Variable Switches and the D&RGW

When the main line of the D&RGW was closed for months in the 1980's due to the Mud Slide at Thistle, UT the UP was used as an alternate route.

Back then we Cheyenne Crews had rights down the DP into Denver. We were placed on a temporary Denver to Rawlins Pool to take the D&RGW traffic to Salt Lake City.

Their Trains originated in North Yard and the entire yard lead was Variable Switches. We UP Crews had been told to never trust a Variable Switch and to always hand line it. Why? Well... you have to know UP management. So, all of us good UP employees would walk up, off the units to the North Yard Lead and hand line ourselves out of the tracks on our way over to the Belt Line, following the UP's edict.

That is until we were taken aside by D&RGW management and (not so) politely informed that if we didn't run through the Variable Switches on the Yard lead that they wouldn't work right. We would also be charged and investigated on misuse of (D&RGW) Company Property.

So... We ran right through those suckers. The train crews were happy (less work) D&RGW management was happy (Their requests were being complied with), UP management was pissed but unable to anything about the situation.

Just like hand signals are different from Railroad to Railroad (actually district to district), so are the operations. So we complied with D&RGW rules on the Grande and UP rules on Uncle Pete.

Rick