Railroaders' Nostalgia > Mad Dog Chronicle #292 39 years ago

Thirty nine years ago I was the senior supervisor at West Colton on that shift. A voice on the
road radio, We have a bad speedometer on the lead locomotive. We request permission to turn our
locomotive consist on the wye at Slover. This could screw up an already screwed up railroad.

But it was a reasonable request. And, after consideration I granted the request, hoping that it
would be performed quickly. And it was. That was my first contact with JDE (steamjocky)
I was an Assistant Terminal Superintendent at West Colton. He an engineer on the Palmdal-Indio
Pool.

We must have worked together many times since JDE worked at West Colton for many years
One of my team of engineers who helped to push more than 3000 cars over the hump at West Colton

mdo



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/11/12 10:42 by mdo.

And I still thank you for letting me do it. Made my job a little easier on the east side of Beaumont hill.

JDE

Steamjocky Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> And I still thank you for letting me do it. Made
> my job a little easier on the east side of
> Beaumont hill.
>
> JDE

Really? I just use my watch and away we go...

Don't know about where you worked, but where I worked most of the mileposts on my territory weren't even close to being a mile apart. However, I could nail 40mph on the head by counting telephone poles. Besides, FRA says that an operating speedometer is a requirement in my case.

I didn't mind running without a working speedometer but it was a requirement and, like I said, it made my job easier and when I can do anything to make my job easier, I'm all for it.

JDE

Back in '96 when UP bought the SP they made some adjustments to the mileposts which apparently were measured from the corporate headquarters in SF. Where my husband farmed in Coyote at the end of the double track it used to be mp 63 and at Watsonville JCT it was mp 100. UP made some "adjustments" and Coyote became 59.8 (or something like that) and WVJCT became 97. something.
First off, mp 63 was important to my husband who farmed there in Coyote next to the tracks because it had a mystical tie to his UC DAVIS SAE fraternity and I won't bore you with the details.
Then came our friendship with Tommy the ROcket DeLa Rosa who ran the Coast Starlate by our ranch and who had qualified in steam with the SP in '55 and was a really old hand on all things railroad coast related. When UP changed the milepost at WVJ to 96 or whatever it was, the Rocket told the railroad and dispatchers that he really didnt give a damn what they wanted to call it, it would always be mp 100 for him at WVJ!!
C.

Carol Voss
Bakersfield, CA