Union Pacific's INFO Magazine
A collection of information gleaned from UP's INFO employee magazine.
The page was last updated on March 15, 2006.
1971 CAPITAL EXPENDITURES WILL TOTAL $121 MILLION
John C. Kenefick, chief executive officer of the transportation division, announced that Union Pacific's 1971 capital expenditures program for roadway and equipment will total $121 million.
Kenefick said the program is down from last year's $166.9 million investment and reflects the unsettled situation of national rail earnings. He said the figure will be broken down to $20.4 million for road and $100.6 million for equipment.
The equipment outlay will go for 75 new diesel locomotives, 2,619 new freight cars, 182 diesel main engines and $4.1 million of work equipment.
The 75 locomotives ordered are comprised of three groups. One group of twelve consists of 6,600 horsepower EMD DD-40-X (Centennial type) locomotives. The Centennial types are members of the 6900-series. Twenty-three of the locomotives ordered will be 5,000 horsepower General Electric U50-C's; these locomotives bear numbers in the 5000-series. The final forty locomotives consist of 3,000 horsepower EMD SD-40's; other UP locomotives of this type are currently numbered in the 3000-series.
The freight car order will contain 600 high capacity covered hopper cars rated at 100 tons each. The covered hoppers are much preferred by grain shippers over the standard boxcar because of their capacity and ease of loading and unloading.
Other freight cars on order for 1971 include 1,000 70-ton boxcars, 50 feet six inches in length; 100 70-ton boxcars, 51 feet eight inches in length; 50 air slide covered hopper cars of 100-ton capacity, 200 open top hopper cars of 100-ton capacity; 61 solid bottom gondola cars of 125-ton capacity; eight 50-ton gondola cars and 600 mechanical refrigerator cars for Pacific Fruit Express Company.
The equipment order will also contain 50 container chassis used for shuttling containers between West Coast container facilities and the dock areas. This investment reflects the growth in container traffic through UP's Pacific ports.
UP's $20 million roadway program for 1971 calls for the installation of 820,500 new cross ties, 215 miles of new rail and track surface and lining work on 1,200 miles of track. (Info magazine, Volume 3, Number 3, February 1971, page 3)
FIRST ACI SCANNER
Union Pacific has taken another big step into the field of electronic operations with the installation of its first automatic car identification (ACI) scanner and computer at Julesburg, Colo.
The scanner is located on the south side of the eastbound main line just west of the depot at Julesburg. It will monitor all eastbound trains headed for Bailey Yard at North Platte, and provide the yard with an advanced list of all cars on incoming trains to be double checked against the advance consist report which normally precedes each train.
UP, along with the other railroads in the United States, began two years ago to label all freight cars with rectangular, color-coded identification plates. The high-speed scanner has the ability to read each plate three times as the train flashes by at any speed up to 80 m.p.h.
A light from the scanner reflects the color code on each plate back into the scanner. It is then fed into a computer housed in a nearby building. The computer deciphers the reflected color code into a car number and ownership and trainsmits this information over the microwave communications system to Bailey Yard. There, the information comes out on a teleprinter, listing in order the cars which are in the train.
This accurate double check enables Bailey Yard personnel to program the classification and switching of the train before it arrives in the yard.
John C. Kenefick, chief executive officer of the transportation division, said the unit was installed to develop the potential of ACI equipment as well as provide North Platte with a double check on inbound trains. (Info magazine, Volume 3, Number 4, February 1971, page 7)
MORE DEVELOPMENTS IN COAL TRAFFIC
Union Pacific and Eastern Gas and Fuel Associates announced an important forward step in a plan to mine low sulphur coal throughout the Western United States for sale in domestic and foreign markets. This is being done through the formation of Rocky Mountain Associated Coal Corp. and will involve an initial investment of $10 million for the construction and development of additional coal producing facilities in Wyoming. Further substantial investment is contemplated to meet the known demand for Wyoming low sulphur coal.
Rocky Mountain Associated Coal Corp. will acquire from Rocky Mountain Energy Company, a UP subsidiary, the Reliance Mine near Rock Springs, Wyo., which will be enlarged to 1,500,000 tons per year. Development of several additional mines is being planned for the production of coal from Rocky Mountain reserves.
Chairman of the board of directors and chief executive officer of Union Pacific Corporation, Frank E. Barnett, said, `This significant development will help meet the growing demand for low sulphur fuel. It represents a major advance in our efforts to develop Union Pacific's Rocky Mountain low sulphur coal reserves, initially in Wyoming, and we are confident it will rapidly lead to a substantial increase in our present Wyoming activities."
