10 minute read
Western Region
ARZC Welcomes New GE Locomotives
As part of its plan to convert its fleet from Electromotive to General Electric locomotives, Arizona & California Railroad (ARZC) last spring took possession of four new Tier 1 GE locomotives and painted them in G&W colors. In late summer, ARZC Mechanical employees and representatives from Wabtec were updating systems and computers to Positive Train Control (PTC) compliance. The new units were expected to be ready for general use by the end of October. ARZC General Manager Kevin Jones looks forward to the savings and efficiency from these locomotives.
“They’ll give us the capability of running on BNSF lines, in
PTC territory,” says Jones.
New Tier 1 locomotives join the ARZC fleet.
ARZC employees and Wabtec representatives team up to prepare the new locomotives.
Western Region
Kyle Railroad leadership from left are Trainmaster Matt Blad, Roadmaster Tracy Atchison, Office Manager Sonja Kinter, Trainmaster Chuck Fite, General Manager Marv Lockman, Director of Engineering and Maintenance of Way Tim Schweitzer, Marketing and Sales Manager Deb Alexander, Assistant General Manager Gary Niblock and Mechanical Manager Mike Runnion.
TOP-LEVEL LEADERSHIP KEEPS KYLE ON EVEN KEEL
Stable leadership has fueled four decades of successful growth in the nation’s heartland for Kyle Railroad (KYLE). Farm commodities, especially dryland grain, are sold and stored year-round, providing the major source of carloads for KYLE, which has come a long way since February 15, 1982, when it interchanged its first freight cars at Courtland, Kansas. Most of its management team has worked together more than a quarter century, which not only makes for a strong family atmosphere but reinforces a sense of dependability to its customers, who know it’s likely they’ll be working with the same people years from now. “We have the most experienced, qualified people,” says Roadmaster Tracy Atchison (36 years at KYLE). “Our experience says a lot. There aren’t too many places where the shop manager has 30 years, the AGM, the office manager, the roadmasters have 30 years – the list goes on.” Treating people right and building solid infrastructure combine to create trust and reliability, says Office Manager Sonja Kinter (32 years). Marketing and Sales Manager Deb Alexander (27 years) believes a customer-first mindset motivates every employee. “Whether it is a 100-car spot or one-car spot, we treat everyone the same,” she says. “It’s a huge thing for our customers to get their products to the mills.”
UGAITAFA ACHIEVES STABILITY, AIMS FOR GROWTH AT SJVR
With a year of stability behind him, Jesse Ugaitafa is optimistic about opportunities for growth at San Joaquin Valley Railroad (SJVR). When Ugaitafa took over as general manager in September 2021, SJVR was down about 20 employees. In less than a year, the railroad was fully staffed. “I think the area is a very fertile area for new business developments,” he says. “The renewable
diesel opportunities are abundant here, and we have a big focus on that moving forward.”
Other priorities are employee security and safety, including safeguarding against vandalism. The 10-year G&W veteran likes the company’s focus on safety and appreciates its overall corporate culture. Ugaitafa came to SJVR from Portland & Western Railroad (PNWR), where he served as assistant general manager for about a year. Prior to that, he was Director of Operations for Rail Link in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Previously, he spent eight years in the U.S. Army as an intelligence officer, based much of that time in Fort Lewis, Washington.
Ryan Hernandez has ramped up his participation in Operation Lifesaver (OL) and is looking to do even more. Since 2014, Hernandez, assistant roadmaster at Arizona Eastern Railway (AZER), has been an OL volunteer, teaching the public about the potential risk of being careless at rail grade crossings. Every time he makes an appearance, he’s reminded about the importance of his work. He was motivated to become involved when, as a track inspector, he was distressed at how many people he saw drive around the flashing lights of crossing gates. “It is amazing how much the public doesn’t know about trains,” Hernandez says. “Everyone is always amazed about how long
trains take to come to a stop. We explain to them why they shouldn’t go around gates when they are down and you don’t see a train. We also explain how to read and use the Emergency Notification Sign.”
Along with Track Inspector Bobby Maldonado, Hernandez makes presentations at schools, businesses and community festivals. Although COVID-19 cancelled many of those events in 2020 and 2021, they resumed their OL involvement this year and looked forward to the annual SalsaFest in Safford, Arizona, where they hoped to book future appearances. “Lately it has been hard, but our goal is to get a presentation and a community event each month,” says Hernandez. “It is something I would like to make happen.”
Above: From left, Assistant Roadmaster Ryan Hernandez and Track Inspector Bobby Maldonado man the Operation Lifesaver booth at SalsaFest 2021.
At left: AZER Assistant Roadmaster Ryan Hernandez uses video to help make his point for rail safety at an elementary school in Pima, Arizona.
Western Region
Ken Nichols and his paternal grandfather, William Henry Nichols.
The pocket watch of Ken Nichols’ grandfather.
