Re: [CBQ] Burnt clay ballast

["Rupert Gamlen" <gamlenz@hotmail.com>]

Bill

Thanks very much for this piece. Having the coal and shale “sandwich” already in place must have helped keep the cost of burning down, and the Burlington was known as parsimonious for a reason!

Rupert Gamlen
Auckland NZ

 

From: CBQ@groups.io On Behalf Of William Hirt
Sent: Monday, 12 August 2019 12:43 p.m.
To: CBQ@groups.io
Subject: Re: [CBQ] Burnt clay ballast

 

The CB&Q 1958 Track Data and General Information - Lines East and West that the archive committee made available says this about burnt shale:

 

"The Sherwyco, a burnt shale is obtained from the Sherwyco pit at Milepost 707 west of Sheridan, Wyoming. At this pit, which is in the coal fields west of Sheridan, there are five seams of coal with shale between each seam. Three of the coal seams have been burnt out and the shale between them became burnt and hard. This burnt shale is what we obtain and use as ballast. It makes a good ballast for use where the country is dry and the traffic not too heavy."

 

Plans at the time of this document were to use the burnt shale on all Lines West lines with the exceptions of Pacific Jct. and Denver (via Omaha), Oreapolis to Ashland, Ashland to Ferry, Napier to Lincoln via Table Rock), Lincoln to Edgemont, Alliance to Brush, Northport to Bonneville, and Bonneville to Fromberg. Approximately 2,376 miles of track had Sherwyco ballast.

 

Bill Hirt

 

 

On 8/11/2019 6:59 PM, zephyr98072 wrote:

Rupert:

 

I looked at the alignment charts again.  I don't know why I didn't think of this before (and I knew it but it didn't register), the alignment charts list the ballast as burnt SHALE and not burnt clay.  These materials may not be the same, although I think they are similar, because one definition of shale is clay that has been subjected to more pressure.

 

I will develop the list any way.  It looks like the use of this type of material for ballast is more extensive than I thought, as the line between Holdrege and (just west of) Sterling appears to have about 75 miles of burnt shale ballast.

 

I will have a closer look at its use on Sheridan Lines and send you a list.

 

 

 

 

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