Eli Goldston, president of Eastern Gas and Fuel Associates, said that its subsidiary, Eastern Association Coal Corp., regards the move westward as an opportunity to participate in the substantial long-term growth of electric energy generation in this rapidly developing area of the country. (Info magazine, Volume 3, Numbers 6 & 7, April-May 1971, page 3)
AMTRAK (RAILPAX)
As of April 16, 1971, Union Pacific has entered into a contract with the National Railroad Passenger Corporation as a result of which, effective May 1, 1971; Union Pacific has discontinued all intercity rail passenger service.
However, UP operates an NRPC train for that corporation between Denver and Ogden on a triweekly basis. This train, operated between Chicago and San Francisco, is routed over Burlington Northern between Chicago and Denver and over Southern Pacific between Ogden and the San Francisco area. (Info magazine, Volume 3, Numbers 6 & 7, April-May 1971, page 3)
UTAH IMPROVEMENTS
A total of $4.8 million will be spent on the Utah Division, including tht replacement of 63.83 miles of main line with continuous welded rail. Strings of the new rail are being installed between Cruz and Champlin.
New 133-pound rail will be installed in .88 miles between Curvo and Gateway. Rail of this weight has already been installed on .75 miles of curves between Pehrson and Lofgreen.
Resurfacing and lining between Ogden and Brigham City and between Wahsatch and Echo will use 29,100 cubic yards of ballast while tie gangs will replace 22,100 ties. (Info magazine, Volume 3, Numbers 6 & 7, April-May 1971, page 5)
PFE RECEIVING 1,200 NEW CARS
Acquisition of 1,200 new multi-purpose mechanical refrigerator cars for operation by Pacific Fruit Express Company was announced recently by its owners, Union Pacific Railroad Company and Southern Pacific Transportation Company.
The first cars of this $40 million order rolled off the Pacific Car & Foundry Company assembly line at Renton, Washington, about April 1 and the entire 1,200 on order should be in service by mid-July. This order will increase the mechanical refrigerator car fleet to 13,200-half of the entire national supply.
These cars are the most advanced refrigerator cars that modern technology has developed, L. D. Schley, vice president and general manager of PFE, stated. "Along with other refrigerator equipment in the PFE fleet, they will be used to transport fresh, frozen and other perishables from Western growing areas to consuming areas throughout the United States and Canada.
"They will provide constant pre-set temperatures ranging from below zero to plus 70 degrees F. and will provide shippers with the lowest cost per unit in transportation today, if the full capacity of the car is utilized. These high-cube cars can carry 65 tons in a 4,000-cubic-foot chamber," Schley added. (Info magazine, Volume 3, Numbers 6 & 7, April-May 1971, page 13)
JOHN C. KENEFICK ELECTED UNION PACIFIC PRESIDENT
"It was a joy to came back."
October 1, 1971 was an important day for Union Pacific Railroad. On that day John C. Kenefick. became the company's president.
Born December 26, 1921, in Buffalo, New York, Kenefick was the son of an attorney. As a boy, he was fascinated by trains and, in fact, subscribed to Railway Age when he was 12. Early in life he decided he wanted a career in railroading. When it came time to attend college, he chose Princeton because it was a good school and he majored in mechanical engineering because he thought it would be useful in railroad work.
After graduating from Princeton and serving three years as a Navy officer, primarily in the Pacific, Kenefick went to work as a machinist's helper in the New York Central roundhouse at Buffalo, New York. In six months he left NYC, and heeding Horace Greeley's advice, loaded his possessions in a 1939 Buick and headed west.
Kenefick came to Omaha and succeeded in landing a job in UP's mechanical department. He was hired as a draftsman in the section
that designed and made drawings of locomotives. After a year, he left the mechanical department and hired out as a brakeman-he thought it would be a good way to learn more about the railroad business. In six months he was appointed assistant trainmaster at Kansas City, and he later became trainmaster at Salina.
In 1952, Kenefick joined the Denver & Rio Grande Western where he served in various capacities, finally becoming division superintendent at Alamosa, Colorado.
In 1954, he went back to New York Central where he served as a trouble shooter. He held various jobs as assistant superintendent and superintendent. He rose through the ranks and became general manager of the New York District. Kenefick was named general manager of transportation for the system in 1958, assistant vice president-operations in 1965 and vice president-operations in 1966. Effective with the merger of the New York Central and the Pennsylvania railroads on February 1, 1968, Kenefick became vice president-transportation for the Penn Central.
John Kenefick returned to Union Pacific on May 1, 1968, as vice president-operations. He said, "it was a joy to come back." Kenefick became executive vice president in 1969, was elected chief executive officer of the transportation division September 1, 1970 and became president October 1, 1971.
