tween L.A. and Laredo, Texas­ modal facility in West Memphis, through Arkansas appear duplica­ tween Wyoming and Texas for unit the gateway to Mexico. Ark., replacing cramped Sargent tive, UP maintains that neither coal and grain train shipments, by-

Pacific RAILNEWS -13 SPECIAL REPORT l{peditep

MONTANA

ALA.

SOUTHERN PACIFIC ROUTES UNION PACIFIC ROUTES TRACKAGE RIGHTS ...... , NOT ALL LINES OR TRACKAGE RIGHTS SHOWN RAILROAD ABBREVIATIONS BNSF BURLINGTON NORTHERN SANTA FE CSP CAMAS PRAIRIE IC ILLINOIS CENTRAL TM TEXAS· MEXICAN WC WISCONSIN CENTRAL MAP BY DEAN SAUVDLA

passing the congested Kansas City To eliminate SP's "scenic but trackage rights over BN and Santa Clearing to allow for expansion of area. Southbound trains would op­ operationally difficult" route over Fe lines between Pueblo and Fort the Global 2 intermodal terminal. erate eastward on UP to SP'S Kaw Te nnessee Pass and UP trackage Worth. UP would use this route This expansion, in turn, would al· River Bridge in To peka, then head rights between Herington and for a combined intermodal-mani­ low Global 2 to absorb SP traffic west to Herington. From Hering­ Pueblo, UP plans to upgrade its fest service between Denver and from the Forest Park (leased from ton south, the trains would use Kansas Pacific line between Tope­ Dallas and a pair of manifest CSX) and IMX (leased from Illi­ UP's "OKT" route (the Texas main ka and Denver to handle Colorado trains between Fort Worth and nois Central) facilities that UP line of the former Rock Island, lat­ and Utah coal traffic moving east­ Hinkle, Ore. would close. UP would also termi· er operated as the Oklahoma, ward. This $86.6 million project nate the arrangement with IC to Kansas & Texas by Katy) to reach includes construction of 11 new Yard Consolidation handle SP intermodal traffic be­ Fort Worth. Northbound trains sidings and extension of four tween Chicago (Moyers Inter­ would follow the reverse route. more. With its completion, UP ex­ The operating plan also covers modal Te rminal) and Memphis, The OKT would receive a $91.5 pects to quadruple present traffic yard coordinations and new fa­ shifting this traffic to its Yard million upgrading, including six on the train-a-day KP to eight cilities at common points. High­ Center terminal in Dolton. new, 13 extended, and three re­ trains or more, including a pair of lights include: Springfield, Ill.: UP would built sidings. UP also plans to use Kansas City-Denver vehicle trains Chicago: North Platte would abandon parts of the ex-C&NW the improved UP route to crack and some Wyoming coal trains. block more east-west traffic for SI. Louis line, running trains via Santa Fe's stranglehold on traffic Eastern connections, reducing SP's East SI. Louis-Springfield from the General Motors assembly Denver-Te xas Route switching requirements at both trackage and trackage rights plant at Oklahoma City with a new Proviso Yard and Belt Railway of over Chicago & Illinois Midland pair of K.C.-Oklahoma City mani­ In settlement of its opposition to Chicago's Clearing Ya rd. UP plans between Springfield and Barr, fest trains. the BNSF merger, SP obtained to shift more Proviso work to Ill. This project would include

14-February 1998 elimination of Ridgely Tower in nearby Amelia Yard into a stor­ trains of bulk commodities for ex­ downgraded to industrial sup­ Springfield. age-in-transit facility for chemical port. UP also plans a major new port. Carload traffic would be St. Louis: Although it would be traffic. UP's Orange, Texas, local Inland Empire intermodal facility classified at UP's Barnes Yard, owned by UP after the merger, the would be eliminated, with traffic in the vicinity of West Colton while UP's Albina Yard would be Alton & Southel11 would continue moving via the SP route. Yard. When this is built, SP's City expanded to absorb the inter­ to operate as a separate company Houston/Galveston: UP's Sette­ of Industry intermodal terminal modal traffic currently handled at and perfOim most of UP's tetminal gast Yard would concentrate on would close. UP expects to ex­ Brooklyn. UP expects to route switching in the St. Louis area. UP north-south traffic, while SP's En­ pand SP's ICTF terminal and on­ significant volumes of lumber would close SP's Valley Junction glewood Yard would be devoted to dock transfers of containers be­ from SP origins to Hinkle for intermodal facility and accommo­ east-west traffic. UP would close tween trains and ships, while clos­ classification. Because the layout date SP's traffic through expansion SP's Hardy Street locomotive facil­ ing SP's Los Angeles Transporta­ of the East Portland interlocking of the Dupo tetminal. UP's Lesper­ ity-awkwardly located three tion Center intermodal terminal. prevents construction of a con­ ance Street Yard in St. Louis and miles west of Englewood. As SP's J Yard would also close, with nection allowing northbound the ex-C&NW Madison, Ill., yard Galveston traffic would be han­ its work shifting to UP's East trains off the SP to move east on would close. dled through Settegast, SP's Galve­ Yard. UP jobs based at City of In­ UP's Graham Line along 1-84, UP Kansas City: SP's Armourdale ston local would be discontinued. dustry would move to SP's yard. would upgrade its parallel Ken­ Yard would be converted to an San Antonio: Local switching Industrial switching at common ton Line with CTC and extended intermodal facility, with carload would be centered in SP's East points would be consolidated. sidings to handle this traffic. A traffic handled at UP's Neff and Yard, while UP's SoSan Yard Oakland/San Jose: UP expects new main line and running track 18th Street yards. At nearby would be devoted to staging traf­ to relocate its Oakland carload through Albina are also planned. Topeka, SP's yard would be fic destined for Mexico. BNSF operations to SP's Fifth Avenue Most of Eugene Yard's functions closed, with local traffic would also use East Yard and its Yard. SP's San Jose-area locals would be assumed by Roseville switched from UP's yard across SP intermodal facility. would switch all UP industries in Yard, and Eugene would be sig­ the Kaw River. EI Paso: UP's yard would the area. Yard operations at nificantly downsized. Memphis: UP would stop us­ close, with all operations consoli­ Warm Springs (SP) and Milpitas The merged UP would concen­ ing IC's Johnston Yard for carload dated in SP's yards. (UP) would be consolidated. trate heavy maintenance and re­ traffic, as SP does now, and close pair of EMD locomotives at UP's SP's intermodal facility there. Jenks shop in North Little Rock. Carload traffic would run through General Electric locomotives Memphis on trains blocked for would be maintained primarily at connections, while intermodal Anticipating commuter service on the SP's Burnham shop in Denver. traffic would be handled at the SP's Los Angeles and Sacramento new We st Memphis facility. WP line between Stockton and Oakland, locomotive shop operations would Texarkana and Shreveport: SP be closed. UP plans to construct a yards at both locations would be UP plans to rebuild SP's Mococo Line new $24 million locomotive run­ closed, with operations consoli­ ning repair facility at West Colton dated at UP yards. SP's Shreve­ between Martinez and Tracy to replace the L.A. shop. The port-Tenaha, Te xas, local-which SP/EMD Power-by-the-Mile facili­ primarily handles shipments ty at Kansas City would also close, from the Texas Eastman plant at with the work moving to EI Paso. Longview (served by Santa Fe)­ Denver: The former Rio Stockton: SP's yard would be SP's Denver and Pine Bluff, Ark., would be dropped, with UP han­ Grande North Yard would host all closed and UP's yard downgrad­ car shops would be closed in favor dling this business via the T&P carload switching operations, ed, as UP shifts work to the im­ of UP shops at DeSoto, Mo., and main line out of Longview. A while UP's 36th Street Yard proved Roseville Yard. UP would Pocatello, Idaho. new intermodal terminal at would be devoted to intermodal significantly downsize the Stock­ The operating plan assumes Texarkana would serve the traffic. A new connection at Utah ton diesel shop, but the new Lath­ that dispatching functions would northeast Texas area. Junction, north of North Yard, rop intermodal terminal would re­ be consolidated at Omaha, "al­ Dallas/Fort Worth: SP's Miller would allow coal trains off the main open. Anticipating possible though the actual location has not Yard south of Dallas would han­ Rio Grande to bypass the yard on commuter service on the WP line been determined." Crew manage­ dle UP's carload traffic and most their way to the KP. between Stockton and Oakland, ment and timekeeping would also intermodal business, while UP's Salt Lake City: Most carload UP plans to rebuild SP's Mococo be conducted at Omaha. The Mesquite terminal would concen­ switching would take place at SP's Line between Martinez and Tracy merged railroad would have a sin­ trate on Chicago and St. Louis in­ Roper Yard in Salt Lake City. UP's as an alternative. gle National Customer Service termodal traffic. In Fort Worth, North Yard would be devoted to Sacramento/Roseville: SP's Center at an undetermined loca­ SP's tiny Broadway Yard would industry support and intermodal small Sacramento yard would be tion (UP's is in St. Louis), with a close, with operations moving to service. BNSF might take over closed, with carload operations smaller office in Laredo handling UP's Centennial hump yard. SP's intermodal facility at Roper, based at UP's South Sacramento Mexican traffic. New Orleans: SP's New Yard and handle carload freight there. Yard. Most of the activity, though, All of these changes, taking at Avondale would be sold to Los Angeles: UP admits it would take place at Haggin, place over five years or less, would BNSF, with SP carload traffic would take years to consolidate where the UP and SP main lines produce estimated annual operat­ classified at Livonia or UP's adja­ its operations in Southern Califor­ cross. Roseville Yard would be ing savings of $584 million. Em­ cent Avondale Yard. BNSF would nia with those of SP. West Colton upgraded, as described previously, ployment projections include elim­ use UP's Avondale intermodal fa­ Yard would be used as the prima­ to handle most classification work inating 4,909 positions, adding cility, while UP would keep SP's. ry carload switching facility, with in Northern California. 1 ,552, and transferring 2,132. Beaumont: UP would use SP's UP's remote Yermo Yard east of Portland/Eugene: SP's Brook­ Beaumont Yard and convert its Barstow relegated to staging unit lyn Yard in Portland would be Michael W. Blaszak

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An eastbound Burlington Northern Santa Fe passenger speCial, traveling from Seattle, Wash" to Laurel, Mont., passes the former Northern Pacific depot in SandpOint, Idaho, on Oct. 3, 1995,

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18-February 1998 addition to that provided by No. 103 between 90 the Tw in Cities and the Northwest. 1995 To show its support for the United Way, Burlington Northern* BNSF operated a series of holiday special for 82% the agency between St. Paul and St. Cloud, Minn., on Dec. 2, and 3, 1995, using Execu­ 80 (BNI)Closing price Stock for the beginning Tr ofends each month tive Fs I and 2 and seven BNSF business cars. January 1995 through January 1998 In late December 1995, BNSF put together a 77% very unusual combination of EMD locomotives: *The holding companies of ON and Santa Fe BN local 01-31602-29 working out of' Aberdeen, merged September 22, 1995 S.D., featured AT&SF SD75 20 1, B GP9Bs 600 and 60 1, and AT&SF SD45-2 5801. Thanks to Mike Cleary, P.f. Cralz, TilE MIXED TI?A IN, Kyle Brehm, Mel To lius, Mike Murray and TI?AI'I'IC WORLD.

Karl Rasmussen

Overland Chapter 50 National Railway Historical Society invites your participation aboard our I 996 travel programs .....

J FMAMJJ ASONDJ SWISS WINTER RAILS March 7 - 21 permit. The proposed Montco mine would be ing road. Minnesota Commercial has been Nine nights in Bern, four nights in Chur. just one of several sources for traffic. A couple operating this line on a contract basis for the covers all major narrow gauge systems. Or. depart March 4 for London and years ago, the Tongue River Railroad proposed past several years. extending its route southward to Decker, Channel Tunnel to Bern via Brussels. Mont. (on the Montana-Wyoming line), to tap OPERATIONS into existing coal mines there and connect Heavy Volume over Holidays NORWAY COASTAL with a Burlington orthern Santa Fe branch, CRUISE AND providing a shorter route east for Powder Riv­ RAILWAYS er coal. Proponents still view both the Montco Traffic across the system remained high 8 - 21 coal mine and the Tongue River Railroad as throughout November 1995, with an increase in May viable projects. intermodal loadings after Thanksgiving. During Cruise five nights on coastal ship. the holidays, a large volume of United Parcel Kirkenes to Bergen. Bergen Railway and COMING ATTRACTIONS Service traffic required B SF to operate second Flam line to Oslo. sections of I o. 60 between Denver and Chica­ BN Tests AIIRailer go. Before the end of the shipping season on the EAST GERMANY Great Lakes, BNSF was moving large quantities BNSF will be testing a new railcaJ; the All Railel; of grain into elevators at SuperiOl; Wis. VINTAGE NARROW manufactured by Wabash National Corp. of At the end of 1995, BNSF changed its sched­ GAUGE AND TRAMS Lafayette, Ind., and designed to reduce the dam­ ules across the Highline (former Great Northern May 21 - June 2 age sustained by new motor vehicles during mainline). Train o. 5 was established between Rostock. Dresden. Nordhausen multiple transport. Following evaluation by the Associa­ Chicago and the West Coast to handle contain­ tion of American Railroads at its Pueblo test night stays. Special steam and vintage tram ers and overflow trailer traffic from No. l. No. charters. Includes Berlin tour and ends in track, BNSF will test the All Railer in both bi­ 105 was established to handle manifest traffic in and tri-Ievel configurations with various-sized Mannheim with Heidelberg tram charter. vehicles. The new rail car is 57 feet long, has an inside width of 10 feet, and is designed to pro­ SUMMER SWISS tect vehicles throughout the loading, movement, STEAM and unloading phases of operation. AIIRailer 2S - 6 can accommodate six vehicles in the bi-Ievel and July August nine in the tri-Ievel operating modes. Headquarters in Bern to cover mid-sum­ To accommodate a projected increase in mer special steam operations and narrow Magazine�RaiiN Subscriptionew Service:s ' gauge electr-ic lines. intermodal activity across the southern por­ Address all correspondence regarding tion of its system, BNSF has expedited instal­ subscriptions (including new orders lation of 55 miles of second main track in BRITISH RAILS to: and renewals) 30 - 6 Te xas and Oklahoma, at a cost of $72 million. September October This investment will facilitate an immediate PACIFIC RAILNEWS England. Scotland and Wales. Two nights London. six nights each in Chester- and expansion of service across the Avard Gate­ P. O. Box 17108 way (to Memphis, Tenn. , and Birmingham, York. Optional day trip to Paris via CA 9161 5-7108 Ala.), although improvements to the former North Hollywood, Channel Tunnel possible. Frisco (merged into B in 1980) segment of For all subscription problems the route will likely be required soon. and inquiries call: For complete details, contact: BNSF and Minnesota Commercial are ne­ Overland Chapter - N.R.H.S. gotiating to convey BNSF's former Northern (800) 210-2211 1412 Twelfth Street. Moline. Illinois 61265 Pacific branch line extend i ng from Min­ outside the U.S. (818) 793-3400 neapolis to Hugo, Minn., to the local switch- (309) 764- 1834

Pacific RAILNEWS·17 RAIL NEWS Santa Fe

TEJON TRAGEDY westbound trains that had passed Emporia de­ SP operated its first train using haulage toured via Southern Pacific from Vaughn, N.M., rights over Santa Fe between Hutchinson, Trains Collide Killing Conductor to Colton, Calif. SP did an excellent job moving Kan., and Fort Worth, Texas, on Nov. 17, the 1 -199- 19 (returned to Santa Fe at Bakers­ 1995. The train, consisting of 75 carloads of Just two months after the Oct. 13 collision at field, Calif.), allowing Santa Fe to deliver trailers grain, was operated by South Kansas and Ok­ Madrone, N.M., Santa Fe suffered a similar in time to the United Parcel Service. The main lahoma from Hutchinson to Winfield as the F­ disaster about 100 miles to the east, at the line returned to service at I :25 a.m. Dec. 21. SKOL-16, and from Winfield to Fort Worth west end of the siding at Tejon. The Clovis Sub as the G-WFFWl-16. During the first month dispatcher set up a meet between the east­ OPERATIONS of operations, SP ran only two trains in each bound P-SBBH 1-19 train and the westbound SP Tr ackage Rights direction over this route. Q- YLA 1-19 train about 9 a.m. on Dec. 20. SP began exercising its trackage rights be­ As the former train headed into the siding, the tween Pueblo, Colo., and Fort Worth in mid­ Q-NYLA rolled past red signals and collided Southern Pacific commenced operations over December, when San Antonio coal trains with the P-SBBH just behind its locomotives as Santa Fe via trackage rights between Topeka, AIELC (loads) and ELAIC (empties) com­ that h'ain pulled through the switch. The crash Kan., and Kansas City, Mo., on Nov. 13, 1995. menced operations over Santa Fe between killed Q-NYLA's 54-year-old Conductor Jerry The first SP train to use this route was coal Pueblo and Stratford, Texas, and over B be­ Chandler and injured 70-year-old engineer Tom train I-EYICC-09. Initially, only coal trains tween Dalhart, Te xas, and Fort Worth. Tu nnell. The Q-NYLA's lead unit, B40-8W 531, used this route because SP manifest trains don't sustained about $500,000 in damage; the three always satisfy Santa Fe's train makeup rules. To MERGER following locomotives (B39-8 7449 and B40- reach Santa Fe's Topeka Sub, eastbound SP 8Ws 568 and 557) will cost $200,000 to trains use the old Rock Island connection south No New Paint Plans $300,000 each to repair. Fifteen cars derailed of the Kaw Rivet; requiring the h'ains to reverse on both trains. Total damage was estimated at direction. Arriving at SP's To peka Yard, the Observers apprehensively awaiting an an­ $3.5 million. The cause of the collision was un­ road power (usually a pair of AC4400CWs cou­ nouncement regarding the new Burlington der investigation at press time. pled back to back) will cut off the consist, and Northern Santa Fe locomotive paint scheme Because the derailment blocked the a yard engine (usually a pair of GP60s) will pull and corporate logo will probably be relieved to transcontinental main line, hot trains detoured it east to the Santa Fe. The road power follows learn that there won't be one, at least initially. over the northern route via La Junta. A few the consist and couples onto the rear end to The 25 SD75Ms Santa Fe had ordered earlier head east for K.C., then the switch engines re­ will be delivered in the red-and-silver Warbon­ turn to SP's yard. Westbound trains make these net paint scheme. The only change, according moves in reverse order. Because the interchange to Santa Fe and EMD sources, will be the sub­ ties up street crossings for up to an hour, the stitution of BNSF lettering for Santa Fe letter­ city fathers are not pleased. If Union Pacific de­ ing on the hood. The first units are expected cides to continue using these rights after the to arrive during the first week of January. ince 1961, we have proposed UP-SP merger, it may construct head­ Likewise, B SD70MACs will continue to been the authoritative on connections at East To peka and the Santa Fe be delivered in the B executive scheme, but shops, allowing trains to move through town with BNSF initials added. Reportedly, Presi­ locomotive news­ without reversing directions. dent and CEO Rob Krebs likes both the War- magazineS providing news, rosters, photos (both black & white and color) and informa­ tive features of events shaping the industry. Published quarter­ ly, Extra 2200 South is 40 pages of ad-free timely, relevant & reliable information.

