Steve,
We all knew there was a cutoff to get by Aurora before the parade. It was
usually firm, but occasionally it was "flexible". Did the dispatchers have hard
guidelines or was there some wiggle room and if so how much did who was the
engineer and/or engine/train consist factor into it?
Doug
----- Original Message -----
From: "STEVEN HOLDING" <sholding@sbcglobal.net>
To: CBQ@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Sunday, December 9, 2012 10:24:21 PM GMT -06:00 US/Canada Central
Subject: Re: [CBQ] National Silica
Most of us who worked the East End knew IF you let 11812 go he would run ahead
of the dinkys and make it with out sticking them. There were holes if you knew
them and how to make it work. We use to have a 85-90 percent on time average
with suburbans. But once we got to 99 percent management wanted it every time
and so we had to quit taking chances.
We talked about Naperville before and until METRA put up the money to add the
crossovers at Lisle and Naperville there was only three long single tracks from
the Crossovers at Downers Grove to Eola. Working 2nd trick two days on relief
until '74-Middle of April '80 then straight 2nd until Sept '81 I worked out
the sequence to run west of Downers Grove with only two tracks. Some trains
had to wait so you could get the hotshots ahead. Only worked the East End with
the new crossovers after the move to Ft. Worth. Time sure flew when you were
having fun.
Steve in SC
From: "dhartman@mchsi.com" <dhartman@mchsi.com>
To: CBQ@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Sun, December 9, 2012 3:38:20 PM
Subject: Re: [CBQ] National Silica
Remember it well. Working, you never could seem to get that stuff out of your
eyes, hair, clothes. I'm surprised it never got to the point where 11812 was
held behind any dinky due to commuter complaints or restricted to the middle. I
remember one trip where hard slack running in when on track 3 (extra list
engineer, not Eddie E) for Clyde gave a real bath to a crowd at Harlem Ave.
----- Original Message -----
From: qutlx1@aol.com
To: CBQ@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Sunday, December 9, 2012 2:14:45 PM GMT -06:00 US/Canada Central
Subject: Re: [CBQ] National Silica
The word wastage was referenced about box car loading of sand. Covered hopper
bottom outlet gates leak like the proverbial sieve. True then,true today. If
anyone is modeling the silica business be sure to put small white piles at all
your jct points and all over yards. Then be sure to have the section hands or a
track cleaner machine come thru to clean up the accumulation.
Modeling any of the loading/staging areas at sand pit is easy; just cover
everything with white sand to over the top of the rails. Think about spending
12-16 hours walking thru that everyday ?
And on the top of the cars cover them liberally with sand so it blows or falls
off every time you couple the cars and move the train.
I know a couple others on this list recall 86 or 11812 speeding down the east
end spraying the waiting suburbanites on the platforms with sand.
Leo
Sent from my iPhone
On Dec 9, 2012, at 12:30 PM, dhartman@mchsi.com wrote:
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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