Union Pacific's new president is a firm believer that the more an employe knows about UP, the more valuable he will be to the company. He applies that rule to himself, as well, having recently completed an eight-day inspection tour of the Eastern and South Central Districts. He summed up his approach by telling INFO, "You can't see the railroad from 35,000 feet in the air!" (Info magazine, Volume 3, Number 12, November 1971, page 4)
LITTLE MOUNTAIN BRANCH OPENED
On September 27, the little Mountain branch was opened for service. Approximately 13 miles in length, the trackage serves the Great Salt Lake Minerals & Chemical Corporation located on the shores of Utah's Great Salt Lake. (Info magazine, Volume 3, Number 12, November 1971, page 5)
COUNCIL BLUFFS ONE-SPOT
During the month of October, it was reported that the new car repair facility located in Council Bluffs was approximately 73% complete. Work was also underway on the new diesel house and fueling and sanding facilities in Pocatello. (Info magazine, Volume 3, Number 12, November 1971, page 5)
EVANSTON RECLAMATION PLANT CLOSES
Union Pacific will transfer the functions of the Evanston, Wyoming reclamation plant and store to Cheyenne. Transfer allowances and other protective benefits are being worked out for the employees of the Evanston plant and store who will be affected. (Info magazine, Volume 3, Number 12, November 1971, page 5)
PICL AT GREEN RIVER
Installation was begun of the new PICL system to be incorporated at various major yards and terminals. The first terminal to be included is Green River. The new PICL system is designed to be an integral part of the future COIN II, as well as improve the quality of present COIN I reporting. A report on the new PICL system will be featured in a future issue of INFO. (Info magazine, Volume 3, Number 12, November 1971, page 5)
FORD FAST TRAIN
On November 18, Union Pacific will begin receiving at Denver unit trainloads of Ford Motor Company parts for assembly line production at Milpitas, California. Operating on an extremely fast schedule from Flat Rock, Illinois, to Milpitas, the train is designated FAST for Ford-Auto-Service-Train.
Beginning in January, 1972, UP will begin receiving this train for a six month period at Kansas City. Concentration of auto parts into a single-unit train operated on close schedule has enabled Ford Motor Company to reduce in-transit inventory of parts. (Info magazine, Volume 3, Number 12, November 1971, page 5)
8444 COMPLETED
Steam locomotive No. 8444, fresh from the Omaha shops, made a round trip from Omaha to Valley, Neb., on November 3, and again on November 7. On board the first trip were president Kenefick and his guests, Omaha mayor Gene Leahy and commander of the Strategic Air Command, General Bruce K. Holloway. (Info magazine, Volume 3, Number 12, November 1971, page 5)
ORE SHIPMENT MOVES OVER NEW TRACK
Union Pacific raised its operating track mileage from a little under 9,473 miles to a little over 9,473 October 27, when the first train crossed over a section of rail completed just minutes before.
Built to accommodate a unit train which made its initial trip October 24, the 751-foot Thenard Connection in the Wilmington district of Los Angeles joins the UP's San Pedro branch with Southern Pacific trackage leading to Los Angeles harbor.
The first train carried the second of a planned 100-a-year, 5,000-ton shipments of iron ore to the Port of
Los Angeles bulk loading facility. The ore is from the Standard Slag Company's mine at Beck Springs, about 20 miles southeast of Tecopa, California.
John Harmon, the Standard Slag Company's western division manager at Reno, Nev., said the ore has been sold to Tonan Trading Company, Tokyo, agents for Japanese steel mills.
Trucked 49 miles from the mine in northeast San Bernardino County to Cima, California, the ore is loaded into a 50-car "unit train". A 15hour, 280-mile rail haul brings it to the bulk loader at Berth 49 for transfer to the holds of ore-carrying vessels.
UP has ordered 55 new ore cars especially for the service at a cost of about $900,000 and has assigned four 3,600 horsepower locomotive units to handle the train. Until delivery of the new cars at year's end, the ore is being hauled in gondolas.
The train is known as the "CUW" (Cima Unit West). The CUW with its opposite and eastbound empty train, the CUE; is one of seven UP unit trains in coal or ore service and the second unit train in export service. (Info magazine, Volume 3, Number 12, November 1971, page 10)
FRANK ACORD
Frank D. Acord has been appointed chief mechanical officer, effective October 1.
Acord, a 35-year veteran, joined the UP at Cheyenne, Wyoming as machinist apprentice in 1936. After being promoted to machinist in 1940, he became enginehouse foreman at Ogden in 1944. Serving as general foreman at Provo, Utah; district foreman at North Platte, Neb. and master mechanic at Los Angeles, Salt Lake City and Cheyenne, Acord was named mechanical superintendent of the eastern district in 1962.
