(erielack) Re: SJ Tower trainsheet

["Paul Brezicki" <doctorpb_@_bellsouth.net>]

Phil, Steve and List,

I agree that AF-97 was most likely the Santa Fe runthrough. In the mid-70's 
it departed Marion in the evening very close to BN99, and was sometimes 
combined with it as far as Huntington, where both trains often received hot 
boxcars off NY-99. More common notations for the Santa Fe trains were SFE, 
SF or ATSF. So the AF-97 is at about the right time for Santa Fe-97. As 
Steve says, all Meadville trains I've seen carry the HF symbol.  Another 
train missing from the sheet was NY-99 of March 29 (Mon). Its scheduled time 
by SJ was around 9pm, but it was chronically late, sometimes arriving 
Chicago after ACX-99.

NW-1 and EL-2 were actually renamed WCE and ECE (West and East Coast 
Expediters), inaugurated in 1968 just after Dereco was created. These were 
primarily carload runthrus with the former Wabash route, Decatur-Croxton via 
Huntington, although there was still significant interchange with ex-NKP at 
Lima. NYCB and SLCB were primarily TOFC, begun in 1970 and discontinued in 
Oct 1973 at the beginning of the oil embargo. Since they were short trains 
they were often combined with EL hotshots NY-99 and 2/NY-100 to or from 
Huntington. After 1973 their TOFC was folded into NW-1 and EL-2. Since 
Huntington was not exactly a big traffic generator, I think its safe to 
assume the N-78 was a re-named EL-2. In fact, a pre-Dereco schedule shows 
N-98 out of Huntington. It appears that by 1976, most EL Lima traffic was 
off the DT&I. By this time N&W had finally shifted traffic off the LE&W and 
Cloverleaf onto the ex-Wabash. The 1963 schedule shows two pairs of 
Marion-Lima trains to handle in part, all the NKP and DT&I business.

Actually this trainsheet helps fill in the traffic picture with the 
handwritten 10/75 schedule some of us have seen. Most of the players from 
earlier schedules still appear. Chicago-97 had become BRC-99, MF-74 became 
HF-98. IC-97 is missing but remember that Tueday was a light traffic day, 
particularly for WB traffic which reflected what was generated on the East 
Coast over the weekend. Traffic starts to build by Wednesday. IC-97 may have 
been combined with another train as far as Huntington. Someday when I get 
time, I'm going to use this data to fill out the 10-75 schedule and put it 
all in an XL file. If anyone else has trainsheets or other data from late 
'75 or 1976 it would be very helpful.

Paul B

HF98 was the abbreviation for Meadville 98.
- - -W97 The first letter is a "C". This is CNW97. The first trick man was an 
old timer who wrote in a fine, ornate, copperplate handwriting style. His 
train orders were a good example of the old time operator's style.
AF97 This was not a common abbreviation. AF is a telegraph call symbol for 
somewhere on the Erie, but right offhand I can't remember where it was. It 
could also be an unofficial abbreviation for AtsF97. Note the small box 
provided on the trainsheet did not give enough room for some symbols. SMT, 
feel free to add anything as your memory may be better than mine!

Yes there were plenty of E8s running on the West End right up till the end. 
35 is the westbound local. At this point the country was just starting to 
recover from the 1974-1975 recession and the first phony oil shortage 
contrived by our friends at OPEC (remember when gas went from .33 a gallon 
to .50 a gallon almost overnight?) and traffic was light so the local ran 
west one day and east the next day as 34. In earlier years when traffic was 
better 34 started out of Huntington every day and 35 started at Marion and 
they would meet at Lima, exchange cars, runaround their trains and go back 
to their respective terminals.

D.T.&I. trains were recorded on a separate sheet. At this time in 1976 there 
would have been about 6-8 D.T.&I. trains per day plus some D.T.&I. yard 
engine moves across the diamond. All southbound D.T.&I. trains got orders at 
SJ to run extra, meet orders, slow orders, etc. The D.T.&I. conductors rode 
the 2nd or 3rd unit so the operator handed up 3 sets of orders:engineer, 
conductor, and flagman on the caboose. Some of them didn't slow down much 
for the operator so you had to know the proper spot to stand with the train 
order sticks! Always exciting to stand close to the track and watch as a 
train approached you at 35-40MPH and hold up those train order sticks as the 
engines rolled by you literally inches away! Ah the good old days!

Paul thanks for the explanation of why there was no 2/NY100. I noticed also 
there was no NW1 or EL2, the remmants of the New York and St. Louis 
Cannonballs. They also may have stopped running at this late date.

PA


 


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