Points West

Since my last post, a lot has changed.  I left my job in North Dakota for a new job in Oregon.  I gave up working in the pandemonium of the Bakken for the practically bucolic climes of the Oregon Cascades.  In the process, I left most of my reference material at the family farm in Eastern Montana to be retrieved at a later date.  With the lack of material and now that i'm reasonably settled in to the Greater Metropolitan Area of Madras, I thought I would elaborate on the time I spent in the railroad business before I became a shovel jockey. 

Long before I worked for Union Pacific (UP) and the Black Hills Central, when I was growing up in Blackfoot, Idaho, I spent countless hours pouring over employee timetables, yard summaries and Z-T-S (Zone-Track-Spot) books.  I took the money I earned from building corral fences for my father and invested it in a Uniden scanner.  I had it permanently set on 160.515 Mhz (AAR Channel 2727) and listened to it night and day.  By the time I turned 18, I had the operations of the UP's Montana Subdivision (Pocatello, ID to Silver Bow, MT) committed to memory.  I knew every train symbol, siding, engineer and conductor.  I also became a semi-permanent fixture in the depot (by then reduced to small office trailer) and was on friendly terms with the crew of the Aberdeen Local.  

My regular visits, however, came to an abrupt end in my senior year when a long-in-the-tooth engineer threw down the gauntlet.  On an ordinary day, just like the hundreds of others I had spent in the depot listening to the crews shoot the breeze and chew the fat, he looked over at me and told me that I was no longer welcome.  Perhaps he did it out of concern for his job or my safety.  I'll never know.  I was stunned and it took me a few seconds to register what had happened before I slowly shuffled out the door never to return.  The other members of the crew were just as surprised as I was but they offered no argument.  In the short term, I was dejected and distraught.  My portal into the world of railroading had been unceremoniously shut and bolted from the inside.  In the long term, however, it bolstered my decision to enter the railroad industry after I graduated from high school.  I wasn't going to let anyone stop me from working for UP.

UP #9300 (Blue Mountain DPU Class Unit) and Hinkle Shop Personnel (2003).  I'm standing in front of the 'N'.

Lesson 2.0: Track Profiles

Since most railroads were born of the 19th Century here in the Western U.S., most archaeologists make the assumption (the mother of all evils) that any set of railroad tracks they stumble across exceeds the >50 years of age threshold.  Many railroads, however, with the advent of mechanized earth-moving equipment, increased tonnage/traffic and diesel-electric locomotives, rebuilt and relocated large portions of their mainlines in the Western U.S. over the first half of the 20th Century.  In addition, trains inflict a great deal of wear and tear on the track.  The faster and heavier the trains, the higher the turnover of rails, ties and ballast.

To provide a modern example of this, the former Great Northern (GN) mainline from Minot to Williston is currently being rebuilt from the ground up and expanded from a single track to a double track mainline.  This is a direct result of a significant increase in the amount of originating (oil) and terminating (frac sand) traffic related to petroleum extraction in the Bakken.  When the project is complete, there will be little to nothing left of the original GN mainline across northwestern North Dakota.

So how can you confirm (with any assurance) that the railroad tracks in question are fifty years of age or older?

Answer: Track Profiles.

Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (Milwaukee Road) Track Profile of the Trans-Missouri Division (February 1958)

Track profiles were produced en masse on an annual basis by the engineering departments of most railroads.  They depict various engineering and technical aspects of a specific mainline, branchline, spur and their associated sidings.  Most include notations as to the type of rail along the line, when it was installed along with locations of culverts, bridges and other associated features.  All U.S. railroads use a system of mileposts as a frame of reference (not unlike a datum).  The profiles utilize this system They can be found through numerous sources.  A number of historical associations (NPRHA, GNRHS, etc.) have scanned them and make them available through online repositories.  Original profile books and reproductions can also be obtained through resellers and through other online sources such as eBay.  Levels of detail and data in the profiles will vary between railroads and generally increased with the use of computers in the drafting process (mid-late 1970s).

Key from the Milwaukee Road Washington Division Track Profile (1976)

Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) Track Profile, Yellowstone Branch (1988); an example of a track profile produced with the aid of a computer.

Here in North Dakota, profiles of the former Northern Pacific (NP) lines can be obtained through the Northern Pacific Railway Historical Association (NPRHA).  The Milwaukee Road (MILW) mainline cut through a small portion of southwestern North Dakota with branches that served rural communities in the southern and southeastern portions of the state.  MILW profiles can be obtained through Michael Sol's Milwaukee Road Archive.  

Blast from the Past #1: UP 6901

UP 6901 on display in Ross Park; Pocatello, Idaho (March 2010).

In the mid Nineties, while pursuing a degree in business at Idaho State University in Pocatello, I could frequently be found in and around the UP 6901.  The 6901, a DDA40X (the largest model of diesel-electric locomotives ever built), was built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in 1969.  It is essentially two locomotives on one frame (99' in length).  The #1 engine powered the front truck while the #2 engine powered the rear truck for a combined total of 6,600 horsepower.

