About the Author J. D. Santucci (a.k.a. "Tuch") began his railroading career in 1978 as a trainman on the Missouri Pacific. After a round of lay-offs in 1985, Tuch embarked on a railroad odyssey, working in many different situations for different roads. This column tries to explain some of the nuts and bolts of the job and also demonstrates what we have to deal with on a regular basis within and without the industry. Tuch currently works through freights out of Chicago for Canadian National/Illinois Central. ©1999, 2003-2007 JD Santucci. Logo ©2002 The Railroad Network. By J.D. Santucci

February 20, 2005
The title of today’s lesson evokes memories of that great old song from the 70’s by Justin Hayward, John Lodge and The Moody Blues. However, we will not be discussing classic rock but instead will once again deal with the meeting of trains. And as an added twist, we will get into the logistics of meeting trains at a point in which neither train fits. The theme of today’s topic was inspired by a thread that was rolling along on a discussion list to which I belong, so I decided to take the theme of this thread and run with it and devote an column to it.

On occasion a Dispatcher will set up a meet between opposing trains at a siding where neither train will clear to allow the other to pass. In same cases it is known in advance of this problem. In other situations it is unknown to or simply just not believed by the Dispatcher. We are going to discuss the latter aspects of this scenario. But first, we will discuss how to meet trains in more than the usual manner.

In my days at the Wisconsin Central they were running a very tight ship. We often complained that it was too tight at times. Well, pretty much too tight all the time. We were operating land barge style trains; those that appear as if you left absolutely no cars behind in the yard when you departed. We had a railroad that supported the operation of 80-90 car trains but we were routinely running trains of 120 cars or better on a daily basis.

Most of the sidings on the Chicago Subdivision between Fond du Lac and Schiller Park were short. We only had three really long sidings, Rugby Junction (7788 feet), Waukesha (8723 feet) and Wheeling (9557 feet). When two land barges were running opposite of each other, the Dispatchers had to often make decisions to hold one of the monster, killer, horror sized trains at one of these three long sidings in order to affect a meet between the two trains. Such meets usually attributed to big delays for at least one of the trains involved in the meet.

Some of the other sidings on the line were Valley (6068 feet), Byron (5297 feet), Slinger (4411 feet), Duplainville (5064 feet), Vernon (5125 feet), Silver Lake (5390 feet) and Leithton (4795 feet). And just to make things more interesting Byron, Silver Lake and Leithton also had road crossings within them.

Now if one of the trains at any of the meeting points with short sidings would fit, there was no problem. However, if the longer of the two trains arrived first, it would mean both trains would have to come to a stop to affect the meet. The longer train would stop and because of the length, block the switch at the other end where the opposing train would be departing. The already stopped train would have to wait for the opposing train to clear the main track and control point before the Dispatcher could line the switch and clear the signal for them to depart. And the shorter train would have to stop and wait for the longer train to depart and clear before they too, could have the switch lined and signal cleared for them to depart. Not particularly efficient.

In some cases, for reasons unknown to us, the longer train arriving first would get headed into the siding and await the shorter train. This move becomes even more inefficient as once the shorter train clears and the longer train gets the signal, they have to depart at a slower speed. In certain situations there are reasons for this, but in most cases they didn’t apply back then. All the sidings on the WC Chicago Sub, with the exception of Wheeling were only good for restricted speed. As you recall, in addition to all that other stuff you have to be able to stop short of or look out for, the maximum speed under this rule is “not exceeding 20 MPH.” Now when departing, we would get a favorable signal that allowed us to travel at a higher or normal speed on the main track, but turnouts that lead into and out of the siding were of the 20 MPH variety, so we were restricted to 20 MPH until the entire train was on the main track clear of the turnout coming out of the siding. As a result, the shorter train sitting on the main track had to wait a little bit longer. This does nothing to help out your running time.

We had a great Dispatcher that worked the east end dispatching desk on the WC in my days there named John Busa. John was a very friendly guy with a big booming voice on the radio. He was also clearly one of the best Dispatchers I have ever worked with anywhere on the railroad. He would keep you abreast of the state of the railroad including what the opposition (trains coming at you that you would have to meet somewhere) was doing. If he knew that you were going to take a hit someplace because of train size John would inform you of such a situation. Of course as per norm on the railroad, these long sidings had a tendency to be located in what could essentially be considered the middle of nowhere.

If you discovered that you were in the middle of nowhere, how would you be able to determine that this was indeed, the geographic center? And once you did arrive how exactly would you know had arrived?

The siding at Rugby Junction was indeed one of these points. There was nothing anywhere close to either end where one could take a stroll and perhaps get a bite to eat, a cup of coffee or even a newspaper. If we sat here for any period of time, we were trapped like rats as it were.

To make it interesting, there were two crossings within this siding. So when we did pull into Rugby to affect a meet, we would have the place all tied up. In the overnight hours or on weekends the road near the west end of the siding was not a critical problem with regards to blocking it. However the crossing towards the east end was of concern. One might suggest cutting the crossings to avoid blocking them. This is one of those “sounds good on paper” propositions.