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lS-February 1996 Chip Sherman

Santa Fe SD75M 210 is seen at the Denver roundhouse on Dec. 18, 1995. In January, Chicago's Metra began testing Santa Fe SD75M 232 in Chicago· Aurora suburban commuter service. Santa Fe's third order of SD75Ms is being delivered in red·and-silver with BNSF lettering.

bonnet and the "Grinstein Green" paint, and BNSF stated during December that it did and PRN's Burlington Northern column will the decision to temporarily retain both not expect to complete the corporate merger merge into a single B SF column after the schemes will avoid the expense of repainting of its B and Santa Fe rail subsidiaries on Jan. railroad merger is completed. nearly new units. Krebs is not as fond of BN's 1, 1996, as planned, because of uncompleted old Cascade Green paint scheme, but there is implementing agreements with the other COAL no word regarding a possible replacement. unions and unspecified legal problems. B SF has informed both locomotive Until the merger is completed, B and Export Moves builders that, following completion of existing Santa Fe are continuing to operate as sepa­ orders, the railroad does not expect to buy rate but related companies (much like Santa Fe has started delivering trainloads of more locomotives until 1998 at the earliest. Chessie System and Seaboard System after export coal from Banning, Utah, to the Port of After Jerry Grinstein announced his resig­ the CSX merger). Incidentally, this column Los Angeles. Santa Fe receives the trains from nation as chairman, Krebs froze pending em­ ployee relocations from Schaumburg to Fort Worth, but not from Fort Worth to Schaum­ burg. He later allowed marketing personnel, o some of whom had already sold their Illinois E homes and/or bought houses in Texas, to com­ R plete their moves, but labor relations and oth­ A I er departments may not relocate, despite em'li­ DERA�L BOOKS L er plans to the contrary. Krebs doesn't like ei­ ther the humid climate of Texas or the "hat BOOKS ABOUT RAI LROADS and boots act" many Texans affect. It appears that BNSF will retain a strong presence in the Hard To Find Titles In Excellent Condition Chicago area as long as Krebs is around. Members of the Transportation Communi­ Search Service and Appraisals cations Union ratified an implementing agree­ • WE BUY · SELL · CONSIGN · ment with B SF on Dec. 19, 1995. The new pact, covering the merged railroad's clerks, was approved by 88 percent of the 3,900 employees WRITE OR CALL FOR CATALOG NO. 8 eligible to vote; BNSF can now begin consoli­ P.O. BOX 15026 · SANTA ROSA, CA 95402 · 707-573-0751 dating cletical functions at To peka, Kan.

Pacilic RAILNEWS -19 7, 1995, at Topeka Shops. EMD plans to have 25 of the units modified at Topeka and 26 at Springfield, but the split is flexible. EMD will also modify the air compressors on 29 of the 51 units, and plans are to complete three loco­ motives per week. INTERMODAL Bakersfield Ramp to Close?

The Bakersfield intermodal ramp has been a perennial headache for Santa Fe. Traffic at the facility has never rivaled that of the busi­ er Fresno ramp, about 100 miles railroad west, and Santa Fe has long desired to con­ solidate its business at Fresno. Since most Bakersfield traffic is to or from eastern points, though, local shippers and politicians find it hard to understand the logic of driving trailers and containers 100 miles west to Fresno to be loaded on a train to head back east, right through Bakersfield. Santa Fe began its latest effort to close Bakersfield after J.B. Hunt stopped using it. The railroad discontinued expedited service Randy Standridge in September, causing large shippers like Sears to divert their business to Fresno, An eastbound Santa Fe intermodal train climbs through Bealville, Calil., on Southern Pacific's tortu­ (units handled at Bakersfield dropped to 156 ous Techachapi crossing on Oct. 15, 1995. Santa Fe uses this route to reach northern California. during November). Early in December, Santa Fe announced it would stop loading and un­ loading trailers at Bakersfield, but continue SP at Mojave, Calif. The first reported sighting Commencing Dec. 20, 1995, Santa Fe accepting and delivering them, paying for occurred on Nov. 22, 1995. These trains run moved four trains of military equipment from truck service to and from Fresno as part of as C-MfWT (loads) and C-WTMJ (empties) on West Yermo, Calif., to Ft. Lewis, Wash., via the rate. But the city intervened, inducing Santa Fe. Cars are provided by SP; both Santa the Inside Gateway route. Santa Fe delivered Santa Fe to delay the closing for at least 45 Fe and SP locomotives are used. the trains to UP at Stockton; UP turned them days while looking at alternatives. Santa Fe ran a unit train of coal from the over to BN at Bieber, Calif. Santa Fe power Lee Ranch Mine in New Mexico to Alliance, was to run through and be used by BN in the CHICO CHATTER Texas, on Nov. 27-28, 1995. The 116-car train Pacific Northwest upon delivery. (equipment loaned by BN) was subsequently Zero Failures for Peak UPS Traffic delivered to the Texas Utilities plant at Monte­ MOTIVE POWER cello, Te xas, by Kansas City Southern for a test Santa Fe Units on BN Once again, Santa Fe posted zero service fail­ burn. Loaded to 14,041 tons, train C-LEAL 1- ures for United Parcel Service traffic during 27 left the mine with engines 9556, 810, 889 the fall peak period that ended Dec. 21, 1995. and 64 1 up front and 832, 9529 and 914 cut in During December, Santa Fe was trying to keep BNSF TODAY chronicled many efforts of Santa as a mid-train radio controlled remote consist. 80 locomotives on BN to ease BN's chronic Fe personnel to repair bad-ordered wheels, ad­ The remote set was replaced by 652, 67 1, 208 motive power shortage. BN engineers reported just shifted trailers and fix broken hitches en and 608 at Clovis, N.M. At Amarillo the train they liked Santa Fe's power (especially route to prevent set-outs of UPS loads. was delivered to BN for movement to Fort SD75Ms) so well that they didn't want to give Santa Fe has purchased 160 acres of prop­ Worth; it was the first run to use what will be­ them back. Meanwhile, BN power on Santa Fe erty adjacent to the Alliance, Texas, inter­ come BNSF's preferred Califomia-Texas route. remains relatively rare, although one modal facility for potential expansion. Wisconsin Electric coal trains between SD70MAC made it to Richmond, Calif., on Because of a BN derailment, Santa Fe oper­ York Canyon, N.M., and the UP connection at the far western end of Santa Fe's system. ated BN train 09-023-30 over its line from McCook, III., were operating just once a week MK Rail completed classified repairs on Kansas City to Denver, on Nov. 30, 1995. with one set of equipment during December. Santa Fe's GP35s, and will perform similar An Australian company, James Hardie work on 44 Santa Fe SD40-2s and SD45-2s at Building Materials, will construct a new its Boise facility. The first two units to make 400,000 sq. ft. facility at Cleburne, Te xas, to the trip, in mid-Decembel�were SD40-2 5129 manufacture synthetic wood for the construc­ and SD45-2 58 18. tion industry. The plant is expected to ship at EMD began warranty repair of the leak­ least 2,000 carloads annually by rail. prone fuel tanks on the 200-c1ass SD75Ms on During November and December 1995, San­ With 18 years of Personalized Dec. 4, 1995, at Springfield, Mo., and on Dec. ta Fe invited past and present employees to at­ Service to Railfans, we can tend a celebration of its heritage at significant help you select the best. points across the railroad "in recognition of all We align our radios for optimum employees who made the Santa Fe a premier performance in the RR band. railroad." While the two-hour video presenta­ tion (written by Chuck Gierhart of Corporate WRITE OR CALL FOR MORE INFORMATION Communications) was affable and entertaining, the reaction of one laid-off staffer was, "Thanks, SOUTHWEST r.,:.-;/ Rob, but I'd rather have my job back." Thanks to St((flXICel; L.5. Wa lters, /ayhawk, ELECTRONICS Ben Kerr, Dale f-Iearn, Chris BuUsIFLIMSfES, P.o. Box 1099 ' Prescott, AZ 86302 0. R. Bixler and james f. Schiro.

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Switch Stand Publishing -��--.. . P.O. Box 544 ------j Photo Courtesy Phillip Morris .. Benicia, CA 94510 ... Phillip Morris F59PHIs 0001 and 0002 will be used to pull the Mal'lbol'o Unlimited luxury train this summer. One of its routes may use Montana Rail Link between Garrison and Billings, Mont.

1996 PREVIEW bora Unlimited through several western states including Montana. Initial plans call for the More Passenger Trains train to enter Montana using Union Pacific's Montana Sub to Silver Bow, Mont., then Mon­ Montana Rail Link is a leader in regional rail­ tana Western to Garrison, MRL to Billings, road operations as a result of its aggressive and return via the same route. marketing and cooperative relationship with its largest customer: Burlington Northern. BNSF MERGER 1996 should be interesting, as MRL has more passenger trains scheduled then and expects MRL Operations To Continue an increase in both grain and coal traffic. This summer there will be three different Following the Burlington Northern Santa Fe operators running passenger trains over MRL. merger last yeat� there were rumors about the Rail Ventures plans to run its National Parks long-term effects of BNSF on Montana Rail Limited trains to provide on board overnight Link. The most widely circulated story indicated accommodations from Paradise to Livingston, BNSF would buy back MRL. On the contrary, Mont., in early summer and fall. Montana MRL President Bill Brodsky announced in De­ Rockies Daylight, organized by Rail Views cember 1995 that Daniel K. Watts would join Ltd., will operate from Sandpoint, Idaho to his management team as vice president of opera­ Laurel, Mont., and possibly Billings, with a tions-a position vacant for several years-on stopover in Missoula. The National Parks Jan. 1, 1996. Watts began his career with North­ Limited and Montana Rockies Daylight both ern Pacific in Livingston in 1963, and has operated in 1995, using the same passenger worked for Burlington Northern in a variety of equipment, and were hauled by MRL motive positions, serving since 1991 as general manager power. Phillip Morris plans to debut its Marl- of the Galesburg Division. Brodsky will continue as president, but will focus his attention on oth­ er properties such as Southern Railway of British Columbia and possible acquisitions. Brodsky told a business reporter last year, GLACIER "We're always looking at what properties are NATIONAL for sale, I'm real curious about what trackage PARK Krebs will unload." Brodsky said he likes re­ minding BN his company is available to take +OOIL-WaAfL WidL Izaak Walton Inn PU BL.ICAT IONS Essex MT 59916 over new routes. Recently MRL has looked at POBox 1734 - La Mirada CA 90637 (406) 888-5700 Alaska Railroad as a possible acquisition. "'�=�:���:w:��:r

22.February 1996 LIVINGSTON SHOPS a coal-fired power plant, two grain elevators, and a Western Sugar beet processing plant. Mexican Repaints Abound The former NP passenger depot in Billings has been saved by Billings Preservation Soci­ MRL's sister company, the Livingston Rebuild ety, which is working under the auspices of the Center, has been repainting locomotives for City Council to restore the depot. At press Mexican railroads; it's not uncommon to see time no repairs had been made, but Inter­ Railroading is facing the opportunity of a life­ trains between Laurel and Livingston hauling modal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act time. No videotape producer shows and explains the bright blue Mexican diesels. LRC is located (ISTEA) enhancement funds and a significant the changes going on as well as Big "E" in the old NP shop complex next door to MRL's donation from the Phillip Morris company had Productions. All trains are shown in their running repair facility, also known as the Liv­ been secured. The building is being donated entirety and are identified by symbol and ingston Roundhouse. by MRL, and the land by BN. destination. All of these tapes were shot in broadcast quality Hi8 and edited on Betacam SP. COAL IMAGE NEW "Conrail & NS at Silver Creek" Bull Mountain New Logo Silver Creek, N.Y., 30 miles wesl of Buffalo, is one of the best­ known railfan hotspots in the East. Conrail's Chicago line and Norfolk Southern's line to Bellevue run side by side through The new coal siding at Lockwood, Mont., was In 1995, MRL unveiled a modified version of here. CR runs the heaviest manifest and longest inlermodal installed late in 1995 in an effort to tap into Bull the logo known as the stylized W for its par­ trains in the world. This tape shows 24 hrs. of incredible action Mountain coal being trucked south from the ent company, Washington Corp. The white al Silver Creek in Sept. 1995. 2 hours, 16 min. $33.95. Roundup area. Brodsky once eyed this coal slash on the side of its locomotives and equip­ NEW "Stacks on the Middle Division" In Sept., 1995, a $1 OOm clearance project was completed on while he was working for the Milwaukee Road. ment has been augmented with a second the former Pennsylvania Railroad Middle Division and dou­ Several years ago, test loads were shipped for slash, and a lion's face inside the new leg of ble stacks and autos began to flow over this line, now known export, but the temporary reload facility at the "W." Several locomotives and freight cars as Conrail's Pittsburgh Line. This tape shows 24 hrs. of action along Ihe scenic Juniata River around Newport in cen­ Huntley drew complaints from residents about have received this modification. tral Pennsylvania, 30 miles west of Harrisburg, 2 weeks later. the round-the-clock noise and dust. Original 96 min. $29.95. plans called for a new spur to be built from the MONTANA NOTES NEW "BN's Racetrack at Naperville" Bulls west to Broadview to connect with BN on The players have changed, but there are more trains than No Daytime Speed Limit ever on this famous tripletrack line outside of Chicago, with the Laurel Sub. However, some MRL staffers over 100 trains in 24 hrs. on weekdays. This tape shows 25 believe BN wants to see more of a commitment hrs. of BN, SP, CN, and Metra action in June 1995 at before continuing. Meanwhile, MRL will accom­ The repeal of the daylight speed limit on Mon­ Naperville, III. 109 min. $29.95. modate the 115-car trains bound for export to tana highways went into effect Dec. 8, 1995. NEW "Wisconsin Central 1995" Instead of a posted limit, the law now calls for This tape shows the traffic and operations al different points Roberts Bank, B.C. The first batch of coal left around the dynamic Wisconsin Central, concluding with 24 driving under the "basic rule"-in a reasonable Laurel Yard on Jan. 10, 1996, and plans call for hrs. of action on Byron Hill, south of Fond du Lac in June weekly moves. Coal will be weighed on the con­ and pludent mannel; depending on road condi­ 1995, when newly-acquired Santa Fe SD45s and F45s and tions. Sixty-five mph will be the limit at night, SP's new AC4400s were running around the WC. 80 min. veyor belt at the reload site. $27.95. as it was before the fuel crisis in 1973. "CN & CP Around Portage La Prairie" EASTEND NOTES PRN continues to expand its regional rail­ This new tape shows 24 hrs. of action on both the CN and road coverage through this column. If you CP in and around Portage La Prairie, Man., one of Canada's Billings Yard Office to Relocate have information on the Montana Rail Link, hotspots. As many as 70 trains run through here in 24 hrs., including all of Canada's transcontinental traffic. 109 min. please contact Kyle Brehm at the address list­ $29.95. MRL will relocate its Billing yard office to the ed in the staffbox 011 page welcomes 4. PRN "The Joint Line · BN & CP at Newport" brick warehouse located across the tracks in all contributions. The former CB&Q-Milw, now BN-CP joint line south of St. downtown Billings. BN will expand its radio Thanks to Dave Franz, Al Burns, R. Milt Paul, Minn., hosts 60 BN, CP, CN, and Amtrak trains daily,­ one of the best spots to watch trains in the upper Midwest. and signal departments in the present MRL fa­ Clark, To rn Coston, and Montana Rail Link. This new tape shows over 24 hrs. of aclion at Newport on cility, which is currently shared. Billings con­ the Joint Line in June 1995. 2 Hrs., 20 min. $33.95. tinues to generate revenue with two refineries, Kyle Brehm "IC Around Edgewood, III." This tape shows the IC's operations for nearly 24 hrs. on its main line and cut-off around Edgewood in southern IllinOiS, plus action on the main line north of Cairo in May 1995. IC New Book... is the most profitable RR in Ihe U.S. and has undergone many New Bookll Ready Nowll changes in Ihe last few years. 66 min. $25.95. c::1�SI�<;- _ BURLINGTON NORTHERN: NEW "Amqui, TN · CSX Hotspot" ___ COAL HAULER At Amqui, north of Nashville, the lines from Nashville to 7"'��s and Louisville and Evansville divide. CSX averages over 40 trains BY ROBERT W. RICHARDSON COAL COUNTRY TRACKSIDE GUIDE a day behind its biggest power through Amqui. This tape shows over 24 hrs. of action Ihrough Amqui in May 1995. 113 Founder of the Renowned Colorado Railroad Museum A 25-year historical summary of BN's coal hauling min. $29.95. operations �y author Patrick C. Dorin, with a detailed trackside guide to the Powder RivBr Basin, Crawford Hill "NS East of Bluefield" and their feeder lines by author Robert C. Del Grosso. The former N&W line in the Appalachians between Bluefield, Learn how BN unexpectedly entered the coal hauling W. V. and Roanoke runs some of the heaviest trains in the U.S, business in 1970 and how it has since become the up to 23,000 tons. This videotape shows 24 hrs. of awesome country's largest low-sulfur coal hauling railroad. The NS action in April 1995, from Narrows to Kellysville where all trackslde guide takes you into Coal Country with detailed trains to Roanoke run on the same track. 111 min. $29.95. maps, timetables, and text as to where the great train "CSX Around Rocky Mount" watching sites are. 188 glossy b&w photos, 196 pages, Rocky Mount, N.C. is 235 miles south of Wa shington, D.C. on 5-1I2'x8-1/2" forma� Perfect bound. Leam the history of the busy, former ACL main line to Florida that hosls Amtrak's BN coal operations, coal neet motive power, coal hoppers, Florida trains. This tape shows long and high-speed CSX and the mines It selVes, and how to get on-site. $29.9� ••• Amlrak Irains in April of 1995 around Rocky Mount, concluding Bob Richardson's Lifetime Adventures of Chasing Trains BURLINGTON NORTHERN: with 24 hrs. of action south of Rocky Mount. 69 min. $25.95. Graphically Presented In a Monumental Railroad Pictorial I RAILROAD GIANT A 432-Page Illustrated Chronicle OF THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST Big "E" has 38 videos covering contemporary railroad FEATURING 426 HISTORIC PHOTOS ! Describes all mountain passes, scenic line segments, operations in the United States and Canada. Write or yards and depots, notable tunnels, bridges and other land­ Bob's Unique Journeys as a Railfan Photographer of call for details. marks found along the BN and MRL mainlines and BN Standard- and Narrow-Gauge Ra/lroads In the U. S.A., branch lines from MT to CA. Data, historic capsules and Canada, Mexico, Central America and overseas Are Big "E" Productions Beautifully Presented In this Deluxe Volume I dates, terrain descriptions, timetables and maps. 225 halftone b&w photos, 208 pages, Perfect bound. $26.9l5 P. O. Box 75 '" Only. . . POSTPAID IN THE U.S.A. $5500 Prices include 4th Class P&H Greenland, NH 03840 D SVNDANCE PUBLICATIONS fftL "" Dealer Inquiries Welcome <= 800-832-1 228 24 hrs. a day. 250 Broadway • Denver, Colorado 80203 --- Visa, MC, Discover Card, check, or MO. Add $4.00 for MASTERCARD / VISA - 303/777-2660 Great Northern Pacific Publications shipping and handling plus $1 .00 for each additional Q FREE BROCHURE ! Route 4, Box 627A, Bonners Ferry, 10 83806 tape. All tapes shipped by priority mail. VHS only.

