The Wheeling Way

Wheeling's 663 crew has just secured their train on the Solon Branch after a long day that started in Akron. Two rookie conductors were guided by a nine year vet engineer. They did fine. Safety first, The Wheeling Way. 

Wheeling GP35-3 110.  Solon Branch.  3-29-12

Wheeling GP35-2 103

One day in the future, these old GP35's that currently roam on the Wheeling will be no more. Folks are currently missing the good old days when the SD40 was the standard on almost every train. Just wait, these 35s will be gone. Who knows what will replace them when that time comes. They are indeed a rare beast in today's modern world of EMD's 710Eco and GE's Evo fuel misers. Until that day comes, I'll just keep on snagging these old EMD classics hauling freight on the Wheeling.

W&LE GP35-3 103 at Falls Jct on 2-5-12

W&LE GP35-3 at Falls Junction with the 663 on 2-5-12.

Wheeling GP35-3 106

I don't know what it is about these Wheeling GP35 units I like to shoot so much. There is nothing really fancy about them except the Q-Tron system. The control stands are old school EMD, no AAR standard here. Not too long ago, I had to move a trio of them onto a train we interchanged to the WE to keep the air pumped up. No need to have another conductor do a Class 1 test. I notched up that trio of 35s and we started to move. Running these old high hood units is fun. There is something about these old 35s that I can't explain.

Today, I caught 106 on the 663 local shoving cars up the Solon Branch at MP16.5

Wheeling and Lake Erie GP35-3 106   1-22-12

Tribute to Wheeling's GP35

They have been here since the 1990 spin off from the Norfolk Southern. Hauling all type of trains over Wheeling tracks and gain over Sand Patch. Once the backbone for the fleet, the daily workhorse. One unit was ordered by the P&WV. Southern had theirs built with Alco trucks from RS3 trades. Pure Southern units to the bone, the overhead walkway lights can still be found in use some nights. Eventually, the best ones made it into the Brewster shop to receive a new lease on life. Some recently ended up at LTEX for three SD40-2 units. A sign in Brewster serves a small reminder about the role of the GP35 on the W&LE.

Wheeling & Lake Erie GP35 Sign. Brewster Locomotive Shop

W&LE GP35 200.  Falls Junction Yard. Glenwillow, Ohio

W&LE GP35 2662 and 108.  Falls Junction

P&WV GP35 101. Falls Junction

W&LE GP35 2662. 

W&LE GP35 2645 at LTEX.

W&LE GP35 2664 at LTEX.

 

W&LE GP35 2650 at LTEX.

Bye Bye Kodachrome.......

This past Sunday, CBS's Sunday Morning show headline story was about Kodak retiring it's Kodachrome film line.  The film was known for its bright colors produced.  I started photographing a few years before the digital camera boom.  During my short few years using a 35mm film camera, I never used Kodachrome.  Soon, my 35mm would be retired for a point and shoot digital camera.

In 1984,  the Southern Pacific Railroad and Santa Fe Railway purposed a merger of the two companies.  Both railroads started painting locomotives yellow and red.  These units would would earn the nickname "Kodachrome" due to the colors of the film's packaging colors. There would be no merger due to the lack of approval from the ICC.  These units were short lived and would soon be repainted back into their home road colors.  

Over 10 years ago, the Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway held an employee locomotive paint scheme contest.  Somehow, the Kodachrome colors would win.  Two GP35 locomotives would be painted red and yellow.  Recently, the ranks were thinned to one.  The one remaining unit will likely stay in the Kodachrome scheme until it goes to the Brewster shop for an overhaul.

Wheeling and Lake Erie GP35-3 2662 at Falls Junction.  Glenwillow, Ohio 12/5/2010

Riding in Classics....

Located somewhere in the Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway’s Brewster Locomotive Shop, there is a sign that says : " GP35 LOCOMOTIVE BUILT:1965 BY GENERAL MOTORS (EMD) HORSEPOWER:2500...WEIGHT 266,000LBS. FUEL:2,300 GAL. ...LUBE OIL: 243 GAL. COOLING WATER:275 GAL. ...CYLINDERS 16 WELCOME ABOARD....."

As part of the 1990 sale agreement to the newly created Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway, Norfolk Southern included about 25 locomotives, specifically EMD’s GP35 model. This battalion was made up from mostly former Southern Railroad units. Over time, units underwent rebuilding at Brewster and emerging with Q-Tron microprocessor controls to bring them up modern control standards. Not all units were lucky to receive a rebuild to extend their service life. The un-rebuilt units were called to duty from time to time in traffic surges, otherwise laid-up hoping for a returned call for duty.

Recently, six un-rebuilt GP35 models left the fleet for three SD40-2 models in a sign and trade deal with LTEX. Another GP35 is being kept around for parts, but will leave Wheeling once depleted. The remaining GP35s will soldier on for some years to come. Units are currently being cycled through Brewster for their second rebuild.

I clearly remember the first time I stepped on 2645 and thought how many other railroaders had stepped aboard the battle weary unit. And weary it was indeed. 2645 responded when asked to move some cars by rattling everything on board. 2645 struggled to move cars. After that run, a call was made and another unit was shipped up for us to use........

A picture of the 2645 and the five others going to LTEX
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=327756&nseq=0

“Now let’s have some fun”

After completing an inspection of my train for hand brakes, retainers and closed angle cocks, I stood at the last car in amazement about the size of the train. This was the longest and heaviest train that I had anything to do with. All night in the cab, the engineer and I talked about making it up the hill. We were not sure if we could make it over the hill but wanted to find out at least how far we would make it.

I walked into the cab and informed the engineer to back up when ready as I started to peel off my wet Carhart rain pants and coat.

“You have a lot of faith that I can get this train moving and up over the hill.”

I knew that we had only 40% of making it up the hill. This would be a battle of traction effort and adhesion versus wet rail and the grade. Our duo locomotives for the evening, a GP15-1 leading the second unit, a GP35 would combine for 98,000 pounds of traction effort, 28 EMD cylinders, and 4,000 horse power. The battle against the grade started.

We started the train in run 2 to get us moving quickly. One of the tracks leaving the scrap yard had a slight down-hill grade that gave us some help, but not that much. We crossed the first crossing with no problem and slipped some on the second crossing. We were moving, but it was not the horse power that kept us moving, it was all traction effort. There was no need yet to run the engine at full throttle since this would only cause the traction motors to slip and spin on the wet rail. The train had movement of about 7-8 mph and the only goal was to keep moving. All 31 cars were on the straight grade, engines in run 5 and would soon face an uphill curve in the track. This is where the horse power would come in to provide the power needed to maintain traction effort that would result in us still moving. We enter the curve and started to slip. These two locomotives were couple short hood to short hood which allowed me to see the wheel slip light reflection flashing from the trailing locomotive in my window. Rapidly, we started to loss speed once more cars enter the curve. In a finally assault at about 2 MPH, the engineer notched up the locos only to have them pull some and slip. This lasted only about 1 car length before we stalled in notch 8. We ended up cutting 6 cars off the head end and placing them on a siding that was less than a quarter mile away. While walking back to make the cut, I noticed that the air was filled with a very fine sand dust. This was the result of the sanders sanding the railing, then being crushed by the locomotive wheel and the traction motor blowers blowing it into the air. Pulling the remaining 25 cars was no problem. We soon tied the 25 to the 6 at the side track and headed home.

This night we failed because of adhesion, not horse power. You need power at speed to keep a train moving at track speed. In slow, hard pulls, it comes down to traction effort and adhesion.

In an upcoming post, I will compare turbo charged and roots blown locomotives.