Cutting a crossing in itself is not that big a deal. It is the putting it back together part that becomes the hassle. If there is more than one crossing and you have only a Conductor, he has to do a considerable amount of walking. They will have to walk to the next crossing after coupling up the first one and then make that tie. With the train all coupled back up they then get to make the long walk back up to the engines. In some cases this is quite a long walk. And during all this walking, those crossings that were cut are now blocked.

This is a prime situation to get information about meets. When you know you’re going to get stuck someplace for an extended period you can reduce your speed and eat up some time, which will also save fuel, or even stop someplace short of that siding where your train will fit without blocking any crossings.

There were a couple of other locations, Burlington (5160 feet) and Lake Villa (5490 feet) had auxiliary tracks parallel to the main track. Whenever we had to make a meet at either of these two locations, the train that was too long would have to hold the main track and double into the auxiliary track. While this too sounds rather routine it could be quite the proposition. If the opposing train was anywhere close he would have to stop well enough short of the meeting point. Both trains involved would have to be issued track and time authority to allow them both to occupy that segment of railroad beyond the meeting point. The track and time authority would not be required if the opposing train was not within the block limits that the train needing to double in at the meeting point needed to use for headroom to make such a move.

With no caboose and nobody back at the tail end of the train to call you clear, the Dispatcher became a player on your team. They would observe your move on their board and when you got close to clearing the control point at the tail end they could inform you. Once you cleared completely and the lights on their board extinguished, we were in the clear and they would inform us of that fact. Then you could go about this business of setting over the head end. At Burlington doubling over wasn’t too much of a problem as the auxiliary track, Siding 74 was good for about 60 or maybe a little more cars. Now if there were already cars in this track it could get a little dicey and there was the potential to run out of room before you cleared. Should this be the case, and it happened to me once, you could then use the little yard that was located a little east of the siding. Any leftovers that didn’t fit, along with the engines, could be moved up to the yard and you would clear up there.

Lake Villa was a slightly different scenario. The auxiliary track there known as the house track was much shorter than Siding 74 at Burlington. If you had too many cars here, you were a little screwed.

Now on occasion as I mentioned much earlier, a meet would be set up at one of the shorter sidings where there were no auxiliary tracks but neither train would fit. The regular Dispatchers on the line would know better than to attempt this stunt. If they were not certain of your train length, they would ask you on the radio. On occasion we would have an extra Dispatcher that, while qualified to dispatch this line, was not regular to this piece of railroad. They didn’t know the crews and sometimes did not feel that we could be trusted. When these Dispatchers set up such meets, there was only one method to affect the meet; the use of a saw by.

And the saw by is the feature of today’s lesson.

We were routinely getting hammered on our trips to Chicago with big delays from long meets (waiting a long amount of time for the opposing train to arrive account train lengths) and other extenuating factors like getting stopped by defect detectors, having cars go bad order en route, waiting on cross traffic at places like Duplainville where the Soo Line crossed or Deval where the CNW crossed. And then there was the regularly scheduled work en route such as set out and pick ups. And not to mention was the incredible delays we frequently and routinely took once we hit the Chicago Terminal.

This particular day we had a company official riding with us to observe. Normally when an officer rode with us, they would announce such a fact to the Dispatcher before boarding the train. It was amazing how much better trips became when an announced officer tagged along. No Dispatcher wants to take the chance of getting themselves “into the trick bag” for delaying a train with an official on board if there was any chance at all to keep them moving and stick it some unescorted train instead. This guy told us up front that he wanted to see first hand, what we had been telling them for months about the delays we routinely encounter.

So here we go on train TO02 with something like 135 cars out of Shops Yard in North Fond du Lac. We are heading east (timetable) towards Chicago when we hear the Dispatcher call train TO41 asking them about car count and train length. They were far enough away that we couldn’t hear them very well. In fact much of the response we heard from them was static. The Dispatcher was questioning them about their total train length and debating the issue. He insisted that they were not as long (in feet) as they were claiming as they only had so and so amount of cars (the number escapes me at this time). After several minutes of exchange on the radio the Dispatcher tells them they should fit at Marsh (4905 feet) and that they will meet us there. While we couldn’t make out the conversation at that point, we later learned this Conductor, to no avail, was trying to explain to this Dispatcher that they had picked up some articulated intermodal cars en route.

Articulated cars are those of multiple sections but counted as a single car. Spine cars, double stack cars, twin pack covered hoppers and the like would constitute articulated cars. Some multilevel auto carriers are also articulated. Then there are cars that are actually two separate cars but connected by a solid drawbar with no couplers. They are also counted as a single car. Covered hoppers used in flour service and also 93 foot flatcars used in intermodal service qualify as a single car even though they are comprised of two separate units. And some double stack cars are also connected in this manner as well.

