Nostalgia & History > SP 2598 and a tie fire [1993]

Background- I don't think it was very common to assign yard power to work trains at least on SP. I do know that the engineer assigned to the Mountain work train was very very very unhappy. It was very heated on and off the radio, to the point that a special envoy from Roseville was sent to "smooth" things over with the crews. I think the engineer's concern (and train crew) was that the switchers lacked dynamic brakes which made their assigned work controlling a water train on mountain grades 2% a serious matter.  I have some footage of the onsite negotiations (too far away but visible) if anyone is interested I can post it. Eventually, the engineer got his sd9s/gp9s reassigned and the sw1500s were returned to yard service. For several days, I hiked into less seen locations to catch sw1500s [cruds] powering the work train. Oh, I was admonished for being on railroad property by the roadmaster overseeing the steel gang.

Here's SP 2598 and SP 2574 with a water train heading west on the #2 track. SP caboose 4669 is staffed and has fire hoses to put out trackside fires. The train was shadowing a Loram Rail grinding train.

Donner Pass
Clipper Gap and Applegate CA
Aug 1993

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Interesting operation.  I know UP had a runaway almost 20 years ago where someone died, so it's not like this couldn't have happend.  I'm glad the engineer in this case put up a fight for the safety of himself, his crew, and train.  You can't talk "safety" if your not truly willing to provide your employees the ability to do so - stupid corporate bureaucracy at it's best!  

Nathan

Similar happened on NWP when SW1500s were briefly assigned Petaluma-Willits, over Ridge Hill. Complaints by crew caused the SW1500s to be cut back to Ukiah or Redwood Valley in short order and the SD9s assigned at Willits ran Ridge Hill.  Then they tried to eliminate cabooses but since the SW1500s have no toilets, that would have been in violation of contract.  The announcement of the removal of cabooses was made on a Friday morning but the union got on it immediately and it was cancelled that afternoon, before the daily turn started its return to Petaluma. 

The cabooses vanished anyway.  SD9s, which had earlier been supplanted by the SW1500s out of Petaluma, were assigned instead; they had toilets.

Seems like making a big deal out of a small problem. I've had to take 10 loaded grain cars down 1.2% grades with a single GP9 with no dynos before. We had to use retainers on the longer downhills to be safe, but not really all that much a issue. especially compared to the steam era.

Ted Curphey
Ontario, OR

GenePoon Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Similar happened on NWP when SW1500s were briefly
> assigned Petaluma-Willits, over Ridge Hill.
> Complaints by crew caused the SW1500s to be cut
> back to Ukiah or Redwood Valley in short order and
> the SD9s assigned at Willits ran Ridge Hill. 
> Then they tried to eliminate cabooses but since
> the SW1500s have no toilets, that would have been
> in violation of contract.  The announcement of
> the removal of cabooses was made on a Friday
> morning but the union got on it immediately and it
> was cancelled that afternoon, before the daily
> turn started its return to Petaluma. 
>
> The cabooses vanished anyway.  SD9s, which had
> earlier been supplanted by the SW1500s out of
> Petaluma, were assigned instead; they had toilets.

Interesting about the end of the caboose era.  I remember the SW1500's being based out of Suisun as a kid and I'd see them in Cordelia near where I lived, but then eventually by the time I was in high school they were using SD & GP 9s.  Wonder if there was a similar issue with the type of units assigned now that cabooses were gone.  In high school the SW1500's were based out of Martinez, so I saw them all the time in Benicia by my dad's work, guessing the union contracts had different rules for those assignments.  

Nathan

Very nice and very different video!
You can hear and see the water pump on top of the last tank car, with the hoses running from it, thrrough, and the back of the caboose.

Holding that kind of water pressure for a long time without nozzles being mounted on something can get to your hand, wrist, and back muscles after a prolonged session, or at least become tedious.

Plus you hope the pump doesn't run out of gas until your done!

Jim Baker
Riverside, CA



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/03/24 09:06 by RailRat.

gonx Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>  I have some footage of the
> onsite negotiations (too far away but visible) if
> anyone is interested I can post it. Eventually,
> the engineer got his sd9s/gp9s reassigned and the
> sw1500s were returned to yard service

Yes please. Did you get footage of the SD-9s after the coniption event?

Amtrak's duck horn (1993) (trainorders.com)

I had already uploaded some footage with the sw1500s.