This is a long read. A recent trip on the Union Pacific's Chester Subdivision, 167 miles from E. St. Louis IL to Dexter, MO. What does a crew do for 12 hours? Dan
12 Hours to Dexter
The phone rings at 4 AM for a 6AM call for the MASNL, an Alton & Southern, (E. St. Louis, IL) manifest for North Little Rock. The power today is UP7726, 4050, 5066, with the 4050 dead for fuel conservation, (horse power not needed). The train has 55 loads and 13 empties, 4350 feet long and 7350 tons. Today I have an engineer trainee and he will run the train.
After the paper work, we catch a van to the train and but no power is attached. The van driver needed to get some paperwork for another train, so back to the office. That paper work was not ready, but the van drivers shift ended and the drivers swapped out. Back to our train, no power yet, but shortly an A&S crew comes around the curve and couples into the train.
With the air cut in, we contact the carman to get a brake test. There has been an oil train sitting in the adjacent ex Cotton Belt yard before we went on duty. Our brake test is completed at 8AM. The Crest Yardmaster instructs us to head on around to the Cotton Belt yard using track 4 for a runner to Valley Jct. We hear the oil train, UP train OEHSJ with BNSF 4301 up front, talking to the yardmaster. That crew was called at 12:30AM, but because of the train list inaccuracies, they were still there. They got the OK to depart just after we started moving. So, they would head out after us and get recrewed before getting by Dupo.
We showed a departure time of 8:20am, when we got the signal from the TRRA West Belt dispatcher to head down the UP’s Chester Sub and the 167 miles to Dexter, MO. Sitting in a track known as Cotton Belt Four, at Valley Jct. is a BNSF trackage rights train of empty iron ore cars lead by BNSF 8331. We head down Main 2 past Dupo and reach ICG, the crossovers at mile post 10 at 8:45AM. Here we crossover from Main 2 to Main 1 and pick up speed to get up to our maximum train speed of 50MPH. The track is good for 70MPH.
The track is arrow straight from mile post 4 to milepost 21. We meet UP4149 North; train ALDASB at milepost 33, near Fults. We get an Advance Approach (blinking yellow) at milepost 42 and an Approach Diverging, (yellow over yellow), at milepost 45, crossing over to Main track 2 at Kidd on a Diverging Clear at 9:35AM. Its been pretty quiet on the radio. We pass over the Kaskaskia River at Gage Jct., milepost 52 at 9:43AM.
An Advance Approach at Reilly signals our run could soon be stopping. A red aspect, Stop, hangs at Menard Jct., milepost 61, end of double track. Now there is talk on the radio. MASAS is heard working at Chester, just ahead. It is a turn out of the Alton &Southern yard that run A&S to Chester and return. It supplies cars to the locals working out of Chester and Illmo. It should have been gone a long time ago, but a relief crew was putting the train together. They finally pass us at 10:50AM with the UP8933 leading a good size train.
The signal at Menard Jct. remains red after they pass. One of the Chester locals is heard working the yard.
UP7979, train AEGAS, comes off the single track at 11:06AM, then BNSF 4672 leads a trackage rights train by Menard Jct. with a long stack train at 11:19AM. The signal remains red in front of us. Time for a ham sandwich and some chips! At 12:12PM, UP 4891 leads the ALDASB over the junction switch. Now something different, the signal on Main 1 goes Clear for a southbound, something is coming around us. At 12:32 PM the hot ZG4MQ shoots by with UP 5275 leading. This is one of the hot UPS trains that always have the best runs.
The signal on Main 2 pops to Approach and by the time we knock it down it is flashing. We pass the small yard at Chester, milepost 63, at 12:41PM. An SD40 and three geeps are sitting on the engine track, power for the locals. There is a long 40MPH slow order ahead, milepost 64 to 76. We pass the coal rail to water transfer station at Cora Dock at 1:00PM. Seven hours on duty with 71 miles behind us and 97 miles to go.