This is one of those situations where good sense is abandoned in the name of trying to make a doomed plan a success. You cannot argue with them as they believe they are right and you wrong, never mind the fact that you are there on the high iron with the train and should have a reasonably good assessment of what you are pulling around. To quote an old friend, “You just can’t fight stupidity.”

We arrived at Marsh first holding the main track; 41 would take the siding. I pulled up and stop about five or six cars from the signal and we waited. We heard 41 roll by the Allenton detector and get a “no defects” message. So here they come, “spinning out of the curve.” As they begin the entry into the siding, 41’s Conductor gets on the radio and informs us of the fact that they are not going to fit being they are too long. As the train rolled past us we quickly ascertained as to why; a block of empty double stack cars. Apparently this Dispatcher refused to acknowledge that “one” double stack car counted to the equivalent of five or more car lengths. Using your elementary school mathematics, five double stack cars equate to twenty-five car lengths. 41 had picked up four of these cars. When they stopped at the opposite end, we still could not see the end of their train. This is not good.

So now here we are two trains stopped, each blocked by the other. In railroading this is frequently referred to as a Mexican stand off.

So now that nobody is moving the Dispatcher comes on the air and asks if 41 can pull their train tighter (closer) to the signal. They explain that it won’t help as they have too many cars and will not come close to fitting. Again the debate begins about train size. Now the official that is riding with us must reveal himself. He gets into the conversation and attempts to explain the concept of articulated cars and how they are much longer than the standard cars. I don’t believe this Dispatcher ever actually gained a grasp of this concept at that moment in time.

So now we are stuck. Aside from having 41 shove his train all the way back to Rugby, a distance of some seventeen or so miles, there is only one alternative to affect the meet; a saw by.

To affect a saw by, there are several steps. First, we have to determine exactly how many car lengths 41 lacks from clearing up. My Conductor had to take a little stroll to positively ascertain this amount. Once that was determined we then had to obtain joint track and time authority with train 41 from the Dispatcher. This allowed both trains to jointly occupy the main track. We also had to get permission to hand operate the dual control switch at Marsh East. Once this was all accomplished we began to have at it.

My Conductor wound up having to perform all the work as 41’s Conductor was up on the engine with his Engineer. My Conductor this day was my regular, Brian Kruger. Brian had to have 41 shove back about 40 car lengths, stop him and then make a cut. He left the rear 17 cars on the main track. We needed 41 to shove back this far so as to allow us enough headroom when we made our move. After the cut was made 41 was then instructed to take them ahead and Brian rode the cut back up. He dropped off at the switch at East Marsh. He stopped them once they cleared; hand operated the dual control switch. The official cut me away from my train and Brian instructed me to come ahead over the switch. He lined me into the siding and brought me back against 41’s train. We coupled onto their train and Brian walked back 17 cars and made a cut. We then pulled ahead back out onto the main and stopped. Brian then lined the switch and brought me back against my train and coupled up.

Once this was accomplished, I got the air up and was given permission by the Dispatcher to do so; I backed my train up to clear the switch and signal at Marsh East. Brian then climbed aboard 41 and backed them up and out of the siding back against the cars on the main they had cut away from at the beginning of this move. The official took care of operating the switch for Brian. He coupled 41 back against the remaining cars on the main track and when they got the air back up, had them pull the rest of the way into the siding finally clearing the main track and the Marsh East control point. Once they cleared Brain restored the switch back to motor and both trains released their joint track and time. We then got the signal and departed.

But now we have 17 cars in our train going the wrong direction. We went to Slinger, the next siding east of Marsh and now had to stop and set them out here for another westbound to pick up later. Our delay here was significant. Even though the set out itself wouldn’t take that long, we now have to pump 135 cars back up, do a road test of the air (a simple set and release of the brakes to positively ascertain brake pipe continuity) and go. I should mention we also had to perform this brake test at Marsh after adding the cars from 41 to our train. I performed the test after I had shoved back and stopped once I cleared the signal.

“These things take time.”

Now there are several facets of today’s lesson that may or may not be apparent. Aside from both us and 41 taking huge delays at Marsh, we took another delay at Slinger to make the set out. Another westbound will then have to take a delay to stop pick these 17 cars up. And finally, with these 17 cars sitting in the siding at Slinger, the Dispatcher loses a siding in which to meet trains which could result in a delay to another train later. A potential meet at Slinger would now be eliminated and a train would have to sit and wait at either Marsh or Rugby, which would then require somebody getting stuck waiting for awhile.

Now if only the Dispatcher had listened to the Conductor on 41 the meet would have been at Rugby instead of Marsh. 41 would have had a bit of a wait on us, but I can guarantee that there would have been much less time consumed than what we both got stuck for at Marsh.

As I mentioned, I had to perform the saw by a couple of times in my days at the WC and I know others that had to do so as well. I guess some lessons just never get learned.

And for what it’s worth, we did not make it to our final destination of Markham and the IC that night. In fact, we didn’t make it past Schiller Park.

And so it goes.

Tuch

Hot Times on the High Iron and HTOTHI are both ©2005 by JD Santucci