Pacific RAILNEWS-23 NEW VIDEOS! RAIL NEWS Burlington Northern ... in Western Illinois • • Southern Pacific - New SD70MACs - Pool/lease power - Galesburg Hub and yards - Galesburg 1995 Railroad Days - BN Executive Train - Frisco #1522 Follows BN trains from Quincy to Galesburg to Aurora. Lots of mainline action plus the Fox River branch local doing in-town switching. A rare rail grinder train and a private car passenger train are seen. A look at the Frisco #1522 4.a-2 stea med up on display and the BN #1, 2 F-unit executive train. Most trains identified by date and number...... MVP#200

Catch the action before the effect of the BN/SF and UP/SP mergers'

Burlington Northern - C&I to Minnesota BN from Aurora to Savanna to Minneapolis. Includes intensive action at Northtown, SI. Croix River crOSSing, Savanna, Rochelle, Big Rock and more. Includes some BN wide cabs and CN trains. Most trains Identified by date and number...... MVP#230

s._o_u_t _h_e_ ... rn',"�acilic Southern Pacific - ChicagoRi26miiile to st. Louis Lots of SP mainline action from the Belt In Chicago, Ie main to Joliet, SPCSL mainline thru Bloomington to SI. Louis. Many new AC44CWs plus SP bay window To m Kline cabooses. Follows old Rio 66; Miss. River crossing; Kankakee River crossing; passing meets on single track main. ORGW GP-40s doing classic boxcar Oct. 15, 1995: sunset on the Sunset Route. AHer meeting three trains, Southern Pacific GPGO switching. A look at the Bloomington yard. Most 9G25 rolls west on the siding at Eagle Lake, Texas. SP may be in its last year of independence. trains Identified by symbols or number...... MVP#120

MERGER the General Railway Corporation of Omaha, Santa Fe Neb., to buy 309 miles of the old Rock Island Santa Fe - Joliet to Ft. Madison � Despite Support, Opposition Voiced across Missouri. This line, dormant since March Great ATSF action at Flo Madison crew change� point, Mississippi River crOSSing, Galesburg, Joliet and 1980, was acquired from the defunct Rock Is­ more. Good overhead shots. New S075s on mainline More than I, 100 shippers, seven state gover­ land by SP subsidiary St. Louis Southwestern trains Includes new S075 in cab. Most trains nors, and 200 public officials have voiced their (Cotton Belt), as part of the "Cotton Rock" Identified by date and symbols ...... MVP#300 support for the proposed Union Pacific-South­ route from Tucumcari, N.M. to St. Louis. Rock ern Pacific merger. But in late 1995, there were Island declared banklUptcy in March 1975 and continued concerns about the potential anti­ ceased operations in September J 979. competitive nature of the merger. The Clinton General Railway, a short line management C&NW/UP - West Chicago to Clinton Administration's Secretary of Agriculture Dan company, believes that by upgrading the line Northwestern stili dominates with actionm at West Chicago, Geneva, Rochelle, Clinton and more. Great Glickman advised Congress in early November to FRA Class III standards (allowing 40 mph shots of the Miss. River crossing. Includes UP949 E- that the proposed merger could result in re­ operation) it can attract overhead traffic units leading the UP excursion train ...... MVP#400 duced service and higher rates in outlying farm­ between Kansas City and St. Louis. SP is un­ ing communities. Secretary Glickman testified willing to complete a deal, saying that General the merger could have a profound negative ef­ Railway is poorly financed. Although SP fect on agriculture and the entire rural economy would be willing to sell the middle 173 miles MV Productions by reducing the level of competition. of the line, between Pleasant Hill and - 10 other videos of SP, BN, ATSF, UP, Some shippers have expressed concern that Owensville, Mo., General Railway says that it C&NW, CN having only two large railroads to serve the needs the route to Kansas City on the west and - Quality color - Live Audio - Narration western two-thirds of the country could result to St. Louis on the east to be viable. in a reduction in service, noncompetitive rates, - All tapes are $29.00 ea. and unavailability of cars during the grain har­ MISHAPS vest. Among large shippers, Shell Oil Company Gas Results in Evacuation plus $4.00 S/H per order. ILL residents and the Packaging Corporation of America add 6.75% sales tax. All tapes are have joined J 5 other companies as charter SP experienced a minor mishap in early De­ between 90 to 120 min. Available in VHS members of the Coalition for Competitive Rail only. Send check or m.o. Send self­ cember 1995, when vandals in Mojave, Calif., Transportation, a group opposed to the merger. stamped addressed envelope for free released hand brakes on three tank cars con­ catalog listing . LINE SALES taining liquid chlorine. The cars rolled down a siding for about 4,500 feet before they hit a P.O. Box 6533 Aurora, IL 60598 SP Unwilling to Sell Former Rock Island derail and tipped over. Highway traffic was di­ To order by charge, call toll free: verted around the desert town for J 8 hours Although SP does not use its former Rock Island while the derailment was cleaned up. Four trackage between Kansas City and St. Louis­ Mojave schools were closed the day following , 800-528-4176 [•• ) instead using trackage rights on the UP's Mis­ the incident, while crews rerailed the tank cars I_VISA J souri Pacific line via Jefferson City, Mo.-the which did not leak. Hazardous materials teams Midwest Video Productions railroad has been unreceptive to a proposal from from chlorine-purchaser Imperial West and the

24. February 1998 Kern County Fire Department responded to are some of the heaviest trains westbound on Ogden, Utah, is delivered to the giant Zacky the incident. Earlier, in November 1995, a the Morrat route. In the past, two or three Farms chicken raising operation near Goshen, similar incident involving released brakes on AC4400CWs operated on the head end, and Calif., in the Central Valley south of Fresno. Burlington Northern Santa Fe occurred in three additional AC4400CWs were cut in 70 The train runs approximately once a week, nearby Boron, Calif., and resulted in the de­ cars deep as a mid-train helper set. SP experi­ with Cargill hoppers. Another grain train, the railment of 13 soda ash covered hoppers. The enced some difficulties with the AC4400CWs LlPTG (Liberal, Kan., to Portland, Ore.-grain) FBI has investigated both incidents. overheating in the longer tunnels, so it in­ made its first appearance on Donner Pass on SP had some bad luck in Texas in early De­ creased the number of locomotives assigned to Friday, Dec. 8, 1995; it went up the valley on cember 1995. At approximately 7 p.m. on the run. In the latest procedure, three the 9th. Conventional operations might see a Tu esday, Dec. 5, there was a derailment be­ AC4400CWs operated on the head end, with grain movement such as this routed via the tween Harwood (mile 567.5) and Luling (mile four AC4400CWs as a mid-train helper. When Modoc Line, a savings of more than 200 miles 576.9) on the Sunset Route. The PBWCM-04 ascending less severe grades, one of the mid­ versus the Roseville routing. However, SP has (Pine Bluff, Ark., to West Colton Manifest of train helpers is isolated (taken oFf-line); it is not re-established a helper pool out of Wendel, the fourth) put 18 cars on the ground and tied only used when climbing the steepest sections Calif., so the Modoc Line is out of the ques­ up the mainline for two days. Trains rerouted of the grade. The first run using the new proce­ tion For such a heavy train. included the MBSMF-05 and 06 (Memphis dure was on Dec. 20, 1995; the assigned seven The RVCHQ (Roseville to Chicago-quality) Blue Streak Merchandise Forwarder of the AC4400CWs did not overheat, and BNGVC as­ and its westbound counterpart, the CHRVM fifth and sixth) , which were routed into Ft. cended the Front Range grade without incident. (Chicago to Roseville-manifest) were discon­ Worth, then all the way to Vaughn, N.M., on tinued in October; Chicago traffic is now han­ UP and B SF (via Sweetwater, Texas), where CENTRAL CORRIDOR dled on other trains. they rejoined the SP for the run down the Tu­ More Dirt, More Grain cumcari Line to EI Paso. Several other trains, MOTIVE POWER including the RVHOM-Ol (Roseville to Hous­ "Cadillacs" Reappear in Oregon ton Manifest of the first) and the CXCIT A new "dirty-dirt" train with the symbol (CSXT to City of Industry Trailers) were DVSUH (Denver to Sunnyside-hazardous) be­ rerouted via UP's former Missouri-Kansas­ gan operation in December 1995. The DVSUH A number of SD9Es have reappeared on SP Te xas line between San Antonio and Houston. takes contaminated soil from the Denver area to lines in Oregon. In mid December, the Ore­ East Carbon Development Council's disposal fa­ gon City job, the Salem Roadswitcher, and BEETS cility at East Carbon, Utah (near Sunnyside), for the Brooklyn Yard Roustabout all had disposal. The First run For DVSUH occurred on SD9Es assigned. Modoc Harvest Strong Dec. 20, 1995, operated via the Moffat route to Thanks to Greg Brown, P.j. Gratz, joe Grand junction, Colo., and then westward to Kerr, To m Kline, jeff Latawiec, Mike Mur­ Modoc Plateau beet trains ran into early jan­ Helper where a local was scheduled to bring the ray, Vic Neves, Or/o Elfes, H. W Fa rewell, B. uary 1996. SP used the Copic Local out of hoppers to the facility for unloading. Kerr, Sean Graham-White and the SP Infor­ Klamath Falls, Ore., to collect the loads and In late October SP added a new unit grain mation Network. spot the empties on the Modoc Line; this job train, the UPTZG (Union Pacific to Zacky had been departing of Klamath Falls mid­ Farms-grain). This train, received From UP at R.C. Farewell and Brian Jennsion morning, and returning in the evening. Upon the return of the Copie Local, a KFCJV (Kla­ math Falls to California Northern-vegetable) was called, using a pool crew, to take the beets overnight to Dunsmuir, Calif. The train was operated beyond Dunsmuir essentially as a local, handing off sugar beets to the Cali­ fornia orthern at Tehama, Calif., and re­ turning with empties. The beets are given a high priority, and dispatchers have been in­ 8991 structed to rank the beet trains over manifest 00-45671123 trains-behind only Amtrak and trailer trains-when planning meets. OPERATIONS DPU Tests on the Front Range

SP is debugging its new GE AC4400CWs (SP C44AC), which are equipped with Harris Lo­ cotrol III For use as Distributed Power Units. Initial tests conducted over the MoFFat Tun­ nel and joint Line in November 1995 defined areas of the remote operation scenario that You asked for MORE STEAM ...and TRAIN CHECK ___ tllnotspecified, we needed work. A recent set of tests was per­ mote Power ... so we fired up the STARTING NO. IL ---'I will start checks at 101.) Formed with the EYCKC (Energy Mine to boiler and added a 4-6-2 Montreal SINGLE CHECKS 0200 -$9.95 0400 - $17.50 and 4-6-0 Baldwin to the diesels of: OR ' Cherokee unit-coal) trains. Because these Amtrak, Santa Fe, New York Central, DUPLICATES 0150 - $12.95 0 300 - $22.50 trains operate in the Denver area, the loco­ Union Pacific, Conrail and Illinois SHIPPING & HANDLING motives involved can be kept in a captive Central. Still thundering out of the .:=:.:..c..:.:=..:::..:.:;.:==------+= O FOR PRIORITY DELIVERY, ADD 53.50 mine-power plant cycle. Tests were initiated past, are the Georgetown Loop's 3- truck Shay, and Grand Canyon's 0 CHECKBOOK COVER, ADD 51 .00 on EYCKC train cycles on Dec. 13, 1995, 1906 2-8-0. rUe{ $2.00 and Dec. 19, 1995, using a pair of 0 7= Sor/# L�, TO OROER CHECKS NOW - PLEASE ENCLOSE: TOTAL! AC4400CWs on the head end and a trio of 1. A check payable to Identity Check Prinlers. (U.S. Funds) voided sample check wilh changes clearly marked. AC4400CWs as mid-train remotes. 2. A NAME ______Recently SP modified the operation of load­ 3. A deposil slip 4. This order form complelely filled out ed unit-taconite trains, carrying the symbol Daytime phone number: 1':::-:- . I . -:-:--'-:-:-::----.,. .',' ,.' '. I •• I. II I I. I'll For your protection checks will be shipped to th e pri-..,..nted ..,.,-addr_ess un.,.­less . . . BNGVC (Burlington Northern to Geneva, . ' we are instructed otherwise. Utah), that are operated up the 2 percent grade IDENTITY CHECK PRINTERS in blocks of 100 hoppers. The taconite trains 24HR VOICE MAIL 31 2·992·0890 BOX 81 8, PARK RIDGE, IL 60068

PaCific RAILNEWS-25 -

r \ �J \ - , '.

"'------

.. .. ,- . A.C. Power fter SP began operating the Rio Grande, there Grain) rounds the horseshoe curve east of Thomp­ was some question among those obsessed son behind three new AC4400CWs and eases up with intermodal traffic whether the Rio the main towards the west switch, where it wi ll Grande had any value-no matter that in 1992, when stop. An errant coal loader has left a small pile of coal originating on the Rio Grande was just 55 per­ coal on top of the 102 (above). cent of its current volume, coal contributed about 35 In the distance the summits of the La Sal Moun­ times as much to SP's bottom line as the vaunted in­ tains remain sheathed in snow after a wet winter. Ar­ termodal trains. Now, as Colorado and Utah mines rayed at their perimeter like fortifications are the tap a gusher of coal, no question remains about Rio Jurassic sandstone bulwarks of Castle Rock and Par­ Grande 's value. Remaining doubts withered in fa ll riott Mesa. Hidden from view are the sultry bends of 1994 when SP assigned its newest and best powel; the Colorado River. one hundred 4,400-h.p. GE DASH 9-44CWs, to min­ After meeting two eastbound manifests at eraI traffi c on the Rio Grande-not to intermodal Thompson, the DVBKG renews its westward toil. trains on the Sunset Route. And in May 1995 even At Floy, it takes the siding while hotshot auto rack better power, new a.c.-traction AC4400CWs, began train KCOAF sprints west behind a pair of Cotton taking over on former Rio Grande lines from the d.c.­ Belt GP60s (opposite page, top). Because of multi­ traction DASH 9-44CWs. By July 1995, a.c. locomo­ ple meets, a low horsepower-to-weight ratio, and the tives were powering nearly every SP train west of stiff westward grades, the DVBKG has consumed Pueblo and Denver, Colo., both mineral and manifest. six hours covering the 90 miles from Grand Junction On the afternoon of May 27, 1995, 75-car west­ to Floy. The dispatcher begins to think about where bound unit grain train DVBKG (Denver-Bakersfield the DVBKG should meet its dogging crew.

2S-February 1996 n e . O � i.r i�'0 '0I .

