the DISPATCHER THE OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF THE CENTRAL OKLAHOMA RAILFAN CLUB LTD VOLUME XXIV NOVEMBER 1992 NUMBER 11 MANY IN WATONGA FOR CORC OKC TRAIN SHOW TO BE HELD LOCOMOTIVE #814 WATONGA By Roy Thornton CHIEF INAUGURATION By Howard Thornton The largest train show in the southwest US will be held in the 90,000 square feet transportation Passengers from at least 14 cities in Oklahoma building at the Oklahoma State Fair grounds on were in Watonga on Saturday and Sunday, Saturday, December 5, from 9 to 5, and on October 10 and 11, for the inaugural of the Sunday, December 6, from 11 to 5. Admission Central Oklahoma Railfan Club's completely is $3. Children under 12 are free, when rebuilt former Burlington-Northern locomotive accompanied by an adult. #814, now pulling the Watonga Chief. CORC is looking for volunteers to work during The locomotive was originally built in 1956 by this train show. Those who work at least 2 hours the General Motors Company as Northern during the train show will earn free admission. Pacific passenger locomotive #7003D and Gate attendants, hospitality room hosts, go-fers, became BN #814 when the Burlington took over loaders, contest coordinators, and security are the Northern Pacific. By accident the needed. Contact Ed Birch at Whistlestop Trains, locomotive was allowed to freeze up at from noon to 6 pm, weekdays and Saturdays, Livingston, Montana, at which time the BN 842-4846, to become a volunteer. declared it surplus and donated it to the Central Railfan Club, since they felt it. could not be This year, four gate entries instead of only one economically repaired. The Club was not will need to be manned. Again, the train show is convinced and spent the past five years making looking for each worker to donate cookies, chips, new parts and rebuilding it under the direction of or snack items to supplement the other food Guy Lynn of Norman, the club's mechanical items served to dealers in the hospitality room. chairman. Because the OKC Train Show has attracted The Federal Railway Administration has now 10,000 people annually, over 100 dealers and approved its use and will head the train during (See SHOW, Page 2) the fall season. It is an F9A and has 1750 horsepower. TABLE OF CONTENTS (See INAUGURATION, Page 2) UP 3985 Slide Show 2 Operation Li fesaver 2 NEXT CORC MEETING TO BE Charles Luna Dies 3 NOVEMBER 14. Rail Tax Exemption 3 Engineer Murphy & the Dead Cow 4 At Kirkpatrick Center, 2100 NE 52, 7 pm, Reprints from The Keystone 5 Saturday, November 14. Ed Birch will conduct Reprints from UTU News 6 the meeting. The topic will be the OKC Train Dream Train 6 Show. A slide show of past train shows will Arson Ruins Wanette Bridge 8 start the program. After presenting door prizes Reprints from The Pioneer 8 and serving refreshments, CORC members will What are Dynamic Brakes? 10 volunteer for various duties during the upcoming Strange Railroad Laws 10 OKC Train Show. The train show will be NRHS Agreement with L&RP 11 CORC's December Meeting. Timetable 12 Page 2 the DISPATCHER INAUGURATION, From Page 1 UP3985 SLIDE SHOW COMING Cities sending passengers for the weekend By Roy Thornton included Oklahoma City, Edmond, Dover, Ada, Shawnee, Anadarko, Norman, Mustang, The Canadian County Historical Society, located Midwest City, Del City, Yukon, Longdalc and in the old Rock Island passenger station in El Reno, will host a slide show in it's Popcorn Watonga. A limited number of seats were sold Theater at 7:30 pm, Monday, November 16, at the train on East Main street for the 2 pm 1992. The program will be given by Jackie River Train and 5 pm Dinner Train on October Main, who rode the UP 3985 steam excursion, 10, and for the 2 pm, Red Hill and Dinner trains sponsored by CORC, from Coffeyville to on October 11. McAlester last August 12. The public is invited to attend. • Trains also will operate on October 24, 25, and November 6, 7, 8, 21, 22, and 27. OPERATION LIFESAVER Reprinted from The Keystone Reservations can be made by calling or writing the Watonga Chief Reservation Office, 2936 Their editor has never witnessed a grade crossing Bella Vista, Midwest City, OK, 73110 - phone accident, and an incident on May 12, 1992 in 405-732-0566. • Berryville, VA has him hoping he never will. With NS train #154 out and running on the Hagerstown District, the dispatcher lined SHOW, From Page 1 southbound lite power move NS train #961 even large modular train layouts have signed up (3315, 8005, 8551, 8521, 3938, 5152 into the to attend. Dealer booth space is still available north end of the siding to meet the train. With for $50 each. A