Over time, I replaced the missing air brake gauges, ammeters and radio.  I also cleaned up the numerous layers of dirt and dust that had accumulated in the cab since its donation.    Since I stopped attending to the 6901 in 1998, it has seen little attention and now looks worse than it did when I first laid eyes on it.  I hope that someone in Pocatello, or the surrounding area, can pick up where I left off and give it the attention that it deserves. 

Wikipedia: DDA40X

Lesson 0.5: Me, Myself and I

The recent bout of late winter weather here in North Dakota forced me to postpone this past week's scheduled trip to find and photograph various examples of railroad crossings.  The forecast for the upcoming week looks to be downright subtropical (>60F) so I anticipate having a basic treatise on crossings posted next weekend.

In the meantime, I thought I would post a short bio to explain how and why i'm a little more learned in the science of the steel rails than the average archaeologist.

I can't pin it down to a specific date or place, but from an early age, I was fascinated with trains.  I grew up on a twenty acre hobby farm in Eastern Idaho (less than a mile from Union Pacific's Montana Subdivision (Pocatello, Idaho to Silver Bow, Montana).  At the sound of an approaching train, in a matter of seconds, I would be on my bicycle and furiously tearing up the asphalt of the county road enroute to the nearest crossing.

While most of my friends in middle school and high school focused their mechanical interests towards Chevys, Fords and the occasional Dodge, I studied the works of Electro-Motive, General-Electric, Alco and Baldwin.  I frequently had railfan rags taken away from me throughout my high school years by teachers when I should have been working on algebra problems or something with more educational value.

My parents split up when I was 14 and when my mom moved into town (Blackfoot) only one block from the tracks, I was ecstatic.  I spent countless afternoons watching the crew of the Aberdeen Local (Blackfoot to Aberdeen and return) switch out the yard.  Around 6pm, they would usually head out onto the branch enroute to Aberdeen while I headed home for supper.  I also began studying not only locomotives, but railroad operations as well: carblocking, dwell, throughput, etc..  

During my senior year of high school (1992-1993), I managed to secure a seat in the Union Pacific observation car Idaho which was on an Operations Lifesaver Special.  These trains consist of several coaches along with a diner and observation/business car from the Union Pacific Heritage Fleet.  They travel the system on an annual basis making numerous short trips for the general public at both small & large town across the system.  Operational Lifesaver instructors are placed in each car to educate the public about grade crossing safety.  Local law enforcement agencies stake out grade crossings in advance of the OL special train to ticket drivers that fail to yield.

It was on this trip in the Idaho that I met the local Manager of Operating Practices.  This is the UP term for what most railroads refer to as a Road Foreman or Traveling Engineer.  He was responsible for ensuring the train crews on the Montana Subdivision (usually abbreviated to 'sub') adhere to the GCOR (General Code of Operating Rules; a standard set of operating rules used by numerous railroads) along with countless general orders, general notices and subdivision specific instructions.  I expressed my interests in working for Union Pacific and he, in turn, advised me to earn a degree in business as people like him (that had no college education) were no longer eligible for management positions in the "modern" railroad.

UP #3957 on the point of an Operation Lifesaver Special at Blackfoot, ID (1992)

Me, Myself and I at the throttle of UP#2032 (GP38-2) at Blackfoot, ID (1991)

I took his advice to heart and pursued a business degree at Idaho State University the following fall after I graduated from high school.  I also managed to secure a seasonal position as a locomotive fireman, hostler and mechanic at the Black Hills Central Railroad in Hill City, South Dakota while attending ISU.  I logged countless miles on the #104 (1926 Baldwin 2-6-2T) and the #7 (1919 Baldwin 2-6-2) pulling four cars worth of tourists between Hill City and Keystone.  It was here that I received a thorough education in the basics of railroading including track maintenance, train handling and air brakes.  I also managed to learn a great deal about modern railroading (as I was firing steam locomotives) courtesy of Jerry Drager.  He was a retired trainmaster & traveling engineer with the Chicago & North Western Railway (CNW) that took up running tourist trains after he "pulled the pin" with the CNW in 1994.  He had a mouth that wouldn't quit, he loved his Pall Malls, he starched the bejeezus out of his overalls and he was the quintessential rail.  