Becoming assistant general superintendent of motive power and machinery in 1966, he was appointed general superintendent, motive power and machinery in Omaha, June 1, 1970. (Info magazine, Volume 3, Number 12, November 1971, page 15)
JOHN MCDONOUGH
John F. McDonough, a 22-year railroad veteran, has been named mechanical superintendent of shops in Omaha, effective October 1.
Coming from the Penn-Central Railroad, McDonough has been general shop superintendent at their locomotive shop in Cleveland, Ohio since 1969. Previously he worked in various positions for the New York Central Railroad, starting in the road's mechanical department and later being appointed general shop superintendent in 1967 in East Rochester, New York. (Info magazine, Volume 3, Number 12, November 1971, page 15)
MORE ON AUTO PARTS
Beginning December 7, at Chicago and December 8, at Council Bluffs, and daily thereafter, General Motors assembly line parts for the Warm Springs-Fremont, California assembly plant as well as autos and parts for Oakland, California, will be operated as a unit train routed CRI&P-UP-SP on an expedited schedule of 62 hours from Chicago to destination. General Motors traffic moving through Kansas City will be added to the main segment of "ARRO", as the train is designated, at North Platte. The benefits to General Motors will be one day less transit time and a corresponding reduction in the inventory on the traffic moving via Chicago. (Info magazine, Volume 4, Number 1, December 1971, page 3)
NEW POWER FOR 1972
Orders have been placed with Electro-Motive Division of General Motors for 50 3000-HP SD40-2 diesel electric locomotives for delivery in January and February, 1972. The SD40-2's will be numbered 3123-3172. Orders have also been placed with General Electric Co. for 20 3000-HP U30-C diesel electric locomotives. The GE units, numbered 2810-2829, are scheduled for delivery April through June, 1972. (Info magazine, Volume 4, Number 1, December 1971, page 3)
SHOP RENOVATION PLANS UNDERWAY
Preliminary planning is nearly complete on the $4-million renovation of the Omaha shops. The plans, announced earlier, call for a complete remodeling and rearrangement of the 150,000 squarefoot main machine and boiler shop building and the installation of more than $1.6 million worth of new equipment. After completion of the project, Omaha shops main function will be the repair of diesel components. (Info magazine, Volume 4, Number 1, December 1971, page 3)
COUNCIL BLUFFS REPAIR FACILITY
The half million dollar, one spot car repair facility at Council Bluffs is scheduled for completion by January 1, 1972. (Info magazine, Volume 4, Number 1, December 1971, page 3)
MAINTENANCE OF WAY PROGRESS
According to engineering department reports, this year's maintenance of way programs had accomplished the following as of November 12, 1971: 210.15 miles of new rail laid; 563,488 cross ties installed; 710.11 miles of track surfaced and lined. (Info magazine, Volume 4, Number 1, December 1971, page 3)
FRANK BRUNER
Frank D. Bruner has been appointed assistant chief mechanical officer, effective October 1.
Bruner joined the UP in 1949 as electrician at Ogden. He was appointed general foreman at North Platte, Neb. in 1954. Four years later he was named supervisor of turbine power in Omaha followed by his appointment as mechanical superintendent of eastern district. In 1968 he was named mechanical superintendent of the UP system. He was then appointed assistant general superintendent of motive power and machinery in 1970. (Info magazine, Volume 4, Number 1, December 1971, page 17)
TRACTION MOTOR TRANSPORTER
At a time when everything is being containerized, the shipping of company material is no exception.
For years, Union Pacific has been shipping mounted traction motors to different points over the system on wooden blocking in open gondola cars. Built over 50 years ago, these cars are today outdated and have seen years of service.
Covered gondola cars are currently being modified in the Omaha shops to carry both mounted traction motors and to ship containerized material.
Two of the gondola cars are already in service with three more to come. In all, there will be three for Salt Lake City service and two for North Platte service. Three of the converted gondola cars will be used exclusively to ship traction motors, with a capacity of ten motors each, while two cars will be modified to each carry a total of six traction motors and miscellaneous containerized material.
Each car is capable of carrying either 13,000 pound GE traction motors or 11,000 pound EMD traction motors. All the cars have removable bulkheads for loading and unloading. The roof is divided into three sections for easy removal. When the car roof is intact, the words, "KEEP THIS CAR MOVING -IMPORTANT COMPANY MATERIAL" can be read printed across the car top.
