Nostalgia & History > The "Hard Pull"......

The "Hard Pull" is the moniker lovingly bestowed thusly by Santa Fe crews, upon the 31.1 mile, 1.4% westbound ascending grade, from Needles, California (Elevation 467'), to Goffs (Elevation 2,684'), on the Needles Subdivision. It is the longest of three gradients on the line; all are the same in gain.

H.P.T. is relative to a good run, of course. Generally, intermodals fare better than manifests; but you can throw it all in the air, until the engineer goes from "power", to "dynamic braking", as he crests the apex. Until the CTC "gap" from Ibis to Daggett was closed, the DS was usually kind enough to not stab "shooters" behind "drags", for the "gap" could reek havoc on such occasions.

One thing was a constant for the engineers though - the routine of leaving the yard. No timidity here - there isn't room for any.

At the yard office, the outbound crew boards the westbound, having briefly conversed with the inbound crew regarding power issues. The dwarf signal near the freeway beckons a "low green", so there is nothing left to do but......"go".

The engineer releases the train brakes (after test), while simultaneously pulling the throttle to notch 1, to start gathering slack. Knowing his train length, he will use his expertise to determine when everything is "rolling".

At that exact moment, it is no holds barred. There is little distance before the teeth of the grade begins. His hand still grasping the throttle, he shoves it fully to the opposite side of the control stand. All hell breaks loose. The ground trembles, as 14000 horsepower is converted to raw electrical power.

From the "launch", if he sees nothing but clear blocks, with no slow orders or heat restrictions, he'll not touch the throttle again - for thirty-one miles distant......

Thanks for listening,

Bob

ATSF100WEST......Out

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Nicely written...and your photo hints at what is ahead, thanks.

Tom

I know it was tough dispatching that stretch when the line was congested before CTC was put in back in 2001!