Herb Kelsey Wrote:
=======================================================
> Thanks John, for both posts. I guess a company
> could back-haul loads in their own cars but not
> those of foreign roads until dereg, right?
>
> I'm glad you have those orders and line-ups. It
> has always been a fun pastime to study those sorts
> of things and particularly dispatcher's train
> sheets to learn how the railroaders did the job.
> I run these sub-divisions in the simulator and it
> is my goal to make the operations as close as
> possible to the prototype.
>
> Adding the helper to Extra 487 West, Gato, June
> 13, 1967:
>
Can't be 1967.....not enough weeds in the track.....
To answer Herb's basic question, yes, Falfa Helpers backed all the way to Durango.
The two ruling grades eastbound from Durango were the 2% from Carbon Jct. to Falfa and the 2% from Amargo to Biggs Spur through Monero Canyon. The rest of the grades were a roller coaster profile of no more than 1.42%. So, if an eastbound was within the tonnage rating of the engine on the 1.42%, and the engine was not needed to bring the next day's westbound over the same 1.42% grades westbound, they would sometimes put a helper on out of Durango and cut it off at Falfa to return light. Depending on what kind of other local work the train did as it went east, if it was still over tonnage for the 2% through Monero Canyon, they would set out the over tonnage at Lumberton, and continue to Chama. Depending on what they set out and how important the cars were, a short turn around "Lumberton Turn" would run from Chama to get the extra cars. Some of Jimmy's dispatcher pages he had posted in the past showed these Lumberton Turns. One of the things the Lumberton Turns did was pick up loads of coal and set out empties at Monero, so the heavy tonnage freights didn't have to deal with that.
Jim Pearce told me when he fired the San Juan off the extra board out of Durango, they would occasionally use the passenger engine crew for a Falfa Helper assignment. He liked that, as the passenger run wasn't a great money maker for the extra board fireman (no overtime), but adding the helper job made for more $$$.
After the 483 wreck in 1958, westbounds had the second engine run light to Gato to help the train over the 1.42% ruling grade from Gato to Falfa on the top of Florida Mesa. If there wasn't a second engine in Chama, a helper could be sent from Durango to Gato. This happened on occasion in the 1960's as more one engine trains departed Durango.
