During two winter seasons during the mid 1970's they ran "rusty marble"
(taconite) trains via the C&I to Cicero. The DM&IR ore jennies had trainline
hoses
mounted above the couplers (requiring a Missabe SD-9 coupled to the first ore
jenny) making it somewhat easier to couple hoses; the NP & GN jennies had
standard freight car mounted air hoses making it difficult to couple hoses
considering the close proximity of the wheels on adjoining cars. Break In Twos
were
guaranteed on the C&I's profile. Most crews were certain these ore jennies
were constructed in the late 1890s and were equipped with paper mache couplers.
They were the only trains, I recall, where the slack could "run-in" going up
hill. One particular taconite train took three crews to get from Savanna
Yard to Cicero, primarily due to the fact that they ran out of replacement
(spare) knuckles. More than one taconite train's lead unit was seen missing
its
knuckle on the front coupler. Due to the severe slack action on the C&I, many
waycar cupola windows were broken due to flying taconite pellets. The RR got
smart the second season and welded a multiple knuckle storage plate on every
5-10 jenny. A 110 car taconite train was about 50 cars long and had about 200
cars worth of slack.
Bob
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