Book C �

Pacilic RAILNEWS-29

More Traffic Eguals Bigger Headacnes

est of Woodside the Price River loops (which alone demanded some 70 units) overwhelmed across the shale valley and eventually SP with traffic it had not the power to haul. SP's power dives into a tricky little steep-walled shortage tended to roll around the system. One week canyon. The narrow-gauge main line followed the Houston was 125 units short, the next week Los Ange­ river through this canyon, penetrating an obnoxious les, the next week Pueblo, Colo. At one point in fall hogback with Utah's only narrow-gauge railroad tun­ 1994, Pueblo was jammed with trains awaiting power. nel. When Rio Grande standard-gauged in 1890, it As more trains arrived from the west, SP had no choice threw a new line over the 300-foot-high shale ter­ but to abandon them in sidings, often for several days. races east of the canyon, eliminating the endless Pretty soon crews were tying down trains as far west as washouts in the canyon but accepting a 1.16 percent Fruita, Colo., 340 miles away. By spring 1995, SP be­ westbound grade, a 1.20 percent eastbound grade, gan to turn the corner. The SO rebuild program at and lots of six-degree curves on what was named Denver's Burnham Shops whittled away the queue of Cedar Hill. Cedar Hill is the desert's worst operating dead units, and large numbers of new units relieved problem; if a train is destined to stall, it will do so the pressure. In 1993, SP's SO fleet was an embarrass­ here. In the flush days of the early 1980s, Rio ment; now road failures are relatively rare. Grande laid out a new line that reduced curvature be­ tween Grassy and Cedar, but when the export coal boom went bust in 1982, the plans were shelved. About 7 a.m. on May 28, 1995, a cold wind sweeps across the gravelly plain atop Cedar Hill. Tw enty miles to the east, a unit coal train, the SMGVC, drops down Vista Hill towards the Price River at Woodside. This 84-car train loaded last night at the Somerset Mine, east of Grand Junction on the North Fork Branch. Its 8,500 tons of metallurgical coal are destined for the coke ovens at Geneva Steel. If I had a good pair of binoculars, I could pick out its black hoppers against the pale desert. Fifteen minutes later the train crawls into view at Grassy. Between the gusts I can hear little snatches of howl­ ing SDs. The train is into the middle of its long climb out of the shale valley, and its speed has slowed to per­ haps 15 mph. At last it ap­ pears beneath me (left) behind four SP SDs. In the dis­ A half hour later the SMGVC trudges up the 1.0 tance the shadowed ramparts of the Beckwith Plateau percent grade into Mounds (above), where the Sun­ loom 2,200 feet above the desert like a castle tower. nyside Branch diverges to the east to reach Soldier [n 1993, the backbone of SP's locomotive fleet Creek Coal Co. at Banning, the "dirty dirt" dump at was approximately eight hundred 3,000- to 3,600- East Carbon, moribund Carbon County Railway at h.p., six-axle EMD SDs. Unlike rich neighbor Union Columbia Junction, and the shuttered Sunnyside Pacific, which had the cash to acquire large numbers Mine. In the 1960s, much of Utah's coal came off of new units to keep up with increasing traffic, SP this branch from two big mines, Sunnyside and had to make do with its unruly clan of SDs, which Geneva. Both became too expensive to operate and were suffering the effects of harsh service and de­ closed. At present SP loads practically all of its ferred maintenance. Utah coal, as much as 70,000 tons in a 24-hour pe­ Revisions in the Clean Air Act in 1993 spurred riod, at just four points: the Skyline and White Midwestern utilities to clamor for more low-sulfur Oaks Mines, on the Pleasant Valley Branch near western coal. This plus the general economic surge and Soldier Summit; the C.Y. (Castle Valley) Spur just the start up of Geneva ore trains in August 1994 east of Price; and Banning.

Pacific RAILNEWS-31 One Day on Cottonwood Hill Creek), rises 230 feet from Westwater in 4.8 miles, with a ru ling grade of 1.10 percent. It was a mean hill in steam days; despite a 1963 line relocation that lopped about 10 feet from its summit and eliminated tight curves on its west slope, it is still a serious ob­ stacle for heavy, underpowered trains. When we reach Westwater, we realize we've stupidly not brought enough to drink. The tempera­ ture is about 95 degrees, and we're now 30 miles from the closest soda machine or water faucet. Per­ haps the MNGVC's crew has some water they could share? They do. Refreshed, we strike up a conversa­ tion. Conductor R. S. Henschke, three weeks from retirement and relaxed despite the delay this swel­ tering afternoon, tells us what has transpired (left). The taconite train has 119 loads and weighs 15,600 tons, extremely heavy for this rail- road. It has two ACs and Morrison Knudsen MK5000C 502. This would have been enough to take this train over the desert from Grand Junction to Helper, but the latter unit quit n May 29, 1995, Mel Patrick, my son Henry loading shortly after leaving Grand and I follow an empty taconite train east, then Junction. The train made it halfway let it go while we eat a late breakfast at the up Cottonwood Hill before it stalled Crescent Junction Cafe. Since it's now high noon and and had to back down to Westwater. there are no trains anywhere close, we settle for an im­ After much advice from the power promptu softball game behind the cafe, keeping a care­ desk in Denver, the MNGVC's engi­ ful ear on the radio. About 2 p.m. we hear there's an neer thinks he has the 502 loading, MNGVC, a taconite train from Minntac, Minn. to but just in case, the MNGVC will Geneva, Utah, in the siding at Westwater, apparently wait for westbound KCOAF, due in with power problems. Off we go. about an hour, that will give the At Westwater the railroad turns away from the taconite train one of its three units. Colorado River it has followed for 146 miles from At 4:15 p.m. the KCOAF arrives Dotsero, Colo., and climbs a ravine towards the up­ and donates its trailing unit, DASH land desert. Cottonwood Hill, named for the former 9-44CW 8134, to the MNGVC, then station at its summit (itself named for Cottonwood cruises easily up the Cottonwood Hill

32-February 1996 behind its two remaining AC4400CWs. The a ringing, ear-splitting screech. Sand hisses onto the MNGVC gets a signal at Westwater and moves out. rails where the wheels crunch it into powder (oppo­ Almost as soon as the MNGVC starts up Cotton­ site page, bottom ). As the locomotives reach the sum­ wood Hill, the 8L34's computer decides to take the mit and pass me, the engineer leans from the cab and unit off-line. As the speed drops, the MK unit begins holds up his index finger for his train's speed. He shedding its load to avoid overheating its d.c. traction shakes his head, urprised these units could get away motors. Within a mile of the summit, it refuses to do with this. The train very gradually picks up speed as it much of anything. Now it's all up to the ACs. The begins to balance the hill. Then it rapidly accelerates taconite train's speed slows to just one mph. Incredi­ to 30 mph and disappears into the distance. bly it continues to move forward. Each AC is likely Later in the afternoon the conductor manages to putting out some 160,000 pounds of tractive effort, get the 8134 and the MK unit to do their share. As twice as much as an SD40-2 could do. For the next the sun breaks through the overcast, the MNGVC 45 minutes, the two ACs creep uphill at a pace that curls through the reverse curves at the former station would melt the motors of any d.c. unit. Their prime of Daly, between Solitude and Green River (below). movers churn calmly as if this was all ho-hum stuff, In the distance the Book Cliffs brood like the crum­ but their slowly slipping wheels sing a different song, bling walls of an ancient city.

Pacific RAILNEWS.33 . " .'" , .,;., '"\: Jew IPin.utes befC:re .sunset on J�1!ly"'27, -r:;9�.' 5;, . _ I � \'tlie shadows 0 the San Ra.faM Sw ellr stretih their bony gers aCl'os e PaiQ.ted12es��� . _ ,-: fiI': s'ih 'ffowards the Bool<. �liffs. Amtllak 'lNQ. 5, the CaliCor- , nia ,Zephyr, rushes down "Vista Hill towards Wood­ 'side,(this photo}. Above,.1tJ the 'Passive sandston� for­ '11lafi6hs of the Beekwith Platealf g ow with the cuddy 'light :p� S\l1lset, and 'f e shad�, s eveal every detaihin the alternatjng bandsiof sbale salilG§1tone. The pl·ateau was named:'!foJ: Vi BeCkwith� I! member of Captl{in l.W. U,UIIlllI.llO.JJ.. PaciFic ,l'ailroad survey. party 'of f 8S:5� wll.icli 'tteI(ke$l w,est thilough the Painted Inse'h. N�ar southwestern B�ab s . Sev:!Gr:.Lake, the party was set � qpon.:by Pahvant Utes, whoJdl1ed Gunnison alJ! six 0£ bis men. Beckwith rallied the sUfvivots+ ;'nd­ led them to Salt Lake City, and completed 'tlle sur­ vey to California the ne;xt spring. At the base of Vista Hill, the railroad spans the Price- River at Woodside. Originally called Lower Crossing, VI.e hamlet that grew up here wa� re­ nam�d for the scraggly cottonwoods that d

· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · I mag e s .. �. ; �. ; �.; ;

Both photos this spread, Blair Kooistra

inter is one of the most difficult road images are some of the most dra­ times of year to run trains, yet matic, they can be the most difficult to one of the best in which to photo­ create. Photographers have to cope with graphW them. Crisp, clear days; low, rich limited access because of snow and its sun; snow; ice; and-most of all-dra­ removal; the physical hazards of spend­ matic snow plow operations result in ing time out-of-doors in very cold weath­ spectacular photos. While winter rail- er; and the effects of cold temperatures

3S-february 1995 usually harsh-bringing extreme cold, dumping large quantities of snow in the mountains, and giving photogra­ phers ample opportunity to create spectacular winter images. The 1993 winter-the worst in more than 40 years in the Idaho Panhan­ dle-saw snow on the ground for 120 days straight, and drifts of up to 15 feet. On Jan. 13, 1993, strong winds all but obscure tracks of UP's former Spokane International Coeur d'Alene branch, as a Union Pacific plow extra works at milepost 3, south of Coeur d' Alene Junction, Idaho (left). Photog­ rapher Kooistra braved wind chills of -400 below to take this photo. January 1993 saw the first operation of Burlington Northern's former Great on equipment resulting in fogged lenses, Northern rotary plows after 17 years of weakened battelies, frozen shutters and inactivity (above). On Jan. 11, 1993, a brittle film. One of the most challenging westbound BN plow extra works east of tasks in winter photography can be sim­ Creston, Wash., on the CW (Central ply loading a camera with numb hands. Washington) Branch as part of a two­ Following several relatively mild day adventure to rescue stranded grain years, the winter of 1992-1 993 was un- cars at Coulee City.

Pacific RAllNEWS·37

· · ··· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · : ...... I mag e s � ;� ; � 1 i

- - -- All photos this spread, wayne Depperman

n the Milwaukee Road's last winter this portion of the line between on its line from Janesville to Mineral Janesville and Monroe is operated by Point, Wis., a plow extra works just Wisconsin & Southern, while the re­ Iwest of Juda, Wis. (previous spread). mainder of the line to Mineral Point is a By 1980, the State of Wisconsin had as­ bike trail. Richard Kundert photo. sumed ownership of many rural Mil­ On Feb. 28, 1993, Burlington waukee Road's branch lines. In 1996, Northern train 672 from the Oregon

40-February 1996 Trunk creeps off the Celilo Bridge into The Columbia River Gorge, the only Wishram, Wash. Trains on the Oregon water level route through the Cascades, Trunk still feature cabooses, a rare acts as a natural funnel for air masses find in the 1990s (left). on either side of the mountains. In Snow is comparable to the wall of a summer, it becomes a mecca for wind­ recording studio-absorbing and swal­ surfers; in winter, arctic air moves into lowing sound. In the yard at Vancouver, eastern Oregon and Washington, and Wash., the noontime idle of BN SW IO the resulting east-west wind becomes 434 is barely audible; the rest of the very bitter-as it was at Ly le, Wash., on yard seems miles away (below). Dec. 1, 1985 (right).

\ • \

11:.1

Pacific RAILNEWS-41 Images .... �. i�'; �.;.�. � ..d ';�' �.; �'!" " " " " '"

All photos this spread, John Cockle

inter on Donner Pass is one of the epic events in railroading; a tough winter here defines the sea­ Wson's experience. With its inordinate snow potential, Donner has a well-de­ served reputation for producing dramat­ ic winter photographs. The exceptional winter of 1 992-1993 illustrates graphi­ cally the rugged conditions encountered on this high Sierra crossing. A series of intense winter storms pounded the mountain fo r weeks, depositing more than 200 inches of snow at the summit. Tn many places, snow drifted to more than 15 feet, burying the railroad's tracks and snow sheds. Southern Pacific had not run its rotary plows on Donner since the mid- 1 980s relying instead on flangers, Jordan spreaders, and gangs of maintenance-of-way personnel to keep its tracks clear. However, by late Febru­ ary 1993, excessive amounts of snow forced the railroad to bring out its im­ pressive-and operationally expen­ sive-rotary plows to clear Donner Pass. prepared at Truckee, Calif., for its John Cockle had the privilege of rid­ westward trip up to the summit at Nor­ ing with the rotary crew on its assault den (far left, and right). The rotaries of the snowbound pass. On Feb 23, use steam to keep the blades free of 1993, the Southern Pacific rotary set is ice. Blizzard conditions in Truckee

42.February 1996 made for difficult work and spectacu­ No. 8, stranding it and its crew for sev­ lar photos. Later that day, while at­ eral hours. Wedged tightly between the tempting to clear track No. 1 near the derailed plow and a towering wall of summit, the rotary set went "on the snow, the unhappy crew gauges the ex­ ground" at the west portal of Tu nnel tent of its dilemma (middle left).

Pacific RAILNEWS.43 . Ima ges····� ;�.; �.;.�.� . d·� ��.; �.! ......

Dick Dorn

he formidable winter of 1993 on the infrequently used track No. 1 be­ Donner Pass, remembered fo r ex­ tween shed No. 4 7 and Norden. ceptional snowfall and three days of Riding a Jordan spreader, photogra­ Trotary action, is significant for another pher Dick Dorn captured a rotary set reason. It was the last winter before SP exiting the snow-saturated sheds at "rationalized" Donner, tearing down Norden on Feb. 22, 1993 (center). many of the remaining wooden snow At Truckee, the rotary set prepares sheds and removing several historic sec­ for its next assault on the mountain tions of double track-most sigllificantly (right). The rotary plow is unlike any

44.February 1998 Brian Jennison

other railroad equipment, and pho­ Winter holds its gTip longer at higher tographing rotary plows in action on a elevations; although things may be green Class I railroad is a most difficult task. and happy down in the Central Valley, The plows are very rarely used, and it's still icy on Donner. SP ROEUQ (Rop­ when they are, there is little advance er, Utah, to Eugene, Ore.) heads into the notice. Reaching them can be pro­ sun at Troy, Calif., on April 9, 1995 (op­ hibitive; often when there is sufficient posite page). Vic Neves hiked an hour to snow to warrant rotary operations, reach this location; in the winter, the nearby automobile roads are closed. road to Troy is not maintained.

Pacific RAILNEWS.45

····· ··· ·· ···· · · ··················· Images �;� ;�;i

Brian Jennison

ontana's Marias Pass is a play­ Efforts to photograph the elusive ro­ ground for photographers in tary plows in action can prove futile. warmer months, but it is rarely Ask Brian Jennison, who on Jan. 10, photographedM during the winter. On 1993, drove to Portola, Calif. , in harsh March 3, 1989, an eastbound rolls winter weather to capture the Union through Grizzly, east of East Glacier, Pacific's rotary. UP had called its rotary Mont., against an impressive backdrop to clear the right-of way in the Feather of the Rocky Mountains in Glacier Na­ River Canyon. Unfortunately, a parade tional Park (left). The train and tracks of six westbound freight trains had are barely visible through the blowing claimed all the available crews, and Bri­ and drifting snow. One of the best ways an had to "settle" for a mere APOA to experience Marias Pass-summer or (American President Lines to Oakland) winter-is by riding Amtrak to the fa­ on the Clio Viaduct, rather than win­ mous Izaak Walton Inn at Essex, ning the ultimate prize in winter rail­ Mont., and renting a car there. road snowplow photography (above).

Opposite page photo, Mike Danneman

Pacific RAILNEWS-47 ...... Images � ;�; � ;; ......

Mike Danneman

inter in the Midwest-while lack­ ner Pass, a storm that brings a foot of ing the extreme conditions and snow is barely noteworthy; in Wiscon­ epic landscape of the West-can sin, a foot of snow brings transportation Wstill lend itself to interesting operations to a crawl. On a very snowy Feb. 25, and spectacular photography. On Oon- 1994, a westbound CP Rail freight hits

4S.February 1996 David Fasules

the grade crossing at the Brookfield, snow, and ice make for a myriad array of Wis., depot, causing an explosion of lighting effects. At dusk on Valentine's snow left by highway plows (above left). Day 1990, a Chicago Metra commuter Winter is an excellent time to pursue train illuminates the gloom of a snow low light photography. Cold weather, storm at Morton Grove, III. (above). PRN

Pacific RAILNEWS·49

ABOVE: Facade of the Hgin, Joliet & Joliet Symbols Eastern shop at Joliet. RIGHT: On May 19, 1995, a The symbols of railroading can be seen westbound Santa Fe train passes one of around town: the GM&O logo adorns Joliefs best known one of the bridges and the stoic, con­ symbols: Joliet crete facade of the Elgin, Joliet & East­ Union Station. ern shops displays its railroad's name.

52-February 1998 .-.. � 0 ,.....,

J ..� ...... 3

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Pacific RAILNEWS-53 The Diamonds

The showcase of railroad action in Joliet is the diamonds in front of Union Station, where the former Rock Island main cross­ es over the Santa Fe and former GM&O. In the early 1980s Joliet Union Station looked rather shabby, but it has been re­ stored to its former grandeur. Across the tracks from the station, Union Tower con­ Bnow: On Feb. 24, trols train movements across the dia­ 1995, workers monds. With 12 weekday Amtrak trains, maintain Joliet's heavily used cross­ 45 weekday movements for Metra Rock ing. RIGHT, OPPOSITE Island District trains, and four weekday PAGE, TOP: After­ Metra Heritage Corridor (Illinois Central noon Metra train former GM&O route) trains crossing them No. 503 crosses the Santa Fe and SP everyday, and a healthy quantity of at Joliet Union Sta­ freight traffic, the Joliet diamonds take a tion and pauses on pounding, and maintenance-of-way work­ the Rock Island main, before re­ ers are often seen adjusting and welding turning to Chicago. the crossing.

54- February 1998 Pacific RAILNEWS.55 58-February 1998 The Power Plant

On a windy February afternoon, an eastbound hotshot sprints past the Plaines Generating Station. The exhaust from the mix of EMD and GE power washes over to the side, silhouetting the nose of the lead unit against the light haze of smoke.

