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Roster of Locomotives 05-31-1969
My first road trip on the Soo Line and other triva
From-
http://headlines.seaportconstruction.net/inf/$headline.exe/SEAPORTCONSTRUCTION/ViewMessage?8304"The largest single loads carried on North American railroads also moved through the Port of Duluth-Superior. In October 1990 two Japanese-built cylinders destined for the BiProvincial Upgrader oil project in Lloydminster, Saskatchewan, arrived at the Clure Public Marine Terminal aboard the Dutch vessel Starman Asia. The 773-ton cylinders were transported to Canada on the Asea Brown Boveri 36-axle Schnabel car, the world's largest capacity railcar according to the Association of American Railroads."
This was the first cylinder to be moved. We were the first crew to handle one. The 773-ton cylinders were unloaded from the ship onto the dock. The first was loaded directly onto the Schnabel Car. The second was set on the dock. When the Schnabel car returned from delivering the first cylinder the second cylinder was jacked up and wood blocking was added until the cylinder was high enough that it could be slid onto the Schnabel Car. The Schnabel Car lightweight was about 370 tons, loaded with the cylinder gross weight would have been 1,143 tons!!!!!!!!
When the Schnabel Car was ready to move off the dock any switch stands that were in jeopardy of being hit were removed and the switch point spiked. They required that two locomotives would be used to move the loaded Schnabel car. They were worried that if an engine quit running and the Schnabel Car was in a stressed location that the car could be damaged before another engine was obtained. They asked that I go as slow as possible. It took well over an hour to move it one car length. Once it was out of the Port Trackage we were then able to increase the speed that we had been going. We put the Schnabel car on an unused lead until it was brought to the BN interchange in Duluth. Switchman Gail Baum who was on the crew that delivered the load to the BN said that the Schnabel Car derailed at the BN.
Not many Engineers can say that they handled the largest single load carried on a North American Railroad. Let alone to be the first one!