November  2002

(Volume 26, No. 11)

Presidents Soapbox

Thanks to everyone who dedicated their time to the success of the recent Rail Show. Thanks also to those non club members of the Lane family who volunteered their time at the door.

Now that we have all recovered (tongue in cheek) from Rail Show burnout, it is time to have some fun just running trains. For several reasons, I think it best to take some time to concentrate on some other issues which need to be addressed before undertaking the next construction phase. For some of us however, there may not be much relief from show issues since we already planning for next years show as we speak. Among the issues we are considering will be extending the hours the show is open in lieu of a dinner meeting with speaker. Another will be the consideration of a single ticket price and the elimination of the “Family Pass” rate. The membership should consider their stance on these two items and be prepared to offer your opinion.

Perhaps the first and major issue for the membership is simply learning how to operate a train the length of the available trackage. Also on the agenda will be a wholesale review of all rolling stock on the layout to discover underweight cars and those with incompatible couplers. Many new items found their way onto the layout, having been purchased at the show. We were able to identify some of the new items last week but have are duplicate numbers with items already on the layout. Sounds like a good excuse (read reason) for a clinic or two.

Several things come to mind regarding the, can I say chaotic, final days before the show and the resulting storage of tools, scenery supplies etc. Hence, one of the first projects I would recommend being undertaken will be the sorting out of all the supplies into like kind labeled storage. The same with all tools, it seems that many things were simply placed into boxes with no particular plan or reason other than to get it out of sight. Our organizing these materials will allow us to determine what we need for future projects as well as to make it easier for anyone to work on existing projects. Admittedly, one of the greatest challenges I or any other group leader will have ever faced is the organization of other group members on a common set of terms.

We now have about 25 paid members with about an equal mix of full privileged members, associate, and junior memberships on our rolls and we appreciate your participation and support. We mentioned in last month's newsletter that we would be reviewing the status of our mailing list. This should be interpreted to mean that if you have been receiving the newsletter and are not a paid member of any class, we are forced for financial reasons to remove your name from the subscription list unless we receive, at minimum, an application with a paid Associate membership fee. There are some on our list who will continue to receive the newsletter on a complimentary basis and those are identified on their address label. If you find the association with ERRHSI of value to you, please let us know by contributing a fair share of support towards the organization.

Leo Harker

Timetable

Model Contest Report for Rail-Show 2002

Until the Club can obtain an enclosed display method for our Model Contests entrants will continue to be reluctant to enter our contest, since the current open table display offers little or no protection for someone’s hard put efforts. This is a matter the entire Club should be concerned about.

We had official entries in two classes this year. There were three entries in Class B, Diesel engines and three entries in Class C, Rolling Stock. We did not have an NMRA judging this year due to insufficient advance planning but a “Peoples Choice” balloting was held and the results were as follows; Martin’s EIRR F unit received the most votes with 11 votes and Mike Murphy’s SD45 was second with 9 votes.

Both Alan Udy and Leo Harker displayed photographs, and interestingly, each received 1 vote in the People’s Choice balloting.

Other entries were a caboose and SW1200 by Mike Murphy and a caboose and private car by Walt Bailey.

Overall, of the nearly 1000 in attendance, a disappointingly small percentage bothered to complete a ballot for the contest. What do we need to do?

Leo Harker

Train Makers Race Clock to Find Ways to Cut Locomotive Pollution

By Pat Maio

Dow Jones Newswires

ROSEVILLE, Calif. - A locomotive winding its way through a mountain pass with a plume of smoke trailing behind makes for a picturesque scene, but something ominous lingers in that smoke: nitrogen oxide, a chemical compound that is a major cause of smog and acid rain.

The Environmental Protection Agency established in 1995 an aggressive timetable for the rail industry to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxide. By 2005, the EPA wants a 62% reduction from readings taken during the mid-1990s.

Facing this deadline, railroads, locomotive manufacturers, and others are experimenting with technologies to lower the amount of polluting gases and particulates generated by trains. The efforts are aimed at Southern California-the smoggiest region of the nation-where railroads have agreed to introduce less-polluting locomotives first.

In a Union Pacific Corp. rail yard here in Northern California, near Sacramento, Railpower Technologies Corp. Is developing one of the more closely watched technologies, a hybrid electric-and-diesel locomotive it calls the Green Goat.

Railpower, Vancouver, British Columbia, says the Green Goat can reduce nitrogen oxide and particulate emissions 85% and decrease fuel consumption 35%.

For now, the Green Goat's only application is in rail yards, which are often prime collecting spots for pollution because a large number of trains move slowly through a confined area.

The Green Goat is a so-called switcher, a locomotive used to move train cars from one track to another in a rail yard. Switchers are considered the biggest polluters in rail yards. Most switchers are 30 to 50 years old and run on small, 1,500- to 2,000-horsepower engines. This class of aging locomotives may prove most challenging for the industry to clean up.

The Green Goat gets its energy from a bank of 30 custom-designed lead-acid, 20-volt batteries that drive the traction motors on its axles. The lead-acid batteries are kept charged by a small generator driven by a 130-horsepower diesel-fueled truck engine. That engine automatically turns off when idling, producing much of the Green Goat's fuel-consumption savings.

Railpower began developing the Green Goat two years ago by dismantling a 1,750-horsepower diesel engine from a 1950s- era switch locomotive. Everything above the frame was tossed out, except the front and rear noses of the locomotive. The batteries, which have been designed to be used for 10 years, take up the majority of the space under the front nose, with a small compartment in the rear for the truck engine and generator.

