(Volume 5, No. 2)
Layout Report
The Idaho Falls modules have been moved to the southeast corner of the room and the setup is beginning. The modular layout has been reassembled in the north end of the room and is operating. Thanks to Dave Glenn for allowing us to use his AristoCraft radio throttle on the modules. It is set up as throttle 2 and is ready to go. The power pack which is connected to it for power must remain on with the throttle wide open for the radio throttle to work. Give it a try!
Plans are being made for the additional sections at the south end of the room. Several members traveled to Pocatello to see the Pocatello club's layout in their first open house in their new building. We were impressed with their lift up bridge to get inside the layout operating area. It uses a sawed off transformer as an electromagnet to hold it in place. You cannot open the bridge while the electormagnet is active. Pushing a button turns off the electromagnet and allows the bridge to be lifted for passage. It's a slick system.
Thanks to Dave Shaw, we have the conduit in and will soon have electrical outlets along the walls under the layout. There is one outlet which is on all the time and the other is switched. The switch is located under the electrical panel box to your right as you come in the outer door. There are even lights which remind you when the power is on to that section. There is GFCI protection, so if your power goes off, press the reset button on the outlet in the northeast corner of the room. If the power goes off again, there is something wrong with whatever is plugged into the outlet. This provides extra safety for you and the club room.
Doug Herrmann
Treasury Notes
You may have noticed something different about the mailing label on your newsletter. Starting this month I am using a new code system to help you know what your membership status is and how up-to-date your dues payments are. The letters and numbers that appear behind your name can be decoded as follows:
As for the numbers, the first two numbers show the month you are paid through, and the second two numbers indicate which year the month is in. For example: F1299 indicates that you are a full member whose dues are paid through December of 1999. Hopefully this system will help all of you keep track of and keep up with (hint, hint) your dues. If you have any questions you can contact me for more info.
Dave Shaw, Treasurer
President's Soapbox
The new club layout is coming along with the IF section now relocated to the opposite corner of the room for a beginning. Our latest design plan will allow us to build a layout in sections and will represent the line from IF to Silver Bow with as much detail as can be reasonably done. The down side is that very few of the existing club modules will fit easily into the new overall scheme although we may utilize some sections temporarily. The same will be true for the member modules now in place in the loop; some member owners may have a problem even finding storage for their modules other than at the club, others have been more or less abandoned or donated to the club - some of these can be scrapped and the materials recycled, or where possible, rebuilt to fit into the master design. We will probably keep some modules that can be set up for use as a display at selected community events or mall shows in the future.
One of our present and previous problems has been hesitancy by members to build and develop a module or series of modules which would fit into the existing layout. This, in part is due to the fact that we lacked the space to fit additional modules into the layout. Another problem was a grand scheme didn't exist. We now have both the available space and the design, and a couple of members have taken the challenge of building another section.
Members contemplating building a new section should be reminded that new any new sections or modules will conform to NMRA standards in height or material only, standard issues such as wiring and track placement will be subject to layout committee decision on a section by section basis.
Some club members visited the Pocatello Club's Open House last Saturday. It is an impressive layout in space generously donated to them by the Union Pacific RR. It does not come to them cost free however; they will be repairing the roof and pay a modest monthly amount for utilities. We discovered some innovative features which can be incorporated into our own arrangement. Specifically, the unique lift-up gate allowing access into the inside of the layout; this matter of stand-up access has been an important issue in nearly all of our planning sessions. We can thank the Pocatello club for their excellent example. They are also blessed with a very capable electrician who engineered the design allowing control around the layout with a mixture of fixed, wireless and tethered throttles. It makes one wonder what benefits an "Honorary Membership" would produce for our club.
The room wiring is "pulled" (in place) around the wall, with the completion of that project, does that mean that the ghost person (we never see him) will now spend the same amount of time redoing the layout wiring? If so, we had better get some more track down.
Leo Harker
Timetable
UNION PACIFIC ROSTER
Union Pacific Locomotive Assignments – December 1999
All AC's (UP, C&NW, and SP) assigned to coal train - Powder River and Colorado/Utah coal.
All UP, C&NW, and SP C449Ws are assigned to intermodal and auto trains in the Chicago North Platte - West Coast corridor.
All C60ACs and SD90MAC's in service are assigned to east-west (Chicago - west coast) intermodal trains
AC's are also assigned to the North Platte - Green River soda ash pool.
AC's from the UP7300 series are assigned to chemical trains Chicago - N.L.Rock- Pine Bluff
C41-8Ws UP9489-UP9559 are assigned to APL stack trains Chicago - North Platte - West Coast corridor.
DPU equipped units assigned to the Pacific Northwest: C40-8s [UP9300-UP9355], C40-8Ws [UP9356-UP9395] and C41-8UIs [UP9396-UP9405]. Some of these units are assined to DP service over Tehachapi (West Colton-Bakersfield).
System wide manifest service – SD60M's, C40s, SD40-2's
Former SP SD70s, as well as EMD leased SD70's are still assigned to the 1-5 corridor. (LA-Portland).
All former C&NW and UP dual equipped CCS/ATC equipped units are kept in the Proviso-North Platte-Portland corridor.
Former C&NW SD40-2s, SD50s, and SD60s equipped with ATC are kept in the Proviso-Kansas City and Proviso-North Platte corridors.
