Rogers Pass BC - "Thanks for the push" has been a typical radio response here this summer, as westbound CPR train crews saluted the pusher crews tucked safely in the backtrack at Stoney Creek siding. For the first time since the completion of the new main line through Mount MacDonald, regular manned helpers have been in operation through BC's Selkirk Mountains on the steeper "Connaught Track" between Rogers and Stoney Creek siding. The territory is CPR's Mountain Subdivision between Field and Revelstoke, BC.
 
Since 1989, the Connaught Track with its 2.3 percent grade has been the downhill route for most eastbound traffic. The MacDonald Track, with an easier one percent incline, has handled most of the uphill westbound movements, particularly heavy unit trains of export coal, potash, and grain. But with the Shaughnessy Tunnel in need o repair, the Mac Track was temporarily closed.
 
"Squeezing all our traffic through on the Connaught Track represented a significant operational challenge to the NMC (Network Management Center), as well as to our employees in the BC interior", said Stan Bell, field operations service area manager in Revelstoke. "And the performance has been outstanding".
 
Mountain Subdivision Rail Traffic Controller Barb McAstocker explained that "The single track operation required opposing trains to meet at sidings at Glacier, Stoney Creek, and Griffith - rare occurrences under normal operations. Train crews that have never before had to make a Griffith meet had to be cautious coming down the grade into the siding". It was also a challenge "juggling trains longer than normal, to meet or pass other trains", she said.
 
Until the new westbound track was completed, the main line up the Beaver River Valley had always required helper engines for heavy trains. In steam days, pushers operated uphill from a facility at Beavermouth (east of Rogers), through the Connaught Tunnel to a wye (or turning track) at Glacier. Diesel pushers took over in the 1950s. The terminal was moved to Rogers in 1974 to accommodate the construction of a dam on the Columbia River. Following the completion of the Mount MacDonald Tunnel track in 1988, the manned helpers were discontinued and the pusher station at Rogers retired.
 
To provide for the necessary work blocks, and to keep traffic moving, manned helpers were reinstated. "The foresight of building the MacDonald Tunnel became readily apparent once we lost the use of it", said Brian Hodgkins, assistant director in the Network Management Center. Going back to single track operation required us to dust off the best-practices of the past. Crews experienced with this type of operation became a distinct asset".
 
Beginning in early August, two four-unit sets of AC4400 locomotives were based at Rogers, designated "Push 1" and "Push 2", each set generating 17,600 horsepower.
 
The pusher crews were housed at Glacier Park Lodge at the summit of Rogers Pass.
 
Revelstoke engineer Bob Eley, one of those experienced with pusher operations, explained that trains are longer and heavier than they were back in the eighties, so the equipment is under extra stress. "Each little locomotive slip puts a lot of strain on the knuckle", he said. "There was a learning curve for both train and pusher engineers, as we adapted to the new realities. But one thing these big locomotives do well is pull".
 
Between shifts, the crews spent time at the lodge. "One ting I have enjoyed is the camaraderie that has developed", Bob said. "At mealtime, we all sit together, talking about the day's pushes or when we're going to go to work again. A real closeness has developed amongst all involved".

Tunnel Gets New Lining

Steel forms:  200 feet of new lining was installed

Hundreds of feet below the pusher operations, work progressed inside the Mount Shaughnessy Tunnel. Crews from CPR maintenance contractor Emil Anderson Construction (EAC) were busy working at each end of the 1.1 mile (1.8 Km) bore.
 
About 200 feet of lining would be required near the east portal, and more inside the west portal.
 
Large steel concrete forms, 36 feet long by 20 feet high (11 by 6 meters) were used, but because the strength of the surrounding rock was questionable, rock anchors could not be used to hold the forms. Instead, large cross-struts were required over the track to hold the forms in place until the concrete cured. "Each pour required a work block of 36 hours to move the forms, install the struts, place and cure the concrete, and strip the forms before traffic could resume", said Danny Wong, CPR structures specialist.
 
The steel forms were set seven times between 9 August 2002 and the end of September, while another EAC crew drilled and inserted reinforcing rods for new infill pours near the west end. Finally, to complete the job, the contractor sprayed "shotcrete", a finishing layer, onto the arched ceiling of the tunnel, this time requiring only 12 hour work blocks.
 
The tunnel work was scheduled to be complete by the end of September. The pushers will again be history. Or, as Stan said, "We're ready to step back to the future".