So tonight I found in my mailbox my copy of The Streamliner from UPHS, and init iwas an extremely interesting article about the UP-SP and UP-WP run-throughs of the 60s-early '80s. It's full of great information, but the bit I found amusing, to the point of envisioning GP40s up on concrete blocks, were the references to radios and seats being swapped in UP units with broken ones (and in the case of the radios, leaving them useless as they lacked the UP crystal required). Also noted were many a GE (I'm assuming U-boats here) dumped on to the run throughs and filling the North Platte shops with breakdowns to the point where UP outright banned them.
UPHS clearly did its homework in this article, but 30+ years after the merger, I find these antics hilarious. How did they manage to get away with this? Wouldn't the police be called for theft? People fired? It just seems so far fetched.
Can anyone here elaborate on this, or (better yet) add to these tales of absurd proportions?
Julian
Modeling Pre-WP merger UP (1974-81)
In the late '70s WP was getting rather desperate as it had the curse of being essentially a bridge line in expensive mountain territory at the whim of the UP and DRGW. They didn't pick up many online cars except on the California end.
More recently, Guilford/Pan Am has become known for stealing headlight bulbs out of the middle units of run-through power to the point where exasperated CP mechanics began to send bulb packs in the cabs. They've also been known to steal seats in rarer cases. Most recently, they've refused to buy lube oil and so a lot of power is out of service as a result...
I have a solution for that: they could drain the lube oil out of those foreign units and re-use it, just rip some pipe off and say it blew up and died out on the line.
Greetings from Alberta
-an Articulate Malcontent
Good thing they weren't running ALCOs. There'd definitely be a lube oil shortage...
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
fieryturboCan anyone here elaborate on this, or (better yet) add to these tales of absurd proportions?
Probably not uncommon; the old heads on here will have some highly amusing stories. I look forward in particular to what NDG is going to contribute...
The thing that came to mind immediately was how EL used the order of U34CHs that were provided in the early '70s for the "improved" commuter service. Someone here will recall the story better than I do, but EL would "borrow" the units for freight service over the weekends, when a smaller number of passenger consists needed to be run ... and would conveniently return them with empty tanks to be refilled on New Jersey's dime. (I suspect there was some convenient cover story about how there wasn't enough time to take them to the fuel racks before the Monday rush, but I'd love to know exactly what was done and said to allow this to continue as long as it did.)
tree68 Good thing they weren't running ALCOs. There'd definitely be a lube oil shortage...
RME... and would conveniently return them with empty tanks to be refilled on New Jersey's dime.
Gee - that's an old teenager trick....
Recall that there was a "first person" account in (probably) Classic Trains which involved a roundhouse foreman visiting his counterpart on another railroad looking for a part, and having his counterpart instruct an employee to pull the part off a locomotive, thus rendering it useless.
tree68 Recall that there was a "first person" account in (probably) Classic Trains which involved a roundhouse foreman visiting his counterpart on another railroad looking for a part, and having his counterpart instruct an employee to pull the part off a locomotive, thus rendering it useless.
That story involved a PRR shop foreman looking for some part for a Lima diesel switcher, and since Limas were rare (even on PRR) he had none in stock. So he went over to the local Rock Island shop and asked if they had any in stock. They didn't, but the RI foreman was only too happy to disable his sole Lima unit, with the comment "I hate that sonnuva b----". Guess Lima diesels weren't too popular with the mechanical dept.
RME ... Someone here will recall the story better than I do, but EL would "borrow" the units for freight service over the weekends, when a smaller number of passenger consists needed to be run ... and would conveniently return them with empty tanks to be refilled on New Jersey's dime. (I suspect there was some convenient cover story about how there wasn't enough time to take them to the fuel racks before the Monday rush, but I'd love to know exactly what was done and said to allow this to continue as long as it did.)
I recall Rock Island was (in)famous for "borrowing" locomotives as well.
With respect to the WP, there are pool power agreements which cover charges for horse power hours and cover how maintenance is handled. There was no sweet deal between WP and UP early on, it was just business. As I recall it was over a year between when the UP bought the WP and when the ICC approved the merger. Durning that period of limbo the relationship between the two railroads was confusing. UP thought it was in charge, but they had no authority. In the end the ICC told UP to lay off until the merger was approved. During this time the Great Salt Lake was raising so fast that the WP could not raise the track fast enough to keep the rails above the water. In the end I think the track was raised over twenty feet. This is for about thirty miles of track. UP did take over this work. I do not know how this was handled financially. Did the UPHS guys mention anything about all the WP GP40 units they sent home from the UP one very cold winter with the blocks frozen and cracked? When the WP was sold by WPI to the WP Railroad, about a year befor the UP bought the railroad, there was a tax avoidance plan that called for all the WP locomotives to be out of California on the date for the sale and to work back into the state to avoid sales tax on these units. All the WP units went to the UP and were replaced with UP units for a couple of weeks. The UP was a big help with this project.
