Western Railroad Discussion > Zero Dark Thirty @ Tunnel 41

So today I went to Truckee to explore, and as usual, stayed way too late.  I finally headed home around 11 pm--but wait!--a train could be seen (and heard) laboring uphill towards Truckee.  So, I waited.

Finally, it blew for the crossing, and roared past me in downtown Truckee.  5 engines up front, mostly GEVO's, but also an SD-9043MAC.  Really working hard.  Lots of grain cars on the head end, along with tons of loaded reefers, presumably loaded with meat for export via the Port of Oakland.  Finally, a lone GEVO 2/3 back, more loaded centerbeam cars, then........silence.

After listening to the train slowly disappear into the Stanford Flats area, I then headed west on old Donner Pass road, and eventually parked at the boat ramp alongside Donner Lake.  There, across the waters and up in the high Sierras lies the original CP / SP and now UP line over Donner Pass.  After some time, the train's headlight finally pierced the pitch black darkness of the high Sierra line, and very slowly rolled around the far curve to the east, high above the lake waters.  Clearly, the engines were working very hard, as the still night air was filled with that far distant thunder of locomotives working at full throttle.  The train slowly moved along the ridge, then swept back inward to prepare for and finish the climb through 2-mile long, and ascending, Tunnel 41.  The head end engines finally disappeared and entered the tunnel, and all I could hear were rail flanges squealing against rail, along with all the other sounds trains make against the track.  Eventually, the solitary GEVO came into view, with it's small white front and rear step lights the only way to see its progress high above, which by now was painfully slow.

"I bet this train stalls in the tunnel," I thought to myself.  After the helper GEVO disappeared and the air went still again, I drove up over old Donner Pass to Norden.

There, at the Norden sheds, the train had stopped, its head end brightly illuminating the trees and darkness, but no movement otherwise.  All I could figure is that that lone GEVO ran out of good air in that long tunnel after 5 other engines had passed through at full throttle, filling the hole with smoke and very hot air.  Given how slow the train was moving prior to entering the tunnel, losing that 1 helper may have been all it took to bring the train down.  So, the train almost made it...

I waited for awhile, but nothing changed.

And at zero dark thirty, the lonliness and stillness of Donner Pass regained itself as a manifest sat motionless, quietly idling, another victim of Donner Pass and its long summit tunnel.  A tunnel that when built, was intended for downhill trains with its descending grade while eastbound.  Westbound trains would use the old #1 track, the original line, with snowsheds that had much more ventilation for uphill engines.  But all that has changed now, and Tunnel 41 awaits each westbound foe, ever patient, ever unforgiving.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/25/15 02:51 by coach.

GREAT narative.. a better 'image' of what happen then a photo would have been!   Thanks!

Excellent word picture, very well written.
The name "Moyers" should not be forgotten.  He is the genius who Anchutz brought in to slash and burn the "redundant" SP infrastructure, including the original line over the summit.
He even got named "Railroader of the Year" by a trade magazine.
He and Phil must have been real pessemists.  If they had had  any hope that business levels would rebound they could have simply mothballed the track they thought was redundant. 
On well, this is real history, not the history we might wish for.

Moyers did the same to the ICG. Did CN ever replace the track Moyers ripped out. The Number between Shed 47 and Norden was doomed by the poor operating conditions in winter, ice and snow. Shed 10 to Switch 9 was a mistake.

CP?

Posted from Android

=15.5999994277954px

Thanks for sharing your trip with me, I sincerely appreciate it.

I wonder if they have ever examined running electrics like the
Bombardier Traxx branded IORE locomotives through the area
as it is a difficult slog uphill and it is a single track?

Saying that I think they would need 165 pound welded rail for
the paired traxx units and a single 6000 volt conductor for the paired units.. 


 



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/25/15 17:08 by leonz.

upheritage6 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> CP?
>
> Posted from Android

Central Pacific

Great word story and a monument to the small minds that seem to prevade back then. I heard Moyers was a flat land railroader and this is a testimate to his ignorance...

James Nelson
Thornton, CO
www.flickr.com/mojaveflyer

Oh.

Posted from Android

Thank you for the kind words--last night at the late hour was almost eerie--high moon behind storm clouds, no one around, absolute darkness at times, a cold breeze at times, dead silence, save for a train that couldn't beat Tunnel 41.  Wish you all could have been there. 

I understand the operating difficulities that the #1 track had, but for the vast majority of the year, it's fine.  From an operating viewpoint, I'd put it back in.  Subjecting crews to possible stalling issues is never good in a 2 mile long tunnel.  At least on the #1 track and snowsheds, there were "window slits" to the outside world, allowing for air circulation, along with "breaks" in the sheds.  I've seen several stalls on the #2 track over the years, and I don't know why it's tolerated or seen as an "acceptable risk."  The time the UP steam special almost stalled in the tunnel was frightening.  For the safety of the crews, I hope things will change back someday.   

The Number One track was steeper between Eder and Norden, the clearances, although enlarged in 1967, were still close. I think it wass a good choice to take it out between those two stations. I would have put the end of doubletrack and overing shed over the switch closer to Tunnel 41.

They need to install an updated version of an air flow curtain. Might help to increase the pressure inside the tunnel.

All crews are trained on and equipped with SCBA's for emergencies in the tunnels and sheds.

Actually if they spent the money on a small diameter vertical raise bored shaft midway above the tunnel
and lined it with concrete and installed a mine type exhaust ventilation fan on top of it and pulled fresh
air from both ends of the tunnel the stalling and bad air issues would be gone period.

No amount of air curtain or air doors with forced draft solves ventilation problems with mined railroad tunnels unless the
air can escape with minimal friction in the bore meaning overcoming the resistance created by the consists themselves..
fans used in a vertical raise bore will not have an issue with draft as the pressure gradient is negative and can be as high as 13 HG/ column inches of water 

It is no different than if the Mill Creek Shaft was reopened and lined with concrete and a fan house was installed 
with mine fans in exhaust mode.to bring in fresh air from both ends of the tunnel which would eliminate the
waiting time for the new Cascade tunnel to flush out and there by increasing the number of trains per day above 33. 

I do not see Uncle Pete fixing this issue nor do I see BNSF solving the ventilation problems with the New Cascade Tunnel
or the Flat Head Tunnel either..

I certainly hope these railroads are vigilant in checking the airpacks on a regular basis as well as weighing the self rescuers
if they are issued to the locomotives as they are only allowed to gain 10 grams in weight total before they must be disposed of
and replaced with new ones. 

FYI if your the least bit concerned about a self rescuer you can clean them with a brush and dunk them in a bucket of water to
see if the seal is still intact otherwise the vacuum is broken, air bubbles will escape and the hopkalite used for rebreathing by
converting carbon monoxide into breathable carbon dioxide is contaminated.  

AS  a retired hard rock miner I can tell you this in complete confidence. If you are trapped with only a self rescuer they are
rated for one hours use in a fire or area filled with smoke AND.be prepared to deal with blisters inside your mouth because the 
self rescuer will become extremely hot due to the conversion of carbon monoxide to breathable carbon dioxide.
You have to keep biting down on the lugs to maintain a proper seal with your lips and the headgear.must be tight.

Thye SCBA units must be checked regularly and the rubber seals and hoses on the masks inspected and replaced as needed as the
rubber degrades with exposure.to ozone. The SCBA units need to be dated with the last inspection date as well.

The other thing I must emphasize is about beards, an SCBA unit will not seal properly with someone wearing a beard, no matter if it is a
full beard or a neck beard or thick heavy sideburns or mustache. Please remember this as your life may depend on it.. 
 



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 05/26/15 22:33 by leonz.