I was in Fon du Lac Wi this weekend and was listening in on the WC/CN. Several times during the evenng I heard the dispatcher talk to the “helper engines”. I know what helpers are and I know that there are some hills on the Kettle Moraine but I didn’t figure there would be any in FDL Wi. Any thoughts. And if all the CN traffic is south bound at least thru Melrose Park and River Forest IL. what’s the return route?
Wondering Woody
The CN’s former SOO main line out of Fond Du Lac climbs a nasty grade out of the Lake Winnebago basin south of town all the way up to the apex of the grade at Byron. Bryon Hill has been a pusher district ever since SOO days- the helpers are cut off at the top of the hill and drop back down to Fondy to await the next southbound needing a shove.
From Fond du Lac to Byron is eleven miles. Generally it took about 40 minutes to shove up and 20 minutes to come back. That was in the days of the Soo Line when it was also a single track.
That explains what I heard this weekend too. Ya beat me to it!
Thanks