Joint Line Time Table

Modeling the AT&SF - D&RGW Joint Line through Colorado Springs

from Milepost 70 to Milepost 80 circa 1978-1979

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Joint Line Employee Time Table No. 2, February 16, 1977

The Joint Line was governed by its own employee time table issued jointly by the Santa Fe and Rio Grande, so the line is not covered by the divisional or system timetables of either road. It includes separate time table entries for both the southward and northward routes of the Joint Line, plus both Santa Fe and Rio Grande approach trackage in Denver and Pueblo. It also includes special rules that apply specifically to the Joint Line, covering such things as tonnage ratings, operating jurisdictions, speed restrictions, obstructions, junctions, crossings, special facilities and procedures, and a list of side tracks and spurs between stations. Although at first glance the pages seem dense and arcane, they contain a wealth of valuable information about the Joint Line physical plant and how it was operated that can be incorporated into the design and operation of a model railroad layout based on the Joint Line.

Joint Line Time Table No. 2 came into effect at 12:01 A.M. (just after midnight) Mountain Standard Time, February 6, 1977 and it was superseded by Time Table No. 3 on January 6, 1980. Thus TT No. 2 covers the era my Joint Line layout is set in, and I'll refer to it often in posts so let's have a look at it.

The front cover of Time Table No. 2 is the image flanking both sides of this blog page, but here is the full cover for easier viewing. 

 (click on image to enlarge) 

 A railroad Employee Time Table doesn't look like or serve the same purpose that a Public Time Tables does. As the cover states, an ETT is for the exclusive use and guidance of a railroad's employees in performing their job safely and efficiently, so it contains much more than just a schedule of passenger trains and their stops. That starts with the front cover, where it also states the exact time and date it goes into effect, replacing the previous time table for that line. And that list of names on the front and back lets railroaders know the appropriate company officer to contact when needed.

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The inside cover provides a list of doctors to contact when an employee takes sick or is injured on the railroad, while page 3 covers D&RGW tonnage ratings on Joint Line grades and the placement of helper locomotives.

 

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Next, pages 4 and 5 show the time table for the Santa Fe approach and terminal trackage in Denver and Pueblo, while page 8 shows the same for the Rio Grande. For clarity and to save space I have combined the tables and information from three separate pages into two pages for my own version of Time Table 2 that I created for my layout, shown here.

 

 

The Santa Fe tables cover from Burlington Northern's (originally CB&Q) 38th Street Yard through Denver Union Depot and Colorado & Southern's Rice Yard to South Denver and the start of the Joint Line, and from the south end of the Joint Line at Bragdon through Santa Fe's Pueblo Yard to Pueblo Union Depot. Note that Colorado & Southern owns one of the two tracks between Rice Yard and South Denver, Santa Fe owns the other, forming a mini joint line of sorts. 

In Denver BN trains using the Joint Line originate and terminate in the BN yard. C&S and AT&SF trains used to originate and terminate at Rice Yard, but later switched to the BN yard as well, although some Santa Fe trains originate at UP's 36th Street Yard.

In Pueblo AT&SF and C&S trains originate and terminate in the Santa Fe yard, which is to the west of PUD.

Incidentally, since C&S and BN trains operate over the Joint Line on trackage rights granted by the Santa Fe, they run with Santa Fe crews and these trains can perform no local switching except at Colorado Springs, where there is some isolated C&S trackage. This has an important operating consequence as Santa Fe often combined AT&SF and C&S trains between Denver and Pueblo, powering them with locomotives of both roads, making for some colorful locomotive consists. I'll write more about this later.

The Rio Grande tables cover from Denver Union Depot, which is Mile Post 0 of the original Denver & Rio Grande, through 7th Street and Burnham Shop Yards to South Denver, and from Bragdon south through Pueblo Junction then west past Pueblo Union Depot into the Grande's Pueblo yard, squeezed in between the Arkansas River flood levee and the Santa Fe yard. 

In Denver Rio Grande trains originate and terminate at the Grande's North Yard at 48th Street, but the track from Union Depot through Prospect to North Yard is covered by the D&RGW Colorado Division and System time tables.

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Now we'll look at the Joint Line time table listing itself. Pages 6-7 show the Joint Line proper time table from South Denver to Bragdon, with the southward track on the left, the northward on the right. Note that they are quite different, as not all stations are listed in both. That's because for much of their run the two tracks are widely separated and do not share all stations. In addition, many stations historically located along both tracks were no longer in existence by the time Time Table No. 2 was issued.