NICHOLS FINISHES GRANDFATHER’S
LAST RIDE
On October 12, Portland & Western Railroad (PNWR) Locomotive Engineer Ken Nichols concluded his 45-plus year career in a seemingly unusual place, Dresden, Kansas, a point nearly 1,500 miles from his normal on-duty location in Oregon. Ken and his brother, Mike, a railroad retiree with 43 years of service, had traveled to northwest Kansas to celebrate Ken’s retirement and simultaneously honor their grandfather, William Henry Nichols, a locomotive engineer who died on June 2, 1941, when the No. 6 Train derailed at 4:40 a.m. on a washed out section of the Rock Island Line. On Ken’s last day, he and his brother climbed aboard a Kyle Railroad (KYLE) locomotive stopped 6 miles east of Dresden, where their grandfather was fatally injured decades ago, and then completed his run to Phillipsburg, Kansas, roughly 60 miles away.
The sons of 37-year railroader Kenny Nichols devised the idea on the 80th anniversary of their grandfather’s death, as they visited the Sunflower State in 2021 to research their industrial patriarch’s career. Ken says, “On a whim, we thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool if I could finish his last trip on my last trip?’” To inquire about the feasibility, Ken reached out to KYLE General Manager Marv Lockman and Assistant General Manager Gary Niblock, who helped make the arrangements. Born in Albany, California, Ken became a Southern Pacific switchman on April 27, 1977. Marking up as a locomotive engineer in May 1981, Ken moved to the Portland area nine years later to work for the PNWR, which was acquired by G&W in 1993. Ken described his final run as a moving experience. “I looked out the window, saw the crop-filled fields and thought
‘This is the exact same view my grandfather had 80 years ago,’”
says Ken, who notes his grandfather’s pocket watch also made the journey.
“My grandfather had carried it with him over those tracks a number of times; however, when the accident occurred, it was being repaired at a jewelry shop in Goodland.”
After the jeweler returned the timepiece to Ken and Mike’s grandmother, she gifted it to their dad, who carried it until he retired and handed it on to them. Ken says he and his family, which includes his wife, Julie Ann, and their four daughters, are eternally grateful to G&W, KYLE and PNWR for allowing him to make his last trip on that particular stretch of track. “I want to thank everyone who helped make this happen for Mike and me,” says Ken. “It was a special experience, and now we can say we finished our grandfather’s last run.”
Ken and his brother, Mike Nichols, arrive at Dresden, Kansas.
Thune (top row, fourth from left) poses with a group of RCPE employees, customers and other RCPE stakeholders.
SENATOR JOHN THUNE VISITS RCPE
South Dakota U.S. Senator John Thune visited an employee recognition cookout at the Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern Railroad (RCPE) in Huron on Monday, August 22. Thune spoke to employees and had a brief tour of RCPE’s locomotive shop.
The event also included remarks from G&W CEO Jack Hellmann and was attended by six state and local officials and seven customers from four different companies served by RCPE.
Western Region
PALUCH’S INSTITUTIONAL MEMORY ‘HARD TO REPLACE’
Left: Surfacing crew at Wall, South Dakota, includes (front to back) Tim Paluch, back-up tamper operator; Ivan Loof, machine operator; Jim Lehman, regulator operator; and Earl Ruckdaschel, foreman. Above: Manager of Bridges & Structures Tim Paluch.
Tim Paluch saw the Engineering Department from many different angles during his time with the railroad.
Paluch retired on October 3, completing a career that began in 1986 with Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad (DME), where he worked as a track laborer and a bridge laborer. He advanced to track inspector and then to manager of bridges and structures for Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern Railroad (RCPE) when it acquired the west end of DME in 2014.
Working reportable injury-free throughout his 36-year career has been a highlight for the versatile Paluch, who will be “a tough one to replace,” says RCPE General Manager Rod Wiseman. “He’s a great coworker, an all-around good person and a good friend,” Wiseman says, noting that he knows so much about track and bridges. “He’s got an amazing memory. He can’t remember what he had for breakfast; but if you ask him about a bridge 100 miles away that he worked on several years ago, he could tell you everything about it.”
SCHIED HONORED FOR MAKING WISHES COME TRUE
In his time off, Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern Railroad (RCPE) Track Inspector Gerald Schied collects aluminum cans and scrap metal. He turns them in to a recycling center to benefit his favorite nonprofit, Make-A-Wish Foundation.
The 45-year railroad employee has raised more than $100,000 during his lifetime.
On June 29, when Schied received a safety award, he was further honored when G&W North American Operations President Michael Miller presented a $5,000 check to regional Make-A-Wish President and CEO Sue Salter. Salter gave a short speech on Schied’s behalf, highlighting what he has done for terminally ill children and their families in South Dakota.
From left are G&W President Michael Miller, RCPE Track Inspector Gerald Schied, Make-A-Wish South Dakota & Montana President & CEO Sue Salter and RCPE General Manager Rod Wiseman.
