Yeah Ed, I saw that tie gang there too. It makes me wonder how old the picture is. They put in new ties on most of the tracks about 5 years ago. Back then the remote control jobs used the ex-yard slugs sandwiched between the engines and I don’t see any. Plus the engines are arranged so the engineer is sitting looking toward the switchmen while switching. Actual engines equipped with the electronic gear were rare for a while. Short Line was one of the first to get remote control.
The old Short Line Jct interlocking tower would’ve been north of the engines pulling over the diamond. The tower is gone, but the old pistol grip machine survives in Boone at the Boone & Scenic Valley, currently not on display. Although the yard is still called Short Line, Short Line Jct no longer appears in time tables and you don’t hear it called that very often, outside of exRI or railfans. The CP controlling the crossing is called Des Moines. Short Line is shown on the east-west subdivision that runs out to Waukee and used to continue to Perry. Still called the Perry subdivision in the time table.
From the time of day, that’s job 01 (West end days) over the diamond. It looks like they just pulled a cut off of track 5. The track designations begin from the North with the “mainline” then track 1, 2, 3 etc. The mainline and tracks 1, 2 and 3 are usually used to place the outbound trains. Inbound trains can also use them, but mostly yard on 3 to 5. When the Iowa Interstate road trains come thru, the yardmaster sends them thru whatever track is available, usually trying to use the main line thru 3 as those don’t interfere with the east end as much. Power for the outbound trains may be placed by either the yard jobs or road crews picking up the power at the diesel ramp.
Job 2, the daylight east end job (als
[quote user=“jeffhergert”]
Yeah Ed, I saw that tie gang there too. It makes me wonder how old the picture is. They put in new ties on most of the tracks about 5 years ago. Back then the remote control jobs used the ex-yard slugs sandwiched between the engines and I don’t see any. Plus the engines are arranged so the engineer is sitting looking toward the switchmen while switching. Actual engines equipped with the electronic gear were rare for a while. Short Line was one of the first to get remote control.
The old Short Line Jct interlocking tower would’ve been north of the engines pulling over the diamond. The tower is gone, but the old pistol grip machine survives in Boone at the Boone & Scenic Valley, currently not on display. Although the yard is still called Short Line, Short Line Jct no longer appears in time tables and you don’t hear it called that very often, outside of exRI or railfans. The CP controlling the crossing is called Des Moines. Short Line is shown on the east-west subdivision that runs out to Waukee and used to continue to Perry. Still called the Perry subdivision in the time table.
From the time of day, that’s job 01 (West end days) over the diamond. It looks like they just pulled a cut off of track 5. The track designations begin from the North with the “mainline” then track 1, 2, 3 etc. The mainline and tracks 1, 2 and 3 are usually used to place the outbound trains. Inbound trains can also use them, but mostly yard on 3 to 5. When the Iowa Interstate road trains come thru, the yardmaster sends them thru whatever track is available, usually trying to use the main line thru 3 as those don’t interfere with the east end as much. Power for the outbound trains may be placed by either the yard jobs or road crews picking up the power at the diesel ramp.
Job 2, the dayl
But that’s irrelevant to the fact that the only units with two exhaust stacks and two radiator fans are GP38-2s. Although GP38-2s may have three fans, a unit with three fans is not definitely a GP38-2s.
Umm…isn’t that circular reasoning? If a GP38-2 may (ie possibility of it existing) have 3 fans, how can something with (actually has) 3 fans definitely not be a GP38-2? [?] You just said that they could have that arrangement. Or were you saying that having 3 fans isn’t a guarantee of being a GP38-2 but that some do.
That’s like saying that two $5 bills might add up to $10 but isn’t the same amount of money as $10.
Right, I meant that having two exhaust stacks and two fans definitely means a GP38-2 (nothing else in the 2nd-generation body has this feature), but also that GP38-2s MAY have three fans.
Ok! I was confused but now am good! [8D]
OK, here we go. Yes, there are GP40’s/GP35’s rebuilt into GP38’s with three fans, most rebuilds do. That is irrelevant since the units in question don’t have three fans (not including the single dynamic brake fan). No GP40’s that I know have only two fans or dual exhaust. Clearly GP38’s. And before anyone asks about the SD40’s on the wye, UP does have SD40’s rebuilt into SD38’s retaining three fans, but the units in the photo have turbo exhaust, SD40’s.