Me, Myself and I keeping the BHC #104 hot at Keystone Junction, SD (1994)

In 1997, I secured a nonpaid internship with UP at the Pocatello Diesel Shop.  Under the tutelage of John Naslund (Locomotive Shop Manager) and Rick Durrant (Senior Manager Terminal Operations), I started to augment my knowledge of steam locomotives and tourist trains with modern locomotive maintenance operations and the operating metrics of a modern terminal.  With the UP-SP merger the preceding year, Pocatello was slowly being phased out as a major terminal.  This trend started back in the 1950s with the adoption of diesel-electric locomotives.  Prior to the 1950s, Pocatello had large and extensive locomotive maintenance and rebuilding facilities.  Unfortunately, they were designed and built with the steam locomotive in mind.  With the retirement of the last steam locomotives in 1959, locomotive maintenance and repair at Pocatello was steadily curtailed and by the 1970s, the massive machine shop and the forty-nine stall roundhouse had been demolished.  They were replaced with a two stall diesel shop and the semi-enclosed service track [pic].  In 2014, only the service track remains in use.  The diesel shop was closed in late 2003 although it was left in place for the occasional repair and/or periodic inspection.

The following year, I was offered a paid internship with UP at the Hinkle Locomotive Facility near Hermiston, Oregon.  The internship would eventually turn into a permanent position as a shop & service track manager in February 1999.  It was an exciting time to be working there as the original locomotive shop (built in 1951) was being replaced with a new locomotive shop and servicing facility.  The first locomotive (CNW #8682) was placed inside the new shop in August of 1998.  Within a matter of days after locomotives were being placed inside the new shop, the demolition crews started bashing away at the old shop.  Within a matter of days, it had been reduced to a pile of concrete, twisted steel beams and shattered glass bricks.

The east end of the original (1951) Hinkle Locomotive Shop in July 1998.

The east end of the new (current) Hinkle Locomotive Shop during construction and installation of the overhead cranes in May 1998.

CNW #8682 awaiting its turn to enter the new Hinkle Shop in August 1998.

I remained at Hinkle for five years through September of 2003.  Most of that time was spent on the midnight shift: 6pm to 6am keeping everything "on the rails" so-to-speak.  I spent a great deal of time planning out the workflow of the shop for the next 12-16 hours and to ensure that all of the trains that originated at Hinkle had the proper number of locomotives / horsepower.  I also was responsible for the assignment and the rotation of the low horsepower "local" locomotive fleet that was assigned to outlying terminals such as Spokane, WA, Pendleton, OR and Sandpoint, ID.  These locations didn't have locomotive maintenance personnel or servicing facilities and needed to be periodically returned to Hinkle for fuel, oil and other assorted maintenance.

I would also occasionally be called out to work derailments.  It involved traveling to the site of the derailment with Joe McCrow (Senior Manager) or Dean Hickenbottom ( Shop Director).  Not unlike the USPS, "neither snow nor rain nor sleet nor heat nor gloom of night" kept us from making it to the site of the derailment.  We would then take various measurements (such as wheel sizes), download the event recorder and, in conjunction with the transportation and operating folks, try to determine the root cause of the derailment.  The other side of the coin, after we had collected all of the necessary data, was to help clear up the main line and get the trains rolling again.  All railroads earn revenue by moving freight.  When a derailment is blocking the line, the railroad isn't earning any money.  It's as simple as that.

My First Wreck: East Nampa, ID; April 29, 1998

By 2003, I had decided that enough was enough.  I had grown weary of the long hours and the stress involved with being responsible for so many locomotives and people.  The social life I had prior to working for UP had long since evaporated.  After I started working 12 hour shifts, I saw less and less of my friends and they quickly faded away.  I had no life other than the one at UP.  Railroading had lost its luster and I craved something else.

Enter archaeology.  My aunt and uncle (Linda Ward-Williams & Burt Williams) were archaeologists for the Forest Service and the BLM respectively.  They had exposed me to it at an early age and while it did pique my curiosity, it had always been drowned out by my insatiable hunger for all things railroad.  As my passion for railroading waned, my interests in archaeology began to assert themselves.  By January of 2003, I had my plan in place.  I would place my house up for sale that summer and once the deal was complete, I would resign my position with UP, enroll as an undergraduate at Central Washington University and embark upon my second career as an archaeologist.  My last day as a locomotive shop manager with UP was 13 September 2003.  

Do I regret my time as a cog in the railroad industry?  Absolutely not.  I can't begin to describe how much I learned about life and people in general as I was trying to kick four locomotives out of the shop every night.  I worked with some of the most good and decent people on this planet night after night.  I miss them every day.

Would I give up archaeology to return to wonderful world of railroading?  Definitely not!  I have been in the archaeology trade for ten years as of this June.  Not unlike my railroad career, I have had wonderful experiences across countless projects and locations (even Wyoming).  I wouldn't give it up for anything.

As something of an addendum, I realized that many of the items I collected in my travels as a rail might have some historical significance in the future.  I hung on to numerous track profiles, employee timetables, locomotive maintenance manuals, standard books and other reference material.  These items have been invaluable to me as an archaeologist when I have been tasked to record features / sites related to railroading.  These items, along with my own experience, form the basis of the future lessons that will be posted on this site.

Early Pulse Electronics Digital Locomotive Speedometer

UPRR Western Area Condensed Track Profile (1988)

Until next time.  Cheers and all the best!