Some rail executives view the lead-acid batteries as an environmental drawback, with disposal a particular problem.

Frank Donnelly, chief technology officer at RailPower, estimates the Green Goat could cost $600,000 when it goes into production, compared with $1.5 million to $2 million for most locomotives.

Mike Iden, Union Pacific's general director of locomotive engineering, said the RailPower switchers will be tested for a year in the Roseville rail yard. He said they could figure into the Omaha, Neb., company's plans to replace hundreds of aging switchers throughout its system during the next decade.

General Motors Corp.'s Electro-Motive Division in LaGrange, Ill., is looking at fuel- cell powered locomotives that are nonpolluting, noiseless, fuel-efficient and don't require recharging. But industry observers say GM faces the challenge of shrinking the fuel cells, because current designs would create locomotives too big to fit through tunnels.

General Electric Co.'s Transportation Systems business in Erie, Pa., is experimenting with combinations of less polluting diesel fuels and batteries that store surplus heat from braking systems that can later be recovered as electrical power used to run a locomotive's engine. GE is investigating other emissions-reducing products, including locomotives that use automatic start-stop systems to prevent fuel waste while idling.

hichever technology prevails, it will be rolled out first in Southern California. Four years ago, Union Pacific and Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp., Fort Worth, Texas, agreed to a plan presented by the California Air Resources Board that holds the railroads responsible for introducing the cleanest of their locomotives in Southern California first.

The Wall Street Journal, 10/23/02

Idaho Falls Electric Railway

The Idaho Falls Electric Railway was incorporated on December 10, 1909, and filed with the state on January 5, 1910. The proposed line, to be an “electric, steam or gasoline railway”, was to be headquartered in Idaho Falls and was authorized to issue capital stock of $1,000,000 in $100 shares. The line was to be a street railway up to 34 miles long. The authorized capital stock was increased to $1,200,000 in 1913.

President was James L. Milner of Idaho Falls, the Vice-President was F.L. Cleveland of Pittsburg (sic), Pa., the secretary was H.S. Sewell of Salmon City, and A. V. Scott of Idaho Falls was treasurer. The other director was Roy Cramer of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. The offices in Idaho Falls were located at 224 Salisbury, in the Earl Building.

According to a notice in “Electric Railway Journal” the right-of-way for the line from Idaho Falls through Lincoln, Ucon, and Heise had been obtained in the spring of 1912, and construction was to begin at that time. Surveys showed the line being run from Idaho Falls past the Lincoln sugar factory and Iona to Heise. Work was reported to have been started in November, 1913 for a 42 miles line, but there were no further reports after that time. In 1914 the application for the line submitted to the Idaho Public Utilities Commission was dismissed and the articles of incorporation forfeited. Apparently the increased use of the automobile and better roads made the business potential for the line uneconomical, so no further work was performed.

Idaho Falls and Inter-Urban Railway Company

The Idaho Falls and Inter-Urban Railway Company was incorporated on October 1, 1908, and the articles of incorporation filed with the state of Idaho on October 15, 1908. The line was intended to operate an “electric, steam or gasoline railway” with headquarters in Idaho Falls. The location of the line was not specified in the articles, although it was probably going to be 18.5 miles, based on the fact that $18,500 of capital stock had been subscribed, and it was apparently necessary to subscribe a minimum of $1,000 per mile of line prior to filing the articles of incorporation. The capital stock was authorized at $50,000. Directors of the line were A.V. Scott, James L. Milner, Bowen Curley, R.D. Larabie, E.P. Coltman, Heber Austin, and G.G. Wright, all of Idaho Falls. The president was Milner, the Secretary was Scott, and Curley as treasurer. The headquarters were located in the Scott Building.

Interestingly enough, the line was list in the Polk’s Directory for 1911-12 at the same time as the Idaho Falls Electric Railway, with the obvious cross-over of officers.

I have no other information on these lines at the present time, and would certainly welcome any additional history on what was planned and what happened to these lines.

Thornton Waite

BAR in Idaho

The bankruptcy sale of Bangor & Aroostook System to Rail World, Inc, has taken an ironic twist. The BAR was Maine's famous potato carrier; Maine's only rival state for famous potatoes was Idaho, known around the world for its potatoes. In the last few years the BAR had leased some of its locomotives, which reportedly lead to its bankruptcy due to nonpayment.

Enter Eastern Idaho Railroad, Idaho's potato carrier in eastern Idaho, has acquired one of these locomotives. Eastern Idaho Railroad is a spin-off of former Union Pacific branches in eastern Idaho. EIRR’s locomotive fleet is made up of diesels that once worked in such diverse places as the Feather River Canyon, Moffat Tunnel, and Horseshoe Curve. Now add Maine's famous potatoes to that list as Bangor & Aroostook Geep 357 has come to work in Idaho's southeastern potato center, the Idaho Falls area. BAR Geep 357 reportedly started to work for EIRR on 10-6-02, still in BAR paint and was photographed by Steve on 10-10-02, just in time for spud season.

Steve Spring

Ex BAR 357 on an EIRR train at the Harley-Davidson dealer

 

Ex BAR 357 on an EIRR train

 

Ex BAR 357

Editor's Note

Thanks to all of you for furnishing the information this month. I was glad to have plenty of info for the newsletter without having to beg at the last minute.