08-21-2011, 01:50 PM
I worked as conductor/engineer/manager for Progressive Rail at Lakeville, then one year later, started up the Bloomington High Line operation for them and subsequently began the Wisconsin Northern operation out of Chippewa Falls, WI..
While the Lakeville operation was interesting and at times "fun" it truly was a pia to switch due to all of the switches placed in a multitude of positions and no
runaround track in the park. Every morning we would pull as many mtys as possible (there were few tracks to store extra cars on) from customers on either the rear of the engine or on the nose. Once we had all the mtys together, we would push-pull them out of the park and palce them on the CP (now PGR main from Lakeville to Northfield) with some to the south from our nose and then the rest to the north from our tail.
When the CP train showed up they cut their cars for us, clear of a road crossing to the south and then coupled to our two cuts for them to the north and shoved them north to eat lunch while one, PGR crew and engine quickly sorted through the inbounds using the main, a runaround track, and the lead to the park to separate customer cars for delivery and spotting by a second crew and engine. I do recall this as being a fun and satisying procedure using the time element to not only get the CP main cleared of cars so their crew wasn't delayed in their return to Northfield but also getting all inbound cars spotted to customersso they could begin unloading them before we went to "beans" (lunch). While this, innovative "pitch and catch" operation between the two PGR crews was something I had not encountered in my previous 30 years of railrroading and was effecient and interesting it often led to dangerous, non-compliance of both safety and operating rules. At this time I do not know whether this type of operation is in effect at Lakeville or the issues with rules compliance but I doubt it still is.
The operation up on the Bloomington, High Line was much more modeleable and like a branch line with a few conveinent runaround tracks rather than switching a park although there were a couple of small, "mini parks" on it. But those are stories for another time if folks are interested.
The Wisconsin Northern operation was unique in that there was a complete lack of conveinent, runaround tracks on a line 60 miles long and most of the customers had tracks which were facing point spurs facing north leaving CF. This necessitated having one GP15 on the south and another on the north to deliver lds north one day and pulling mtys south the next on the way back to CF for the UP.
Sorry, I wrote so much.
Barry
While the Lakeville operation was interesting and at times "fun" it truly was a pia to switch due to all of the switches placed in a multitude of positions and no
runaround track in the park. Every morning we would pull as many mtys as possible (there were few tracks to store extra cars on) from customers on either the rear of the engine or on the nose. Once we had all the mtys together, we would push-pull them out of the park and palce them on the CP (now PGR main from Lakeville to Northfield) with some to the south from our nose and then the rest to the north from our tail.
When the CP train showed up they cut their cars for us, clear of a road crossing to the south and then coupled to our two cuts for them to the north and shoved them north to eat lunch while one, PGR crew and engine quickly sorted through the inbounds using the main, a runaround track, and the lead to the park to separate customer cars for delivery and spotting by a second crew and engine. I do recall this as being a fun and satisying procedure using the time element to not only get the CP main cleared of cars so their crew wasn't delayed in their return to Northfield but also getting all inbound cars spotted to customersso they could begin unloading them before we went to "beans" (lunch). While this, innovative "pitch and catch" operation between the two PGR crews was something I had not encountered in my previous 30 years of railrroading and was effecient and interesting it often led to dangerous, non-compliance of both safety and operating rules. At this time I do not know whether this type of operation is in effect at Lakeville or the issues with rules compliance but I doubt it still is.
The operation up on the Bloomington, High Line was much more modeleable and like a branch line with a few conveinent runaround tracks rather than switching a park although there were a couple of small, "mini parks" on it. But those are stories for another time if folks are interested.
The Wisconsin Northern operation was unique in that there was a complete lack of conveinent, runaround tracks on a line 60 miles long and most of the customers had tracks which were facing point spurs facing north leaving CF. This necessitated having one GP15 on the south and another on the north to deliver lds north one day and pulling mtys south the next on the way back to CF for the UP.
Sorry, I wrote so much.
Barry