I wanted to get to Yampai with plenty of light left in the afternoon. Story goes that in the days of current of traffic railroading, dispatchers could tell how a train would do between Needles and Goffs based upon how they did on the grade between Pica and Yampai. This information was an important part of "figuring" where your trains were going to be, and when, so as to clear following hotshots; much as I did in keeping "pencil figures" on the trainsheet when dispatching UPs Third and Fourth Subdivisions of the Wyoming Division between Rawlins and Ogden, some years ago. BNSF 5191 climbs upgrade as it nears Yampai Summit with the Aubrey cliffs in the background. |