Nostalgia & History > Rock Island Eldon-Trenton-KC Friday Oct17 1975

I recently acquired a Rock Dispatcher sheet and after transcribing, noted some interesting observations.

Besides the SP trains 01A and 02A running, several grain trains are running with one for the KCS at KC and one for Houston.  Also if I count right, 7 of the Rock's 10 SD40-2s are present.  Does anyone know if this was their chief assignmnet.  Any other comments welcome.



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 07/25/16 21:05 by PCTZ.

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>  ...if I count right, 7 of the Rock's 10 SD40-2s are present.  Does anyone know if this was their chief assignmnet.

Hello,

They were used over most of the RI mainline network at one time or another but their primary use at that time was along the KC-Inver Grove mainline on trains 80/81, on grain trains, and along the Silvis - Co. Bluffs - Denver route.
 

> Any other comments welcome.

You mention a line up in your message - the photos you posted are of a dispatcher's "train sheet". 

The caboose numbers shown on RI dispatcher's sheets were normally abbreviated, dropping the first 2 digits (17) and showing only the last 3 digits.  Add "17" to each "C" number you've shown to get the actual caboose numbers.  

As info, 1975 was a slow year traffic-wise.  In the early '70s RI was running many more trains that what's shown on your sheet; 01/02 for example would run in multiple sections during perishable season in 1973/74.  It was common to see 3 or 4 sections of 02 running during the perishable rush, with 01Rs returning empty reefers west in 100+ car trains. 

You mention the KC-KCS route for the grain train - it became more common in the later '70s for the RI to hand off unit grain trains at KC rather than haul them all the way to Texas via a RI routing.  In the later years the majority of RI's Iowa and Minnesota unit grain trains were interchanging at KC for the Gulf.

Take care,

Mark    

 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/26/16 06:12 by mamfahr.

Thanks Mark, appreciate your input and will update.  Enjoyed your DS sheet article in the UP Steamliner too.

Understand the SD40s were not equipped with cab signals, and so would rarely wander east of Silvis.

mamfahr Wrote:
> As info, 1975 was a slow year traffic-wise.  In
> the early '70s RI was running many more trains
> that what's shown on your sheet; 01/02 for example
> would run in multiple sections during perishable
> season in 1973/74.  It was common to see 3 or 4
> sections of 02 running during the perishable rush,
> with 01Rs returning empty reefers west in 100+ car
> trains. 

Interesting stuff!  Thanks for posting.  Wish there were more of these around.  Would love to see one for Herington in either 1973 or 1974.

Yes, severe recession in 1975, worst one since the Great Depression, through traffic was starting to pick up nationwide that October.  Pitiful car count numbers for train #1, really bad compared to the same time period 2 years previous.  The continued slowing of running times on RI for trains #1 and 2 (to/from the SP at Tucumcari) hurt traffic levels.  No doubt SP officials at One Market St in SF were becoming concerned...


Allen



Edited 7 time(s). Last edit at 07/25/16 23:13 by bradleymckay.

Thank you for posting.  Very good info.

Just to clarify, it is Eldon, Iowa (and not the one in Missouri).
zr190

I see a J Keith which I think is John Keith. He hired out on the RI. Later worked for the SOO/CP/IMRL/ICE as an engineer out of KC to Ottumwa. If its the same person.

Thank you for sharing.

MILW86A

bradleymckay Wrote:

> Interesting stuff!  Thanks for posting.  Wish
> there were more of these around.  Would love to
> see one for Herington in either 1973 or 1974.

Hello Allen,

I'm curious how many RI documents from the "South End" (El Reno dispatching office) survived.  I know that many thousands of original RI documents were salvaged from the "North End" offices in Des Moines (dispatching offices, Supt, etc) and those are available, but what about El Reno?  I agree, my perception is that very few documents are available from El Reno that provide insight into RI's operation on KC south & southwest routes.


> Yes, severe recession in 1975, worst one since the
> Great Depression, through traffic was starting to
> pick up nationwide that October.  Pitiful car
> count numbers for train #1, really bad compared to
> the same time period 2 years previous. 

If I get a moment I'll post information in a similar format showing RI's operations through Eldon in the 1973/74 timeframe as an example of how things changed quickly, for the worse, for the RI.

Take care,

Mark 

MILW86A Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I see a J Keith which I think is John Keith. He
> hired out on the RI. Later worked for the
> SOO/CP/IMRL/ICE as an engineer out of KC to
> Ottumwa. If its the same person.

Hey, I know that guy!

Are the units in parenthesis (circled) dead in consist?  Any idea why the lone SP unit would be running lite?  

