I found this photo on American-Rails.com. It was taken in late afternoon, which gives the photo a color shift towards the red. The nose on the FA is really UP Yellow, not orange. The photo was taken on the North Bank of the Columbia River (river right) just west of Cape Horn, the rock outcropping in the background.
Neat picture! That’s a rather crowded cab for today’s standards…fireman and brakeman? I also like the single trumpet horn on the FA…I guess there’s no turning back when you get going.
Rockwall Canyon Jeff said:
Neat picture! That’s a rather crowded cab for today’s standards…fireman and brakeman? I also like the single trumpet horn on the FA…I guess there’s no turning back when you get going.
That’s an ABBA consist. There’s a similar horn on the aft end. (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-tongue-out.gif)
Back in the early diseasal days, union rules required a fireman on dieseasals over 45 tons (90,000 lbs). The fireman’s job lasted until 1985. For an interesting read on the insanity of railroad labor laws, click here. For instance, until 1987, Burlington Northern crews received “hazardous duty pay,” for traveling through “Injun Country,” in Montana. 
Steve, that makes sense, after all there was that Indian uprising in the 1970’s IIRC. (http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)(http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-laughing.gif)(http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-undecided.gif)
Steve,
You have no idea what the union rules are, and how complicated some of the agreements are! Engineers get paid by weight on drivers as well…
When I worked for BNSF we still had NP, and GN (along with BN, and BNSF) agreements that were still in effect but the frustrating point from a Train crew is that the company refuses to pay the claims. I think the oldest agreement that we worked under was from around the turn of the century…
Not to side track but here’s an example of an out of the ordinary day (Yes I was paid this after 6 months!)
100 Mile Basic Day (8 hr. NP switch job)
150 Miles Holiday Pay (New Years)
Got called to rerail a locomotive just North of the Ballard Locksso we got this
100 Mile No lunch after 8 hours
50? Miles NP Work Train service
50? Miles Leaving the Seattle Terminal Limits
4 Hours overtime ~ 100 Miles
I think the grand total when I finally got paid for that day was just shy of under a grand…
Did your union help you to arrive at those hours/figures, or was that left up to you to dig?
Union rules in every heavily union regulated occupation are so complicated that the only people who know how to interpret them are the people who are tasked with denying claims for overtime and compensation, etc. These people are paid a handsome salary to keep the average working man from accruing enough salary to live like a human being. Remember, the rules only work for the Rulers!
And one wonders why people tolerate unions…(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-money-mouth.gif)
Rockwall Canyon Jeff said:
Did your union help you to arrive at those hours/figures, or was that left up to you to dig?
A little bit of both. The common claims (no lunch after 8 & leaving the terminal) I knew about, but the union helped secure my final paycheck after 6 months of waiting. Everything is paid out in miles, and each claim is equal to a certain rate at so many miles. A late lunch (lunch not taken between 6’ 20" and 7’ 40") for example was 6.7 miles (about $12), but a lunch after 8 hours was 100 miles.
In my above example, I submitted the proper claims, with both the Seattle Terminal Trainmaster authorizing the moves that we made (he gave us the instructions). Not even 2 days later, I get a ‘cut slip’ from accounting that says "Claim denied by Trainmaster X (the same one that authorized us in the first place). Forward documentation, and claims to the union, wait, wait, wait, wait, and finally wait some more… Than 6 months later, notice a increase in my paycheck, double check the claims and sure if enough I’m paid in June for work done in January. Did I earn any interest on that money? Nope…
I don’t want to get into a side track conversation about the railroad and the unions (PM me if you really want to know more), but one of the reasons I left the railroad industry is because you had to fight for your paycheck each month. We had guys that would fight down to the penny…
Guys,
I wasn’t trying to get into a political debate. I was simply telling Steve a different perspective from a railroaders point of view…
If you really want to talk (either way for or against) PM me and we can have an engaging, informative discussion.
Nice photo in the op though, isn’t it? (http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-laughing.gif)
Steve Featherkile said:
Nice photo in the op though, isn’t it? (http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-laughing.gif)
Yes it is! I’m trying to figure out how to justify a SP&S Alco working a branchline up in Seattle, post BN merger… Those Alco’s never strayed far from home rails. (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-undecided.gif)
Yes Steve, nice photo. Who’s high line above the train ?(http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)
Craig, maybe they didn’t, but maybe, just maybe, in a time of horsepower shortage, your branch-line was able to lease one. Short term of course.
Dave Marconi said:
Yes Steve, nice photo. Who’s high line above the train ?(http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)
Dave, that’s Washington State Route 14, that runs along the north bank of the Columbia River, from Vancouver, Wa to US 395, just south of Richland, Wa. Its a great motorcycle road.
Steve Featherkile said:
Dave Marconi said:
Yes Steve, nice photo. Who’s high line above the train ?(http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)
Dave, that’s Washington State Route 14, that runs along the north bank of the Columbia River, from Vancouver, Wa to US 395, just south of Richland, Wa. Its a great motorcycle road.
Are you referencing the bridge road over the rear of the train Steve or the trestle halfway up the mountain as I was referring to ?
David Maynard said:
Craig, maybe they didn’t, but maybe, just maybe, in a time of horsepower shortage, your branch-line was able to lease one. Short term of course.
SP&S was part of the CB&Q, GN & NP merger that created BN, so technically any former SP&S loco was now available for BN service. The problem was other than SP&S ownership very few Alco’s existed across the system. The few that were not SP&S got shipped out west to be home shopped in Vancouver, where SP&S had lots of experience working on the Alco’s. BN tried to keep the Alco’s on the main from Vancouver, Wa to Spokane (former SP&S & NP rails), but I’ve found a few instances of Alco’s creeping north towards Seattle. However, that said, it’s unlikely that BN would have taken Alco’s off the regular run to work BN’s lowly branchline that normally got GP7’s and F units…
Dave Marconi said:
Are you referencing the bridge road over the rear of the train Steve or the trestle halfway up the mountain as I was referring to ?
I could be wrong, but I think the bridge over the rear of the train, near the river is the NP main. The highway is up on the mountain.
I didn’t know that trains “consisted” of Swedish disco bands. An ABBA consist…I see what you did there. She is a “dancing queen” on the rails and I am sure she is making “money, money, money” for her owners. “knowing me, knowing you” I bet if we take a “chance on me” we can convince her to head to “Waterloo” and if we are lucky we wont have to send out an “S.O.S”.
I wonder if that second B unit is turned backward (http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)
It is a nice photo despite what the union rep says
Dave Marconi said:
Steve Featherkile said:
Dave Marconi said:
Yes Steve, nice photo. Who’s high line above the train ?(http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)
Dave, that’s Washington State Route 14, that runs along the north bank of the Columbia River, from Vancouver, Wa to US 395, just south of Richland, Wa. Its a great motorcycle road.
Are you referencing the bridge road over the rear of the train Steve or the trestle halfway up the mountain as I was referring to ?
The one halfway up the mountain. At that point, the road is literally bolted to the side of the hill. That’s a local access road (called Riverside Drive), that the train goes under. Note that there is only one tunnel, for the RR, none for automobiles. There are other places where the hwy is right next to the track, and there are two tunnels, side by side.
