Nostalgia & History > 'couple of Wichita scenes

I had a reply & request from my latest Toto Tuesday thread ("Busted 3rd trick at N Wichita" on 11-13). Mr "CSabresXr1" asked if I had more shots of the yard office. After some digging I found one slide. I'm betting I have some more shots with this building in it, just not labeled "yard office". From today's slide scanning session I'm also tossing up another misc. scene from early 1980's Wichita.

Enjoy...

1. North Wichita yard office taken from Broadway Ave on December 5, 1976.

2. A view of the ATSF/MP crossing at 18th St(?), north of Wichita Union Station from the cab of AT&SF 3680 on WORK T-1, taken May 20, 2981*.
(*correction added 11-16: after all the good natured communication, I thought I'd better give up the keys to Michael J Fox's De Lorean. The date is, of course, NINETEEN eighty-one. I never said I could type, and my proof reader was obviously napping on the job... ;^)

Thanks for looking back!
Lance Garrels
santafe199



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 05/03/22 15:40 by santafe199.

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" . . . in the year 2525 . . ." zeager & evans

santafe199 Wrote:
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> 2. A view of the ATSF/MP crossing ...taken May 20, 2981.

Not much has changed in the past 969 years!!!

:-)

Question here. . .

In the last picture, what are the lights along the ground? Specifically, I notice that the searchlight signal is green -- and then the ground light that is next to the track the locomotive is on is red. What does that mean?

iliketrains Wrote:
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> santafe199 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > 2. A view of the ATSF/MP crossing ...taken May
> 20, 2981.
>
> Not much has changed in the past 969 years!!!
>
> :-)
Ooooooops. Guess I need to fire my proof reader.

Just wait til I toss up some stuff I shot in Montana back in 3009....

;^)

Posted from Android

Thanks Lance! Looks like that shot from the cab is just south of 20th looking at 18th.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/15/12 19:13 by CSabresXr1.

Narniaman Wrote:
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> Question here. . .
>
> In the last picture, what are the lights along the
> ground? Specifically, I notice that the
> searchlight signal is green -- and then the ground
> light that is next to the track the locomotive is
> on is red. What does that mean?


The dwarf signal is red meaning stop. The pots (dwarf) mean the same thing that the tall signal would mean if it were red. The signals are all absolute.

sp7878 Wrote:
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> Narniaman Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Question here. . .
> >
> > In the last picture, what are the lights along
> the
> > ground? Specifically, I notice that the
> > searchlight signal is green -- and then the
> ground
> > light that is next to the track the locomotive
> is
> > on is red. What does that mean?
>
>
> The dwarf signal is red meaning stop. The pots
> (dwarf) mean the same thing that the tall signal
> would mean if it were red. The signals are all
> absolute. Additional comment: The engine that the picture was taken from appears to be on the same track as the tall signal.

sp7878 Wrote:

> > The dwarf signal is red meaning stop.......

> ............................. The engine that
> the picture was taken from appears to be on the
> same track as the tall signal...............

Correct on both counts. In those days my AT&SF timetable showed 'double track-ABS' from the beginning of 2 mainline tracks just north (TT east) of N Wichita Yard through the maze of downtown Wichita industrial & interchange trackage (including Wichita Union Station) to South Jct, where my Santa Fe timetable showed a conversion to single track CTC all the way to Arkansas City. So the view from my cab in shot #2 shows my train had a clear signal at the MP (automatic interlocking) crossing, while any train that happened to be running on the track to the left had to stop at that crossing, no matter if it was a dwarf signal.

I know this is probably clear as mud to the average civilian, but this is the best description I can give...

Lance



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/15/12 21:47 by santafe199.

eljay Wrote:

> " . . . in the year 2525 . . ." zeager & evans

I think I've got a 45 of that tune packed away somewhere...

;^)

Can't wait, Lance, I'm sittin' here 3112 just waitin'! - Jerry

santafe199 Wrote:
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> iliketrains Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > santafe199 Wrote:
> >
> Just wait til I toss up some stuff I shot in
> Montana back in 3009....
>
> ;^)

How long have the diamonds been gone?

I think the tracks between North Jct and South Jct were under CTC.
Note the ATS inductor visible this side of your train's interlocking
signal....Newton to Ark City was ATS territory

The diamonds came out four or five years ago. That spot now is at the north slope of the new "Flyover" between there, and roughly Union Station. The UP doesn't need to cross there now, they enter the BNSF and use the flyover to South Jct. Google Earth is the best way to look at.

The_Chief_Way Wrote:

> I think the tracks between North Jct and South Jct
> were under CTC..............

I'll defer to Chief Way here. Probably 95% of my Santa Fe employment time in Wichita was spent switching in N Wichita Yard. A switch engine generally never had to get out on the mainlines. As for mainline trains, I rode through Wichita maybe a dozen times over those 9 years and those memories a very vague. The last time I ever rode through Wichita was in early 1987, and all my timetables are still boxed away (from more than a dozen moves between May 1987 & July 2010, involving addresses in Emporia KS, Pierre SD, Missoula & Laurel MT then back home to Manhattan)

Lance

Thanks for the two images from the North Wichita yard office and the train about to cross the old MoPac crossing; as mentioned, a lot has changed, the scalehouse just beside the yard office building is gone, the H-5 signal is gone, and the old Mopac crossing is gone as are all the signals; with the Wichita Fly-over project we lost a lot of the legacy signalling and trackage in the last few years, trains now wizz through town at higher speeds, fewer grade crossings, etc. Progress indeed, but I liked the character of the old track arrangements.

Keep those Wichita images coming!

Dan in Wichita

Speaking of that old MoPac line, does anyone remember when those two yahoos decided to go on a joyride through town on those two UP GPs?

Milw_E70 Wrote:
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> Speaking of that old MoPac line, does anyone
> remember when those two yahoos decided to go on a
> joyride through town on those two UP GPs?


Yeah Austin I remember that incident---around the late 70s??
Brian

Brian,
I think it was later than that. Would have to locate paper clipping of the wreck. upkpfan

upkpfan Wrote:
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> Brian,
> I think it was later than that. Would have to
> locate paper clipping of the wreck. upkpfan

I'm thinking it was in the early 90's when that happened.