Pacific RAILNEWS.57 Passengers & Spring Fever

June 13, 1995, was the kind of late spring/early summer morning that used to make you want to play hooky from school. This kind of morning brought RIGHT: On the morn­ home the realization that summer vacation ing of June 13, 1995, passengers was not fa r off and soon expectations of wait at Joliet Union the annual family trip-the summer high­ Station for a late­ light-would preoccupy your thoughts. This running Metra com­ group of Metra passengers waiting out­ muter train. BELOW: Later that morning, side Union Station for a delayed train is an eastbound Santa probably thinking of playing "hooky" Fe intermodal train from work. Why not toss that newspaper crosses the dia­ monds in front of in the garbage and enjoy this day out­ Joliet Union Station. side! Because ... PRN

58· February 1998

RAIL NEWS Union Pacific

Burns' remarks to the Kiwanians resembled the speech he delivered in November to UP's management leadership conference at the Oma­ ha Red Lion Hotel. To emphasize the need for continual change and improvement, Burns dis­ cussed letters from customers complaining about UP's service problems. He said he expect­ ed every manager to develop suggestions for im­ proving UP and then advocate and defend their ideas in decision-making sessions. Continuing his analysis, Burns stated that the old, top-down, autocratic style of management, long-favored by senior railroad management, is ill-suited to pre­ sent-day requirements and will not survive on his watch. He expects management to resolve UP's current service problems well before the planned SP and Mexican railroad mergers. In a Dec. 4, 1995, follow-up message to cus­ tomers, Burns described improvements in ser­ vice since his Nov. 6, 1995, letter which admit­ ted that the railroad had not been performing up to expectations. He claimed on-time perfor­ mance of trains had improved by 50 percent; trains held for power had been reduced by 50 percent; and cars held more than two days in terminals had declined by 60 percent. According to Burns, "most of our recent service challenges can be traced to a lack of available motive pow­ er." To ease the shortage, UP has leased 125 lo­ comotives (including 19 Amtrak F40PHs); will take delivery of 120 new ones by mid-February; Photo Courtesy Union Pacific and has ordered 185 a.c. units for delivery be­ Union Pacific AC4400CW 8878 with UP's 50,OOOth train of Powder River coal at Wyoming's tween March and September 1996. Black Thunder Mine-the largest open-pit coal mine in North America-on Dec. 28, 1995. MERGER C&NW Consolidation CORPORATE sites in Missouri and Colorado before deciding whether to expand UP's presence in Omaha. Comparison Shopping for Office Space November 18, 1995, was the effective date for The business climate in each state will be a ma­ relocation of dispatchers controlling the Rapid jor factor in the company's final decision, which City, Crawford and Casper branches, and the At the Dec. 14, 1995, luncheon of the Omaha Burns expects to be made by summer of 1996. Milwaukee, Kenosha, and Lake Subdivisions I(iwanis Club, Union Pacific President Ron Calling himself a "change agent," Burns from the former Chicago & North Western Burns reaffirmed his pledge that UP's top offi­ said, "the railroad industry is not prepared for dispatching center in Chicago to the Harriman cers would remain in the Omaha area after the the competitive reality of' today's market­ Dispatching Center in Omaha. Radio commu­ Southern Pacific merger. However, because ad­ place." He called for increased investment in nication on the Milwaukee (formerl y New ditional office space will be needed to accom­ new technology and empowerment of all em­ Line) Subdivision is now conducted on AAR modate SP personnel, Burns is also evaluating ployees, including union members. Channel 25 (160.485 MHz). On Nov. 27, the North train dispatcher desk moved to Omaha. This job is responsible for the Eau Claire, Peoria, and Madison Subdi­ U.S. RR TRAFFIC AT LAS visions and branch lines in Wisconsin west of A railroad atlas with traffic shown by line Milwaukee and Green Bay. thickness, with city, state, and system The final C&NW dispatcher desk, the IDJ�;§1FIL �§ maps. Shows major yards, latest Amtrak Branch line dispatcher, relocated from Chicago and commuter routes. Plan your next to Omaha on Dec. 4, 1995. This job controls trip-find the busiest main lines and the operations on a variety of lines, including the HOBBI Es tourist and short lines along the way. Iowa grain branches, the ore line in the Upper tiU, p'lo6a.6tlfthe 6est little "S " How MUCH IS YOUR ho661f shop il1 Chica.1ola.l1d VA CATION TIME WORTH? Pullman House BOOKS · VIDEOS Bed & Breakfast Inn $27 postpaid (California residents add 7.25%) Historical Society Magazines 256 Commercial st. · Portola, CA 96122 Ladd Publications, Dept. P-Box 1671, The Inn offers a relaxing, casual, and '='1 =:I New and Used IGI � Orange, CA 92668-067 1. informal boarding house atmosphere with hometown hospitality and service. 1468 Lee St .. Des Plaines, IL 60018 US check or money order (916) 832-0107 708/297-2118 · Fax 708/298-4976 1-800-613-0108 or 714-639-8639 A must for all Western railenthusiasts! Railroad Theme.

GO-February 199G Peninsula of Michigan, the Mankato Subdivi­ COWBOY LINE sion in Minnesota, and the Oskaloosa, Mar­ shalltown, and Waterloo branches in Iowa. At Colony Line Sale? that time, the radio frequency used for commu­ nication to lines north of Milwaukee was The Northern I-lills Regional Rail Authority of changed to AAR channel 52 (160.890 MHz). South Dakota plans to apply for federal fu nds to UP dismantled C&NW's track panel plant reconstruct the abandoned C&NW line to Dead­ PRESENTS at Boone, Iowa, during late November. wood, S.D., and Kevin Costl1er's Dunbar resort. (Costner is interested in operating trains to SANTA FE'S CHILLICOTHE SUB ...... 2 hrs bring tourists from the Rapid City, S.D., airport Visit the first subdivision out of Chicago to Ft. PASSENGER Madison, IA (228 miles). See red units pulling to his resort.) The functions of the authority, SF's premi er intermodal fleet. All mid-1995 Commuter Service Improves though, may be broadened to include acquiring footage. Lots of SD75Ms ...... 529.00

the Colony Line (UP's orphan subdivision be­ BIG THREE IN K.C. (SF, UP, BN) ...... 2 hrs During a conference call with Metra officials tween Colony, Wyo.), and the Burlington North­ A 1995 look at the 3 rail powers in the KC area. on Nov. 21, 1995, UP operating personnel ern Santa Fe connection at Crawford, Neb., Western railroading is currently undergoing pledged to improve their timekeeping of the through Rapid City. Shippers using this line an­ tremendous change. This video provides a timely view at the 3 major roads in KC ... 529.00 Chicago-Geneva , III.-West Line suburban ticipate UP offering it for sale by the end of trains. UP agreed to make one dispatcher (cho- 1995, and want to join forces with Costner and SANTA FE'S WAYNOKA SUB ...... 2 hrs en solely from former C&NW dispatchers) re­ on-line t0W11S to acquire and upgrade the line. See what may be the last video look at the sponsible for West Line trains. The railroad al­ 107.5 miles of the Belen C/O between Elsewhere on the former North We stern, Wellington, KS and Waynoka, OK. Visit the so said it will reduce freight train traffic on the UP has offered the portion of the Harvard BN Avard connection ...... $29.00 We st Line, and hold all eastbound freights west Subdivision west of Janesville, Wis., for lease SANTA FE'S PA NHANDLE SUB ...... 2 hrs of Geneva if they can't make it through the to shortline operators. This line was once This tape features 205 miles of the Belen C/O commuter zone by 4 p.m. on weekdays. Finally, C&NW's mainline between Chicago, Madison, between Waynoka, OK and Amarillo, TX. See UP promised to fill commuter train crew posi­ Wis., and the Tw in Cities. Presently the Curtis Hill prior to double tracking ...... $29.00

tions, even if that means freight trains have to line-noted for its scenic highlight at Devils SANTA FE'S EMPORIA SUB ...... 2 hrs wait when crews are in short supply. Previous­ Lake-extends only as far as Reedsburg, Wis. See SF's high speed action from Union Station ly, the railroad often filled freight crew vacan­ in K.C. to Wellington, KS. 224 miles of blister- cies first, leaving suburbans prone to delay be­ MOTIVE POWER ing, high speed action ...... $29.00 cause of the lack of available employees. SANTA FE'S MARCELINE SUB...... 2 hrs According to Metra, these improvements New Assignments in C&NW Territory See high speed double track action on SF's KC had the desired effect. Te lephone complaints to Ft. Madison, IA (216.8 miles) racetrack, Hot shot intermodals, manifest freights and unit about late commuter trains virtually stopped Ever since C&NW took over operation of coal ...... $29.00 after Nov. 21, 1995; and only three incidents Rock Island's Iowa branch lines in 1980, the UP'S COUNCIL BLUFF SUB...... 3 hrs, 8 min. of freight train interference were recorded usual locomotives used on these lines have (Council Bluffs, IA to N. Platte, NE) Visit 284 from ov. 21, through Dec. 3, 1995. been a group of 35 GP38-2s-C&NW 4600- miles of N. America's busiest, fastest and flat­ est double track main line. See the awesome 120 platform Big APL train moving at 70 mph over the Nebraska Prairie ...... $39.00 -Two Ta pes set, 54.00 S/H. Counts as 1 tape for multi tape discount.

UP'S COFFEYVILElCHEROKEE SUBS...... 2 hrs These are former MP & MKT lines south out of K.C. to AR, OK and TX. See the action at Paola, KS where these two subs split and are crossed by the BN's Fort Scott Sub. Map included ...... $28.00 Union Pacific and its los Angeles Sub­ of the Salt lake Route. UP ACROSS MISSOURI ...... 2 hrs dWion The Sedalia/River Subs. See UP and SSW action; coal, history and present day action of a mixed, intermodals and Amtrak. Covers action first-class railroad. All adventure that from KC to St. Louis. Map included ...... $28.00 is Hke being there and experiencing a SP HERINGTON (KS) SUB ...... 2 hrs parade ofold and nf:'N power up 2.2% This sub is part of RI's former Tucumcari line and grades. streaking through the Mojave is SP's connection from midwestern markets to the Golden State Route. Covers K.C. to Hering- Desert and winding through Afton Cyn. ton, KS. (157 miles) Map included ...... $28.00 The video has music. maps and many BN's Ft. Scott Sub ...... 2 Hours historical items. Watch this and walk K.c., MO., to Springfield, MO., (201 miles). See away a UP fan! 1 Hour 30Min, coal, intermodal and mixed freight on this $28.50 plus $3.00 Shipping Calif. $2.34 Tax former Frisco mainline which serves as a vital link to the South in the BN system ...... $29.00

BN ST. JOE LlNE ...... 2 hrs K.C. to Lincoln, Neb. Part of BN's Coal 1 Hour 30 Min. UR 1 Hour 42 min. Conveyor south, See freight moving from O T ...... �ANTAScenic f� beauty omnand TOU� heavy double track action from CAJDramaticN PASSCajon POass with Santa Fe, UP & SP plus N.W. to S.E. on this line $28.00 Amtrak. Barstow to San "Berdoo" . Colton, Mojave Needles CA toBarstow. Action, history and the Tra ins of Kansas City Vol 2 ...... 2 hrs, 529.00 challange of the Mojave Desert. An acclaimed video! Daggett & more! Many 2 & 3 trains meets. UP's Marysville Sub ...... 2 hrs. 528.00 $28.50 plus $3.00 Shipping Calif. add $2.34 Tax $28.50 plus $3.00 Shipping Calif. add $2.34 Tax Mainlines Into Kansas City ...... 2 hrs. ,28.00 Santa Fe in Kansas City ...... 1 hr. 520.00

1 Hour 38 min. 1 Hour 18 Min. -Titles - Narration - Music I, THETOUR -Available in VHS only TEHACHAPSanta Fe action Bakersfield , �A�iA ���A�A �lOC�� SP & from ta Mojave CA. Scenicc�mwom portion of the SP CoasMlne Route In the Santa -Add 52.00 S/H for each tape Famous Caliente, Loop, BeaMlle, etc. This is train­ Susana Mountains. Also Metolink & Amtrak abounds. ·MO residents add 6% sales tax after·train action . Stack, Oilcan and Coal trains too. SP freight, locals, stacks, mixed & sugarbeet action. -If ordering 2 or more tapes, deduct 51 per tape. $28.50 plus $3.00 Shipping Calif. add $2.34 Tax $24.50 plus $3.00 Shipping Calif. add $2.01 Tax MAKE CH ECKS/MONEY ORDERS PAYABLE TO: MO-KAN VIDEO ij)R��RSJ P�ij)MP��Y F'E���D Charles Smiley Presents 425 Leslie Drive . Independence, MO 64055 SEND CHECK OR MONEY ORDER TO: 18351 Blackhawk St. Dept. P "The Next Best Thing to FREE shipping if ordering 2 or more! Northridge, Calil. 91326 SittingTra ckside!"

Pacific RAILNEWS-Sl 4634-initially ordered by the Rock. In Cheyenne, operate daily; vehicle train CY­ over the UP. Much of K-line's Midwest traffic is November, however, many of these stalwarts DEV operates daily except Sunday; and in­ auto parts on a "just-in-time" delivery schedule. were replaced by new power. Seen on Dec. 2, termodal train LADEZ handles United Par­ In October, 1995, a vice president for "K 1995, at Eagle Grove, Iowa, were a pair of UP cel Service traffic from Los Angeles, Line" warned the Port of Tacoma that delays SD40-2s, two UP B23-7s, a leased Norfolk Wednesday through Friday. continuing through the port might force the Southern B23-7, and two of the three EMD Operations on the former Kansas Pacific shipping line to reroute its container traffic BL20-2 demonstrators on lease to UP. line east of Denver include locals LVG50 and through ports in Southern California. To help By mid-December the list of Amtrak LVG51, running east to Oakley, Kan., on resolve this problem, the Port of Tacoma plans F40PHs on lease to UP, and used on interme­ Monday, Wednesday and Friday and west to double-track its connection with the joint diate-distance intermodal trains, included: Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Eight yard Burl ington Northern Santa Fe-Union Pacific 208, 213, 215, 224, 234, 235, 256, 267, 285, engines are called at Denver each day: four on main line at Reservation Junction. 295, 296, 303, 309, 333, 363, 279, 382, 410 the day shift, two for the afternoon shift and and 412. The F40s were often sandwiched be­ two at night. These units work the yard, han­ SHERMAN HILL tween EMD GP40Xs, GP40-2s, or GP50s and dle industry switching at Commerce City and frequently hauled the CHDAZ/DACHZ Roydale, and interchange traffic with SP and Fatal Collision (Chicago-Dallas expedited). BNSF. Four locals originate at La Salle to UP has leased five EMD MP15s numbered work the branches along the Greeley Sub. At 1 :30 p.m. on Nov. 18, 1995, a fatal collision 61 to 65 from the Houston Belt Terminal, for between two westbound American President use at UP's Centennial Yard in Fort Worth, EXCURSIONS Lines stack trains occurred on mainline track 3, Texas. This should free up some SWlOs for two miles south of Laramie, Wyo. The leading use in the Chicago area. Despite the locomo­ 1998 Schedules train, APLA5 (APL Chicago to Los Angeles), tive shortage, UP has been laying up an in­ had come to a stop on the descending grade of creasing number of C&NW GP7s, GP9s, and This year steam locomotive No. 844-Alco­ Shennan Hill when the following train, APSES SD 18s at Boone, Iowa, to join 20-cylinder built Northern-will return to service after an (APL Chicago to Seattle), collided with EMD SD45s collected there earlier. extended time in the shop at Cheyenne for re­ APLA5's rear end. All three locomotives on the pairs and modifications. With the 844 coming APSES derailed, along with 20 cars, and fire OPERATIONS out of the shop, UP will begin 3985's planned engulfed the wreckage. Engineer Dave Gibson maintenance period at Cheyenne-which may was killed when he jumped from his locomotive UP to Denver last as long as three years. Presently, the tenta­ before the collision and was crushed by a con­ tive schedule for excursions in 1996, using the tainer from one of the derailed cars. Conductor As an outlying point on the UP system, Den­ railroad's passenger car fleet and the locomo­ Ronald Rodabaugh was rescued from the flam­ ver sees a relatively small volume of traffic. tives in its "historic fleet," is on a smaller scale ing wreckage; he suffered severe burns and was Roughly three trains per day, in each direction, than in the past two years. Though the details flown to a burn center in Greeley, Colo. The operate on the Greeley Subdivision between need to be worked out, UP plans to use the three locomotives leading the APSES, C40-8W Denver and the UP east-west main line at 844 in some trips on former C&NW routes in 94 12, C40-8 9154, and SD60M 6244, were Borie, near Cheyenne, Wyo. late August and September, including one-day severely damaged and may be retired. Northbound: Intermodal train DECYZ de­ trips out of the Chicago area during Labor Day parts the 40th Street intermodal terminal in weekend. There are possible excursions being SHORTS Denver at 6:15 a.m. daily except Sunday for discussed for October, via the Feather River UP Depot Serves Tacos Cheyenne. Manifest train DECY departs the Canyon in northern California and the "Inside 36th Street freight yard at 7:1 5 a.m. Manifest Gateway" route to Portland, and tTips on Mis­ The former UP passenger station in Hastings, train DENP operates to North Platte. Extra souri Pacific lines out of Little Rock, Ark. Neb., is now Choo-Choo's Mexican Restaurant trains to Ogden, Utah, and North Platte oper­ and Sports Bar. Choo-Choo's began using the ate two or three times per week. INTERMODAL depot on Nov. 21, 1995, and business at the Southbound: Vehicle train NPDEV from Capacity Problems in Ta coma renovated facility has been good. North Platte and manifest train CYDE from UP agreed to lease the former C&NW station The Port of Tacoma, Wash., is facing the same at Carroll, Iowa-designed by noted architect capacity problems as other container ports on Charles Frost-to the Carroll County Historic the West Coast. A combination of large traffic Preservation Commission for $1 for 99 years. volume and insufficient capacity has made it During November, 1995, Wichita's Great difficult for railroads to move traffic quickly Plains Transportation Museum sponsored two Union Pacific through the port. One of the primary users of passenger trips with UP's E9s and 19 business the Port of Tacoma is also an important UP cus­ cars on the former Rock Island in Kansas and Calendar Photos tomer; Japanese shipping line "K Line" operates Oklahoma. On Nov. 18, 1995, the train oper­ We are looking for contemporarycolor photographs dedicated double-stack trains to Midwest points ated north from Wichita Union Station to for our 1997 calendar. We need train pictures and Solomon, Kan. and returned, using trackage scenic views representing the fo ur seasons from our rights over Santa Fe between Lost Springs and 23-state service area. Abilene. On Nov. 19, 1995, the special made a We willpay $100 for publication rights for each 14 All New Steam-Age round trip from Wichita to Enid, Okla. photo used and credit the photographer on the Color Views For ...... Union Pacific now has a Web Page on the calendar. Featuring19 ...96 World Wide Web, for use by customers, em­ Each photo should be labeled \vith your nanle, Beautiful Views ployees and enthusiasts. address and the location of the picture. Although of Both Standard­ Th anks to Steve Kalthoff, Whitney Pratt, Union Pacific will not assume responsibility for lost and Narrow-Gauge Pf. Gratz, Thornton Wa ite, Brian Kreimen­ or damaged material, we will return photographs Railroad Scenes ! dahl via Compuserve, Rich Wa llace, Mike accompanied by SAS packaging. FREE Murray, Pat Th unherst, Dave Dodds, Terry Transparencies are preferred. LaFrance, James Schiro, Greg McCommic, deadline 15. CA TALOG ! The fo r submission of photos is March Adam Clegg, FUMSIESI, NOIITNWEST RAILFAN, Send entries to: ROCKY MOUNTAIN TNE MIXED TRAIN, Union Pacific Railroad, John Bromley, Director Public Affairs RAILROAD CALENDAR Pat Thunhirst, Jim Seacrest, Michael M. Bar­ Union Pacific Railroad HISTORIC SCENES FROM THE STEAM E�A ! tels, Dana Grefe, Gordon Brown, Rick Mills, 1416 Dodge St., Room 605 Heath Hovland, Jayhawk, Al Tu ner, and Omaba, NE 68179 Only...... $850 POSTPAID IN U.S.A. NOlI'n'l WESTERN LIMITED. em UNION PAC IFIC D S"I1NDANCE PUBLICATIONS fRtL. IJlllIJ RAILROAD 250 Broadway • Denver, CO 80203 Q 303/ 777-2880 Michael W. Blaszak and Wayne Monger 82-February 1998 RAIL NEWS CP Rail System

