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Summer 2006
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Push Comes to Shove at Rogers
by Adam Meeks - Transportation Calgary
A four-unit
manned pusher set assists with westbound train 819-076 at Rogers.
Ingenuity is not new to CPR. It has been a part of everyday operation since the company charter was signed; and, in
August 2006, in the heart of Rogers Pass, it is alive and well.
During a recent six-week work project in the Mt. Shaughnessy tunnel, CPR reactivated the last manned
pusher district on a North American Class-1 railway. Two sets of 4,400-horsepower
locomotives with dedicated crews waited for westbound trains at Rogers, B.C., where they were coupled into trains to
assist with the climb to Stoney Creek. Once the trains reached the top of the hill, the pusher engines were cut out
and returned to Rogers to await the next train. During 12-hour work blocks, these pushers worked
tirelessly to keep the railway fluid - and the results were commendable.
To some, the idea of using extra locomotives to push trains over a mountain may not seem all that special. To the
people involved, however, it was an opportunity to experience a taste of history while helping to move the company
forward. Rogers was once a permanent base for pusher operations on the infamous Beaver Hill, and employed a dozen
locomotives and nearly 15 employees full-time. Many of the running trades employees who worked this
summer's pusher operation are veterans of the original pusher jobs, and their experience went a long way toward
helping the operation run smoothly.
Technology has become an ally as well. CPR's modern feet of AC-traction locomotives has reduced the
number of units needed to move heavy bulk trains over the pass from 12 to 7, while saving fuel in the process.
Revelstoke road manager Gary Channell also credits initiatives like "train area marshalling" (TrAM) for
helping to make the operation more efficient. "Having everything marshalled properly right out of Calgary takes
a lot of the guess work out of the push", he says. "We know right where to cut the units in, and train
handling is better too".
The pushers' record speaks for itself: as of 22 Aug 2006, 77 trains had been pushed up the 2.4
percent grade without a single incident. Even more impressive, all of this was done seamlessly in cooperation with
engineering services (ES), as they worked to get the tunnel back in shape.
Just as the original pushers were no longer required once the Rogers Pass project was completed in 1988, the engines
and crews working this new pusher operation were soon back to their "regular" jobs.
Like the RTCs on the radio, the ES crews under the mountain, and the managers overseeing the operation, the pusher
crews can take satisfaction in knowing that this project couldn't have been done without them.
It is a testament to the skill and dedication of everyone involved that the work was completed safely and quickly,
and a demonstration of what can be accomplished through teamwork, innovation, and ingenuity.
From left, back, Kaely Dekker, Larry Parker, Judd Popplewell, Terry
Fischer, Alan Young, Rod Spence, Scott Swift. Front, Kevin Hrysak, Sue Hayes, Gary Channel, Greg Wayne, Brad
Templeton. Missing, Henry Okumura, Mike Benedict.
This Canadian Pacific Spanner article
is copyright 2006 by the Canadian Pacific Railway and is reprinted here with their
permission. All photographs, logos, and trademarks are the property of the Canadian Pacific Railway
Company.
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