Former SP GP60s, B40-8s, and B39-8s are still primary power for intermodal and auto trains on the Sunset and Golden State routes.
All GP50s are now considered suitable for local power.
Non Dynamic brake equipped units are kept east of North Platte. Assigned Texas rock train power is: SD45s [SP6797-SP6891] and GP40s [SP7940-SP7966] .
GP15s 1700-1744 are assigned local and yard power on the former C&NW side, which includes the territories north and west of Proviso.
The 1000 new SD70M units will go into the System Manifest Service Pool, and should be delivered over the next 3-4 years. The following models will be retired as a result (totaling 1500 units): C30-7, C36-7, B36-7, B30-7, GP40X, SD45-2, SD45-2T, SD50, SD40-2T, and older, non-standard, or unrebuilt SD40-2 units such as SP units, MP units (no dynamic brakes), etc.
The rebuilt UP SD40-2R's should be the last survivors. Some series of the above models are encumbered by long term lease terms, and will survive for a few years, while others will disappear rather quickly. Any of the above units that suffer a major mechanical failure will drop out on the spot.
Contributed by Leo Harker
THE ISLAND PARK AREA (Continued)
by Thornton Waite
GERRIT (M.P. 66.9)
At one time Gerritt had a wye so that a locomotive could be turned around, and a through siding track. By the time the line was pulled up, only the siding track remained. This location was also known as Mesa, and there was a gravel platform.
In 1930 the railroad listed Gerritt as having a loading chute and crowding pens for livestock, but these were no longer being listed by 1946.
PINEVlEW (M.P. 72.5)
Originally known as Fishatch, or State Fish Hatchery, a state fishery was built near this location in 1908, when the railroad line was being constructed. The constant water flow and temperatures of the Warm River made the location ideal for raising varieties of trout. There was a through siding track at Pineview. Although in 1930 no stockyard facilities were listed by the railroad, by 1946 Pineview had a small stockyard furnished by the Forest Department. There were 2 pens, with one double deck loading chute and scales. The loading decks had a capacity of 36 horses, cattle, sheep, or hogs.
The 1916 ICC Valuation shows that there was a 16' x 24' section house, built in 1915, at this location. In 1908 the railroad also built a 12' x 14' pump house, a 10' x 21' coal house, and in 1901 they built a standard 24' diameter by 16' high wood tank on cast iron columns on a concrete foundation. In 1930 the railroad listed Pineview as having a 45,000 gallon water tank, supplied by a 150 gpm steam-driven pump from the river. These were actually a half mile to the south of Pineview, at milepost 72. There was also a wye and passing track a mile to the north of Pineview.
At milepost 75.5 there was a through passing track and a mill spur track to load timber products.
ECCLES (M.P 75.1)
The Eccles Siding and nearby Eccles Butte were named for Silas W. Eccles, division superintendent of the Union Pacific Railroad when the line was built to West Yellowstone and part owner of the Railroad Ranch for many years. He was later chairman of the American Smelting & Refining Company and a member of the Union Pacific Board of Directors. He was also a part owner of the Railroad Ranch, which was located in the Island Park region. Born in 1852, he had been involved with railroads since he began his career as a railroad telegrapher for the Chicago & Alton Railroad. In 1876 he went to work for the Denver & Rio Grande, and by 1884 he was a freight agent for the D&RG in Salt Lake City. He eventually switched to the Union Pacific, and became the traffic manager for the OSL. By 1900 he was affiliated with the smelting and refining business, and was working for the Guggenheim family. He became a member of the Board of Directors of the American Smelting and Refining Company when the Guggenheims took control in 1905. They later took over the Nevada Consolidated Copper Company, which owned the Nevada Northern Railway, and Eccles became President of both organizations. Eccles enjoyed hunting and fishing, and was responsible for many of the conservation policies instituted at the Railroad Ranch.
The Eccles siding had a single switch on the west side of the tracks, ending at a gravel pit. The 1916 ICC Valuation shows that there was a gravel platform here, and a 16'x 34' section house, built in 1901.
Next month - Island Park .......
Operation Lifesaver
Part of the club's outreach to the community is to support the Operation Lifesaver speech contest. This contest is open to any high school student who has taken driver training and attended an Operation Lifesaver presentation. This year the regional contest is on April 20 at 10:00 AM in the Idaho Falls High School. The winners from each of the 6 regions in Idaho get to compete at the state contest on May 4 in Boise. Prizes at the state level are $1000 for first, $500 for second, $250 for third, and $100 each for fourth, fifth, and sixth. The money we contribute goes to supply the prizes for fourth, fifth, and sixth. A change in the rules this year allows up to 5 participants from each high school in the regional contest. One of the first winners was Cassie Seneff of Idaho Falls. She went on to work with the Operation Lifesaver youth program and to become a certified presenter.
This year the Operation Lifesaver national symposium will be in Salt Lake City in July. Our own Tom Griggs is the regional coordinator for Operation Lifesaver in Idaho Falls. Several of the club members are certified presenters for Operation Lifesaver. If you would like to join them, contact Tom at 525-8777 to see when the next training session is scheduled and to sign up. Tom is also always looking for judges for the regional speech contest, so here is your chance to judge some really good student speakers.
Doug Herrmann
Definition
f-stop - a pause to refuel/service covered wagons.
Material Needed
Please send any material you would like to have placed in the Eagle Tracks newsletter to the editor.