Western Railroad Discussion > Dead on the hours.

P&W's northbound Hauler only made it to Shedd this morning. It's been tied down and idling away since I don't know when (I first heard it about 6 am but quickly went back to sleep). UP 5586 north, with a cut of cars that might fit in Albany yard's Pass Track. Note the temporary ditch lights so they can go faster than 20 mph over public crossings.

For those not familiar with my former employer, this job is crewed by a Portland & Western crew based in Eugene, Oregon.  The train in these photos is made up of cars from the UP Eugene yard, destined for P&W Albany yard, using the UP mainline and UP power, by agreement.  Once there, the crew gathers up interchange traffic and returns to Eugene.  Last night, they only made it as far as Shedd, about 30 miles north of Eugene yard. Rumors are that UP Eugene is having 'issues.'



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 11/13/24 10:23 by roustabout.

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roustabout Wrote:
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>  Rumors are that UP Eugene is having 'issues.'

I'm curious, is UP running with one man switch crews in Eugene, with that new labor contract signing last year which allows the carrier to eliminate the brakeman or helper off of local and switch jobs?

That is a slick idea, with some strong magnets!

I don't think I'd be real enamoured with running a desktop backwards at any kind of speed.

An outlet above the coupler, supplying ditch-light voltage -- do most/all units have that?

timz Wrote:
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> An outlet above the coupler, supplying ditch-light
> voltage -- do most/all units have that?

Standard MU cable plug.

At least its a older AC4400 and not the newer ES44AC. The older units have some rearward visibility, but the radiators of the GEVOs block any kind view down the tracks. Really need to put a hi-def backup camera in those locomotives.

Posted from Android

Ted Curphey
Ontario, OR

Ticeska Wrote:
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> roustabout Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> >  Rumors are that UP Eugene is
> having 'issues.'
>
> I'm curious, is UP running with one man switch
> crews in Eugene, with that new labor contract
> signing last year which allows the carrier to
> eliminate the brakeman or helper off of local and
> switch jobs?

Class 1's continue to be their own worst enemy.  It's beyond comprehension.

RetiredHogger Wrote:
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> I don't think I'd be real enamoured with running a
> desktop backwards at any kind of speed.

It's unlikely to be a desktop, but it's still rough to run via mirror.

portlander Wrote:
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> RetiredHogger Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I don't think I'd be real enamoured with running
> a
> > desktop backwards at any kind of speed.
>
> It's unlikely to be a desktop, but it's still
> rough to run via mirror.

I was never on a UP widebody that wasn't a desk top (and ran a lot of them on interchange coal trains). But I've been retired for a while.

If it isn't one, much better for the crew.

RetiredHogger Wrote:
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> portlander Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > RetiredHogger Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > I don't think I'd be real enamoured with
> running
> > a
> > > desktop backwards at any kind of speed.
> >
> > It's unlikely to be a desktop, but it's still
> > rough to run via mirror.
>
> I was never on a UP widebody that wasn't a desk
> top (and ran a lot of them on interchange coal
> trains). But I've been retired for a while.
>
> If it isn't one, much better for the crew.

I don't remember the 5500s specifically, but most of the newer GEs were traditional. That may have started with the 7000s.