The circus has arrived.

[lionkingcmsl]

It arrived about 6 hours late, but it has arrived.

More info on our day hidden in this cut.

I arrived at Tuckahoe at around 9:15a to get the locomotives set up for the move. We hit a small snag here. The F7 was coupled nose to the long hood of the GP9. We had planned to MU (connect) them together so that the Geep would be the controlling loco at the head of the train. Tony likes the Geep and knows how to run it better than the F. Well we found out that some necessary hoses had been taken off of the nose of the F unit, so you can only MU from the rear of that unit.

So we had to start the F, pull that out on the main, then bring the Geep in behind it. After some false starts, we got everything connected together and did a test run to make sure everything ran in sync. Mission accomplished as everything checked out ok.

Time is now about 10:30a and a small crowd had started to gather to see the circus train arrive. We still had no word on where it was.

A small note is in order here. We had wanted dry rail conditions for better traction as we were not to sure on how the Geep and F would handle the train on wet rail. The forecast called for rain, but so far the rain had held off, up to this point.

At 12n we got a call saying that the train had still not left Philadelphia. They were waitng for some engines to be turned.

The sky is getting darker and there were spritzes of rain.

At 4:30p we got a call saying the train had left Camden, but a coal drag was in front of it. The coal drag went through at about 5:30p, and it must have been the most photographed coal drag at Tuckahoe ever. :=3

At 6p we got a phone call saying that the train was in Winslow and it was doing switching moves to get the cars set out for Pleasantville. That would put the train to us at around 7:30p. By this time it had started raining continuously. Not good.

At 7:20p we finally see the headlight through the mist, and the train arrives in a steady rain. Tony and I talk to the Conrail crew and tell them what we wanted to do. They have no problem and they pull far enough down on their track so we can come out and grab the rear end so we can pull it far enough north to clear the switch for our main. Let me tell you that 34 passenger cars and 2 container flats make for a mighty long train. ;=3

They clear the switch and we come out and make our move. This will be no problem going north, as it is downgrade.

We couple up and Tony makes the northbound move. So far everything is going great, other than the fact it is now a steady downpour. Tony clears the switch, it is thrown for our main, and now the test begins. Can 3250hp move ~3,000 tons up a .25% stiffing to a .5% upgrade without problems. Fortunately, at the outset, most of the train was on level track.

I gave Tony the clearance to shove onto our main and the train started moving without a problem. I get on the headend so I can call the track conditions to Tony. We get about a quarter mile into the move and I have to tell Tony to stop, as there is a switch lined against us. There had been a worker working on that switch and he left it lined for the siding, not the main, and no-one thought to check it before the move. We all assumed he would leave it set for the main.

I get Tony to stop the train before we "run through" the switch, and I line the switch for us. Now here is the real test, wet rail and most of the train is on the upgrade. I give Tony the permission to proceed with some apprehension as I didn't know what would happen. To my relief the train started to move forward very smoothly. After that the move went well, though I got soaked riding on the lead car calling track conditions.

After we got them located where they wanted to be and cut the engines off, I ended walking back, in a steady drizzle, about 3/4 of a mile, to the engines. There Tony told me there were a couple minor glitches, like me calling the loco 576 instead of 7000, but otherwise the move went off like we do it everyday.

I asked him how the engines handled and he surprised me with the answer. He never got out of notch 2 of an 8 notch throttle. In other words he didn't need more than 1/4 throttle to move the train, even uphill on wet rail. :=3

Granted the cars are very free rolling, but that is still a testament to the design of those locos. :=3

It is also a feather in our cap, as it looks like we knew exactly what motive power we needed, and supplied just the right amount, with a bit in reserve. :=3

It would've looked silly if we had 3 running locos when only two were needed. We probably could've done the move with only the Geep, but it looks better if you have that spare, just in case. Also the F unit does add a bit of pizazz to the consist. ;=3

So one a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being very poor and 10 being perfect, I'd give the move about an 8.5. A very good score on our end, as everyone on the CMSL handled themselves professionally and we didn't look like a bunch of railfans who didn't know what they were doing. Total time from Conrail arrived to the time we left to go home was 1 hour. :=3

This lion is very pleased, though wet, and, as before, it is very apropos that the "railroading lion" moved the circus. ;=3

Comments

[ceruleanst.livejournal.com]

Congratulations!

and it must have been the most photographed coal drag at Tuckahoe ever.

Now I'm picturing the Coal Circus. "Come on, Bobby, we're going to the Coal Circus today! Aren't you excited? There's coal jugglers, and hot-coal walkers, and Sooty the Clown... and, uh, wild...coal...tamers. It's fun! You might even get to take home a piece of coal of your very own."

[kamau-d-lyon.livejournal.com]

For all the small glitches it sounds like you made a very good showing. I'm pleased to hear that it went well and hopefully well enough to convince the circus to have you do it again.

Congrats on the move.