1953 cab ride across the Great Northern’s electrified subdivision Westbound on train #5, the Cascade, in diesel 251-A Eastbound on train #2, the Empire Builder, in motor 5019 Pictures and captions by Alfred B Butler, Pullman WA collection of Bruce Butler PowerPoint presentation by Bruce Butler
60
Embed
1953 cab ride across the Great Northern’s electrified subdivision
Westbound on train #5, the Cascade, in diesel 251-A Eastbound on train #2, the Empire Builder, in motor 5019 Pictures and captions by Alfred B Butler, Pullman WA collection of Bruce Butler PowerPoint presentation by Bruce Butler. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
1953 cab ride across the Great Northern’s electrified subdivision
Westbound on train #5, the Cascade, in diesel 251-A
Eastbound on train #2, the Empire Builder, in motor 5019
Pictures and captions by Alfred B Butler, Pullman WAcollection of Bruce Butler
PowerPoint presentation by Bruce Butler
Summer 1953 cab ride across GN’s electrified zoneIntroduction by Bruce Butler
Dick Harbour was a Professor of Electrical Engineering at Washington State College in PullmanWA. Every summer he would arrange a field trip for some students. In the summer of 1953this was a trip in the locomotive cab across GN’s electrified zone from Wenatchee to Skykomishon train #5, the Cascadian and returning on train #2, the Empire Builder. The student who wasscheduled for this trip had to cancel at the last minute. My father, Alfred B Butler, was aProfessor of Physics at WSC. Dick, knowing my father’s interest in trains and his specialinterest in railroad electrification, invited him to take the students’ place on the trip. I alsowanted to go very badly, but at age 13 was deemed to be too young for such an adventure.Maybe dad just didn’t want to rock the boat and possibly loose out on a good thing!
I did get to go that morning when we dropped him at the Wenatchee station to get onto #5, andagain that evening when #2 arrived. These pictures were taken by him on both the westboundtrip and on the eastbound return trip. While the “Cascadian” used a 2-unit FT diesel set that ranthrough from Spokane to Seattle, the eastbound “Empire Builder” had one of the big W classelectric motors built by General Electric in 1948.
My father was born in 1911 and developed an early interest in things scientific and technical.The Milwaukee’s electrification project was big news when he was a boy and it captured hisimagination and interest. He grew up in Spokane WA where his father, Alfred D Butler, was theSpokane City Engineer and made frequent trips to the coast. His preferred route was alwayson the Great Northern.
The remainder of this presentation is taken from images I scanned from my father’s photoalbum. The picture captions are his.
Original trip notes by Alfred B Butler - part 1
Original trip notes by Alfred B Butler - part 2
1.1 - No. 5 holds the “Main” at Monitor for a meet with No. 6.
1.2 - 12:51 PM No. 6 shows up on time
1.3 - Eastbound “Cascadian” growles slowly into the passing track.
1.4 - Diesel 251-A idles waiting for #6 to clear. #251-A doing 330 miles/day has run over 1,800,000 miles. 1350 hp each unit.
1.5 -Engineer Al White notches back the throttle with an eye on ammeter. 1000 amps. #250 and #251 are the oldest FTs on GN. 75 RPM per throttle notch.
1.6 - 5 cars trail #251. Friction 5# per ton. Load 20# per ton on 1% grade.