We gain double track at Raddle Jct., milepost 76. But, we head down Main 2 which is also 25MPH from milepost 76 to milepost 85. We get clearance to roll through the gangs Form B order between milepost 78 and 83. It won’t matter much. We pass Gorham at 1:25 PM. Gorham is the connection with the Mt Vernon Sub. A set of locomotives are sitting on the north leg of the wye. An Advance Approach indication on the old signal bridge ahead slows us and we eventually stop at the signal bridge at milepost 88.5 behind a train ahead which is stopped at Howardton Jct., the end of double track. It is the UP5196, train MYCPB. Time is 1:36PM.
Time to put the feet up and chill! Soon, BNSF7590 rolls a BNSF trackage rights train UN32UJ by with a string of tank cars at 1:45PM. The train ahead gets the signal to move across the single track. We get the signal at Howardton Jct. at 2:05PM. We roll back onto double track at Halsey Jct., milepost 95, at 2:11PM, and pulling to a stop on Main 1 is CSXT 5430, on train QNLCH. With us rolling down Main 2, we revert back to 25MPH as the order states from milepost 95 to milepost 115.7. We meet UP 8736 at milepost 102 with train MLIAS at 2:36. Now we get some yellow signals and soon stop at Potts, milepost 108, site of a pair of crossovers at 3PM. The rear car of the train ahead is just clear of the control point. There is also a northbound stopped on Main 1 for some reason. At 3:05PM, stack train ZMQG4 rolls past with the UP4026 leading. We hear a lot of chatter on the radio. There are at least 3 trains ahead of us. The tie gang is trying to get their equipment out and get stated. There are two gangs working ahead and we can hear trains getting cleared though the gangs limits.
We get a signal and request clearance into the tie gangs limits. We are cleared down to milepost 111 and hold there at 3:45PM. At 4:10PM, the foreman clears us thru the rest of his limits down to milepost 115.5.
We can hear the south bounders ahead continue by the gangs. We get clearance from the foreman whose limits are between milepost 117 and 125. This includes Thebes Bridge over the Mississippi River at milepost 122.5. We pass numerous machines that make up the tie gang operating on Main 1. We roll across the Mississippi River at 4:45PM, an hour and fifteen minute left to work and 45 miles to go.
Dropping off the bridge and past the onetime Cotton Belt crew change at Illmo, (Scott City, MO), we pass a work train with FXE4059 in the lead. They have 14 side dump cars and dumping piles of ballast along Main 1. We leave double track at Ancell, milepost 126. Now the there are two more short 25MPH locations ahead. We pass UP3859; train QNLPIJ, in the hole at Quarry at 5:01PM. Bang across the BNSF diamond at Rockview, milepost 131, at 5:05PM at 25MPH. Now we can get some speed up.
We meet UP5947, leading AARAS, stopped in the siding at Delta at 5:12PM. No one is waiting in the siding at Randles, but we round the curve into Messler, mile post 147, the start of a short section of double track and waiting on Main 1 is train 2AEGAS with UP 8558 leading. We pass them at 5:29PM at 50MPH. Stopped behind them is UP 4821, train QNLIN. Just west of Bell City, milepost 151, another train waits. It is AEGAS with UP 7055 leading.
Double track ends at Ardeloa, and Avert is the last siding. In the hole is UP 5827 and stack train KMNOA. We blast past at 50MPH at 5:40PM. We get the Approach Diverging signal to enter Main 2 at Idalia, milepost 165, where we meet UP5401 with train MNLAS at 5:50PM. Behind him is train UP 4520, with stack train IHODU. We pull to a stop at the crew change in N. Dexter with less than 5 minutes before the 12 hour law would have required us to stop short.
There is a lot of work being done on the Chester Sub; some of it was rumored to be forced by a recent visit from the FRA. Slow orders have improved, but it makes little difference whether it is a day run of night run, 10 to 12 hours is the norm, unless you catch one of the two south bound G4’s. A really good trip for them is just over four hours.
Well, so ends a long trip, the engineer trainee did a nice job running the train. Looks like a 10 to Noon time start tomorrow and we do it all over again. Maybe we can avoid the Chester Sub altogether and catch a train up the Desoto Sub on the Missouri side of the river into St. Louis!
Dan