CORPORATE Rob Ritchie, CP Rail System president and A breakdown of the leased locomotives then chief operating officer, has been critical of the operating on CP Rail included 12 Conrail Restructuring Announced disadvantages Canadian carriers encounter in SD40s; 20 SD40-2s from GATX; nine for­ competition with U.S. based railroads. More mer Burlington Northern GP20Cs (GP20s Citing a negative regulatory environment in stringent regulations in Canada, coupled with a re-powered with Caterpillar prime movers) Canada, CP Limited announced a major COl-pO­ weaker traffic base, make it difficult for Canadi­ from Generation Locomotive; 111 EMD lo­ rate restructuring on Nov. 20, 1995, aimed at an carriers to finance the capital improvements comotives of various models from Helm improving the performance of its railway busi­ needed to keep plant and equipment up-to-date. Leasing; 15 six-axle locomotives from MOtTi­ ness and making its profitability comparable to The province of Ontario is taking action in­ son Knudsen; and seven SD40s from Preci­ CP's other subsidiaries. Under the structure, tended to encourage shortline operators to bid sion National Corp. CP Rail System will become a wholly-owned on surplus branch and secondary lines. Both CP Recent locomotive retirements included subsidiary of a new parent company, retaining and CN are expected to take advantage of new C424 4250, SD40 5539, and SD40-2s 5660, the Canadian Pacific name. This new corporate federal and provincial regulations designed to 5738, and 5938 (the SD40/SD40-2s were in­ entity will have six operating subsidiaries, in­ facilitate the sale of thousands of miles of the volved in wrecks). Retired RS23 8034 has cluding CP Rail System, CP Ships, PanCanadi­ province's marginally profitable lines. Ontario been sold to Windsor and Hantsport Railway. an Petroleum, Fording Coal, Marathon Realty is expected to pass enabling legislation to expe­ Thanks to Mike Cleary, CP RAIL, PI Holdings, and Canadian Pacific Hotels and Re­ dite wholesale transfers of ownership. Mean­ Gratz, Peter Phillips and TRAFFIC WOI?W. sorts. This restructuring will take place while, in the U.S., CP has filed a notice of ex­ through a Plan of Arrangement under the emption with the Interstate Commerce Com­ Karl Rasmussen Canada Business Corporations Act. CP Rail mission to abandon 5.5 miles of railroad be­ System will become a separate corporation, fa­ tween Harlow and Baker, N.D. cilitating direct access to capital markets and expanding its options for other business ven­ MOTIVE POWER RAIL INVESTMENT SERVICE tures (mergers, sales, joint ventures). For free research reports on investment opportunilies K. An immediate consequence of this action Fewer Leased Locomotives in the Rail Sector, please call Eric Crook toll free: will be a reorganization of CP's rail operations. === 1-800-827-6766== or write to K. Eric Crook, Corporate Services Specialist Management structure will be simplified; overall By late November 1995, the number of DEAN WITTER REYNOLDS INC. administrative costs will becut; and senior man­ leased units on CP Rail had dropped to 174. "' 889 Harrison Ave., 2nd Floor agement will be consolidated at two locations, Riverhead, NY 11901 Calgary and Montreal (rather than the former five locations). CP Rail System's overall work­ force will be reduced by 1,450 positions across .. ---�� R. I. Rocky MauntainRocket #630 E·6 17 x 14 (b&w) By Randy Rolffs North America. The system executive offices -- & Numbered $25.00 will be relocated in Calgary, reflecting that more than 80 percent of CP's traffic base and revenue are generated in the westem part of its system. Seven hundred and thirty employees will be re­ located from Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, and Grand Island Crossing Minneapolis. A new eastern operating unit, 23 x 16 (color) By Robert West based in Montreal, will deal with the difficult �i�". p����:!�'.�� competitive and operating conditions across that portion of the system. The unit's mission will be to transform operations between Montreal, To ronto, Chicago, and the northeastem U. S. in­ to the most efficient railway service provider in the region. To absorb these changes, CP antici­ pated taking a $700 million after-tax asset write­ down during the fourth quarter of 1995.

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PaCific RAILNEWS. 83 RAIL NEWS The Information Super Railroad

USENET NEWS GROUPS litical groups as we all seem to get along and and it would last as long as people posted to Last Regular Stop in the Series learn from each other. Frequent "flamers" tend it. Because of the ease of starting an alt. to be ignored by other participants; this pro­ group, many corporations and colleges don't vides a self-regulating means of eliminating carry them, choosing instead to select what This month, we wrap up the journey through such pests. they will distribute. the Internet with a discussion of Usenet news Usenet news groups are an excellent way groups. Started several years ago as a way for Usenet Access to fi nd information and ask specific ques­ "techno-nerds" to share information and dis­ There are a myriad of ways to access Usenet tions. Although answers may not be received cuss specific questions, these few computer-re­ groups. If you reach the Intemet from Com­ as quickly as those received through the list lated groups have evolved into more than puserve, America On-Line, Prodigy, or anoth­ servers we looked at in the December 1995 13,000 groups discussing a full spectrum of er commercial on-line service, check with its column, thousands more people can be topics. Broken down into hierarchies, the most customer service. All major services now reached. Explore what's out there, and you popular are comp (computer-related), sci (sci­ have Usenet access. If you have a Serial Line wil never run out of information. ence-related), soc (social-related), and rec Internet Protocol (SLIP) or Point-to-Point Following is a list of additional active (recreational-related)-the hierarchy abbrevia­ Protocol (PPP) account through an Internet groups: (not all of these groups post infor­ tion is the first part of the news group's name. Service Provider (ISP), there is a wide variety mation in English-the fj .rec.rail group dis­ In this article, we'll focus on PRN readers' of freeware and shareware (software) to ac­ cusses railroads in Japan in Japanese): common interest: railroads. cess the groups for Mac, PC and Unix sys­ rec.models.railroad (model railroads); tems. A h igh-power computer is not required aus.rail (railways and railroads in Australia); Rec.railroad Divides and Expands to enjoy the Usenet news groups which are bit.listserv.railroad (articles from the rail list Currently, there are many Usenet rail-related all text-based. server); fr .misc.transport.rail (railways and news groups. However, until early last year, railroads in France); uk.railway (railways there was only one major rail group-"rec.rail­ Follow the Thread and railroads in the United Kingdom). road" (note the name structure of the hierar­ When you access a group, you will see a list of chy, "rec." followed by the subject description, headers or subjects, referred to as threads. Be­ Dan Dawdy "railroad"). Because the volume of postings to low is a sample list of headers taken from this group grew too large to handle effectively, misc. transport.rai I .americas: This month's discussion of the Usenet news the members of rec.railroad officially voted to Conrail System Timetable groups is the last regular monthly install­ reform under a transport topic within the Re: CP Rail HQ Move - Rumor ment of the Information Super Railroad se­ misc. (miscellaneous) hierarchy. The groups Re: Nickel Plate Road ries. In March 1995, this fea ture was intro­ were then further split as follows: Re: O. Winston Link recordings: where? duced to inform PACIFIC RAI L NEIVS readers Re: Conrail System Timetable about the growing presence of rail-related in­ misc. transport.rail.europe Notice that the first article is not intro­ formation available through on-line comput­ (railroads and railways in Europe) duced by "Re." This usually means the article er servi ces. In 1995, we discussed the four is the start of a thread. Many news readers major commercial on-line companies: Com­ misc.transport.rail.australia-nz sort related items together; this is an easy way puServe, Prodigy, Genie, and America On­ (railways in Australia and New Zealand) to follow threads. line. We described the wide array of' local, Sometimes a follow-up message will seem to privately run bulletin board systems. And, fi­ misc. transport.rail.americas appear before the original message is posted be­ nally, we introduced you to the Intemet and (railroads and railways in North and South cause of the way messages are distributed. It is the vast array of information available in America) not uncommon to get a reply to a post weeks Usenet News groups, mailing lists, and the after the original message, as it can take weeks World Wide Web. misc. transport.rail.misc for some overseas sites to receive a message We wanted to provide you with a starting (miscellaneous rail issues and discussions) from the United States. News readers allow you point from which to begin your own journey to reply to the entire group or directly to a indi­ into cyberspace. The world of on-line com­ Misc.transport.rail.americas is the most popu­ vidual poster. You also have the option of quot­ munications and information exchange is lar group and contains most of the former ing part or all of the original message to help growing at an exponential rate. We hope this rec.railroad traffic (other groups unaffected by keep the thread in perspective for a new reader. series encouraged you to hop on board and this split are listed at the end of this article). While the news groups are text-based, (un­ enjoy "electronic railfanning." There was considerable resistance to the like the Web that can display pictures, sound David Warner will continue to be PACIFIC changes from the news groups; the usually and video) picture, sound and video fi les can RAILNEWS' on-line coordinator. If you come calm posters took strong positions on the be posted and distributed within the groups; across an interesting Web page or other loca­ news group split and posted "pot shots" at these must be decoded first to see or hear tion with information you think should be other users. them. These binary postings can be very large shared, let David know. We intend to bring you and should only be posted to groups within periodic installments of the Information Super Beware the "Flame" the binary hierarchy. Railroad in fu ture issues. A Usenet poster must be prepared for a For example, let's say you have just pho­ David Warner would like to take this op­ "flame." A flame, simply stated, is an insult tographed the new SD80 on its way to the portunity to thank the other contributors to aimed at you for something written in a previ­ AAR test track. You scan the picture and now the Information Super Railroad series: Dan ous posting. It can range from challenges want to show the world, but you have no Web Dawdy, Leo King, Matthew Mitchell, Jeff about the legitimacy of something you have site to post on. There is a news group called Smith, and Harry Sutton. Without their as­ written to nasty suggestions. alt.binaries.pictures.rail just for such postings. sistance, this series would not have been Flames appear because news groups have Notice the "alt.," or a ltemative hierarchy. nearly as comprehensive and informative. no moderator to "censor" messages, unlike All news groups must be voted on before be­ And, if you belong to the Prodigy computer some mailing lists or commercial services' bul­ ing formed, and most have guidelines-except network, be sure to check out Prodigy's letin boards. The flames directed to our rail for the "alt." hierarchy. If I wanted to, [ could Trains Web Page, which is co-moderated by groups are tame in comparison to those of po- start a news group called alurains.wow.neat, David Warner and Harry Sutton.

64- February 1996 RAIL NEWS Short Lines

NORTH COAST RAILROAD Tu nnel 11 Reopened

On Oct. 21, 1995, the orth Coast Railroad Authority-which operates 162 miles of for­ mer orthwestern Pacific lines north of Wi llit , Cali f.-celebrated the re-opening of Tu nnel II. Former Southern Pacific GP9E 3786 brought a four car-train of Oay/ight­ painted passenger cars, carrying nearly 100 invited guests, north from Willits six miles to the south end of Tunnel 11. Guests and offi­ cials gathered around the south portal, as GP9E 3804 led the first southbound freight train through the tunnel-breaking a ribbon stretched across the bore. The reopening of Tu nnel II should allow the orth Coast Railroad Authority to reduce an estimated 45 minutes from the existing travel time be­ tween the Eureka and Willits; it also brings the authority one step closer to restarting "North Coast Daylight" excursion trains through the Eel River Canyon. The 65 I-foot tunnel has presented serious operational problems for the orth Coast Railroad Authority and its predecessor, Eure­ Mike Pechner ka Southern. The wood-lined tunnel, built in 1910, caught fire in 1987 and was sealed at On Oct. 21, 1995, the North Coast Railroad held a ceremony to mark the first train through re-opened both ends. For the past eight years, trains Tu nnel 11, north of Willits, Calif. Since 1987, a shoo-fly had provided service around the tunnel. have used a shoo-fly track around the moun­ tainside. This has been an operational night­ mare; tight curves and a shifting roadbed ic (SP's former Siskiyou and Coos Bay lines), Thanks to Bryan Loftin, Ben Ken; Mike have contributed to several derailments. Us­ and New England Central (Canadian Nation­ Pechner, Vic Nelles, Greg Brown , Stelle ing funds from state and federal sources, Tun­ al's former subsidiary Central Vermont Rail­ Kalthoff; Pf. Gratz, TIfE MIXED TRA IN, FLlM­ nel 11 was rebuilt and lined with concrete way) . A 5 percent decrease in revenues from sles!, and NORTH WEST RAIUAN. during summer 1995. Railtex's other properties was attributed to a lower volume of utility coal shipments. Wayne Monger and Bob Thompson RAILTEX Third Quarter Income Up

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Pacific RAILNEWS-S5 RAIL NEWS Kansas City Southern

MEXICO OR BUST Dallas Area Dispute

There is a tug-of-war under way between two lines over a 21-mile section of fonner Southern Pacific-Cotton Belt trackage now owned by Dallas Area Rapid Transit. The far western end of this former Ft. Worth-Mt. Pleasant Cotton Belt line west of Renner is actively being pur­ sued by both the Ft. Worth & Western Railroad (for its Tarantula Steam Train excursions) and the South Orient Railroad (for development of new rail connections at Dallas for its Mexican gateway at Presidio). Historic Grapevine, Texas, which is currently renovating old downtown buildings and restoring and relocating the old Cotton Belt depot, would prefer the steam train to boost tourism and recently invested $60,000 for a downtown turntable. Suburban home­ owners are aghast that long freight trains could be rumbling through their trendy, upscale de­ velopments. Howevet; the Union Pacific-South­ ern Pacific merger proceedings may ultimately determine the outcome; SP has operating au­ thority, although DART owns the trackage. South Orient, hoping for petl11ission to assume operation of this segment, has announced that it will not oppose the UP/SP merger. James A. Speaker KCS NOTES On a clear Oct. 4, 1995, 604 leads a KCS southbound over Rich Mountain in Arkansas at m.p. Majestic Birds in Ozarks 366. KCS is one o. the last railroads to regularly install oscillating headlights on its locomotives. Majestic bald eagles have returned to winter in the Ozarks, with crews reporting several sight­ KCS Fs ramp equipment was inspected weekly. ings between m.p. 199 and m.p. 204 south of Third, the progress of all trains was moni­ Noel, Mo., and south of Gravette, near m.p. 213. The Business Catches the Public Eye tored, and a chase car equipped with knuck­ The KCS depot at Noel, Mo., was damaged les, hoses, chains, rear end devices, batteries, by fire on Saturday night, Oct. 21. The large On Nov. 9, 1995, the headline in the JACKSON etc., was to follow each train to monitor and bay window on the track side (west) was COUNTY ADVOCATE (Grandview, Mo.) read: prevent service disruption. Fourth, special boarded over, and all remaining windows were "Steam Train Coming Here." Although not en­ agents were positioned at critical points. smoke-blackened; ironically, the depot's exterior tirely accurate, this headline did express the Fifth, a hot line was established to report had recently been repainted. local interest and enthusiasm created when trailer status and coordinate problem resolu­ Kansas City Southern Industries has KCS announced the scheduled appearance of tion; and, sixth, repair teams were stationed donated a 376-acre parcel of land west of its new business train and the National Indus­ on emergency standby. trial Transportation League Convention Rail Nevada, Mo., (in Vernon County) to the Mis­ Tour. Vintage KCS steam did not make an ap­ GHOSTS FROM THE PAST souri Prairie Foundation, a non-profit group pearance, but a series of events nearly as inter­ devoted to preserving virgin prairie. The land esting did transpire. Sarah Edenborn Carferry Found? was dedicated as the Arthur E. Stillwell Prairie by Kansas City Southern Industries President INTERMODAL The 1995 edition of WAT ERWAY S JOURNAL in­ and CEO Landon Rowland during a ceremony cludes an interesting story about the Louisiana sponsored by the Missouri Department of UPS Shifts Holiday Traffic to KCS Railway & avigation Company's two railcar Conservation. ferries, William Edenborn and Sarah Eden­ Thanks to Mike }\IJurray, Wayne Kisel; Dr. United Parcel Service prepared for the nearly born, once used to transport cars across the Robert Han11en, William Ertman, Chris Guss, 35 percent increase in traffic expected dur­ Mississippi River at Angola, La. The story de­ Danny johnson, David /-lurt, Lowell Mc­ ing the 1995 peak holiday season (Nov. 25 to scribes the discovery of the remains of the Manus, Mike and Chris Palmieri, Te rry Dec. 23), and KCS employed extraordinary Renown, formerly Sarah Edenborn, at Bridge­ LaFrance, Gerald Hook, Dan Munson, jerry measures to guarantee on-time shipping. port, Ind., about 12 miles below New Albany Sample, Bob Plough, Charles Pilcher, john UPS insisted that its service providers devel­ on the Ohio R iver. After re tirement, the Locke, Rick McClellan, PI. Gratz, Nathan Bai­ op detailed operating plans addressing all Renown became the wharfboat for the steam­ ley, Wa rren and Ti llie Caileff, KANSAS CiTY potential problems, so KCS developed a er Belle of Louisville from 1964 to 1983. It STAi? , JACKSON COUNTl' ADVOCATE, jOUi?NAL OF comprehensive six-point plan. First, physical later served as an office boat for the Five M COMME/lCE, WALt STR E.ET JOURNAL, TRAFFIC plant improvements allowed an increase in Transportation Company, with the first deck WORLD, WA TEIlWAl'S jou/mAL, the Kansas City train speeds. Second, every locomotive un­ housing a repair shop and storage area. Dur­ Southern Historical Society, and KCS Railway. derwent a thorough 92-day inspection; all ing an unspecified spring flood, the Renown cars were inspected prior to loading; and was shoved out on the riverbank. Michael Hasbargen