 

 

Also note that no trains are listed in the time table. That's because in 1977 there were no scheduled numbered trains, as the last one listed, Santa Fe's passenger trains 191/200 that connected with the The Chief at La Junta, Colorado, were dropped as of Time Table 6 in 1971. Only freight trains ran on the Joint Line by 1977, and all trains were run as extras without time table authority, although most still had numbers or alpha-numeric symbols.

The segments between South Denver and Palmer Lake and between Crews and Bragdon are noted as governed by Rule 251, meaning train control is by Time Table and Train Order (TT&TO), and marked ABS, meaning it is protected by Automatic Block Signals in the current of traffic direction only to keep traffic safely spaced. These signals are controlled by track occupancy, not by the Dispatcher.  

The segment between Palmer Lake and Crews is noted as governed by TCS (Traffic Control System), which is Santa Fe parlance for CTC, or Centralized Traffic Control. This is a segment of single track main line created in 1974 when the northward Santa Fe main from Kelker through Colorado Springs to Palmer Lake and the southward Rio Grande main between Kelker and Crews were removed. Train movements in both directions on this stretch are controlled by the Dispatcher using remote control signals and powered turnouts into and out of passing sidings. In addition there are bidirectional ABS signals between sidings to keep traffic safely spaced out. The layout depicts a ten mile portion of this single track section.

Yet another note states that the northward segment between AT&SF mile post 730.1 and South Denver (AT&SF m.p. 733.4) is governed by AT&SF Rule 94 Restrictive Limits, meaning trains and engines may proceed at restricted speed (able to stop within half the distance of vision, not to exceed 20 mph), not protecting against other movements, ready to stop on signal indication at the crossing at grade with the D&RGW southward track. This allows local engines to perform customer switching work off this section of main track without the Dispatcher having to issue Train Orders giving "track & time" to the local so it can do its work.

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The Special Rules section deserves an in-detail discussion, but I'll save that for the Joint Line Operations page. In the mean time I'll post the pages here for those interested and make a few short comments.

Page 9 covers operating jurisdiction and begins a long section on speed regulations.

 

 

Rule 1 lets us know that the AT&SF Rules book applies to the Joint Line, regardless of track ownership or whose trains run over it. However, the D&RGW Dispatcher has authority over the Southward main track, while the Northward main is dispatched by the AT&SF, as is the single track TCS/CTC segment.

 

Rule 2 states that in TCS/CTC territory only tracks under direct control of the Dispatcher may be used to clear other movements.

 

Rule 3 consists of a very detailed list of speed restriction and is continued on Pages 10-13. Of note, the maximum allowable train speed on the main tracks is 45 mph unless otherwise posted or noted in the Special Rules. For example, loaded coal trains are limited to 35 mph. Note that there is a 30 mph limit through Colorado Springs, same as the limit through the Colorado Springs siding turnouts.

 

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Pages 14-17 lists dangerous obstructions with close clearances along the right of way and then starts on the Special Rules and Facilities section covering high water detectors, speed signs, sounding of horns, signal locations, Railroad Crossings at grade and Junctions with other railroads, special procedures at named locations, Tracks Between Stations, Yard Limits, the location of Bulletin Books, where train crews can find special notices and updates or changes made between issues of Time Tables, the location of Standard Clocks, the location of crossovers between the southward and northward tracks, and a list of Joint Line station numbers used on waybills and operating paperwork.

Several items apply specifically to the TCS/CTC single track main through Colorado Springs:

Rule 5D, the prohibition of the use of the locomotive horn, except at three named road crossings, one of which, Garden of the Gods Road, is on the layout.

Rule 5E notes that on the TCS/CTC section all intermediate ABS signals are on the west side of the track, a legacy of the track having been signalled for southbound directional running only. These masts have two heads, one aimed to the north for southbound trains, the other aimed to the south for northbound trains.

Rule 5F sets out use of interchange tracks at Kelker.

Rule 6 on Crossings and Junctions includes the AT&SF connection track in Colorado Springs. This track connects the D&RGW and AT&SF yards.

Rule 7 is a list of Tracks Between Stations not listed in the Time Table. On the single tack section 4 of the bottom 5 are represented on the layout.

 

 

 

No, Page 18 is not a joke. The LEFT BLANK INTENTIONALLY notice is there to let users know that there has not been a misprint causing missing information. The inside rear cover adds an admonishment to keep coupling speed down to a walk to prevent damage to equipment and lading, and provides a handy chart for trainmen to gauge train speed.

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And that's the content and purpose of the Joint Line Time Table.

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