There is no limit on train length, if it wont fit in any sidings they treat it like a hot shot and do there best to keep it flying. The El Diablo i caught the other day was a rather long one most ones now a days look like the one here:
Train details MNPWV 02 Engines UP 005666 | UP 008183 | UP 008166 | UP 006578
Engines UP 006690
Scheduled Scheduled departure | GRERIVER, WY | WX817 | 06/03/05 22:55M | 000 loads | 129 empty | 03990 tons | 07367 feet
Last Call train | RAWLINS, WY | WX683 | 06/03/05 13:00M | 000 loads | 129 empty | 03990 tons | 07367 feet
Thats an average Devil now a days. Notice the 666 on the lead motor, pretty scary. Oddly enough, thats not the first time ive seen a 666 on the point. I had one once, it was fun to say 666 all day "Dispatcher this the UP 4... 666 El Diablo on and ready to blast off here at Green River". Got a good laugh from the dispatcher. Most are pretty good about calling us by our true name, im sure a railfan or two listening in wondered what the hell the deal was when he hears Devil Train on his scanner.
The name devil train got started when they changed the type of cars the Green River yard switched from soda ash to mixed freight. All we did was switch hopper cars and tanks for the mines. They came up with the idea to save millions by moving out the hoppers and bringing all of Pocatello's work, alot of Ogdens, and a good chunk of Cheyenne work to Green River (alot more tanks, empty and loaded lumber cars, auto racks, boxs, and steel cars.) So overnight switch crews went from pounding hoppers into rails to being scared and careful with all the new long drawbar cars. Thats one reason for the name of the new train, the other is that the symbol changed from the MNPGR to the MNPWV sence the train no longer yarded in Green River and went out west of town to deliver cars to all the mines. When they first started the Devil they were super long, 250 or 260, somewhere around there. We make up to five setouts on most Devils, and to boot, at first North Platte didnt block the train at all. 250+ cars, five different brands of mine cars shot gunned threw the intire train. It was a mess, a crew could spend 10 hours on the main jacking the same cars around till you made it to Westvaco.
Things are better with the Devil now, it shows up blocked, or fairly decent, less than 150 cars most days. The reasons for shorter ones is that the crews east of GR would put the screws to the main if they went into emergency and had to walk it, so insted of combining the OBTNP cars with the Devil at NP they run it straight threw from there as a OBTWV <---- mini Devil is what we have dubbed it. (if i was in Texas... Mexican Devil or just El Diablo. OBTWV trains im supposing are cars from the ports in Texas along with the soda ash cars coming back from Mexico)
An over kill on power on these trains is because it serves as a motor transfer also, so GR can have plenty of locomotives for the locals. Sometimes we cut it in GR and sometimes we set out good back to back sets along the way for the locals the next day or that night.
Sometimes the Devil picks up on the way back to town but most days after Westvaco a guy gets to skinner back to town 70 MPH lite power which is always a fun ride.
(it took me about an hour to type all that.... man i suck)
Last edited by UPRR engineer on Fri Jun 03, 2005 11:28 pm, edited 7 times in total.