When all five cars are in operation, there will be a car coming into Omaha and one leaving Omaha every day. Since speed is essential, it is estimated that the approximate time to complete a one-way trip can be cut from the previous seven days to one and one-half. This is divided into 31 hours of in-train time, two hours to load and unload and three hours of switching to complete a one-way trip.
The car weighs 70 tons; is 57'1" long, 10'8" wide and 10'10" in height. When loaded to capacity, the cargo is valued at $108,000. (Info magazine, Volume 5, Number 2, January 1973, page 5)
1972 SETS RECORD
During the year 1972 Union Pacific Railroad set a new all-time record in the transportation of freight. Our railroad moved over 51.8 billion ton miles of freight. This total exceeds all previous records set in the 104 years since the driving of the golden spike. (Info magazine, Volume 5, Number 4, March 1973, page 3)
ADDITON TO 1973 CAPITAL EXPENDITURES
UP's 1973 capital expenditures program has been expanded by an additional $19 million to a total investment this year of $139 million. The additional money will be spent for 600 new 100-ton covered hoppers and 20 additional 3,000 horsepower locomotives.
The cars will help bolster UP's supply of grain hauling equipment. The locomotive order is comprised of ten General Electric U30-C's and ten EMD SD40-2's. These equipment increases bring UP's '73 acquisitions of covered hoppers to 1,000 units and brings the total locomotives to be added to the fleet to 80. (Info magazine, Volume 5, Number 4, March 1973, page 3)
GREEN RIVER ONE-SPOT
Another of the successful onespot car repair facilities will be added to UP's growing list of modern repair plants. The one-spot will be similar to six others either in operation or under construction at various places on the system. Cost of the Green River one-spot will be nearly one-half million dollars. (Info magazine, Volume 5, Number 4, March 1973, page 3)
NEW IN THE PAST TWO MONTHS
Since the first of January, UP has taken delivery on 891 pieces of new equipment. Leading the list was a delivery of 400 100-ton covered hoppers from Pullman-Standard. Other cars received were 300 open-top 100-ton hoppers from Bethlehem Steel; 100 60-ft 100-ton box cars from Gunderson, Inc.; 35 60-ft. 70-ton box cars also from Gunderson; and 54 40-ft. 70ton box cars from Albina shops.
Also added were a 250-ton diesel powered derrick, numbered 903050, and a 60-ton truck-mounted Holmes crane. Both derrick and crane have been assigned at Hinkle. The new derrick, manufactured by American Hoist & Derrick Co. of Bay City, Michigan, is the first 250-ton machine on the Northwestern District. When fully equipped, the derrick cost in excess of one-half million dollars. (Info magazine, Volume 5, Number 4, March 1973, pages 3-4)
SALT LAKE CITY ONE-SPOT OPENS
March 2, saw the opening of the new Salt Lake City one-spot car repair facility. The $640,000 installation is the second of seven planned one-spot plants to be placed in operation. (Info magazine, Volume 5, Number 4, March 1973, page 4)
NEW UP-C&NW RUN THROUGH
Effective March 2, a new schedule designed to handle high-class traffic such as containers, piggyback and other merchandise was established between Chicago and North Platte, via Fremont, Nebraska. The train operates from Chicago five days a week, Friday through Tuesday. At North Platte connections are made with already scheduled trains for west coast destinations. (Info magazine, Volume 5, Number 4, March 1973, page 4)
NEW ERA OF FREIGHT CAR REPAIRS, SALT LAKE
Maintenance of locomotives and cars has been undergoing dramatic changes on Union Pacific in recent years. The opening of another new one-spot gives us a good opportunity to make a comparison between the new and the old. Salt Lake City's one-spot will, as in Council Bluffs, replace the old riptrack operation.
The opening of the Council Bluffs one-spot marked the beginning of UP's new era of freight car repair. The new Salt Lake City facility is the second such plant to be opened on Union Pacific property. Others are either planned or under construction at several locations on the system.
Traditionally, repairs to freight cars were performed by spotting the bad order cars on repair tracks. The carmen would then take the necessary tools and materials to each car and then make the repairs. This system, at best, was inefficient.
In the "one-spot" operation, the cars are moved through well-tooled, well-stocked repair stations-in effect reversing the sequence of events by bringing the car to the repairman, his tools and materials. The new system is designed to achieve substantially increased efficiency and productivity and at the same time provide vastly improved work areas for the employees.
The Salt Lake City "one-spot" car repair facility consists of a 114 x 22-foot car repair service canopy with three tracks running the length of the structure. Two of the tracks are equipped with built-in jacking systems, jib cranes, air, lubricating oil, grease, gas for cutting torches and power for arc welding. All of these utilities are piped to each repair station.
