Railroaders' Nostalgia > B unit leading? UP did it.

A UP local cab hop is heading east across a shoo fly for Cucamonga Creek, near Pomona in Southern California on 10/20/79.
A consist and running order only the UP could do.
I was out at this project as the channel improvements were going under the SP main a little ways north.

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And it's even one of the boiler equipped GP30B's too.

Well heck, the rules were made to be broken.

Scaffolding looks a little precarious, looks like somebody noticed it was raining and thought they better do something about it.

Looks like a local going to or from Montclair. it the train is shoving eastwad with the caboose in the lead all is good !

Santa Fe ran the local power backwards from Hugoton, Ks to Satanta, Ks in the very early 70s due to a derailment on the west side of town. Power was an F7A and F7B. Probably wouldn't be allowed today.

TCnR Wrote:
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> Scaffolding looks a little precarious, looks like
> somebody noticed it was raining and thought they
> better do something about it.


Nothing wrong with that scaffolding.

hogheaded Wrote:
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> Well heck, the rules were made to be broken.

What rules are being broken? The only one might be a speed limit but we don't know that from the picture.

Can't operate from a B unit, so what else could they do?

Pushing the caboose might mean a lower speed than running this way.

BSB

I agree with BSB. There's no rules violation. That move can be made in either direction under 6.5 - Handling equipment ahead of the engine on main track or controlled siding, speed limit 20 MPH for freight, 30 for passenger.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/14/14 09:05 by Chico43.

I've looked through the GCOR and the BNSF ABTH Rulebook and couldn't find anything, but, looking at my AT&SF Western Region Timetable #1, under Special Instructions Item 6. Maximum Speed Of Engines. When not controlled from the leading unit the max speed authorized is 45 mph.

PHall Wrote:
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> I've looked through the GCOR and the BNSF ABTH
> Rulebook and couldn't find anything, but, looking
> at my AT&SF Western Region Timetable #1, under
> Special Instructions Item 6. Maximum Speed Of
> Engines. When not controlled from the leading unit
> the max speed authorized is 45 mph.

Yeah, on the ol' Santa Fe we used to do that. We would leave the brakeman on the lead unit to blow the whistle and call the signals. More than once I handled trains down Cajon Pass from a trailing unit. I recently related that type of handling to a BNSF RFE and I thought he was going to pass out. Now, of course, they have amended the rules to provide for doing exactly the same thing when a manned helper is added to the head end of a DP train on the side of the Hill.

PHall Wrote:
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> I've looked through the GCOR and the BNSF ABTH
> Rulebook and couldn't find anything, but, looking
> at my AT&SF Western Region Timetable #1, under
> Special Instructions Item 6. Maximum Speed Of
> Engines. When not controlled from the leading unit
> the max speed authorized is 45 mph.

On the UP it's 30 MPH.

Years ago when I was still a switchman I was working the daylight hump job at East L.A. when we were called to run from L.A. out to Spadra to dog catch a train that had died with the hump set. Back then the set consisted of a SD24 and a GP-9 b-unit. We had to run with the GP9 b-unit leading and I rode the point the whole 20 miles as the engineer couldn't see very well from the cab of the SD24 on the far end. Being it was a hump set and was geared down for low speed, we only made about 20 to 25 mph. Back when railroading was fun!-BMT

Its listed in BNSF SSI, item 1(B).

Posted from Android

trkspd Wrote:
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> Its listed in BNSF SSI, item 1(B).
>
> Posted from Android

And the speed authorized is......

PROSE and myself use to take a consist of a GP9a and 6 GP9b from the Hiwire in North kansas city and shove them about 20+ miles back to kck if you could not take the round the world tour to get back to the UP

RTB - Glad to have you back. Your posts have always been informative, educational, and entertaining.