Crew Change Locations

[ABDeh88]

Sometimes I head to downtown Denver on Saturday mornings. I park at the RTD Light Rail station a few miles from my apartment and take the 6:00 something train to Union Station so I can watch the westbound #5 pull (back) in at 7:15, though it is usually late.

Anyway, I see crews change here. So I asked one engineer about it. He is on the LNK-DEN #5. If running on schedule, that is an 8 hour shift.

Can anyone tell me the other crew change locations for the CZ 5/6 and how long they can stay on the clocm before timing out?

Thanks!

 

[greatcats]

I do not know all the details here, but as a former railroad crew dispatcher, these things interest me. I believe the conductors and engineers run together Denver to Grand Junction, and then the train crew will run to Salt Lake, but the enginner changes at Helper, Utah. The contract seem to be that the train may operate with one enginner for up to a six hour run, but longer than that must have two engineers in the cab. The next crew goes to Winnemucca, NV, and then a short assignment to Reno, which is only a few hours long, so that segment operates with only one engineer, and I've observed the crews changing in Winnemucca.

 

[mwmnp]

The last information I saw, based on a map published in the May 2006 issue of Trains Magazine, was the following:

Engineers:

Chicago - Ottumwa

Ottumwa - Lincoln

Lincoln - Denver

Denver - Grand Junction

Grand Junction - Helper

Helper - Salt Lake City

Salt Lake City - Winnemucca

Winnemucca - Reno

Reno - Emeryville

Crew bases are in Chicago, Ottumwa, Denver, Grand Junction, Salt Lake City, Sparks, and Oakland.

Conductors:

Chicago - Omaha

Omaha - Denver

Denver - Grand Junction

Grand Junction - Salt Lake City

Salt Lake City - Winnemucca

Winnemucca - Reno

Reno - Emeryville

Crew bases are in Chicago, Denver, Grand Junction, Salt Lake City, Sparks, and Oakland.

Here is a copy of the map. Locations in capital letters indicate the home terminal for the district, while the arrows point to the away terminal.

 

[jmbgeg]

The last information I saw, based on a map published in the May 2006 issue of Trains Magazine, was the following:

Engineers:

Chicago - Ottumwa

Ottumwa - Lincoln

Lincoln - Denver

Denver - Grand Junction

Grand Junction - Helper

Helper - Salt Lake City

Salt Lake City - Winnemucca

Winnemucca - Reno

Reno - Emeryville

Crew bases are in Chicago, Ottumwa, Denver, Grand Junction, Salt Lake City, Sparks, and Oakland.

Conductors:

Chicago - Omaha

Omaha - Denver

Denver - Grand Junction

Grand Junction - Salt Lake City

Salt Lake City - Winnemucca

Winnemucca - Reno

Reno - Emeryville

Crew bases are in Chicago, Denver, Grand Junction, Salt Lake City, Sparks, and Oakland.

Here is a copy of the map. Locations in capital letters indicate the home terminal for the district, while the arrows point to the away terminal.

Very interesting map.

 

[ABDeh88]

Great, thanks guys! I appreciate it. Nice map!