Marty,
I like your tag line. I have a hard hat with a sticker on it with the same line. A friend that used to work there got it for me, along with a number board from SP9033 an Espee SD45.
Yup, the manned helpers on Donner are a thing of the past. I don’t get to Roseville, but at Sparks they add and subtract these units from trains. And just like in the good-ol Espee days, these units get real dirty!
SP9033
Here are a few links to photos of the “Truckee Helpers.”
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=87591
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=87497
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=87314
SP9033
I dont know if Farmer remembers it… but I shore as hell do =) Between that CHP and Reno you had to be very careful. Did the nature regrow it’s burned vegatation yet?
UP has some cinder blocks running through here also. What is really nice is that I noticed some of these have the soot cleaned off of the American flag, even if it is everywhere else.
i think one of you have me confused for someone else…lol i’ve never been to kalifornia.
I’m old and confused most of the time, got farmer03 and HighIron2003ar confused. I was wrong, I’ll pay more attention in the future! Yes, I’ve gotten a chuckle out of that too…
Let me tell you Mr. ericsp, still wet behind the ears, the same stuff that got SP units dirty, is now getting UP units dirty. Its called “tunnel mist,” if you assign a unit for ping-pong duty between Roseville and Sparks for a week or two, than three weeks, with another week, and never wash it, it gets just as dirty as any ESPEE unit ever did.
And as far as the UP wrapping some units in flags, it is absolutly against flag protocol, period. "The Flag should never be used for advertising purposes. " Its one thing for an operating employee to adorn his/her locomotive with a flag, it is a whole different matter when a commercial enterprise like UP plasters a flag on the side of its locomotives and makes it a livery subject to trademark laws.
SP9033
I know it is from diesels operating at slow speed from tunnels. It is the particulates in the diesel exhaust. The reason why I like the UP units like this is that they almost look like SP units.
You misunderstood me. I like the fact that someone is keeping the flag decal clean. Since locomotives get dirty and sometimes vandalized, I think that UP might want to reconsider this. Hopefully one of the attorneys on the forum will let us know if UP can trademark this part of its logo.
As I understand it, the UP plans to put much more traffic over Donner Pass once the Re-Trac project has been completed in downtown Reno with a year or so.
One of favorite pastimes is to snowshoe up to Donner Summit and watch the trains roll by. At night, the Bar of America has a great view of the tracks…
What is going on in Reno with regards to this Re-Trac project? I haven’t heard about this before.
It seems that there are still a few manned helpers, but it seem to happen only when they are short on AC4400s, which is becoming less and less frequent. The best ones were the GP60 trios. I still seem to see double SD60s in the rear from time to time.
Dave
Dave,
It is my understanding which was stated at the top of the thread that as a normal part of operation over Donner, manned helpers are history. Although the railroad, trying to remain fluid would surely institude them at anytime if nessary, just like what happened with the Feather River Canyon closure and the increased pressure on Donner.
With the exception of the above mentioned happing, its been a very long time since I’ve heard DS 74 mention helpers, and meets. And its been a good three years since I’ve seen helpers waiting at Lawton. But, I’m on this side of the hill, and your on that side.
In the next couple of days, I’ll try to do an update on the ReTRAC project with photos.
SP9033
Boy, I’d love to have a photo of that trio of GP60s on the shove. I’ve never seen that on Donner! I bet you could win some money with that photo, you know during an after hours railfan BS session. Speaking of DPUs, watched the Sparks yard job take one of the big GE units and switch Cantex at Lawton with it - I did a double take!
This was the last manned helper set I saw anywhere on the east side. Its pictured at Truckee summer of 2000/2001, I think - notes not handy right now.
Jim
I wish I could find my pictures of the GPs. They were taken between Alta and Colfax. I spent a lot of time around the Alta and Drum area in the early 90s. They used to go back and forth quite often. A friend of mine just got a pentrex DVD for christmas that covered SP over donner and they showed them also.
I’ll keep you posted if I see another manned helper set the next time I am in Colfax.
Dave
While we’re on the subject of Donner Pass, when is UP going to get its collective rear in gear and replace all the double-track between Emigrant Gap and Stanford that SP tore out before the merger? I’ve been hearing that promise from UP ever since they took over, and nothing happens. I’ve heard that after the Reno re-tracking takes place, that UP is going to increase traffic over the Summit, but that stretch of single track sounds like it will turn into a major bottleneck. Anyone got any info? Much as I like the Feather River canyon, UP must be chafing at that 25mph speed limit and the rockslides all the time, despite the 1% easy grade.
Tom
Mark,
If I understand the last part of your post, you mean to say that there are signals in only one direction since there is a westbound and eastbound track west of Donner to Roseville? I am pretty sure that there are signals both way on at least the westbound track as they run Amtack California up it occasionally, I thought to at least Colfax. Or am I not understanding correctly… Please enlighten…[?][:D]
It would also seem that Roseville can’t sort fast enough as there are usually trains stacked up going into Roseville from Reno, it probably wouldn’t help to get more trains
The only part of the Donner route that will probably never be retracked is that section of No. 1 track between Norden and Shed 47.
As soon as project ReTRAC is completed, and Union Pacific’s capital budget can afford it that section of Number One track between Switch 9 and Shed 10 will be retracked.
This because the Port of Oakland will be pumping out more and more eastbound loads.
My opinion
Jim B -Lawton, NV
Mark,
The city of Reno has undertaken a large project to trench 2.1 miles of track through downtown. The shoofly that has been constructed to bypass the old main is now CTC controled. But, all trains moving through this terriortoy need a track warrent!
Jim
Would it be feasable to make up trains from the port of oakland or from Roseville made up of spine cars only in order to utilize Donner a little more. I know part of this topic came up on a post with regards to the Feather river canyon, but I don’t remember if this scenerio was brought up. If I understood another post correctly its not just the tunnels but the snowsheds also that are too low for double stacks which probably would make it too cost prohibitive to improve them.
Jim where did they run the shoofly? I would assume they are trenching under where the existing right of way was.
Dave
I am going to miss getting a room on the south side of silver legacy and being able to do a little trainspotting on the sly. I would assume its going to be like the Alameda corridor.
Mark are you talking about Fremont CA, or a Fremont in another state.
One other thing is the CTE/DPU package on GE better than EMD. It seems that since UP had bought and is upgrading existing AC4400s to CTE it might have an edge (bad for us who like manned helpers).
Dave