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| Behind the Scenes of the 2002 Winter Games | ||
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| Though there are many stories to be told about the Olympics and the success of the games as seen through the eyes of the Heber Valley Railroad and the Nevada Northern Railway there was also a lot of "behind the scenes" type work that was done prior to, during and after the games. It is the hope of the HVRR and the NNRY that all of you "died in the wool" steam fans will enjoy this "around the corner" look at the games. | ||
| The whole story begins many years ago when Salt Lake City was awarded the honor of hosting the 2002 games. Almost immediately, SLOC (Salt Lake Organizing Committee) officials began planning everything from security to transportation. Planning went far beyond just these simple issues. You can only imagine the number of concerns and questions that came up after the bid was won. | ||
| Prior to the award of the bid, Heber Valley, Utah had been selected as the sight of the Cross Country Ski venue. The venue would also host the Biathlon events for both men and women. The venue, known today as Soldier Hollow, is located only one quarter of a mile off of the Heber Valley Railroad main line. The venue is located only four short miles from the Heber city depot. It only made sense to use the train as some type of conveyance method. Many ideas surfaced including, but not limited to the idea of high speed commuter trains, double main lines and self propelled passenger cars. Each of the mentioned ideas would cost a considerable amount of money. The catch; Who fronts the money to pay the bills for such costly ideas? | ||
| In a short matter of time, it was determined that the HVRR was on it's own in terms of running trains and fronting costs. With that in mind, many of the big ideas went right into the firebox. Now knowing that the management team of the HVRR had to use resources from with-in to accomplish this great task, ideas changed and the scope of the project was altered. The end result however, was bigger than all of the previous dreams and visions combined. Who would have even thought that we could have pulled off the task we did, on the budget we had. | ||
| With less than a year prior to the games, the HVRR had committed to bringing in additional equipment for the games. The HVRR purchased the 75 train set in June of 1999 with the intent of using it for the games. This proved to be a good move as almost all of the collection was used at some point during the games. Even with the 75 and the 618, it was felt that more steam and or some type of "side show" was still needed. In January of 2001, the National Parks Service and the HVRR began discussing the possibility of brining the 119 from Promontory, Utah to Heber for the games. This quickly fell through as the park service had already committed a considerable amount of money to keeping the park open for the games and keeping both engines in service for the games. So, with that the rest of the "steam dreams" as they were, went with the other previous plans......yep, you got it, into the firebox it went. | ||
| Even I had little hope of finding anything that would work for us and with less than one year to plan it all, who could mobilize and pull off an event like this? | ||
| A few months prior to January 2001, the HVRR was in need of a new Chief Mechanical Officer. Myself and Craig Lacey (Executive Director HVRR) thought that Lance Hunt would make a fine addition to our RR. Lance came to Heber, interviews were held and in the end, Lance decided to stay in Ely. I was the Road Foreman at the time. During the process of looking for a new CMO, I took over as acting CMO. After our efforts with Lance came to not, I decided that maybe I had what it took to run the place. I tossed my hat in the ring and was awarded the job in January 2001. Later that same spring in April of 2001, Lance Hunt and I and a few other HVRR cronies traveled to Northern California for FRA meetings. Lance and I decided that we would spend the time getting to know each other better, so we rode in his truck to California, with the others following behind. About half way to Elko, Nevada Lance asked about the games and I restated the story I have just shared. The trip lasted about five days and nothing else was said. | ||
| Ring, ring sounds my telephone about one month later, on the other end Lance Hunt. Lance says, "so, are you still looking for an additional engine for the games?" I said "yes, but I have no idea how we would do it in such a short amount of time." Lance went on to explain that the NNRY 93 was currently undergoing the new FRA part 230 work and that if we worked hard enough, the engine could be ready for the games. | ||
| Wow, a third 2-8-0 in Heber, and big one at that. In comes Scott Lindsay, President of Steam Operations Corporation. With-in days, Lance, Scott and I were talking about the real possibility of making this work. Remember, this is May 2001. Our first big group meeting did not actually take place until June of 2001only eight months prior to the games. Again, keep in mind, we are talking about an engine that was completely in pieces, had to be finished and then moved, not to mention the contracts and other work that had to be done. What a job! | ||