A 30 x 170-foot shop building adjoins one side of the car repair service canopy, in which are offices, a carpenter shop, blacksmith shop, locker and washroom facilities. (Info magazine, Volume 5, Number 5, April 1973, page 12)
ASPEN TUNNEL: A REPORT
Sometime near the end of 1975, construction crews will complete renovation of the Aspen Tunnel giving Union Pacific Railroad two broad passageways through the rugged western Wyoming terrain. Finished originally in 1901, the mile long tunnel has been a bottleneck for oversize loads in recent years.
The $6 million effort calls for enlarging the bore by dropping the floor five feet, a move that will enable the tunnel to accommodate high and wide loads. This action will simultaneously make room for overhead wires if the line through the area is electrified. In the course of construction, new 133 pound continuous welded rail and a new drainage system will be installed and repairs made to the existing tunnel lining.
Located in Wyoming's Wasatch Mountains just east of Evanston, the Aspen Tunnel rests on Union Pacific's double track mainline. During the rebuilding operation, traffic is being routed through the companion Altamont Tunnel, which has for years accommodated loads too high or wide for the Aspen Tunnel.
Track was removed from the 5,941 foot tunnel in July in preparation for excavation work that has already begun at both the east and west portals. Work on the portals of the tunnel will be completed first as a precaution against damage during the remainder of the construction period. And at these locations, the old concrete floor and part of the walls have been removed and a new floor and walls poured.
Excavation and clearing operations will proceed from both portals to the center of the tunnel. To lower the top of the rail five feet, nine feet of concrete and natural tunnel floor material is being removed. The old concrete floor, varying in thickness from two to eight feet, is being blasted away in 10 foot sections. As the supporting floor and walls are removed, the remaining tunnel lining is being held in place with horizontal struts and underpins.
Except for problem areas such as a point near the east end of the tunnel, old flooring and walls will be removed completely before new walls and floor are poured with work beginning at the center and moving to both ends.
The 23,000 cubic yards of concrete estimated to complete the project will be mixed at a batch plant situated on the hill through which the tunnel courses. A 12 inch shaft, 340 feet deep, was drilled through the hill piercing the tunnel lining just east of the center point. Inside the vertical shaft are an eight inch steel casing (through which concrete will be pumped into the tunnel), a two inch water pipe, and a pair of communication wires.
To secure the quantities of water needed, a water well was drilled adjacent to the batch plant. Using geological maps maintained by the original construction crews three-quarters of a century earlier, engineers were able to accurately predict and locate water at a depth of 500 feet (100 feet below the base of the tunnel) in a layer of fractured sandstone. The amazingly accurate geological information recorded from 1899 to 1901 is proving to be valuable as it details the materials and formations the excavation will encounter, and it gives indications of water levels, locations of gas formations and a geological blueprint of the area through which the tunnel passes.
Outside of the tunnel proper, earthmoving machines are at work broadening the approaches to the tunnel. Some 364,000 yards of fill will be moved at the east approach alone.
The first parts of the Aspen Tunnel were dug in 1899 to shorten the mainline through the area by 10 miles and reduce the grade. Work on the tunnel itself was completed in 1901, but it was 1914 before the concrete lining of the tunnel was applied.
During the course of construction, the tunnel claimed eight lives. Two men were killed in August, 1900, when a heavy slab of shale fell on them from the roof. A month later, two more men died when their drill struck a stick of dynamite that had not detonated. In December, 1900, a gas explosion resulted in the death of four men. Today automatic monitors continuously check the tunnel for a build-up of gas.
Approximately 115,850 cubic yards of material was excavated from the tunnel proper in the original excavation. In 1899, when the digging began, four tunnel headings were opened simultaneously-one each from the east and west ends and two more in a vertical shaft that had been sunk near what was to be the center of the tunnel.
Work on the tunnel is being conducted by an outside contractor working under the supervision of Union Pacific resident engineer Dave Monson. The excavation is proceeding 24 hours a day, six days a week. And the tunnel will be heated so that work can continue through the winter season.
Throughout 1974 two words dominated conversation in the office of the general purchasing agent - shortages and cost increases.
Together, they had major ramifications on Union Pacific Railroad. In the beginning, the emphasis was on availability of materials, but the law of supply and demand flexed its muscles demonstrating the close relationship of shortages and cost increases. And cost increases became just as formidable a hurdle as scant supplies.
Feeding on each other and working in tandem with the lifting of wage-price controls and the onset of panic-buying by industry, prices shot up sharply over the same time a year ago.