David1005With respect to the WP, there are pool power agreements which cover charges for horse power hours and cover how maintenance is handled. There was no sweet deal between WP and UP early on, it was just business. As I recall it was over a year between when the UP bought the WP and when the ICC approved the merger. Durning that period of limbo the relationship between the two railroads was confusing. UP thought it was in charge, but they had no authority. In the end the ICC told UP to lay off until the merger was approved. During this time the Great Salt Lake was raising so fast that the WP could not raise the track fast enough to keep the rails above the water. In the end I think the track was raised over twenty feet. This is for about thirty miles of track. UP did take over this work. I do not know how this was handled financially. Did the UPHS guys mention anything about all the WP GP40 units they sent home from the UP one very cold winter with the blocks frozen and cracked? When the WP was sold by WPI to the WP Railroad, about a year befor the UP bought the railroad, there was a tax avoidance plan that called for all the WP locomotives to be out of California on the date for the sale and to work back into the state to avoid sales tax on these units. All the WP units went to the UP and were replaced with UP units for a couple of weeks. The UP was a big help with this project.
I believe you have WP & SP confused as to who crossed the Great Salt Lake.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
WP goes around the south end of the Great Salt Lake. It's track was just as subject to flooding as was the SP. I 80 was just south of the WP. Because the WP was on the lake side they had to build a wide sloping beach to prevent wave action from taking out the track. At one point just the tops of the telegraph poles were sticking out of the fill. Eventualy even the tops were covered. The pole line was never replaced. Since I 80 was protected from wave action by the WP, the state did not get started as soon as the railroad. On one trip west the only part of I 80 that was not under water was the north shoulder. West and east bound traffic took turns using the shoulder to drive on. They had lots of equipment out there working on raising the road, all working in the water.
David1005WP goes around the south end of the Great Salt Lake. It's track was just as subject to flooding as was the SP. I 80 was just south of the WP. Because the WP was on the lake side they had to build a wide sloping beach to prevent wave action from taking out the track. At one point just the tops of the telegraph poles were sticking out of the fill. Eventualy even the tops were covered. The pole line was never replaced. Since I 80 was protected from wave action by the WP, the state did not get started as soon as the railroad. On one trip west the only part of I 80 that was not under water was the north shoulder. West and east bound traffic took turns using the shoulder to drive on. They had lots of equipment out there working on raising the road, all working in the water.
I learned something.
Perhaps news of the WP's vissitude with the early snowmelt did not reach the east coast. This was in the spring that people were able to catch fish in State Street in downtown Salt Lake City (a river ran down State Street--and one or two other streets). The legislature authorized the purchase of huge pumps to pump water from the rising lake over a ridge so that people would be able to travel west from here. Now, it would be wonderful if some water could be found to be pumped into the lake so that the people with sailboats on the lake could get them out of the marina and go sailing.
Johnny
There is virtually no boating or other related activities on the Great Salt Lake. Nothing larger than brine shrimp lives in the lake and the high salinity makes operating a boat more expensive.
Currently, because of the low water level, there is very little boating. But, when the lake is up many people sail their boats on the lake. I do not have a picture of the marina to post, but there is a good-sized marina there.
Also, people go there to swim in the salt water--and then must take showers afterwards to get the salt off their bodies. When we moved here, in 1974, we went out there to swim once--and that was enough for us.
Years ago, there was a popular resort named "Saltair" on the south shore, where people swam in the lake and danced in the pavilion.
rrnut282 RME ... Someone here will recall the story better than I do, but EL would "borrow" the units for freight service over the weekends, when a smaller number of passenger consists needed to be run ... and would conveniently return them with empty tanks to be refilled on New Jersey's dime. (I suspect there was some convenient cover story about how there wasn't enough time to take them to the fuel racks before the Monday rush, but I'd love to know exactly what was done and said to allow this to continue as long as it did.) I recall Rock Island was (in)famous for "borrowing" locomotives as well.
The old heads tell of the CNW receiving coal trains off the BN and sometimes putting them in a siding when the power plant wasn't ready to receive it. They would take the power off and use it for other trains.
The same thing must still happen. A couple months back I was called for an empty hopper train being delivered by the CPRS. It went to them with 3 engines, two up front and one at the rear in DP mode. Our paperwork showed all 3 coming back on the train. When it showed up it only had the lead engine, the other two weren't there.
I just figured using our power allowed EHH to put a couple more of his in storage.
Jeff
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.