First let's define terminology re weed control. There seems to be
some confusion as to what machine does what..Here's what we have.
There is: The WEED BURNER....This is a machine described by some as
a rail mounted "Flame Thrower"..It is usually fueled by diesel fuel and/or
gasoline. It's operated as a piece of MOW equipment looking like a couple of
push cars carrying piping carrying burners at their ends directed downward
toward the track. The machine was pushed by a motorized machine like a
Motor Car. The pressurized fuel is directed through the down
directed burners and burns with a great heat and intensity insinerating
everything on the track over which it passes...this includes ties and,
hopefullly all vegetation. Various photos of this kind of equipment has
have appeared on this forum over the years...I don't think this kind of
equipment is used much, if any, today.
Then there is the WEED MOWER. which, also, is a track mounted push
car like device with cutter sickle bars which extend out 4 or 5 feet on each
side of the track. The sickle bars are usually powered by small
"lawnmower" type engines which operate the cutter arms. This equipment
is pulled by a track motor car...Probably mostly used on branch lines where
the vegetation grows right up the the tie ends on each side. We used
this kind of equipment on the Rock Port Langdon & Northern..It was
borrowed from the CB&Q when it was needed.
Next is the WEED SPRAY TRAIN. That's what we are talking about
here. It's a boxcar like "spray car" with a window like opening on the
"business end" and equipped with gasoline engine powered mixing a pressurizing
equipment to mix the "chemical" with water and force it through the sprayer
bars which run crosswise of the car about coupler height on the front and
below the window. The spray train consists from the front... the
spray car and related equipment followed by a number of tank cars carrying the
chemical and water. This whole string is SHOVED by an engine and usually
a WAYCAR is behind the engine. A relatively short time ago a
picture of a train made up exactly like this was displayed on this forum..It
was in front of the depot in some town in Illinois IIRC and was an EXACT
DUPLICATE of the train I worked on Summer 1958. I wish someone would dig
this one up and display it here.
I do agree with Leo that the train and equipment in the extant photo is
not a weed spray train..It's an oiler. I'm also familiar with why this
was done. Leo speaks about the brine "Drippings" from reefer cars
creating rust and corrosion on the eastbound track on railroads over which
they traveled. We had the same situation on the Rock Island between
Silvis and Blue Island. Also, it was a big problem on the Government
Bridge over the Mississippi River at Rock Island. There a tar like
substance was applied to the eastbound main to prevent..or at least minimize
the effect of the brine.
Anyhow..Here's my WEED SPRAY EXPERIENCE. SUMMER
1958.......Brakeman Wymore Division CB&Q...Working Lincoln Extra
Board.
June 5th, 1958. I had made my first round trip Lincoln-St.
Joe June 3rd---returning and tieing up at 6:15am June 4th This was the
trip where I received my "Excellence in Flagging" Degree (Summa Cum
Laude).
Today was Tuesday June 5th...Phone rang about 5:30am...Called for the
Weed Spray for 7:00am. I don't recall whether the caller told me
that it was the Weed Spray or just an "Extra East". Anyhow I got to the
roundhouse to get the engine, which was always the job of the head
brakeman..As the "juniior man" I was always the Head brakeman. I read
the bulletins, compared and registered my watch and "signed the book".
About that time the conductor I had not met before came in the register
room. I introduced my self to him thinking "Why is he here??
Usually you didn't see the conductor until you had put the engine
on the train and he brought the orders and/or messages up to the head end.
He and I walked outside and he pointed over at one of the departure
tracks where I saw, what I now know, was the weed spray train. The train
was made up with the spray car on the east (front) end....followed by several
tank cars and the engine (a GP7) on the rear with a waycar behind it.
As we walked over to the train the "Con" pointed to the Spray Car and
said "Your job is "OVER THERE" and he handed me a copy of the orders and
walked off toward the rear end of the train. That was the full extent of
his instructions for me.
