Coal fired UP and range fires

[NW Mailing List]

Harry,

Your comments are an interesting corollary to my experience.  When I went on the N&W Equipment Maintenance Engineer job in June 1982, the N&W still had mostly pole lines for signal circuit whereas the Southern had replaced most pole lines with underground cables that did not require removal of trees as the pole lines did.

I could see the results of these two different situations because I had to come to work early and review the morning reports so that I could give a report to the head of the Car Department when he arrived at work.  When there had been a storm I would see that the N&W train delays were because the signal lines were down, but the Southern train delays were from trees on the track.

Gordon Hamilton
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: NW Mailing List via NW-Mailing-List 
  To: nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org 
  Cc: NW Mailing List 
  Sent: Monday, August 21, 2017 12:49 PM
  Subject: Re: Coal fired UP and range fires



  Today's Roanoke Times has an article regarding storage of Eng 611.  Seems
  some scratches have been discovered.  Vandalism ?  Bev Fitzpatrick reported
  that in moving the Class J from Spencer to Roanoke, some lineside branches
  had scraped the engine's side.  Time was that the Maintenance of Way Dept.
  would plow the pole line clear of weeds and sprouting trees.  Then came the
  underground cables.  No more pole line, no more plowing, and now there's a
  tree teetering on the top of an embankment at Bonsack.  Harry Bundy  





  Let's not put all the blame of the range (or other) fires on steam locos alone. Many fires are set by dragging breaks,etc.during diesel operation. The local fire dept. is called on yearly on many leaf fires set by diesel freights. Diesels throw sparks too . Ron H



  On Sunday, July 30, 2017 8:25 AM, NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org> wrote:









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