Railroaders' Nostalgia > The End (pt. 17): Sunrise from the waycar!

In the wee hours of June 30, 1981 I was awakened at the Santa Fe crew dorm @ Wellington, KS. A business-toned voice curtly informed me: “Garrels, 981 at four-twenty”. It was a routine call to work a train back home to Emporia. My crew was present at the Wellington yard office, had train orders & other pertinent info procured and were ready to roll by call time. My timebook says we had these 5 units: 5587 in the lead with 5919, 8737, 5943 & 5001 trailing. We would be dragging 46 loads & 0 empties comprising 3117 tons. That’s 16,800 horses laboring (ha-ha) to lug a bunch o’ pigs at roughly a 5.4 to 1 HP/ton ratio. We could have been in for a real scorcher of a trip. But an accumulation of westbound traffic was a bit heavy. Our 981 sat at Roland siding just west of town, and wasn’t able to sprint on up to the yard office until almost 0500. My timebook says we finally got through the crew change ritual (both ends) and departed Wellington @ 0510. I was the rear-end brakeman. The Kansas-in-June morning air had dissipated most of the heat & humidity from the day before so my conductor (L. C. Lyon) & I had our cupola windows open just a crack. This created a very pleasant supply of sweet morning air as our chariot quickly attained 70 MPH. 18 miles later we were flying up the south main, skirting around the south & east sides of Mulvane. Out my right hand window the first faint solar light was just starting to tease us from low in the eastern sky…

Riding a hot 70 MPH intermodal train over the predominantly single-tracked Middle Division was usually always a treat. Those intermodal trains were hotter because they nearly always had good power. And they always got plenty off horsepower because they were so much hotter than the average manifest or unit dog. Woof! It was a great 1-2 combination. It was a pleasure to work those trains. Especially for the few train servicemen who were unabashed railfans (pick me). But I had an amazing revelation. During my 9 year stint with Santa Fe I came to this solid conclusion: For every open railfan on our roster there had to be a half dozen other “closet” railfans on the same roster. I don’t care what anybody says! I’m positive the vast majority of train service employees nation-wide in the RR industry have at least a tiny bit of railfan deep down in their hearts, somewhere! It could be the only way so many railroaders are able to put up with the totally chaotic and life-style destroying work-schedule. A habitual work-schedule that has wrecked uncountable marriages & caused much alcoholism (and worse). That’s one of the reasons riding a nice hot-shot, thus getting some welcome relief from the normal drudgery of the job is always welcomed.

For a routine Santa Fe hotshot we really didn’t perform all that well from Wellington to Emporia. My timebook says our crew didn’t tie up (go off duty) in Emporia until 0805. Running time for the 113 miles was 2 hours, 40 minutes. A routine trip would have been 2 hours flat. A routine scorcher of a trip would have been 1 hour 45 minutes. And in 9 years I can remember at least 2 trips between Emporia & Wellington (one each way) ringing the bell @ 1 hour 40 minutes. (Please don’t ask what kind of speeds we flirted with… ;^) In the final analysis, our total on duty time of 3 hours 45 minutes wouldn’t even raise a routine eyebrow with anyone.

But there was one incident that will make me remember this particular trip forever. Along about 0600, (maybe a little later) I absolutely had to drag my camera out and shoot a picture, while gently bouncing about up in the cupola. We had just sliced off the top of El Dorado Lake and were cruising @ 70 MPH right through Chelsea. That “teasing solar light in the eastern sky” from just this side of Wellington had been crafted into another sunrise masterpiece, courtesy of the Master Artist…

1. Sunrise from Santa Fe waycar 999550 tacked onto train 981 BG-1. Vital info: Chelsea, KS on June 30, 1981. Shortly after I took this shot I clicked my (boot) heels together 3 times, and said “I’m actually getting paid for this!”

Is my last line reality or just fantasy? (I’ll never tell… ;^)

Thanks for looking back!
Lance Garrels
santafe199

“Smile my boy, it’s sunrise”
(Robin Williams’ last words spoken onscreen)



Edited 6 time(s). Last edit at 01/16/16 22:21 by santafe199.

---

Works for me!  Great shot!

Just a few days ago I remembered an incident that occurred at the westend of the old Chelsea siding, before they re-routed the railroad around El Dorado Lake, and was going to post it but it will fit here nicely on your post.  Engineer GK Noce with head brakeman LC Lyon were barrelling westbound from Aikman towards Chelsea at 70 mph.  An eastbound with engr KC Staley was pulling into the siding at Chelsea but stilled had 5 cars and a caboose on the main when the westbound struck them at approximately 30 mph.  Lynn Lyon told me he went out the front door and over to the field side (engr's side) to jump off.  One problem:  his hands wouldn't let go of the grab irons.  He said that was the strangest feeling.  He really tried to let go but couldn't.  The impact did knock him off the engine and fortunately he did not sustain hardly any injuries.  I can't remember but I think Noce went out the back door and jumped off.  I do know he wasn't injured.

Overheard engr Noce saying that any other engr but Staley would have already had his train in the clear before the westbound arrived.  Would that be passing the buck?  Noce also claimed the automatic brake valve didn't cause an emergency when placed in that position.  A couple of years later I was visiting with an Air Brake Supervisor who had checked out the lead unit after the crash and he said they did find some abnormalities with the brake valve.  I don't know if Noce received any discipline or not over this but do know he was not removed from service.  Both of the engrs are now gone but don't know about Lynn Lyon.  His old braking partner was Bill Neilson who was at the Big Four in 2014 and was still going strong.  That's all for now.
Mark

KskidinTx Wrote: ...Noce went out the back door and jumped ... he wasn't injured...

If Buddy Tucker was Staley's rear brakie on that trip I'm pretty sure I heard that story. And I'm just as sure the slighty-built Buddy was the one telling the story the day I heard it. He said when the collision occurred, the violent slack run-in AND instant change of travel direction bounced him around like a ping pong ball up in the cupola. Legend also has Kenny Noce "joining the birds" and landing on his feet at 28 MPH, and remaining upright...

Lance/199



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/17/16 03:37 by santafe199.

Lance, of all the images and stories you've posted over the years, this is one of my favorites!  I can feel that early morning breeze coming through the cupola.  Are you still clicking your boot heels together?!

Steve Zahn
Glenview, IL

 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/17/16 06:56 by run8diesel.

santafe199 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> KskidinTx Wrote: ...Noce went out the back door
> and jumped ... he wasn't injured...
>
> If Buddy Tucker was Staley's rear brakie on that
> trip I'm pretty sure I heard that story. And I'm
> just as sure the slighty-built Buddy was the one
> telling the story the day I heard it. He said when
> the collision occurred, the violent slack run-in
> AND instant change of travel direction bounced him
> around like a ping pong ball up in the cupola.
> Legend also has Kenny Noce "joining the birds" and
> landing on his feet at 28 MPH, and remaining
> upright...
>
> Lance/199

Coincidently, I just ran into Tucker last week in KC. He doesn't look a day older than the last time I saw him, and he's been retired 12 years. Wasn't he braking for Rex Brown?