Passenger special Sapulpa-OKC Oklahoma

[Run 8]

Heads up-The second of 3 scheduled round trips of the Eastern Flyer is set to run tomorrow. The train will be deadheaded from OKC to Sapulpa leaving OKC very early Saturday (0200-0300), and depart Sapulpa for Oklahoma City at 0800 making station stops at Bristow (0835) and Stroud (0910). Consist is SLWC freight locomotives, two bi level coaches, ex NYC diner, ex ATSF full dome, and ex IC round observation car Ponchatrain Club. I believe it will be push-pull, loco on either end, I don't think they can turn it at Sapulpa easily. Found a video clip on YouTube from last weekends trip, taken from a phone but gives you an idea of what's running.

 

[RCH]

Wow, I had no idea the track was good for that kind of speed.

Any idea why it couldn't be turned at Sapulpa? It seems like you could go around the south leg, shove north, then come back west through the wye. That way you'd be protecting fewer grade crossings during the shove.

I am not qualified on passenger equipment, so I can only think of two ways you could set up push-pull. First, if the cars are all equipped with MU cables and main reservoir, independent and actuating air hoses, then you could just MU the locomotives with the cars between them. I've never messed with passenger equipment, so I don't know. Otherwise, you could DP them, if the engines are equipped for DP. If not, all I can think of it setting up the rear motor dead in tow. Maybe the train is run like it has a manned helper? Am I missing something?

 

[Run 8]

Sorry, maybe push-pull wasn't the right phrase, in the true passenger set up sense-I just meant, a loco on each end, pulling from one end, then cutting it out and running from the oposite end. The rear loco isn't DPU'd or MU'd through the cars for these kinds of operations, just dead in tow but provides a cab on each end to avoid running around or wying the whole consist. Theoretically they COULD go around the Wye, but who knows how long it would take to make that move, getting in and out of that area with the traffic from Cherokee Yard can be troublesome, guess it's better to not involve joint operations to make the move happen on time I suppose.

Track speed is Class 2 good currently for 25 Freight 30 Passenger. There is talk that it cold go to Class 3 track (40 freight/ up to 60 for passenger in the near future if they decide to make this a normal run. It wasn't that long ago that it WAS Class 3 track, but downgraded due to a lack of need to maintain that classification for just one or two freights a day. Has been a lot of work on that line over the last few years, it's in pretty good shape. Really, I think the simple fact it's dark territory will be the limiting factor in the long run.