dealer booth is 10' x 10', #154 close, and not wanting to stop, #961 moved includes a sign, two tables, chairs, and slowly through the siding, as the northbound hospitality room privileges. Mr Birch has also climbed Pigeon Hill and rolled into town. Main Street crossing came alive as bell and crossing arranged dealer discounts with various area gates went into action. Train #154 (3296, motels. A swappers corner will be provided for 6130(CR), 5015(CR), 3205, r/c car 905-903 and $15 for only a table and chair, but no sign or 41 cars rolled past. As the COT flashed by, the hospitality room privileges. gates briefly went up as the dispatcher began rolling the switch over to align #961 out of the This year's show will feature trophies and siding. At the peak of the arc, the crossing gates ribbons for contest winners. Contest entries came alive and began going down. THEN IT must be made no later than 2 pm Saturday. HAPPENED. An idiot in a white Bronco drove Judging will take place Saturday night after around the lowered gate and lumbered out onto the track. Looking out his driver's side window, closing. Awards will be made Sunday. The Toy and watching almost 18,000 HP worth of Train Operating Society and the National Model locomotives close in on him, from the opposite Railroaders Association will have special direction, he panicked driving his vehicle directly activities including clinics and displays. through the crossing gate on the other side. McNally's Lionel exhibit is expected to be part Close call! I'm sure he was shaken, but so were of this. the train crews as was evident by the radio conversations. Am I upset? You bet I am. No Many smaller displays will be on hand to additional amount of grade crossing protection is complement the modular clubs. Local modular possible as long as people disobey common sense. As we are now into summer when we clubs attending are to be Oklahoma Rail enjoy spending time at trackside, take the time to Enthusiasts, Section Gang, and Oklahoma make your visit a safe one. Set an example for N-Rail. Tulsa N-Rail and Albuquerque HO the public at grade crossings and around railroad Scale have also signed up. • property. Remember OPERATION LIFESAVER is more than a bumper sticker! • the DISPATCHER Page 3 CHARLES LUNA DIES RAIL TAX EXEMPTION COULD SET By Roy Thornton DANGEROUS PRECEDENT Reprinted from UTU News On Thursday, October 1, 1992, Charles Luna, 82, died of a massive heart attack at his home in Owners of a locomotive repair shop in Montana Dallas. Services were held in Dallas on October are waging a scare-tactic campaign in an effort to 5. The Eulogy was given by Graham CI aytor, get out of paying Railroad Retirement taxes for Chairman of Amtrak's board of directors. His their workers, and the UTU and others are wife, Opal, survives along with children and fighting for the workers' rights and against a grand children. potentially dangerous precedent. "Charles" was the UTU representative on the The Livingston Rebuild Center, a rail car repair Amtrak Board of Directors. He helped to shop and sister company of the Montana Rail organize Amtrak and was it's first board member Link, has twice been turned down by the courts to sign up and his appointment was always in efforts to win exemption from paying Railroad renewed. He was the Board's strongest advocate Retirement and Railroad Unemployment for returning Amtrak service to Oklahoma and Insurance taxes. It is now waging a media was instrumental in the build up of Amtrak campaign to get an amendment attached to a tax service in Texas. His advice to Oklahomans was bill to exempt it from the coverage, claiming it to rally their congressional delegation into cannot compete with companies that are not approaching Amtrak's board as a unit and paying into the fund, and it has convinced demand a free train on the basis that every state Montana Sen. Max Baucus (D) to quickly offer has at least one free train and that Amtrak is up such an amendment to existing tax legislation, supposed to be a "National" Railroad Passenger H.R. 11, without necessary hearings. Corporation. He addressed regional NARP meetings and met with many railroad activists to The UTU, all three members of the Railroad advise them on this matter. retirement Board and others are warning that enactment of such an amendment would "Charley" was the central figure in the jeopardize the retirement system in a number of organization of the United Transportation Union ways and would set a dangerous precedent. It from more than a dozen separate railroad unions would immediately harm all shop employees who and was it's first president.