GettingReal Column - 8
10: The right side of the train sheet lists thewestbound
trains that day including thewestboundpassenger
trainNo. 3which left El Portal at 7:00 p.m. and train
No. 9, the log train, which started the day as east-
boundNo. 8 and becameNo. 9 after turning on the
wye atMossCanyon. Next is theMerced Local run-
ning as an extrawith engine 29. Extra 23 is the 4-4-0
helper running light fromEl Portal back toMerced (11)
while the last column is the log train engine running
extra fromMerced Falls toMerced to be servicedover
theweekend.
10
11: This is thedispatcher’s journal entry for trainorder
1 for August 4, 1939.Most dispatchers scrawleda large
“D” (or their initials) over a trainorderwhen itwas
completemeaning that itwas transmittedcorrectly and
couldbedelivered to theappropriate traincrews.
11
Thefirst lineof this trainorderbeginswith1 (theTOnumber)
followedbyRo (theabbreviation forEl Portalwhere theTOwill
be issued; stationabbreviationsarediscussed in the sidebar)
andC&E (ConductorandEngineer) Eng (Engine) 23andanote
that theengineerwasMonson. Thenext line reads “Engine23
runextraEl Portal toMerced.”Note thatnopunctuationwas
used in trainorders.Although the trainorder isaddressed to
theconductorandengineer, therewasnoconductoron this
engine, only theengineerandfireman. Theywould run light (no
caboose)back toMercedbutwere still required todisplaymark-
ers. TheYVenginesall hadmarkerbracketsmountedon the rear
of the tenderandcarriedmarkers for just thispurpose (12).
Locals
TheYV typically ran locals fromeachendof the lineas extras
onMondays throughSaturdaysunder trainorders issued
before their departure.OnFridays, engine28,whichwasused
MRH-Apr2014
