Group:
I model the BN from Yardley to Babb circa October 1979 and I've been trying to dig up info about the Cheney/Babb helper that BN operated out of Yardley up until 1981. I've got a copy of 'Marshall Canyon Surprises' in the Dec. 1999 CTC Board - that article shows covered wagons 808 and 810 shoving westbounds through the canyon circa 1978. Other pictures I've seen however show the helpers assisting trains out of Yardley on the headend rather the rear. Here's one example:

[www.sd45.com]

I understand that one of Blair's 1979-era pictures of a U28C shoving a westbound at Marshall is in the June '94 CTC Board, but I don't have a copy and Hundman is out of stock.

So, if anybody knows, did the helpers assist westbounds on the headend if running out of Yardley while shoving on the rear if coupled up at Empire? Did the helpers ever shove out of Yardley or work on the headend from Empire?

As a side note, I've got four days' worth of BN dispatcher sheets from Eastern Washington that cover the last week of March 1981. BN was running roughly five mainline trains a day down the Ritzville line and of all those trains during that four day period, around 20, only two got helpers. I would guess this is because of the recession as it appears more trains prior to 1980 were indeed being assisted by the helpers.

Any help would really be appreciated...

-Ryan