| Lance and Scott quickly built up a team of help including Gary Bensman of Diversified Rail Services to aid in the task. The team worked hard, fast and very thoroughly. Not one issue was over looked, not a problem left un noticed or resolved. These guys and there team pulled off what was to be a more than one year project in less than eight months, again, an accomplishment in and of itself. | ||
| By January 2002, the engine was ready for a Hydro, the moving arrangements had been made, contracts were in line and it looked like this thing was really going to happen. In mid January 2002, the 93 and two coaches freshly painted made one last trip in Ely. This final publicity trip was run in an effort to raise some additional funds needed to make this project work. The money soon began flowing in and the final moving plans were made. | ||
| In a very basic nut shell, that is how Lance, Scott and I and all the rest came to know each other. Those of you who have worked on major projects know how much work it can be. You now have just a little taste of the work the NNRY guys did in making this whole project a success. | ||
| With the basic project history behind us, let's now look at the project itself in terms of the daily operation and what it took to keep three engines hot twenty four hours a day in record breaking cold temperatures. | ||
| In terms of locomotives and train operations, the basic plan called for two 7-8 car train sets pulled by one locomotive each to run one trip to the venue each day and anywhere from one to two trips out of the venue each day. In addition, one of the two train sets would run the regular tourist excursion each day. The basic locomotive line-up called for each locomotive to work two days in a row and then receive one day off. The day off was spent tending to the engine and correcting any minor issues that may have come up during the previous two days of operation. After the engine had received a day off, it was called to pull the venue trains in the morning as well as the regular tourist excursion. On the second day, the engine was required to work only the venue trains and on the third day, the engine again received a day off. | ||
| Mixed in the three day rotation was one night that the locomotive would spend inside the house. The night in the shop was usually the night that the engine re-entered service. The HVRR engine house has one bay dedicated to a warm engine. This bay has a smoke jack and an inspection pit. The hot bay, as it is called, is only large enough for one steam engine at a time. The end result was two engines staying outside at night, one engine left inside and kept warm. The purpose behind leaving one engine inside once every three days was that of allowing the engine to thaw. One major problem with winter operations is that the air systems are more prone to winter freeze. Such items as compressor governors, distributing valves and even feed valves, triple valves and all the rest can, and do freeze. Little tricks were used such as air system anti freeze and the occasional swap out of minor parts. None the less, there were still minor freeze problems. | ||
| Additionally, one would think that a steam engine and all of the heat that it produces would be enough to keep it from freezing. The truth is, at 20 below zero, nothing is safe! Major freeze problems can include broken and frozen air compressors, injectors and water feed lines both to the engine, from the injector and between the engine and tender. Dynamos can freeze as can cylinder cock lines. Believe it or not, you can even freeze an engine solid to the rails, trust us, we saw it happen more than once. | ||
| How did we deal with such cold? We did it with warm bodies! On most days, the engines were back in Heber by about 5:00 p.m. Once the locomotives had been ashed, coaled and serviced, the fires were banked and the boilers filled with water. In addition, every appliance was left with steam flowing through it. Though it only takes a little steam flowing through an appliance to keep it from freezing, there are so many appliances to watch that the trick was making an even balance of keeping enough steam flowing through things, but not using so much steam that the bank or fire couldn't maintain the pressure for any given amount of time. Also a factor, the amount of water in the boiler. The more steam you use, the more water you consume. Again, it was a very intense game of balancing the amount of fire, with the amount of steam being used with the amount of water in the boiler taking into consideration the temperature outside and any other weather related conditions. | ||