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Final engineering is being paid through a local RTD contingency fund, after Congress failed to provide federal money fo r 1996. Six more cars for the downtown Denver LRT are scheduled to arrive in the next year; and RTD officials say an additional 14 cars will be needed for the Littleton extension, bringing the fleet to 31. The new extension will parallel busy San­ ta Fe Drive, and hopefully ease traffic. The LRT will share a right-of-way with the Burlington Northern Santa Fe, running along its east side from the present LRT terminal to Tufts Avenue south of Englewood, and then crossing over to the west side of the BNSF on its way to Littleton. SALT LAKE CITY Car Deal in Works for New LRT Line

Having pulled a rabbit from a hat in securing federal funds to build its IS-mile light rail line, Utah Transit Authority may have scored another Scott Muskopf coup by snapping up an unexercised option for 20 to 23 Siemens SD-1 00 cars originally offered The new downtown Kiel Center provides a dramatic backdrop for this St. Louis Metrolink train, to San Diego. The cars will cost $1,854,900 pausing at the adjacent station. This location is only two blocks from the St. Louis Union Station each-presumably less than most 1996 car of­ Mall and may become the interface for the proposed commuter rail system. ferings, if new bidding were required. UTA proposes to buy the cars based on the low price and early availability. The first cars ST LOUIS ent Bi-State Development Agency plans to or­ are to arrive in Utah within 20 months and der 10 more LRVs this year using a $10 mil­ will be built to the off-the-shelf design speci­ Strong Ridership Spurs New Car Order lion federal appropriation. fied for San Diego, but with better insulation A further 20 cars will be needed for the to suit Utah's more extreme climate. Struggling to carry 40,000 daily riders, planned $400 million 24-mile extension Salt Lake's LRT will link downtown with MetroLink's 31 Siemens-Duewag SD-400 through St. Clair County, III., to a new airport the suburb of Sandy. Its opening is scheduled light railcars are pressed to the limit, so par- northeast of Belleville. for December 2000 in time for the 2002 Win­ Beginning at the present east end of the ter Olympic Games, set for nearby ski slopes. LRT at Fifth and Missouri in East St. Louis, the new line wi ll occupy the right-of-way of SAN FRANCISCO an abandoned CSX railroad line. Stations LRV Order May Be Increased will be located at 25th Street, Highway Ill, 7lst Street, Highway 157, Dutch Hollow !! !T-SHIRTS Four Breda prototype light rail cars were due Road, Sullivan Drive, Highway 159, Old back on Municipal Railway tracks by the end Collinsville Road, Little Oak Lane, Highway of Decembel� following some additional modi­ 158, Interstate 64 and Highway 158, and fications. Muni officials were optimistic that Mid-America Airport on the site of the for­ final assembly of the 52-car order could pro­ mer Scott Air Force Base. ceed. The work is being done locally at Pier 80 After the Los Angeles Rams NFL team on the Embarcadero in San Francisco. moved to St. Louis last year, it played in the new Muni is considering boosting the order by a Tra ns World Dome, near the downtown Con­ further 25 cars for a total of 77. Funding vention Center LRT station. Like the St. Louis sources have been identified to cover 12 of Cardinals, whose baseball home is the nearby these cars, and Muni hopes to secure the bal­ Busch Stadium, the Rams have been bringing ance soon. The railway plans to eventually huge game-day ridership to MetroLink. replace the troublesome Boeing Vertol LRVs with a new generation of railcar. T-SHIRTS $1 1.95 · SWEATS $1 8.95 DENVER The new F-Market vintage PCC streetcar Child's T's $9.95 Add $1 .00 for XXL sizes Littleton or Bust line is extremely popular; patronage is much .., CHILD'S SWEATS! $15.95 higher than the trolley-coach line it was de­ With the preliminary design for the 10-mile, signed to replace. The plan is to extend the line J�BAR RAIL BOUTIQUE 910 N. Salem SL · Rockton, IL 61072 $1 16 million LRT extension from 1-15 and beyond the Transbay Transit Terminal at First Broadway to Mineral Avenue in Littleton and Mission to Fisherman's Wharf, by way of 815-824-4015 • FAX 815-824-2852 nearly 40 percent complete, the feeling lower Market Street and the Embarcadero. Add $5.00 S&H • Allow 2-4 weeks delivery. around Denver seems to be that the line will Track construction is proceeding along the wa­ get built, even if federal funding is delayed terfront and in the Fisherman's Wharf district: � - or curtailed. However, a short but crucial link at the Ferry GO-February 199G Building between the Embarcadero and Market track from Riverside to Fullerton-with provi­ Street is still hung up in studies. Because of the sion for a third. lack of a two-block long mid-point segment, the entire project faces further delay-it's an IN TRANSIT old San Francisco story. Western Rail Updates in Brief SACRAMENTO Memphis is advertising for more trolleys for its Major LRT Expansion Program Set Main Street heritage line. The Transit Authori­ ty wants four "completely refurbished" 48-foot An new eight-year $3 1 1 million capital im­ Melbourne cars available no later than March provement program for Sacramento's light rail 1997. Plans are to extend the line along the Illi­ system includes a new 6.2-mile, $200 million nois Central riverfront passenger line ...Cali­ South Line and a major multi-modal transit fo rnia plans to build a $30 million, 45-mph Re­ terminal downtown on lands to be vacated by dondo Junction flyover for Amtrak and the Southern Pacific Railroad. However, one Metrolink to avoid the snail-speed surface junc­ Pacific Rai/News expected LRT extension, toward Roseville, tion south of Los Angeles Union Station. The was dropped from the plan. junction, already busy, will get busier when the Bigger, bolder Regional Transit spokesman Mike Wiley Alameda Corridor freight line is built ...pre­ and better-your said much of the funding (from federal, state liminary engineering is slated to begin on a liillll best source for and local sources), is reasonably secure be­ 12.3-mile extension to the Dallas DART light great photos rail system, whose 22-mile first phase is now cause the California Transportation Commis­ and in-depth nearing completion. The new segment would sion has adopted new guidelines, allowing news from transit systems to combine different types of extend from Park Lane in Dallas to Parker today's funding for fewer but better projects. Road in suburban Plano ...Seattle is working The proposed $15.9 million downtown on a new scaled-down version of the rejected Western transit terminal at Seventh and B streets would $6.7 billion light rail, commuter rail and ex­ railroads. occupy part of SP current shop and yard press bus plan that may go on this year's ballot. $30 for 12 complex and, though it may be available for a It is unclear whether there will be any rail ele­ issues. ments in the new proposal. reasonable price, it could be subject to costly (One year) toxic decontamination. Thanks to Linda Hancock, Mike Udei­ #IPRNI2 Another part of the plan extends the Folsom hallen, Ken Rodriguez of Muni, Robert Ryn­ LRT line to Sunrise Boulevard, where it will erson, \Ia n Wilkins, Ed Vo n Norciec/(, Pas­ make a connection with diesel rail cars to be senger Transport, jim Wa lke,� Chuck Vercelli operated by the city of Folsom. Folsom plans to and DA RT Passenger Train study this idea with Siemens, which has a new Jouf'nal design of diesel m.u. in service in Germany. G. Mac Sebree Exciting news and LOS ANGELES features on everything from Metrolink Keeps on Growing yesterday's classic passenger While the Los Angeles MTA takes the heat for trains to today's subway construction fiascoes, and lurches Amtrak from one funding crisis to another, the sepa­ rately-managed Metrolink commuter rail sys­ streamliners tem keeps humming along. and commuter Metrolink celebrated its third birthday in trains. $30 for October by honoring its 10-millionth rider. 12 issues. (One year) #IPTJI2 The ridership growth, particularly on the three lines radiating east from Los Angeles Union Station, has been so rapid that 17 borrowed GO Transit cars will be arriving by March to locomotive& Railway bridge the gap until 25 new Bombardier bi-Iev­ Presef'vation els start arriving in 1997. The award-winning Daily ridership passed 20,000 in Novem­ magazine of ber and grew each week at a steady 6 percent. America's The Orange County trains have grown most quickly and are now carrying up to 5,000 dai­ railroading ly. Some of this new business has come at the history and the expense of Amtrak's San Diegan trains; how­ artifacts, people, ever, the two rail systems can boast a large and places overalllllcrease. keeping this San Bernardino Metrolink trains now host history alive up to 6,000 weekday riders, and the new today. Riverside-Irvine suburb-to-suburb Metrolink route is carrying more than 1,000 a day, twice $21.50 for 6 issues. (One year) #ILRP06 Order now for delivery by carll' that fo recast. These trains were to be extended 1996! Priced at only plus $4.00 SIH to San Bernardino by mid-January, with a rib­ $39.95 To Order, call Toll-Free: Order before Febl1lary 28, 1996 and save, bon-cutting ceremony planned for the new send $35.95 plus $4.00. Metrolink platforms at the heritage Mission­ Virginia residents add 4.5% lax ! style Santa Fe Depot. Foreign orders add $8.00 extra postage. 1-80FAX 8180-2-793-310797 -or22 write:11 To accommodate heavy freight congestion Send for the complete list of fine and expanded Metrolink schedules, Santa Fe quality railroad books available from TLC. Pentrex Circulation Department needs to lay a third main track from Riverside TIC Publishing • Department PRN p.o. Box 94911, Pasadena, CA 91109 toward San Bernardino, and a second main Route 4, Box 154 • Lynchburg, VA 24503-9711 Subscribe To day!

MAG5 COMMENTA RY

Guest Editorial • • • By Fred Matthews

ed over the Western Pacific from Flanigan east to . WlI1nemucca, Nev.)? The F&L example shows that some of the rea­ sons for neglect are fairly obvious. After the con­ necting Modoc Line was completed in 1928, the Why Not F&L became a bridge route for Oregon lumber products moving east. But its heavy freights were never frequent, and in the steam era, automobile roads south of Flanigan were probably unpaved-as parts still are. The Modoc Line north to Alturas Pyramid Lake? Calif., by contrast, was paralleled by a paved high: way, and boasted a helper grade. Consequently the Modoc in the mid- 1 950s, with SP's exotic rear-cab 3800 class "artics," did receive extensive coverage. My own reasons for ignoring the Fernley & Lassen-if one discounts a single dramatic encounter with a heavy Modoc freight to the north, on a family vacation in J 948-may help relate the question of photographic choices to personal history, where it's always embedded. College entrance in 1951 was fol­ lowed quickly by my father's death, and then the de­ cision to aim for graduate school. This meant heavy study, plus work to pay for food and tuition. Any spare time was needed to allow for reading, if possi­ ble. The economical solution was a group of perches along busy main lines, close to Berkeley, Calif., where I could study between trains. This was productive photographically, since SP recycled many classes of heavy power to the Coast and Western Divisions as the mountains went diesel. So I packed cameras and texts out to Pinole and Martinez and Port Costa, or down to Burlingame or Millbrae. It did seem strange to some; I recall a party of fishermen at Pinole, con­ vinced that I must have a line in the water some­ where. And I recall feeling smug, knowing that I was going after bigger fish-for posterity.

THERE WERE OTHER IMPORTANT CHOICES WE MADE, some­ Fred Matthews, courtesy Sundance Publications Ltd. times automatically, which now control the kind of photos available from that era. The standard camera On a 1956 afternoon, SP GS-4 4436 passes the Mission Bay roundhouse in San Francisco. was a 2 Y, x 4 1. 0\; somewhat reluctantly, a 2 1. x 3 1. folding Kodak which used rather slow black and white fi lm. Impatient with the limits of such cameras, I did, Photographic Choices in the Silver Age of from 1952 to 1955, lug a huge 4 x 5 press camera Railroading: (standard equipment for newspaper photographers). It 1945-1 980 produced some splendid scenes which probably could y the have been enlarged to wall size, but its weight and slow n his editorial, "What is ignored today may be operation killed many imaginative scenes that could B tomorrow's treasure" (July 1995 PRN), Brian not be captured. Black and white was the universal mid-1950s, Solomon asked some important questions. Why medium; we traded and sold prints and enlargements, do some lines, some trains, some locations, indeed and submitted 8 x lOs to TRAI s-usually without re­ the slide Isome photo angles, receive massive coverage while sult. A few of us had begun to shoot Kodachrome in others are ignored? Some recollections from the 35mm cameras by 1949. But that original "Glory­ 1940s and 1950s may answer these and related ques­ chrome"-ASA 1 O-was very slow and very expensive show had tions about technique and intention. for people on tight budgets. There were cheaper substi­ Just before reading Brian's essay, a group of us tutes; around 1949 I shot several hundred Ansco Color become the had been stimulated to raise similar questions dur­ scenes. These looked fine at first but soon faded, leav­ ing a drive along Southern Pacific's abandoned ing some half-ruined copies of rare scenes. Fernley & Lassen line at Pyramid Lake in north­ There were other reasons that color remained standard rail­ western Nevada. The scenic lava-ballasted remains peripheral to photographic practice until at least evoked the questions: why built? why abandoned? the late 1950s. Magazines ran very little color until fan ritual of These can be answered by reading David Myrick's well after 1960; I didn't even realize how vastly RAILROADS OF NEVADA AND EASTERN CALIFORNIA. sharp a 35mm slide was and how well it would en­ But the question also came up: why were so few large until PASSENGER TRAIN JOURNAL turned one of socialization pictures taken along this stretch of railroad be­ mine into a cover around 1977. Slides were seen as tween Fernley and Flanigan be fore it was ripped "recreational," rather than as archival material. By out in the 1960s (when Oregon freight was rerout- the mid-1950s, the slide show had become the

70.February 1998 Fred Matthews

The "Glorychrome" of the 1950s was slow and expensive when compared to today's film. On Oct. 18, 1958, SP 4480 is seen at West Oakland, Calif.

standard railfan ritual of socialization, per­ steam hoping to capture its ultimate essence They were challenging a deep-rooted conven­ haps in part because so many fans of that and drama through still images. tion which said there was only one correct generation were rather shy, introverted peo­ These rigid conventions inherited from the way to record an experience. Instead, they ple. Slides were traded as well, but their cen­ 1930s were already under challenge, notably by proved by example that alternative methods trality was still in the future. the genius of Richard Steinheimer and support­ of recording the experience could capture ed by a great editOl; David Morgan. But others more of its reality and drama. A OTHER I MPORTANT QUESTION-what styles, were moving towards tolerance of the imagina­ This will always be a controversial lesson, what angles, did we use when shooting tive more modestly-including Charles Clegg, perhaps one that has to be learned again by trains-requires a complicated answer, be­ Beebe's younger partner and technical man. each generation as it ventures beyond the secu­ cause ideas were in transition. Certainly, in the Clegg's flexible style-leaving more air and envi­ rity of tradition. PRN I 940s, there was still a powerful expectation ronment around the train, and turningto record that a good railphoto was a closeup three­ stations and yards-contrasts in the same books quarter view of an engine or train. There was with Beebe's insistent wedge shots with effec­ a philosophical idea here: the three-quarter tively blurry rear ends. Both Clegg and Stein­ view represented the subject accurately, while heimer certainly influenced me to aim for the all others were "subjective" or "distorted." dramatically effective. But also important were This is not literally true; any composition that people I knew, like the late Addison Laflin, who is not manipulated in the darkroom is accurate was careful to record street scenes while pho­ Riverboat Delta King Hotel from a particular perspective. It is true, how­ tographing trolleys. And Arthur Lloyd, the dy­ Restored 1927 Steamboat (sister to the ever, that the standard three-quarter view namic organizer of so many excursions, loved to Delta Queen still cruising the Mississippi). 1000 Front St.• Old Sacramento, CA 95814 probably records the maximum amount of de­ sing out, "Get your equipment photos at the car­ Call Iwrite for brochure & reservations tail possible in one exposure-a consideration barn" to the traditionalists. Both men alerted me (916) 444-8052 important for model-builders. to a basic, crucial point: trains exist in an envi­ That more than "accuracy" was involved ronment with which they interact. Today, I be­ Enjoy the romance of staying in one of our can be seen in the one style which did involve lieve our job is to record the environment and beautifully restored staterooms ' Dine in the darkroom manipulation: the use of red filters the interaction, as well as the train. fabulous Pilothouse Restaurant 'All located and burning-in to create the "slab of sooty pie Looking back, I'd say that people like just 2 blocks fT om the magnificent against the ether" scene familiar to any reader Morgan and Steinheimer were trying to do for California State Railroad Museum. Ask about our overnight Steamboat-to-Steam of Lucius Beebe. These were deliberate distor­ rail photography what the French impression­ Engines package and mid-week specials. tions, but they seemed OK to admirers of ists did for painting almost a century earlier.

Pacific RAILNEWS.71 COMMENTARY

The Last Word • • • With Ed Ripley

costliest project of all-construction of the C$200 million tunnel at Port Huron, Mich., to clear double­ stacked high-cube containers. But CN and CP faced, and continue to face, signir­ icant handicaps in the international marketplace. No Longer the Thanks to their northerly locations, the Canadian lines tend to be more expensive to operate than their American counterparts. Canadian property and fuel taxes are higher than those in the U.S. While Ameri­ can railroads, under the Railway Labor Act, have en­ National Dream joyed the active assistance of the federal government in ending labor disputes, holding down wage increas­ es, and eliminating outdated work rules, the Canadian government hasn't extended the same sort of aid to its railroads. As a result, CP claims its employees are only 63 percent as productive as U.S. railroaders. Finally, Canadian railroads operate under a legal framework that is more favorable to shippers than the Staggers Act. Customers served by one road are permitted by law, under certain circumstances, to shorthaul that road or to secure competing rates from another one. This, obviously, depresses rates. These disadvantages are a primary reason why the operating ratios or the two major Canadian lines run about 10 percent high­ er than the ratios of their American counterpart .