"The biggest factor in price increases," Max Hower, general purchasing agent, said, "has been the removal of price controls. Prior to that time, suppliers were locked into prices that were from two to three years old. And the big surge in price increases came from a catch-up effort on the part of suppliers."
The result was that on the 44,000 items Union Pacific Railroad buys, cost increases averaged about one-third over prices one year earlier with some items up as much as 100 per cent and others as little as five and ten per cent.
While it was a fact that on one hand prices on nearly everything were up, so too was it a fact that Union Pacific required fuel, lube oil, rail, wheels, freight car castings and the like to continue operations. Those facts meant that they had to be purchased despite dramatic increases that saw diesel fuel up 68 per cent, lube oil up 64 per cent, rail up 44 per cent, wheels up 60 per cent, and freight car castings up 30 per cent by the end of the third quarter.
The roots of the shortages and related price increases can be traced back to a number of sources. Hower assigns some of the fault to panic buying by industry during the energy crisis. And though panic buying is over for the most part, it left an indelible mark on prices.
While panic buying may have been one cause of scarce goods and high prices, other factors contributed, too. During the time of price controls and the money squeeze, steel manufacturers switched from the production of low profit items to higher profit products. And such seemingly unrelated items as new environmental standards and requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) had a negative influence on material availability and price. In the foundry industry, for example, a wide variety of castings have been historically manufactured by small foundries. When confronted with new EPA and OSHA standards that they were unable to meet, many closed. In closing, they aggravated existing shortages driving prices up as the law of supply and demand did its work.
While prospects were dim as 1974 opened, the outlook is brighter for the remainder of this year and into 1975.
"We see a slight loosening of the supply market," Hower said, "and in terms of dollars, the big jump appears to be over, but inflation is still with us."
"All indications," he continued, "are that it (inflation) will level out in 1975, so we don't anticipate the 40, 50, and 60 per cent increases again next year. Ten per cent may be a realistic figure."
Beset by shortages on one hand and price increases on the other, UP's purchasing department moved to protect the delivery of supplies to the road.
It began contracting with suppliers for manufacturing space on selected critical items as far as one and two years in advance. To release the growing amounts of money tied-up in inventories, they are being reduced wherever possible. Local suppliers were secured near the point of use. And through newly negotiated contracts, such local vendors (incomplete) (Info magazine, Volume 6, Number 11, October 1974, pages 6-10)
OLD SALT LAKE ROUTE DEDICATED
A 70-year-old oversight was rectified Jan. 30 when the State of Nevada and Union Pacific commemorated the completion of the line that linked Salt Lake City and Los Angeles - and along the way gave birth to Las Vegas.
The occasion was the dedication of Nevada Historical Marker No. 195 near the point 28 miles south of Las Vegas where in 1905 the last spike of San Pedro, Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad was driven. "The Salt Lake Route" as SP,LA&SL was called, made up what now is most of the South Central district.
This time there was considerably more ceremony than was evident at the actual event.
Some 60 participants, reporters and special guests, including Old- and Junior Old Timers and auxiliaries' representatives and several retirees with service from the early 1900s came from Vegas aboard a short special train. UP's first female engineer-trainee, Bonnie Leake, was at the throttle. A hundred or more drove out.
Harold Brandt, South Central district general manager, delivered the principal address. He told the assembly of the impact railroading had on the region and compared railroading in 1905 with that of today.
Leo Maskill, California division superintendent, welcomed the group and after the pledge to the flag by Warren Neustrom, GTA Las Vegas, and the invocation by The Rev. Jerome Blankinship turned the program over to Dr. Ralph Roske.
President of the Southern Nevada Historical Society, Roske sketched the early history of "The Salt Lake Route", introduced guests and displayed a one-inch replica gold spike that had been
furnished in 1905 by Mrs. Ralph E. Wells, wife of the road's first general manager. William Swackhamer, Nevada secretary of state, read a proclamation from Gov. Mike O'Callaghan declaring the date to be "Union Pacific Day".
The marker was unveiled by Wilbur E. Wieprecht, Nevada State Parks System, and Jack Parvin, Nevada Department of Highways.
With a Nevada outline shape, the 10-foot tall marker's plaque reads:
THE LAST SPIKE
"This site is near where workers drove the last spike which completed the railroad between Salt Lake City, Utah and Los Angeles, California. It was driven January 30, 1905. This was the last 'transcontinental' line to Southern California and one of the last lines built to the Pacific Coast. There was no formal celebration at the time of the last spike. The men on the spot gave some recognition to the event.
