09-MAR-2007
Dropping into Juno
There were several places on the line where you would crest a hill and discover yet another Palouse vista.
Tight Curve
This was one of the tighter curves on the trip up and it was also on a steep grade which required both locomotives to run at notch 8 (full power). So we kept a close eye on our cars to watch for broken knuckles.
Steep Climb
Same location as the previous photo, but looking forward.
Top of the Pass
The cut ahead marks the top of the grade.
Muddy Cut
As you can see here there has been recent heavy rain which has washed a lot of mud onto the tracks. At this point the engineer eases off of the throttle, and starts to set the brakes up for the steep decent into the valley below.
Welcome to Thornton
We've made our way to Thornton, and the conductor has already lined the switch so we can pull the empty grain cars into the siding (left).
Switching @ Thornton
In this shot you can see that we've already pulled our cars into the siding and have run around to the back of the train. Now we must shove the cars forward until the last car is under the grain silo.
The train’s conductor is at the far end of the siding making sure nothing moves in the way. You can see the trains engineer lining the switch for the next move.
Shove @ Thornton
In this shot you can see that we are shoving our train forward. Our sight is limited so the conductor and engineer stay in constant communication as to the progress of the move.
Saint John
We move into the GP30M which is now the lead unit for the trip back, and make a light power move back to Saint John. There we pick up the first of the loaded grain cars (left of center).
Our conductor Tony is already on the scene, and has lined the switches for maximum efficiency.
Switching @ Saint John
It's a similar move with each stop; we hook up to the cars, pull them back far enough so we can run around the cars on the main, and then back down the far end of the siding. Once we've added those cars to our train, we move on to the next town.
In this shot Tony is coupling the locomotives to the cars so we can begin our pull backwards.
Swtching @ Saint John
Tony throws the switch so we can back the power down the far end of the siding, couple to the front of the train, and be on our way.
Walking the Train
While making our way down a steep grade the train looses its air which puts the train’s brakes into emergency. Honoring FRA rules, Kyle walks the train and finds a loose valve to be the culprit.