THE COMPLAINTS OF CN, a Crown corporation, about these inequities resonated with both the Conservative government of Brian Mulroney and the current Lib­ eral government, whose Minister of Transport, Doug Young thinks federal ownership of railroad assets is an idea long past its prime. The Conservatives in­ stalled new management, led by civil servant Paul Te llier, in October 1992. Te llier quickly replaced Brian Solomon most of CN's vice presidents and implemented a comprehensive plan to reduce the railroad's sickly 97 Central Vermont No. 324 near Randolph, VI. CN sold its CV subsidiary to Rail lex in 1995. percent operating ratio. What CN did reads a lot like the strategy Southern Pacific developed during its last few years of indepen­ " erves All Canada." You can still find this dence: upgrade service while increasing profitability. s plaintive slogan painted against the back­ By just about any measure, the railroad had too many ground of a fading green maple leaf on employees. CN generated about 14 percent more ton­ rivate dozens of old Canadian ational boxcars relegated miles than Santa Fe in 1992, for example, but it need­ to work train service. But the advertising is as dated ed more than twice as many workers to do so. The P as the 1950s-era paint these cars wear. CN has al­ Te llier management reduced full-time employment by ownership ready left two of the 10 provinces, having aban­ 8,600 positions between 1992 and 1995, and expect­ doned its narrow-gauge line across Newfoundland ed to cut another 2,500 jobs by the end of January doesn't immu­ and the branch lines wandering the potato-growing 1996, to increase productivity to U.S. levels. reaches of Prince Edward Island. And these cut­ Like many railroads, CN owned many light-densi­ backs are likely to be just the beginning. ty lines. Of the 18,500 route-miles operated in 1994, nize CP from The cold winds of change are raking Canada's two 29 percent accounted for just 1 percent of traffic vol­ major railroads as the calendar flips from 1995 to ume. These had to go, said Te llier, whose manage­ the problems 1996. The storm began brewing in 1989, when the ment mapped out a 6,600-mile line sale and aban­ U.S.-Canada Free Trade Agreement took effect. Tar­ donment program. This initiative was stalled by iffs that had protected Canadian industry from Amer­ provincial laws saddling buyers with preexisting la­ inherent in ican competition, and vice versa, were gradually bor agreements, which scared away short lines that eliminated. As the border diminished in economic might otherwise have been interested in some of the running a importance, north-south freight traffic grew. C ' and branches. Nonetheless, CN said good-bye to the Cen­ Canadian Pacific, built to haul freight east and west tral Vermont and its eastern Nova Scotia lines and railroad in on the northern side of the border, began to suffer. created a 1,069-mile "internal short line," much like CN and CP initially responded by investing in Soo's Lake States Division during the mid- 1 980s, out U.S. railroads to improve their ability to handle inter­ of its northern Quebec operations. As the provincial Canada. national traffic. CP bought out minority shareholders "successor's rights" laws are repealed, CN's abandon­ in the Soo Line in 1989, and then won a bidding war ments and sales to short lines should accelerate. for the woebegone Delaware & Hudson in 1990. CN Meanwhile, CN is spending millions to improve obtained haulage rights across Burlington Northern service. The company cut its car fleet by 6,000, or between Duluth and Chicago, and embarked on the 10 percent, by the end of 1995 to spur better car

72·February 1998 utilization . Abandoning plans to rebuild its There's no question this drastic action was aging SD40s, C instead will replace 543 ex­ justified. Private ownership doesn't immunize isting units with 394 new locomotives CP from the problems inherent in running a through 20 10, about half of which will be de­ railroad in Canada. Indeed, CP's 1994 operat­ livered by 2000. After deciding that Santa Fe ing ratio of 92.4 percent was a full three had the most advanced car-trip planning soft­ points higher than CN 's. ware in the industry, CN bought the software and upgraded it for its own use. The new Ser­ DON'T BE FOOLED, though, into thinking the re­ vice Reliability Strategy system will allow structuring is the end of CP's story. By fencing headquarters to prioritize train and switching off its eastem assets as a stand-alone business operations in accordance with customer re­ unit based in Montreal, CP will be highlighting quirements. As man agement held total ex­ its difficulties in that region, where its routes penses fairly level, a 10 percent increase in and traffic density are second-best to the compe­ freight traffic produced net income of C$245 tition, primarily CN and Conrail. The president million in 1994 and a reduction of the operat­ of the new eastern unit, Jacques Cote, freely ad­ ing ratio to 89.4 percent. mits that the 3,000 route miles he controls are too much for the business he has. "We will look FOLLOWING THE COLLAPSE of negotiations with at any type of sharing that eliminates trackage," CP over line consolidations in eastern Canada, Cote claims, with combination of CN and CP and rejection of CP's unsolicited bid to buy lines between Toronto and Windsor a prominent CN's operations in the east, the government possibility. The new, privately owned CN will announced its decision to sell the now-prof­ presumably be under increased pressure from its itable CN to private investors in February owners to achieve improved results in the east, 1995. Preening CN for sale consumed the perhaps leading to combinations that the old summer and fa ll months. Recognizing its east­ Crown corporation failed to achieve. ern trackage is unprofitable, CN took a C$ I.3 The eastern unit's prospects, though, are billion write-down on it. The government not entirely within management's control. Fu­ agreed to give C C$900 million from the ture success depends largely on, in Cote's proceeds of the stock sale to pay off over a bil­ words, creating "a very different culture lion dollars of debt, ensuring that CN would among our workers to build a large regional have no significant indebtedness maturing railway mind-set"-in other words, achieving before May 1999. Real estate assets, including radically-improved contracts with the unions. the landmark CN Tower in Toronto, were In the pro-labor environment of Ontario and transferred to the government, while CN's Quebec, those will be difficult to negotiate. small oil and gas unit was sold to investors. If the eastern unit doesn't achieve CP's goals, CN management and underwriters completed its separation from the rest of the railroad will a 36-city tour to offer the stock. facilitate its sale. As a non-union carrier serving When the big day came in November 1995, major markets, CP's eastern lines could be at­ investors bought all 76.2 million CN shares tractive to a variety of short line operators, in­ within hours, even though the government cluding Wisconsin Central and Delaware Otsego had just raised the price per share by C$5. The System, which operated D&H during the late sale was deemed a success because it generat­ 1980s. Don't rule out CSX either, particularly if ed C$2.3 billion. A dispassionate observer, Norfolk Southern makes its long-rumored run at though, would question whether the govern­ Conrail. Meanwhile the western unit, with its ment could have done better. After all, CP had coal and grain export traffic, would become an offered C$ I.4 billion for CN's eastern lines attractive target for a western u.S. carrier. alone, and sale of the profitable western lines Hovering darkly over the future of both CN undoubtedly would have brought in more. and CP is the increasing likelihood that the One can only conclude that the government Canadian confederation will break up. Despite thought imposition of certain restrictions for their narrow loss in the latest referendum, political reasons, including a provision limit­ Quebec's separatists control the government of ing ownership of CN stock by any one entity that province and aren't going away. Most ob­ to 15 percent and a requirement that C keep servers expect secession to win the next time a its headquarters in Montreal, was more impor­ vote is held. Simultaneously, conservatives in tant than maximizing its return on the sale. British Columbia and Alberta are talking about CP, for its part, did its best to upstage CN's pulling those provinces out of Canada if Que­ The stan assembled show. On Nov. 20, CP announced a "major bec secedes. Ultimately, it's possible several na­ PRN corporate restructuring" that will make CP Rail tions may emerge from a Canadian breakup­ a panel 01 well-traveled System a wholly-owned subsidiary of a non-rail Quebec, B.C'! AI berta, Ontario/ Manitoba/ holding company. (The railroad is presently op­ Saskatchewan, the impoverished Maritimes, experts to judge and erated as a division of Canadian Pacific Ltd.) and possibly a northern state. Rail operations will be reorganized into a west­ What effect a breakup would have on rank the top ern unit, controlling trackage between Toronto Canadian business, and thus rail traffic, is 25 and Vancouver and the former Soo Line, and open to speculation. The guess here is that, western rail grades. an eastern unit responsible for operations be­ with Canada gone, businesses in the splinter tween Chicago, To ronto and Montreal, along states would have no alternative but to in te­ The results will be with the Delaware & Hudson . Recognizing grate themselves fully into the North Ameri­ that the western unit generates about 80 per­ can-largely the U.S.-economy. This would revealed in the March cent of its total rail traffic and revenue, CP will formalize the split between Canada's east and move its headquarters from Windsor Station in west and Orient trade routes firmly on the PACIAC RAILNEWS! Montreal to Calgary. Regional offices in Van­ north-south axis. Canada's railroads would be­ couver, Toronto, and Minneapolis will be come mere extensions of the U.S. system, and closed, eliminating 1,450 management jobs. commercial demand for their transcontinental To subscribe, call CP will record a C$700 million write-down of routes within Canada might vanish. The rail­ its eastern assets and increase its dividend, ap­ roads would no longer "Serve All Canada," for parently to appease unhappy investors. there would be no more Canada to serve. PRN (800) 210-221 1

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B.C. 9 SOUTHWEST (AZ/NM) $1 1.25, INTERMOUNTAIN Highball Productions ...... 7 am . 4 pm admission by donation. Tables available. (MT/WY/CO) $15.50. Altamont Press, P. O. Box 754-P. Roy. 3874 Winlake Cres .• Burnaby. B.C. V5A 2G5. Modesto. CA 95353·0754. 387 I (604) 420· 1292. 387 Identity Check Printers ...... 25 GE TRANSPORTATION. original. diesel. Robert YOUR ABSOLUTE SATISFACTION guaranteed...... 22 West art prints. Descriptive list and refundable video Izaak Walton Inn Three of the world's greatest locomotive and train pho· catalog. $7. Rail·Scene Art P rin ts. P. O. Box 528453. J tos, 1937. 1941 and 1989, by published photographer Chicago. IL 60652. 387 ...... , ...... 68 Tom Brown. never before publicly available. Yo u'lI be J-Bar Rail Boutique ...... astounded by these spectacular. unusual and unique APRIL 27: Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad presents a Jelsma Graphics ...... 63 copyrighted collector's photos. all beautifully suited for Geared Triple·header with Climax No. 10. West Coast framing: descriptive info included. Fully appreciate. or Special Heisler No. 91, and Paci fic Coast Shay No. 11. l ...... 60 I'll refund all charges upon retul'll. Send $29.95, check Departing Elbe at 10:30. excursion travels LO MRSR Ladd Publications . . or money order to Tom Brown, 17525 Northridge Ave., shops at Mineral. back through Elbe for lunch, then on a M Reno. NV 89506. (702) 972-86 12. 384-387 round·trip to Eatonville. a total of 38 miles over ex·Mil· McMillan Publications ...... 67 waukee branch line. Photo opportunities and special TRACK CHARTS & PROFILES. Graphic and techni· ...... 24 run·bys are included, as well as a shop tour. Coach seats Midwest Video Productions . . . .. cal information highlighting track arrangements, gradi­ ...... 61 $70; first class $100. Seating is limited. Reservations re­ MO-KAN Video ...... ents, curves. signals. etc. Catalog: $2. Dave Cramer, quired by mail or phone. (360) 569-2588, fax (360) 2114 Sheridan Drive, Madison, WI 53704. [384-387] o 569·2438. VISA, M/C accepted, or write MRSR. P.O. Overland Chaptet� NRHS ...... 17 OVER 25.000 different train depot photos for sale. Box 92 1, Elbe. WA 98330. 385-388 Send $1 for list of your state. Roberta Niesz. 1715 B P GREAT COLORADO RAILROAD EXPEDITIONS! Ave. N.E., Cedar Rapids, IA 52402. 386·397 ...... 73 Join the West's most comprehensive "High Iron" tOlll·S. PACIFtC RAILNEWS ......

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...... 62 PACIFIC RAILNEWS Works! BOOKS. RAILROAD out of print. Specify interest area Union Pacific Railroad ...... for free catalog in that area. We buy books also! I-lours W 7-1 1 p.m. ET. M·F evenings. Call toll·free (800) 450- ...... 18 Call (414) 542-4900 4284. Leyshon's Books Etc., P.O. Box 141 133, Colum· White River Productions ...... 6 today to increase your sales. bus. OH 432 14. 386·387 Willamette Falls Publishing ......

74-February 1998 * SALE ITEMS NEW TITLES "NEW" 1995·96 EDITION STY 178-102 20th Century Limlted, 128-103 ...... 19.25 800KS LOCOMOTIVE ROSTERS Appalach Coal Mines & RROs ITLC), 128-114 •..• 12.25 Most Current Roster Available! PoWtl' 1996, 7 & 8 Appalach X·lng·Pocahan, Rd. 128-109 ...•...... 10,25 1995·SPMoUve Annual. 121-021 ...... 32.95 Plus New Engine Orders ONL Y $15.95 w/Purchase.Only $14.95 Argent lumber·Last 01 Swamp rats (PFM). 120-015 29.25 AcrossIh' Columbla Plain (S8), 174·102 ...... 19.95 8&0 Color GIIeFrIIl' ass Eq (eads 2/28),10&164 ..... 35.50 Atlantic Coast Line· Diesel Years, 119'104." " ,,37.75 Sugar Country Shortllne, 191-105 ...... 1 4.95 8N: Coal CountryTrackside Guide, 175·106 ...... *24.75 AT&SF Color Guide Fr'tJPass. Equip, 106-152 .,,36.75 Swayne lumber N.G. in Merrimac, 120·016 ...... 31.95 British ColumbiaRailway, 204·101 ...... 54.50 ATSFIBNJMRl loco Directory1995, 175-105"." 17.25 Switchback to the Timber (Mt. Hood), 171-1 ..... 19.95 "F' 8,lheEL, 14G·118 ...... *29.50 B&O Units, 12B·ll3 ...... 11.95 Tehachapi (Schmoilinger), 115-103 ...... 35.95 Cntrl. Vermont Rwy·Yankee Trad., V7,202-104 . *29.75 8&0 Passenger Service, V1 (H8), 128-122 """,17,95 Tehachapi, SP/ATSF, 107·111 ...... 35.95 Coal on !beMove-VGN Rwy,208-101 ...... *9.95 B&O Sand Patch · Clash of Titans, 132-100 ...... 39.75 The Oinky, 194·101 ...... * 15.95 C&O lulheCoaiFIel4s,I68-112...... 17.75 B&O VI & V2, lEA), 110·000 ...... 33.50 TIme of the Trolley, 107-109 ...... 32.25 .• ,., •... Colo. & So.·5outhern OIV. IFWW),121-020 ...... 35.75 Beaumont Hill. SP, 107-103" ." ," " ,." ,.35.95 Trails Among the C,·Monarch Branch, 146-120 .26.75 01 ...... •.. Oiesel locos·The Arst50 Years, 13Ht10S4 ..... * 21.50 8eauty Railroad Bridges, 107-122 33.85 Two Feet to the lakes, 129.014 ...... 38.50 .•....•... Dies.ls ol Ih.Chicago & NW,119-110 ...... * 47.95 Belore Guillord, '1D-l0' , ...... 29.50 U·Boats · McOonnell, 115'105 ...... 37.25 East Brcad lop� Slim Gage Sumvor, 110-112 .... *35,25 Blue Ridge Trolley · H&F Interurban, 107-120 ... 30.50 Union Pacific Steam in Color, 106-153 ...... 36.75 Milwauktt RoadIn Color. 106·157 ...... , ...... 36.75 BN: RR'O Giani ol lhe PNW, 175·103 ...... 19.75 U.S. Military Railway Serv., 115-102 ...... 24.75 MudheftS, '3D-111 ...... , ...... *21.25 BNlSF 1994AnnuaI IHB), 121·019 ...... 32.50 Virginian Ralls 1953-1993. 110-111 ...... 35.75 Norfolk SouthernReview ·1995, 163·107 ...... 28.75 STKH12H)21 Brown Book, 170·101 ."""""."""",,.,,.,,"" 19.25 Virginian Railway locomotives, 128-102 ...•.....11.95 N.Pacffl' C

VIGNETTES OF THE

VOLUME II Bill Price's slides and movies of steam and coal trains on the old Buffalo, Rochester action during the 1950's have thrilled and Pittsburgh near Punxsutawney, Pa. seen thousands, and Clear Block Productions is in rare 1954 footage. proud to present "Vignettes of the Baltimore Steam locomotives fe atured include EL-5's and Ohio - Vo lume II" featuring the B&O's and EM- 1's, Big Sixes and Q-4's, and T- 3 and finest steam, powering passenger trains on T- 4 Mountains. Many scenes also fe ature the We st End between Grafton, WV and authentic audio of B&O steam, recorded in Cumberland, Md., freights on Sand Patch, the 1950's by John Szwajkart. Color - Sound with Narration - 60 Minutes - VHS/$40 - Available in PA L/$45

ALSO AVAILABLE! ALSO AVAILABLE! VIGNETTES of the B & 0 VIGNETTES of the READING VOLUME I VOLUME II

The sequel to our popular "Vignettes of the Reading Vo lume I." Follows the final years of the Reading's history from 1960 to 1975. Locations visited include Philadelphia, Reading, Allentown, Birdsboro and Macungie and fe atures GP-30's and -35's, RS-3's and SW's, Train Masters and F-Units, with cameo shots around the system of T- 1's on "The Rambles. " Add $200 per order-shipping. Color-93 Minutes -VHS/$35 Ohio residents add 6% sales tax. SoundlNarration. Available in PA L/$40 Catalog listing these and over 500 titles -.' \'i:. from other producers included with order, or call or write for yourfree catalog today !

CLEAR BLOCK PRODUCTIONS, INC. P.o. Box 527, Marion, OH 43301-0527, PH 1-800-645-5813, FAX (614)389-6091