Saturday, August 12, 2006

Original Crew & Engine Districts

From: pravoslavna@comcast.net (Abramoslav Burnettovych)

Has anyone figured out how the original engine and crew districts between Sacramento and Ogden were laid out in 1869 and the very early years of the Central Pacific? (Engine and crew districts were almost certainly identical in the very early years, and perhaps for a long time thereafter.)

Some places, such as Toanno and Terrace, appear to have been early engine and crew change points and even shop facilities, but they apparently disappeared rather quickly. It's obvious that better rail and roadbed, better engines, the change of locomotive fuel from wood to coal, and the increase in train speeds very quickly lengthened the territory a crew and its engine could cover. With this came changes in the layout of the operating Divisions (superintendents and train dispatchers were given more territory.)

A chronology of engine and crew districts, and changes in the structure of the operating Divisions, would be an heuristic product for this List !

—Abram Burnett

1 Comments:

Blogger CPRR Discussion Group said...

From: "Chris Graves" caliron@cwnet.com

As of January 25, 1869, there were Engine houses at Rocklin, Cisco, Summit, Truckee and Wadsworth (the latter still under construction), while Engine houses were being contemplated at that date at Winnemucca and Carlin.
In addition, there were freight houses at that date at: Sacramento, Junction, Rocklin, Pino, New Castle, Auburn, Clipper Gap, Colfax, Gold Run, Dutch Flat, Alta, Emigrant Gap, Cisco, Summit, Reno, Wadsworth, Browns, Winnemucca and Argenta.

These items were reported in a Commission report dated January, 1869 and signed by Lloyd Tevis, Sherman Day and Bt. Lt. Col. R S Williamson.

8/13/2006 9:28 AM  

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