This stuff is very interesting so thanks for sharing it with us here.  Like going back in time.  

Got it! That had me thrown for a complete loop! Both Eldons are RI towns, but I was really confused by these routings and train movements. Thanks for the clarification!

- Jeff Carlson 

zr190 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Just to clarify, it is Eldon, Iowa (and not the
> one in Missouri).
> zr190

mamfahr Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> bradleymckay Wrote:
>
> > Interesting stuff!  Thanks for posting.  Wish
> > there were more of these around.  Would love
> to
> > see one for Herington in either 1973 or 1974.
>
> Hello Allen,
>
> I'm curious how many RI documents from the "South
> End" (El Reno dispatching office) survived.  I
> know that many thousands of original RI documents
> were salvaged from the "North End" offices in Des
> Moines (dispatching offices, Supt, etc) and those
> are available, but what about El Reno?  I
> agree, my perception is that very few documents
> are available from El Reno that provide insight
> into RI's operation on KC south & southwest
> routes.
>
>
> > Yes, severe recession in 1975, worst one since
> the
> > Great Depression, through traffic was starting
> to
> > pick up nationwide that October.  Pitiful car
> > count numbers for train #1, really bad compared
> to
> > the same time period 2 years previous. 
>
> If I get a moment I'll post information in a
> similar format showing RI's operations through
> Eldon in the 1973/74 timeframe as an example of
> how things changed quickly, for the worse, for
> the RI.
>
> Take care,
>
> Mark 



Would love to see it Mark

Milwaukee Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Are the units in parenthesis (circled) dead in
> consist?  Any idea why the lone SP unit would be
> running lite?  
>
> This stuff is very interesting so thanks for
> sharing it with us here.  Like going back in
> time.  

Thats my assumption

Hello all,

Below are records from a few consucutive days in 1974 that I had handy.  They show trains that moved in/out Silvis to/from the Eldon, IA line.  Note the multiple sections of trains 01 and 02 handling mostly PFE equipment via Tucumcari (RI nomenclature at that time used letters for sections, as in A 1st, B 2nd, C 3rd etc).  Note that there is an 02D shown one day - the fourth section of 02 that operated that day.  Westward, train 01 regularly operated at that time in multiple sections, with 01A handling the priority loads via Tucumcari-SP and 01R handling mostly empty PFEs back west (R designated a train of mostly empty reefers; note the L/E/T figures for those trains).

Key to train numbers:
02 Tuc-SP - Chicago
16 Kansas City - Silvis 
20 Houston - Silvis
22 El Reno - Silvis
172 Eldon - Silvis local

01 Chicago - Tuc-SP
15 Silvis - KC
23 Chicago - Houston
173 Eldon - Silvis local

Also, someone asked about the circled engine numbers on the RI dispatcher's sheet.  Yes, a circle indicated that the engine wasn't running properly.  If the failure occured on the subdivision for that particular train sheet then there was a notation indicating the reason (KLOB, KGR, etc).

Take care,

Mark    



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/27/16 08:13 by mamfahr.

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Thanks for posting Mark,

What a difference, 01Rs seem pretty regular...but 02D...incredible!

mamfahr Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hello all,
>
> Below are records from a few consucutive
> days in 1974 that I had handy.  They show
> trains that moved in/out Silvis to/from the
> Eldon, IA line.  Note the multiple sections of
> trains 01 and 02 handling mostly PFE equipment
> via Tucumcari (RI nomenclature at that time used
> letters for sections, as in A 1st, B 2nd, C
> 3rd etc).  Note that there is an 02D
> shown one day - the fourth section of 02 that
> operated that day.  Westward, train 01 regularly
> operated at that time in multiple sections, with
> 01A handling the priority
> loads via Tucumcari-SP and 01R handling mostly
> empty PFEs back west (R designated a train of
> mostly empty reefers; note the L/E/T figures for
> those trains).
>
> Key to train numbers:
> 02 Tuc-SP - Chicago
> 16 Kansas City - Silvis 
> 20 Houston - Silvis
> 22 El Reno - Silvis
> 172 Eldon - Silvis local
>
> 01 Chicago - Tuc-SP
> 15 Silvis - KC
> 23 Chicago - Houston
> 173 Eldon - Silvis local
>
> Also, someone asked about the circled engine
> numbers on the RI dispatcher's sheet.  Yes, a
> circle indicated that the engine wasn't running
> properly.  If the failure occured on the
> subdivision for that particular train sheet then
> there was a notation indicating the reason (KLOB,
> KGR, etc).
>
> Take care,
>
> Mark