Railroaders' Nostalgia > Another story about the Santa Fe running over the RI.

I have wrote several stories about the Santa Fe running over the Rock Island between Peabody and Marion, KS. Here is another story.

Remember, I told you, that an assigned local had a starting time. They could move you back two hours, with no extra pay. They could move the job back as much as 8 hours.
Our starting time at McPherson was 6AM. It wouldn't be different, if the railroad would set our on duty to Noon or later.
This could effect the on duty time both at McPherson and Sand Creek.

Here is another tidbit. We had two crews working the Newton to McPherson local. However, we only had one set of power. The locals both ways would get later and later as the week went along. We wouldn't be called at McPherson until the dispatcher felt that the inbound crew on 1361 would arrive at McPherson.

Okay, I will give you this example. We would have a 6AM on duty time. The railroad could set us back, two hours. They set back would mean that we would start our day, at 8AM. We would go on overtime at 4PM. We were 100 mile or less job. Second example, the railroad could set us back to Noon. Our day would actually start at 8 AM. Okay, 1361 might not arrive in McPherson until 2 PM. By the time that they arrived and put their train away and give us the power. It would be 3 PM before we got on our train.
Our train was left west of old US Highway 81. The afternoon McPherson switcher would gather up our train and put west of the highway.

This example, meant that we started our day at 8AM, even through they railroad set us back until Noon. By the time that we would leave McPherson, we would be close to overtime. It was about 34 miles between McPherson and Marion. We had six stations that we could work between McPherson Marion. We would use up another hour traveling between McPherson and Marion. If we had some stations that needed work, this took extra time. When we got to Marion, the Rock Island could be ka-ching for us. They were good sticking us for one to two hours. The Rock Island by this time, was a very slow railroad. It was very possible by the time that we arrived at Peabody, our time would be almost up.

Okay, here is the story. We had a train master that covered this territory. He was based out of Salina. His name was D.D. Didier. I found out this past September that DD passed away in August 2013. The superintendent wanted him to find out why the crews could not get over the road. DD came down to McPherson so he could ride with us.

The railroad actually set us back two hours. We went on duty at 8 AM. The 1361 was having problems. They were called at Sand Creek later than usual. The Rock Island helped them even more. They had to work Marion. The connection from the Rock Island to the old Santa Fe branch only held ed about 16 cars. We handled a lot of LPG tank cars on this branch line. If you worked Marion, you left 16 cars on the connection to the Rock Island. You had to take the balance of the train, downtown. You would shove as many cars that you could down the old main line. If you other cars, then you had to set them into the old siding. Then you finally work the elevator track. When you through with the work. You would pick up the siding, double to the main line. Then out west to get on the rear end of the train. This could easily take over an hour and half.

DD was down there at 8 AM. Of course, the dispatcher did not know where the 1361 was. He would call the Rock Island dispatcher finding out what time, the 1361 cleared the RI. Where DD got ants up his pants. He drove out east of McPherson trying to locate the 1361. Most railroads will allow the crew time for lunch between 4 1/2 hour and six hours. Of course, the 1361 stopped for beans. We did the same thing for them, when we were on the 1361. This day, the 1361 did not get into McPherson until 4PM. By the time, they put there train away and gave us their power, it was almost 5 PM. We went out and got our train. We pulled up to the depot. DD got on the power. We pulled the train up so the rear crew could get on the way car. The engineer and myself were talking about DD riding with us. We didn't have any work. The story goes "No Problem, monn". We got down to Marion at 6 PM. Wouldn't you know it. The Rock Island dispatcher had a north bound sitting in the siding at Peabody. There was a south bound that had been out of Herington for 20 minutes. The RI DS had to take the south bound to Peabody first and then run the north bound to Marion. We needed the Rock Island siding to get on the Santa Fe at Peabody. By the time that the RI north bound arrived at Marion, We had an hour left to work.

I had a really great engineer. We knew all the tricks to the trade. This day, we had two F's cab units. These old F's had batteries that should have been changed out years, ago. Here is our trick. When a unit died, you took your time getting back to start that unit. We had started out of Marion on the Rock Island. There is a small hill south of Marion. Yep, you guess it!!!! We were almost to the top of the hill with our power. We lost our second unit. I took my time going back to the second unit. DD came back with me. We couldn't get the second unit started!!!!! We stalled out.

I told DD that I would go back and make a cut on our train. We would take about 12 cars up to Aulne set them out on the house track with was a spur from the south end.
We would go back get the rear part of our train. We would pull up to Aulne and pick up our head end. DD called Sand Creek, so they could send a crew out to get us. We would have enough time making Peabody and getting our train off the Rock Island.

After we left Aulne. I asked DD, he would not have believed us, if he wasn't riding with us. He told, no he would not believe it.