I walked over to the spray car...which looked exactly like the spray car
on the train I mentioned in my reference to a photo some time back on the
"list". The spray car on my train did have the same configuration
as the one, now determined to be the oiler in the photo.
I went over to the right side of the front of the spray car and
climbed in. There I found 3 men..One was the roadmaster, one was the
operator..(an employee of the company which had been employed by the Q to do
the spraying) and another "helper" from the chemical company.
I looked around and said to the roadmaster..."How do we control this
thing"...He looked at me...WHACKED me on the arm and said..."With that"
(meaning my arm)...NO RADIO...NO COMPUTER...just me and the OLD HAND
SIGNALS. OK Said I...This is going to be fun>>>>And it
was
During our conversation the matter of why all the cars between the spray
car and the engine...Well, many years ago the "Chemical" used to spray
was Poison...I knew that from my youthful experience on the RPL&N where we
sprayed our ROW with a pressurised tank mounted on a flat car. I also
remembered that in those days that before the railroad would spray, signs
reading "Poison Weed Killer"..keep cattle away would be posted along the right
of way. Because of the poisonous nature of the Chemical there was an
agreement between the railroads and the engineer's union that there would be 8
cars between the spray car and the engine.
Of course..like most other things on the railroad...changing conditions
didn't always....or ever...change the agreements, so even then..long after
"Poison" was not the issue the spacing continued.
I don't how we found out when it was time to go,...I guess the roadmaster
and the operator told me that they were ready...I think that there was a
"pot" signal as a leaving signal and it was green....Hence...it was time to
go....
I got into position on the right hand side of the car at the door...stuck
my arm out and waved a come ahead signal...The hoghead "Whistled off"...got an
OK from the "rear end" and away we went.
As we traveled along the roadmaster would tell me when he wanted to slow
down or speed up...Mostly he yelled at me that we were going to fast. He
would turn the spray on and off as he observed the vegetation growth along the
way. He was limited in the amount of Chemical he could use and sometimes
he would think we were going too slow and sometimes too fast...mostly
too fast.
The day consisted of a repetition of slow downs...speed ups...I don't
think we ever had to stop and back up.
Someplace along the line we stopped to eat, but I don't know where it
was...I don't think that we sprayed any sidings, or elevator, or house
tracks...
It was a long day when we finally arrived at Falls Citya t 8:00pm...put
our train on a house track and tied up at 8:05 pm...14:05 on duty.. 214
Miles... $37:21 My pay
Next morning at Falls City we went on duty at 7:00am...Of course we had
to switch our train all around to put it in the same order to go back west to
Table Rock thence over the line from Table Rock to Wymore. I didn't note
the time we left since we were on "continuous time".
On the way back west to Table Rock and Wymore there was "on and off"
discussion as to whether we were going to spray the yard at Wymore...It seemed
to be "iffy" at best as to whether the spray job belonged to the Wymore switch
engine or whether we were to do it. It was the general consensus that we
really didn't want to do the yard, since if we did we would miss our
opportunity to Dead Head back to Lincoln on No. 90 due out of Wymore about
2:30pm. If that was the case we would have to wait and ride No.
94..(Wymore local with all night work at Crete) or wait until the next
day.
As it turned out we arrived at Wymore at
2:15pm and were told that we weren't going to spray the yard. We tied up
at Wymore at 2:15pm for 7:05 hrs on duty equals 100 miles...My pay
$17.39.
We boarded No. 90...it was the Pioneer
Zephyr at that time at 2:30pm...Dead headed to Lincoln...arriving at
4:30pm...2hrs on duty 32 miles (DH)...deadhead pay for me $5.25.
As I recall it was a very hot day and
"riding the cushions" on the PZ was a very refreshing and comfortable respite
from standing on the front of that spray car.
Well, that's my Spray train story....I had
several memorable and enjoyable experience in that last summer as a trainman,
but I think that my "Weed Spray experience" would top the list. I had a
wonderful sense of being in control of the operation while we were
moving....
Pete