| Keeping all of this in mind, the hostlers who worked until 11:00 p.m. or even midnight, were charged with the duty of getting the outside engines set-up to maintain themselves for two to three hours. At 2:00 or 3:00 a.m. one to two men would arrive on the property. Their job was to top off the boiler water, check and rebuild the bank in the fire box and most important, check for any frozen appliances. Prior to leaving the engine, the hostler would double check all of these items, making sure that the engines outside would make it another two to three hours alone. At anywhere between 4:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m the first operating crew came on duty. The first crew had about one hour and forty minutes to get the engines ready for the first of three venue trains in the morning. When the crew came on duty, their engine usually had 150 p.s.i. steam and a 3/4 full water glass. The banks were pushed over and some fresh coal added. All of the servicing had been done the night before by the night shift, so only minor attention to oiling was needed in the morning. About thirty minutes prior to train departure time, engines were placed on train sets and the air was pumped up. Again, the cold nights took their toll on the train line brake system. It would take every bit of the thirty minutes to get the entire train to brake properly. Even after a good brake test and even after the train was on the road, minor brake issues would come up. All in all, nothing that was ever a show stopper or even caused major delays or safety issues, just aggravating little problems. | ||
| The basic train schedule called for trains to depart Heber about every thirty minutes or so. For conversation sake, lets look at a normal day of operation. In most cases the first train to leave Heber was due out at 6:40 a.m. This train, otherwise known as the C train, was usually the lightest in terms of passenger load. The E train, which was parked and ready on track two when the C train left at 6:40 was then loaded with passengers. While the E train was loading, the C train was on the main line between Heber and the Venue. Some twenty minutes after departure, the C train would arrive at Soldier Hollow. Once at Soldier Hollow, the Charleston Dispatcher would take control of the train. The C train would unload all passengers and then return to Charleston, about a mile away and wait in the siding for the E train. | ||
| The E train was scheduled to leave 35 minutes after the C train. So in this case, the E train would leave at 7:15. The next train, the A train, would leave at 8:05. The A train would be the last of the morning rush. With only two train sets, the C train which is now waiting at Charleston will eventually turn into the A train. With the E train on the road at 7:15, the C train in the siding at Charleston would get ready for the fast trip back to Heber. At 7:30, the E train was scheduled to pass the C train at Charleston. With the pass made, the Charleston dispatcher would line the switch for the main line and allow the C train to return to Heber under Rule 25. Rule 25 is the 25 m.p.h. rule. This allowed returning trains to operate at full track speed back to Heber for an A train departure of 8:05. We now have two trains on the main line, one going to the venue, the other going back to Heber. Once the C train was back on the main line and headed back to Heber, the Heber City Dispatcher then took control of the C train. The Charleston Dispatcher then took control of the E train at the Venue. | ||
| The E train and the A train were in most cases sold out, each train carrying about 240 passengers. Once the C train arrived in Heber City, it then changed names and became the A train. The engine was quickly run around the train and the brake test completed. While all of this was going on, passengers were loading the train. As a point of interest, passenger loading was halted while the engine was re-coupled to the train. Passengers received their free continental breakfast just as all of the previous passengers had done and with-in ten minutes of arriving in Heber, all 240 passengers were on the train, fed and ready to go. At 8:05 sharp, the last train left Heber City bound for the venue. | ||
| While all of this was going on, the Charleston Dispatcher was unloading the train at venue. Once unloaded, the train was inspected for any bags left on the train or any other odd or suspicious items. This was also done on the C and E trains while unloading at the venue. Once the E train was unloaded, it was then taken back to Charleston to wait for the A train. In most cases, the C train consist and the engine that was assigned to it for the day, would then spend the rest of the day at Charleston as the "Bill Board" train. The Bill Board train was the train that sat near the venue while all of the spectators riding the old white busses in and out of the venue watched and wondered why they didn't ride the train. The train even caused a wreck or two as people were so enamored by the train rather than paying attention to the road. | ||
| After the venue had been loaded in the morning, the A train consist, in most cases, was returned to Heber. On any given day, the regular passenger tourist excursion was run. This train, otherwise known as train 11, would operate between Heber and Deer Creek Dam, some twelve miles from Heber. Prior to leaving Heber, the consist was serviced, cleaned and the engine watered and oiled. In most cases, the morning crew was relieved and a day shift crew came on. The day shift crew would operate the regular train and then unload the venue at the end of the day. This same crew would also service the engines at night. | ||
