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Leo is right. Working the Chicago Chief job just one part of the job was to check the power coming out of Northtown on Eastbound trains to see IF they had enough power. We had a tonnage chart by loco number and you had to figure out IF the train had enough power. Often Northtown and the Diesel Control in St.Paul would not give us enough power. Enough to get it to Savanna but not over the roller-coaster to Aurora. so you had to get more power or run it via Mendota-Denrock to get a better route with less traffic and meets. Another problem was the Ottumwa Div. besides West Burlington Hill you had the "Iowa Ozarks" from P. Jct to BN. Coal trains would go into Lincoln with four motors and come our way with only three. You had hills eastbound at Glenwood (just east of P Jct.) and the end of double track. then Red Oak Hill which someone in the wisdom(??) cut the double track before the top of the hill. So you had to let a coal train run from Hastings to Villisca over the hill to make a meet. After the Galesburg office lost Creston to P Jct. to Lincoln they put the double track back in over that hill. Much of the track between Creston(the top of the hill) to Ottumwa was split as the track was regraded later in years to cut some of the hills down. Coal trains were a long slow trip slugging up the hills the cond. could drop off and walk up faster. All tonnage trains went up the South Hill at Albia between Halpin and Maxon account no tonnage could pull the North Hill(again split with the depot at Albia only serving the North Hill) One nite I had five eastbound coal trains out of Chariton waiting on a work train working one the South Hill. He called in as said they were on the ground, as they had been dumping ballast and built up under and derailed. SO after No. 5 went west I told the second coal train to cut off power and shove the first up the north hill So had three motors on each end( pre distributive power). Once they got to Maxon the rear set cut off and went back for his train with No. 3 shoveing him up and repeat. 4 shoved 3, 5 shoved 4 and the last two due to the Long Pool (Galesburg to Creston) They complained they would not make it to Galesburg. As No. 5 had to double Halpin to Maxon the north way. I told them no problem as I had relief crews called. Steve in SC On Saturday, August 26, 2017 9:14 AM, "qutlx1@aol.com [CBQ]" <CBQ@yahoogroups.com> wrote: Tom, What I described was my experiences in the 70s under BN. However almost everyone on the crews were Q men and they had the pattern down pat so they knew from years of experience what to do. Once you stalled on Burke the DS was called and informed and asked how to proceed. After a moment or two the crew would be advised to double or hang tight and so and so would come up behind you and give you a shove. I've been involved in all the scenarios of doubling, being pushed, doing the pushing,etc. There are others on this list who have far more experience with it than me. Sometimes if the train coming up to do the pushing was light enough or had plenty of power the crew could cut off their train on the side of Burke, shove the first guy over and come back and do just fine getting over the hill. Other times we would simply hang onto the train and simply couple up and push the first guy why also dragging our own train. My memory is that if you were still making forward movement at the road overpass on the curve in the cut at the top of Burke you were going to make the hill. Usually stalled west of it. I do recall Condrs. Telling me that it was not unheard of in the past for the Savanna switch engine to tie on and shove to the yard board. But that's about the time the real grind began. From reading the union files I can advise that in steam days doubles were made from time to time at places like Hazelhurst, Stratford/Oregon,Lee,etc. I recall doubling Oregon once. While in theory the horsepower to tonnage ratings under steam or diesel were pretty accurate for the various lines/hills once it rained,snowed,hard wind blew, etc you could throw the book away. Or the engine had clogged sanders,etc,etc. As to the around the horn trips these were not limited to just the ore trains under the Q. A!
nd they would be made mostly eastbound but also westbound. An extra North with 100 or more mty. Box cars going back for grain and lumber would be a regular "around the horn" trip westbound. Eastbound any heavy extra that was likely to crawl at less than walking speed over all the previously mentioned hills would be sent eastbound around the horn. Where it would be out of the way until it finally appeared at Mendota. Leo
__._,_.___ Posted by: STEVEN HOLDING <sholding@sbcglobal.net> __,_._,___ |