Steam & Excursion > DM&IR Track Profile Leaving Frazer

Reference - Bill Middleton's article in Trains Magazine (Nov 1959), describing the difficulties encountered by an M4 and SD9 getting out of Frazer with an 18,000 ton train. I’m trying to determine how long the 0.8% grade was.

Background - The grade leaving Frazer is described as 0.8%, no length specified. If it were a continuous grade and longer than the train (between 5,400 and 5,500 ft ??), the combination of a 2-8-8-4 and SD-9 would not have been able to move the train after it was entirely on the grade. I suspect that the 0.8% grade was less than the full length of the train, perhaps somewhere around 3,000 ft. At that point the grade probably eased off and the train resistance dropped to a more manageable level.

If this were the case, the 2-8-8-4 and the SD-9 would be able to start the train on the comparatively level track in the yard, but would only be able to make about 5 mph maximum once most of the train was on the 0.8% section. This speed would be close to the "crawl" described before the battle was won. My figures indicate that neither the 2-8-8-4 nor Engineer Ed App were cut any slack (pun intended) in getting this train started. Under average conditions it would have been difficult and with the intermittent rain, things were worse.

I contacted the DM&IR Historical Society, but they have no track charts for this area since the line has been removed.. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

The topo map (contour interval 10 ft)
shows most of the yard at Fraser above
the 1500 ft contour; leaving there the
track never gets above the 1520 contour.
So 2000 ft of 0.8% sounds a better guess.

Near as I can determine, DM&IR only owned the track from Sherwood to Buhl, and owned no track beyond Buhl. If their train was operating between Buhl and Fraser, it had to be operating on Great Northern Railway trackage. DM&IR track charts show nothing beyond Buhl. I think the 2,000 ft. guess by Timz2 is pretty accurate, perhaps even 2,500 ft. before leveling off.

Timz2,

Thanks for finding this info. What source do you use for topo maps these days? Topozone sold out to a trails group, Terraserver is a subscription site, MS maps wouldn't load earlier today. What's left?

> What's left?

Paper maps, in the library I
fortunately live near.

For online maps, there's mytopo.com.
Their maps aren't as easy to read as
paper, and this particular map isn't
that easy to read anyway-- but
better than nothing.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/06/10 16:53 by timz2.

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