Never Stand Still

I can give you an idea of how CF made money in ltl.
If we were laid over for the weekend in Los Angeles,and didn't feel like sitting around the truckstop drinking beer all weekend,we could work for CF general commodities.Union owner operators only.CF had little terminals all around LA,Santa Fe Springs,etc,but there big hub was in Mira Loma,east of LA.We could go out there,hook up to set of loaded joints,and run them to Flagstaff.Drop them,and hook another set of doubles back to LA.Little less tan a thousand mile round trip.All CF relays were set up less than 500 miles for legal logging back then.49 mph legal,10 hours.They paid well,plus they topped our fuel tanks off when we started and finished,no charge.We hand carried the bills of lading,huge pack,with bills for everything that was in both trailers.I asked once about how much revenue was in the trailers,and was told it was between 25 to 30k dollars linehaul.This would be shipments headed to New England area,NYC,etc.Pocono hub.Lot of money,but a lot of work,handling,pick up and delivery,sorting,etc.Teamster work,days work,for a days pay,simple.And also,computers were not the thing then,still in the infancy.

 

A note about the Cents from Union Pacific.

Those are properly named class DD40X's a few were retained in mainline service for 80 mph company train, designed to run the Board of Visitors and Executives system wide. I encountered one crossing northbound pulling a company varnish set of 8 at 80 plus back in 2004. That was the last time I ever saw one running.

They had parked another DD40X in the UP Yard here in Little Rock which is a very historical large yard. That one was a gate sentry of sorts. A decorative item. However they kept it in a warm state so that it could theoratically enter service someday if necessary. A miscalculation on the UP's part. Scavengers got into it, stripped the copper out of the traction motors under the thing one night. And that was that for it.

That's ok. They have a Steam program that is restoring a 4-8-8-4 Big Boy Class engine for operation in a couple years time. Once running, it will represent a lost era in our history dating to the 40's and have the ability to haul thousands of tons at 60 plus upgrade for hundreds of miles in Wyoming eastbound, which is what it was designed for.

Two modern Macs or similar approach 10000 horses in capacity each now. More than enough for service. The DD40X was and still is a top of all desiel electric engines in our history, but current and future engine sets pretty much will surpass even this monster in total capacity and speed.

 

UP got lots of locomotives parked around Omaha .

 

IF you went by the stack trains on my line, where i am traffic has fallen quite a bit.

I got a video from like 2003 where a stack train needed 4 engines to maintain schedule at over 400 boxes. These days I wonder what is going on with domestic boxes. Or more exactly import boxes. It's almost as if there is a big enough someone.. or even a Nation drawing on the supply of boxes going to the coasts.

 

OH&^%$

Boxes TEU's 20 foot. Two TEU's = 40 foot.

Military likes to count TEUS I have been thinking Friends (And annoying acquaintances lol.) we might be writing a bloody page in our history right quick. When that day comes, I ask you to do your best. Be safe and if that all possible go to your family. I think about mine quite a bit.

If you have an oppertunity to make prepearations for 3 to 6 weeks staying underground without coming out for everyone, give it a go. Just don't forget the games to keep morale up.

 

I'm waiting for my next bedtime c.f. story mike ! Lol

 

I don't have any. But I tell you this.

We had a tiny CF ternimal where I lived for a time. Literally two docks, a couple of doubles, few cabovers and so on.

My parents were DAZZLED by this outfit. They kept haranguing me to join them. Only two things though, I cannot do doubles and hate the lumping at that point in life even though Im too stupid to understand a different way to do trucking in those years.

 

The biggest thing I remember about CF was a dirty joke going around when I was a kid. Too blue to tell around here....

 

oh now, you can't just leave us like that.

You tease, tell the joke!

 

I'd say but I made the mod sqaud displeased with me last week lol