12 hours on duty, couldn't make it to Sand Creek. Never cut away from our train, except to double the hill. We went to eat at Peabody. When the relief crew got to Peabody, the bus driver had to pick us up at the café. We didn't arrive at Sand Creek until 11 PM. This meant that we could not be called until 11 AM. This would benefit the crew that would be coming down on 1362. It would make us late into McPherson.

Love it, when the railroad has a plan, especially when it fills up my wallet with money. Oh yeah, they knew what they were doing. We never offered any suggestions, either. Never ever kill the golden goose, that lays golden eggs!!!!!!!

Gary A. Rich
Aurora, CO



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/09/13 15:46 by waycar_rider.

Sounds like many locals I have worked, except for the RI trackage rights. IF the crew wants overtime there is pretty much nothing the company can do to stop it, too many cards in the crews favor. Nice if you had photos of that pair of F units.
JB

3rdswitch Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Sounds like many locals I have worked, except for
> the RI trackage rights. IF the crew wants overtime
> there is pretty much nothing the company can do to
> stop it, too many cards in the crews favor. Nice
> if you had photos of that pair of F units.
> JB

And interestingly, even if a crew has gotten as much overtime as they can STAND, the RR generally will give them "even more than they WANT." (Or, especially dispatchers--and I know so many try very hard--but I've been on a tear for YEARS that there has been a drastic need for better DISP trng since, oh, say about the mid-1980s?!?) And yeah--I know that you guys--dispatchers, have taken on larger crew districts and multiple territories than you can handle effectively (but on the other hand, would some of you not agree that you'd not benefit from better up front training, and, more frequent train rides over your territories?). On those locals, or through freights alike, the overtime is flowed in, whether wanted or NOT (and it is not always wanted--especially on the return back to home)!!! Believe it or not!!! And I know that many of you know EXACTLY what I MEAN!!! :-P

Great story, BTW!!!

I wasn't around when they did away with the 16 hr law, but the old timer cried when that happened. Santa Fe had a bunch of 10 mph branches, and the guys would use up all 16 hrs on those. When they cut it back to 14, then 12 hrs, they felt the RR & the Gov't had they're hand in their pockets, cut their pay in half. But, with the 12 hr law, and with help from the unions, pay went up too, so at the end of the year you had more time off & about the same money.

JB, I did post a b & w photo several months ago. It is under "Santa Fe Local 1362-Marion, KS 1974."

Gary
Aurora, CO

Usually the local crews on the Rock Island managed to tie
up at 15 hours and 59 minutes so after 8 hours they could
go out and do it over again!
zr190

About dispatchers.

They used to have dispatchers ride over their districts once a year and they were paid for their time. Then they stopped the pay but some still did it anyway. Now, most dispatchers have no idea what the territory looks like. My guess is some of them have never left Omaha in their lives.

The SP used to make dispatchers from operators on their districts. We had one, Hank, who was 2nd trick at BI. He went to Roseville in the early 70s, and he knew what was what. I was on a lite helper going down to Lakehead to help an east train when we got a red signal and the call lite was on at Gibson. I went to the CTC shack and opened the door and there was a dial phone and a list of numbers on the wall. I dialed up the "Dispatcher" and it was Hank from BI. He had some info for us on the east train and he tried to call us on the radio but reception wasn't good in the canyon. We sat and shot the bull for a while and then he turned us loose. Talked to him many a time after that, even stopped to see him when the dispatchers were still in Roseville and I happened to catch a run that way.

Its a small world on the railroad.


Nudge

No, they didn't approach the MP about running on the MP line Newton to McPherson. They did after the Rock Island shut down. They started running over the MP line at that time. It wasn't very long afterwards that the Santa Fe sold the whole branch line (Marion to Ellinwood) to the KSW. KSW torn up most of the line. The first part was the line east of McPherson to Marion. Then, they started pulling up the line, west of Conway. The only thing that is left is the McPherson to Conway section.

I was through McPherson Thanksgiving weekend. We return home on Sunday. There were some cars east of McPherson where I-135 goes over the tracks. I saw a trackmobile shoving a covered hopper up to another line of cars. I have no idea where the trackmobile came from. This is the area that the Santa Fe crossed the Rock Island line from Herington to Pratt.

When I was working back there, McPherson had quite a bit of industry work. I would imagine it is a faction of what was back in the 1970's.

Gary A. Rich
Aurora, CO

Gary, you mentioned that trainmaster whose name was DD Dider. His last name is misspelled. Correct spelling of his last name was Didier. He passed away September 19 of this year at age 77.

Thanks Rodney. I have made the edit to correct DD's last name. It must be old age creeping in, huh!!!!!

Gary
Aurora, CO