Getting them down the grade by Ed King

[Anonymous]

Just read the excellent article by Ed King in the April issue of Trains Magazine and it brought back a lot of memories of bringing heavy trains down decending grades. I was an engineer on the Southern Pacific/Union Pacific and retired in the year 2000. I was struck by the last paragraph which to paraphrase said something like you took your life and everyone else connected with you in your own hands every time you topped over one of those steep grades and that when an engineer reached the bottom safely, he new that he had earned his pay. I saw the aftermath of one of the run away trains he mentioned which happened to a train decending the grade in Cajon Pass between Highland (Summit) and a place called Duffy Street near San Bernardino. The engineer's paper work was wrong showing him that the weight of the train was less than it actually was. This was a real traggedy. It was a classic case of the tonnage exceeding the braking power of the train.

[CSSHEGEWISCH]

Ed King's article illustrates something most of us should remember about mountain operations:

If you make a mistake going uphill, the worst that can happen is a stall and a bawling out by the RFE.
If you make a mistake going downhill, the worst that can happen is your crew's funeral.