Re: Humping TOFC cars
Author: BOB2
Date: 12-08-2016 - 08:35
The long pigs may have been put over the hump somewhere, but I never saw that at Taylor or West Colton. I do seem to remember a big cut of long empty pigs that we pushed over the hump, but even that would have been a rare event. Most intermodal cars went to directly to and from intermodal yards and intermodal cuts were usually loaded in blocks by destination, to minimize unnecessary switching.
Back in the days before the solid intermodal trains and double stacks, the hotshots like the BSMFF were "reduced" at the Shops, where the pigs were pulled off of the rear of the train and spotted for unloading and reloading, and the rest of the train, with "hot" carloads went on to the A yard, for switching, or humping.
There may have even been a restriction on that in the special instructions, because of the problems making joints with that due to the drawbar swing on those longer cars, but I may be wrong about that. It certainly wasn't something very common in LA. Maybe one of our other hogheads, switchmen, or trainmen on Altamont know more on that.
I couldn't ever get enough of those "Do Not Hump" cards, though. My friends all wanted one.