STAYING ON
TRACK
The Newsletter of the Lubbock Model Railroad Association MARCH 2004
AUCTION RESULTS
Just as last year, we had too many sellers and not enough buyers. Nevertheless, the club sold a total of $230.75 worth of merchandise. Also, the club made a profit of $25.78 from these sales. We had 86 items up for sale, quite a bit more than last year, but we did not make as many sales as last year. One seller did walk away with $126.00, however. Out of the 86 items offered, there were 43 “no bids.” Just as a suggestion to future sellers, some of this years minimum bids were set pretty high.
If interest remains, there will be another annual auction next year in February.
TEXAS PANHANDLE RAILROAD HISTORICAL SOCIETY
The society will meet on February 12 at 7:00 P.M. at the Amarillo Main (downtown) library on East 4th Street between Pierce Street and Buchanan Street.
This will be an important joint meeting with the Railroad Artifacts Preservation Society regarding the moving and housing of locomotive 5000. All are greatly encouraged to attend this informative session concerning the future of the Madame Queen.
REMOTE CONTROL’S BEEN WORKING ON THE RAILROAD
By Tony Hartzel, from the Dallas Morning News, February 14, 2004, pg. 1B.
The remote control – it’s not just for volume, channel and power anymore.
Try a 2,000-horsepower engine, speed control and locomotive whistle.
For almost a year, engineer-less locomotives have been gliding along the tracks in the Union Pacific’s North Texas rail yards. They also have made their way into Burlington Northern Santa Fe sites throughout the state.
Remote-control technology has made it easier and cheaper to hook up rail cars. Onboard engineers have been replaced by remote control-toting workers who stand to the side of the trains to run them.
“It’s pretty simple to operate,” said John Bromley, directory of public affairs for Union Pacific.
Railroad companies first started using the technology about two years ago. Federal guidelines, not formal rule, suggest that railroads keep remote-control locomotive confined to switching yards.
Union Pacific’s agreements with its unions allow for some operations near rail yards and to nearby businesses. So in some cases, empty locomotives may venture near street crossing in places such as West Dallas, Arlington, or Fort Worth. Union Pacific runs an average of 31 trains a day through North Texas.
Although some cities across the country have enacted bans on remote-control locomotives, Fort Worth officials have not raised any concerns because the operations have been confined to rail yard areas, said Russ Wiles, railroad project manager for the city.
“Perhaps one day, if they venture regularly into public crossings, then there might be concern,” he said.
The train’s remote controls would be nirvana to the couch potato seeking the ultimate universal remote. The equipment, with the help from onboard computers, governs everything from direction of the locomotive to its speed, headlights, whistles and brakes.
Some units have about a one-mile range, but technology located beside tracks in rail yards can keep them from venturing beyond set points. A train automatically stops if it loses the remote control signal.
A completely empty train may be difficult for non-railroad employees to find. Both railroad companies require a remote control operator to stay with the train if it is making a delivery trip to a nearby business.
“You have to have a person on the ground monitoring the movement of the train. That’s the way it works,” said Joe Faust, A BNSF spokesperson.
And using the technology regularly on main lines proves difficult because the equipment does not allow the Union Pacific locomotives to travel faster that 15 mph. BNSF trains go no faster than 10 mph.
“People may envision that we can dial Los Angeles for a train to Dallas and it will take off,” Mr. Bromley said. “That’s not in the cards at all.”
On Union Pacific lines, the use of remote controls has led to a 30 percent reduction in crashes, the company says. But last year, a San Antonio employee was killed when a train he was operating ran over him, Mr. Bromley said.
Rather than have three people handle switching in rail yards, the remote control allows the work to be done by two. Remote controls also have allowed the railroad to shift higher-paid engineers back onto longer-haul trips and move locomotives in rail yards with lesser paid conductors and other rail workers. Union Pacific has eliminated 600 engineer jobs by using the four-pound remote boxes.
The Cleveland based Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen opposed the move, which allowed another union representing rail yard workers to assume the remote controls in switching areas.
Longtime engineers have been forced out of the more regular rail yard jobs and back onto the main line routes, said spokesperson John Bentley. But equally important to the union is the lack of federal rules governing the remote control locomotives’ operation.
“Our ultimate goal is to have federal regulations to govern the use of the technology he said. “Right now, they’re just recommendations that say, ‘You might not want to kill yourself while operating these things.’ ”
Engineers undergo eight months of training, while a conductor receives 88 hours of training to run a locomotive by remote control.
“From our perspective, we’ve said all along, it’s a safety issue,” said Mr. Bentley, who added that the public should be concerned. “People need to know this is happening.”
DUES IS DUE
Many members have not paid their dues for 2004. I will be at the March meeting with cash box in hand to collect your $12 ($18 for a family membership).
LSR CONVENTION WRAP-UP
The financial reconciliation statement that I placed in the January issue of Staying on Track turns out to be the final statement. Yesterday I deposited our check for $1,250.57 into our bank account at Plains National. I will make a brief treasure’s report at the March meeting. The club has never been this rich.
MARCH CLINIC
Al Fox will give the clinic for this month’s meeting. It is entitled “Weathering for the Amateur.”
MORE FROM RANDEL continued
By Susan E. L. Lake as published in HubStuff, December 12, 2003, pg 8
Trains come in a variety of sizes identified by letters such as HO, O, N, Z and G. The letters identify the scale of the train as in comparison to the real thing. Some trains are large enough to actually ride on and some are so small that it’s hard to imagine how one could work with them. I saw one car with wheels no larger in diameter than a dress sequin. Most train enthusiast pick a scale and concentrate on building their setup using that size. And there setups aren’t just a single track with an engine and couple of cars. Nope. They are complicated affairs that may include many trains and convoluted track arrangements.
Until I talked to Randel Bittick, president of the association, I didn’t realize the attention to detail and accuracy that model railroaders seek to achieve. Many hobbyists build modules based upon an actual historical event in which a train played a part and recreate the details after extensive research. These modules are often displayed in traveling exhibits at places such as the Lubbock Public Library, the Cowboy Symposium and the Arts Festival. These modules are not merely a set of circular tracks such as the one under my Christmas tree, but instead include people, equipment, landscaping, and buildings created exactly to scale. And of course, the appropriate train is also included.
Perhaps one of the most astonishing such modules is called the Club Pike which was created in the early years of the LMRA. It is a re-creation of the area near Post, Texas, where the caprock rises to form our high plains area. It is only on display about once a year since the time and difficulty it takes to assemble it is quite demanding. There are plans to display it at the Harvey House dedication for those who are curious, as I
am, to see it.
If I were still a history teacher, I think it would be a wonderful class project to create a historical module such as the ones created by the members of the LMRA. It wold be hard for kids to resist the allure of history told in such a way. If you aren’t a history teacher, but think trains are cool, consider visiting a Lubbock Model Railroad Association meeting. It’s held the first Monday of every month at 7:30 p.m. in the Activity Center at Highland Baptist Church (34th and Quaker). Dues are just $12 a year. The cost of your train, however, is up to you.
LUBBOCK MODEL RAILROAD ASSOCIATION
PO BOX 53674
LUBBOCK, TX 79453