To add on to Leo, the Oregon Road Switch was usually a sweet job (that few bid
on at the time). If main line traffic was light, we could do the sand plant
fairly quick (compared to time spent at Wedron). Very few trips to Mt. Morris.
The job usually was on duty about an average of four hours or less. I commuted
from Aurora (back roads, no tollway then) and door-to-door it was less time
than working out of Eola. I braked for Casey, not Tripper (and we could have a
lot of interesting discussions on those two :)
Doug
----- Original Message -----
From: qutlx1@aol.com
To: CBQ@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Sunday, December 9, 2012 11:44:11 AM GMT -06:00 US/Canada Central
Subject: Re: [CBQ] National Silica
It looks like I missed responding to a couple on Bobs ?s
We did not have a w/c on the Oregon/Mt Morris job in the 70s. All the pictures
I've seen of the wood w/c at Oregon shows it tucked safely in at the frt house.
I think I recall from somewhere about it being used as a bunk car for crew.
My memory of the track layout at the Oregon sand plant is a long single lead to
the tipple which split into two run off trks. When one was full of loads they
were sent down the other trk.
The run off tracks had a pretty steep downhill grade and from time to time a
load released at the loading spout would derail when hitting the standing
string.
Each day a fair amount of time would be spent coupling up all the loads and
making the air so as to safely get them down the hill
Leo Phillipp
Sent from my iPhone
On Dec 9, 2012, at 10:27 AM, qutlx1@aol.com wrote:
Bob
How the sand plant was switched depended on how much "time on the main" you
could get. Some times you went up engine lite and coupled up all the loads and
brought them down the hill. Then when traffic allowed you shoved the empties
back up. My memory is it was rare to go up with empties and pull the loads. Too
much time on the main and too many cars/weight to shuffle in a long move.
Box cars (my memory) at all the sand plants(Oregon,Wedron,Ottawa) were for
bagged sand loading. I don't remember Shabbona Silica loading box cars. The
only bulk loaded box cars I remember were company service.
At all the sand plants you simply spotted the lead hopper under the tipple and
the plant loading crews loaded the car and let it roll by and pushed or pulled
the next one under the tipple.
Oregon had a very long track after loading tipple so long strings of cars could
A ccumulate making for a hard pull out of the plant and calling for some skill
to control going back to town.
Wedron had short leads and run off trks requiring almost constant switching.
Today Wedron and Oregon use their own track mobiles to expedite car movements
and my last visit to Wedron revealed they are loading at multiple tipples on
multiple trks both above and below the road xing.
Leo Phillipp
Sent from my iPhone
On Dec 9, 2012, at 9:25 AM, herrick@krausonline.com wrote:
This is for Leo or any of our listers who worked Oregon back in the day.
My 1967 track chart shows two tracks into National Silica.
I assume you had to push the set-outs ahead of the locomotive, but once there,
did you pull everything out and set them on the main and then push the set-outs
in?
Were there designated spots or did each track have a designated purpose, or did
it matter?
Bill Diven's Oregon photo file has a 1961 photo of the plant showing far more
boxcars than covered hoppers. Were these for bagged silica or was the product
loaded in them like grain? A very early Railmodel Journal Issue had a story on
the silica plant at Ottawa and it said the silica was loaded in boxcars though
the wastage was high.
And finally, did the waycar tag along or stay at Oregon?
Phew! Thanks, gang.
Bob Herrick
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