There are advantages to this system. The railroad can be run with or without a dispatcher or yardmaster. While it is nice to have them, it is good to have flexibility. Second, having the operators start from outlying industrial districts and then go directly to either Mo- riah Yard or to staging separates the trains from each other. Crews do their switching and line hauls at their pace, and the double track main allows plenty of room be- tween trains. West Vermillion is the only place where engineers need to verify that the main is clear when going from Cimmeron Yard to some of the industry spurs. Supporting these train move- ments, the Snake River’s roster consists of approximately 870 freight cars appropriate for tradi- tional-era railroading. The tracks see a continuous stream of box- cars, steel forty-footers for the most part and a growing number of fifties, PS-1s, and their contem- poraries; open, crated, or loads under tarpaulins on the nearly-
Gators
Out on the main line, the 818 and 802 meet the power and caboose of the Snake Canyon Turn running light downhill. This may be the “Serpentine Route,” but it is rattlesnake country, too, and brakemen have to watch their step when they are on the ground.
universal 50-foot cast steel flatcars of the time, or in gons; iced reef- ers with colorful, wood-sheathed sides; all-steel, iced and mechani- cal reefers; cement cars; covered and open hoppers, et cetera. At mid-century, as before and for several years after, carload freight was mainly siding-to-siding, load- ing dock to freight door, supplier to freighthouse, and this is how the layout is run. SCRR serves
machine shops and factories, coal and fuel oil distributors, lumber yards, printers, appliance dealers, warehouses, and others a car or two at a time.
The largest customers on the road — Centennial Mills, General Foods Corporation, ADM, Pioneer Meat Packing, New River Mining, and a gravel quarry — account for large blocks of cars moving togeth- er, and a few on-line customers
Switching The 2303 has recently been reassigned to Cimarron Yard and is waiting for the next turn to bring cars in for delivery to the industries in Vermillion. The B&B crew is about ready to leave after giving the Cimarron Tower a fresh coat of paint.
FEBRUARY 2016 49
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