"Las Vegas owes its existence to the railroad then known as the San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad, as the men in charge laid out the town and established a division point there, taking advantage of a good supply of water." (Info magazine, Volume 7, Number 5, April 1975, pages 16-17)
THE NAME WITHOUT A TOWN, Story by AI Krieg
70 years ago, when the old Salt Lake Route - now Union Pacific - was pushing track toward Los Angeles, it was simply siding No. 33 where trains could pass. It was 24 railroad miles south of Las Vegas, and aside from the tracks, there wasn't much there but a boxcar with office space in it for Erie L. Parker, telegrapher.
When the railroad was near completion late in 1904, employes were invited to submit station names for these sidings - 62 of them about five miles apart between Caliente and Daggett - so that a timetable could be printed.
Parker put his name in the suggestion box.
That was the last he thought about it until the booklet appeared and there was "Erie."
After diesels displaced steam locomotives and pushbutton railroading afforded by CTC routed the telegraph, some of these sidings were not needed and were removed. Erie still is there, though, and until a few weeks ago, a sign declaring it to be so remained on its post in the desert landscape.
These free-standing boards have been replaced with signs on the CTC instrument houses.
The elder Parker's grandson, Robert L. "Bob" Parker, quality control supervisor for Southwest Gas Corp., Las Vegas, recently noticed the old sign was gone, felt it should have been preserved and told Union Pacific so.
UP section man at Sloan, Rocklyn D. Roofe, had felt the same way about the old sign when it was removed three weeks ago and stored it until section foreman L.D. Barnum learned of Parker's interest in the relic.
At an informal presentation, it was handed to Parker by UP's Warren Neustrom, general traffic agent, and Tom Wingstad, trainmaster in charge of the Las Vegas-Yermo territory.
Parker has said that he will pass it along to his grandmother, Erie's widow, who lives at Phoenix.
Both Mrs. Parker and her husband were telegraph operators. They moved to Los Angeles in 1912 where he became a locomotive engineer on Southern Pacific, running between Los Angeles and Yuma for 35 years.
Mrs. Parker's sister, Mrs. Georgie Griffeths (cq), Upland, Calif., also lived at Erie where her husband was the section foreman. (Info magazine, Volume 7, Number 7, July 1975, page 22)
ASPEN TUNNEL OPEN AGAIN
When "Scotty" Durrant, general manager-Eastern District, piloted the 71car SLX-8 through the Aspen Tunnel on December 9, 1975, his was the first train through in 18 months.
The Aspen Tunnel has been the focal point of construction efforts over the past year and one-half that saw $6,000,000 invested in an operation to enlarge its bore. Now completed, it will compliment the companion Altamont Tunnel and provide a second passageway through the Wasatch Range capable of accommodating oversize loads.
A good deal of fanfare accompanied the opening. With Durrant in the righthand seat, engineer S.O. "Sod" Dean was free to bring forth a few strains of "We're a Great Big Rolling Railroad" on his harmonica accompanied by conductor Wilcox, brakeman Layman, and fireman Hicks as the train rolled through the tunnel.
On hand for the reopening of the tunnel were Eugene Rigdon, trainmaster, Lynn Jensen, Wyoming division engineer, Dave Monson, project engineer, and Durrant. (Info magazine, Volume 8, Number 2, January 1976, pages 8-9)
BIG SLIDE
When part of the mountain fell into a valley at about 7 a.m. on March 19 at Uintah, Utah, it buried both east and westbound main lines. In at least one area, though, fortune was on the side of UP. It occurred near a place where a contractor was working with large earth moving equipment. Using this equipment to clear the way, the westbound main was back in service by 12:30 p.m. The eastbound line opened to traffic again by 11:30 that same night. (Info magazine, Volume 8, Number 6, May 1976, page 23)
W.I.P. - NEWEST ON LINE STATION
The newest station on the UP system was officially dedicated recently just outside Ogden, Utah.
Beneath a bright new sign which designates the station as "WIP," for Weber Industrial Park, railroad and Weber County officials shared in a traditional groundbreaking ceremony, using a plated and engraved shovel presented by UP traffic manager Bill Whalen to the Weber County Industrial Development Bureau for use in future groundbreakings for new industry in the industrial park.
The 475-acre industrial area was established by Weber County to attract new industry into the area. Upland Industries and UP railroad personnel worked closely with the county from initial planning sessions right through to final establishment of the park.
Buildings for one industry have been completed and three others are now under construction in the industrial park, as are roads, curb and gutters, water sewer lines, storm drains and other facilities. Spot tracks will be built as needed to serve industries that will require rail transportation. Officials expect traffic will eventually amount to 1,000 or more cars from industries in the park. (Info magazine, Volume 6, Number 1, December 1977, page 24)