| The other consist, the Bill Board train, also received a new crew at this point. The catch here is, the second crew had only two major responsibilities....Sit and Wait! The truth is the second shift crews that came on did a great job cleaning the engines and tending to minor issues while waiting. If any of you saw the picture in USA Today, showing the 618, that photo was taken at Charleston, thus the name, bill board train. | ||
| The bill board trains responsibility was to keep the equipment serviceable to the point that it could be moved in a matter of minutes. More than once, the crew was called to action and with-in minutes, the train was on the road. | ||
| Now comes time to unload the venue. There were a few issues regarding this area of the day. First off, the events normally ran thirty minutes ahead of schedule. This meant that trains and dispatchers had to be ready one hour before the event was scheduled to end in the event that it ended early. Second, there was no return train schedule and no ticketing assignments. Passengers were allowed to ride any train from the venue back to Heber-first come, first serve. Third, all of the returning passengers had to ride a horse and sleigh back to the platform where they would re-board the train. This meant that HVRR crews had to depend on the mule skinners to get the people there. Last, and most important, the HVRR and SLOC agreed that the train had to remove from the venue the same number of passengers it took in. The catch here is, passengers that rode the train in, did not have to ride it out, they had a bus option. So, imagine if you will, the task of counting people as they get on the train and counting the number of people showing up at the depot on the busses while at the same time keeping track of the number of people on the sleighs............what was to be simple procedure, turned ugly! | ||
| For the most part everything went very well in terms of the daily venue "unload". In most cases, only two trains were run from the venue back to Heber each day. We called these trains cattle drives, as in most cases they were. You can imagine hundreds of people packed in coaches designed for the long haul. It was quite the sight. Amazingly enough, 6 thousand passengers later, not one single complaint about the ride in or the return trip. | ||
| Once a train set had returned to Heber, the Heber Dispatcher would run the engine around the train. At this point, the crew would sit and wait. The dispatcher would then make a hundred phone calls trying to find out how many people remained in the venue, how many were on the sleighs and how many on the busses. From there, the same dispatcher was watching the count on the second train loading passengers at the venue. Prior to the dispatcher allowing the second train to leave the venue, he had to determine if a third train was needed. A third train was need on a few occasion, however, for the most part, all of the returning passengers were brought home on two trains. | ||
| Once both of the trains were in Heber work soon began preparing the trains for the next day. The generators were fueled, propane tanks were filled and coal was brought on for the stoves. The water was topped off and oh yes, let us not forget the awful task of dumping the toilets. The major problem here again was frozen water in the dump tanks. In anybody ever tells you that "do do" doesn't freeze, tell then they are full of "do do" themselves. If you get something cold enough, it will freeze. So.....who wants to know how we dealt with this crappy issue? It was simple actually, we merely added 10-30 gallons of boiling hot water to the dump tanks via the toilets. With-in a matter of minutes....."the wind blew, the sh................."well you know the rest! | ||
| Getting two train sets ready for the next day was about a two hour job. Again, my hats off to the guys that did this work, they did a great job. One would think that there would be a number of problems with train sets in the cold. Even Amtrak has a whole raft of winter time operating problems with cars. None the less, we suffered very few winter problems. | ||
| Once the toilets were dumped and the consists were spotted at the power pole for the night, the engines were turned over to the night hostlers. These guys did a great job. The engines were ashed, coaled hard greased and serviced, including a good wash job in most cases, all in under eight hours with only 2-5 men per night. | ||
