Operations along the Valley Line between Stuarts Draft and Hagerstown from 1979 and 1981

[NW Mailing List]

On 3/28/2013 10:29 AM, NW Mailing List wrote:

> but on those unit coal trains going up the Shenandoah Div.,

> to Hagerstown,  it wasn't unusual to exceed the ratings by as much as 

> 1800 tons.Taking into account

> the load meter, I think it's known as "operating in the red". 

Harry,
     I know of only one time that the over tonnage was actually 
mentioned, although you could tell many a time the train wasn't pulling 
as it should. Many a time those old GE's would just crap out with "Hot 
Diodes". You would have to stop on the hill, let them cool down and then 
go a little farther. It wasn't unusual to have to stop two or three 
times between Pkin and Lofton to cool down the diodes. We were glad when 
those things went to the scrap yard!
     I have probably mentioned this before, but, the one time that I 
know we were way over tonnage was on a double coal train with a set of 
three SD40-2's. It was a bit slow, however, those engines never slipped 
a bit and over the hills we went. On arrival in Shenandaoh, the clerk 
asked if we knew how much tonnage we had? We had no idea. I can't 
remember the exact figure, but, the clerk said it was between 2000-2500 
tons over. That was a good set of units!
     I know of another time when a coal train didn't even make to Four 
Mile Crossing. That day it had been raining to beat the band. The crew 
had struggled with the train past North Roanoke and looking back going 
down through the dip at Tinker Creek they could see water sloshing out 
of the tops of the cars. They stalled out before Four Mile Crossing and 
had to back into the yard to reduce tonnage.

Jimmy Lisle
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