| One of the major concerns in planning this entire event with the SLOC was the congestion that would be caused by the train. You see, the busses that serviced the venue had to cross the HVRR main line at Charleston. Due to SLOC's concern that the train would inhibit the bus flow, crossing restrictions were agreed upon by both the SLOC and the HVRR. One of the restrictions was that trains would take no longer than 45 seconds to clear the crossing. No problem! At 25 M.p.h and with only 7-8 cars, the train could clear the crossing in less than 30 seconds. So, what was the problem? well, I wondered the same thing. On the first day, we found out what the real problem was. Though SLOC believed that the train would slow the flow of the busses, the truth was, the bus drivers slowed the flow of the busses. You see, we made every effort to clear the crossing as soon as possible, at the same time, the bus drivers would see a train coming and can you guess what they would do? Yes, you would think they would try to out run the train being in such a hurry..............Wrong, these guys would slow down with a bus full of people and wait for the train. While waiting, they would open the bus doors and allow people off the bus to take pictures of the train. Kodak and Fuji made more money on the train than they did at the venue! It was great! | ||
| Another operating concern brought up by SLOC was the protection of the crossing at Charleston. HVRR agreed to provide a flag man to protect the crossing. In most cases, this was the Charleston Dispatcher. SLOC had arranged to have three police officers at the intersection of Tate Lane, which is at the Charleston crossing of highway 113. It is a three way crossing where-in the train, the general public and all of the 88 SLOC busses had to meet. | ||
| The end result was three completely board out of their minds officers sitting at the crossing watching the busses do their thing while waiting for the train. As it turned out, the officers would see a train coming- they would hop in their cars and race over to the railroad tracks. They would then turn on all of the lights on their cars and then get out and flag the train through the crossing. It was so funny to watch these officers work, it was the only "cop" fun they had all day! | ||
| So, imagine if you will all of the FRA inspectors hanging out each day. Yes, they were there and there were many of them. In fact, on the day we hauled the torch, we had over 11 FRA inspectors on the train. Three of which rode in the cabs of the steam engines. So were all of those inspectors a real pain in the rear end? You would almost think that having so many around would be real nightmare. The truth is, they were great and we all had a wonderful time! The FRA designed a program prior to the Olympics where-in all Utah railroads had to present a safety and security plan. The Railroad Olympic Safety and Security committee as it was called, was a group of railroad officials working with the FRA to prevent any railroad type accident during the games. With the aid of the FBI and other top federal security agencies, these meetings were very beneficial to all who attended. The meetings also allowed the railroad officials to better communicate and understand the view point of the FRA. | ||
| It is my feeling that as a result of the ROSS Committee, the FRA and the railroads worked very well together during the games. During the 18 days of the games, not a single reportable or non-reportable accident occurred on the HVRR. In Utah, only a few minor RR'ing accidents occurred, most of which in Salt lake City. | ||
| Did a lot change after 9.11 in terms of security and railroad planning for the games? For the HVRR the only thing that changed was the fact that we now had to address the issue of a machine, such as a locomotive, being used as a weapon of mass destruction. To address this issue, the FBI and other local authorities were shown how a steam engine could be used as a weapon. Other than that, many of the issues that were addressed prior to 9.11 still addressed issues after 9.11. | ||
| I have been asked a number of times if there were any threats made against railroads during the games. The truth is, yes there were. The FBI did a wonderful job informing the railroads of the threats. Without sharing details that I can not share, you all know that nothing happened during the games! What a success. | ||
| Final Statistics include over 6250 passengers hauled, close to 1,200 miles logged, almost 2000 man hours spent, over 270,000 lbs. of coal burned, something close to 270,000 gallons of water used. Though these stats are really interesting, I feel that there was something even more fascinating accomplished in this great project. | ||
| The Olympic spirit is based on the foundation of team work. It takes a team to win. Good coaches, strong athletes and a the right equipment. The winter of 2002 will forever be remembered as the year of team work. When, in the history of our industry, have two separate railroads, combined to create one common goal with one common cause. All of us, as members of this great team focused on the mission, not on our own personal plight. There was no I "team work." We, the members of the 2002 Winter Steam Team, accomplished a major undertaking in less than eight months, on a very tight budget with zero accidents or failures and WE did it as a team. | ||
| On behalf of the NNRY and all of it's leaders and on behalf of the HVRR and all of its leaders, I would like to thank everybody that participated in this great project. It has truly been a dream come true for all who were able to participate. Gold medal winners in my book, each and every one of you. | ||
| John E. Rimmasch is Chief Mechanical Officer of the Heber Valley Railroad. | ||
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