I need some help interpreting some UP train symbols from a March 14, 1987 Union Pacific lineup sheet. The symbols that I am confused by are the ones in red. I'm not sure how this will appear, but here goes. They didn't show up in red! Look for the question marks, I guess. Union Pacific Eastbound Lineup Symbol Description 03/14/87 AMT26 Amtrak Pioneer 2PDNPZ Second Section: Portland-North Platte Intermodal SECSZ Seattle-Canal Street (Chicago) Intermodal Z=Expedited UPS GESECB Grain Empty Seattle-Council Bluffs SENP1 Seattle-North Platte 1=Monday? HKPC Hinkle-Pocatello SENP2 Seattle-North Platte 2=Tuesday? HKLA Hinkle-Los Angeles 2SENP2 Second Section: Seattle-North Platte (2=?) HKPC Hinkle-Pocatello SENP1 Seattle-North Platte 1=? Stack Train? PDNPZ Portland-North Platte Intermodal UPS PDNPP Portland-North Platte Perishable GEKACB Grain Empty Kalama-Council Bluffs SECSZ Seattle-Canal Street (Chicago) Intermodal UPS 2PDNPZ Second Section: Portland-North Platte Intermodal UPS 3PDNPZ Third Section: Portland-North Platte Intermodal UPS SENP2 Seattle-North Platte (Stack?) HKLA Hinkle-Los Angeles HKPC Hinkle-Pocatello GEKACB Grain Empty: Kalama-Council Bluffs SENP1 Seattle-North Platte (Stack?) Westbound Lineup 03/14/87 GLNEKA Grain Loaded: Nebraska?-Kalama SCHK Salt Lake City-Hinkle SASHN Soda Ash N=? Intemodal Code? Meaning??? GLNEKA Grain Loaded: Nebraska?-Kalama NPHK North Platte-Hinkle GLMEKA Grain Loaded: Memphis????(Don’t think so!)-Kalama NPSE North Platte-Seattle 2NPHK Second Section: North Platte-Hinkle GLNEKA Grain Loaded: Nebraska?-Kalama NPSET North Platte-Seattle Trailer Intermodal? SASHN Soda Ash N=? PCHK Pocatello-Hinkle SCHK Salt Lake City-Hinkle GLDEPD Grain Loaded: Denver-Portland NPHK North Platte-Hinkle PCHK Pocatello-Hinkle CSSEZ Canal Street (Chicago)-Seattle Intermodal Expedited UPS GLNEKA Grain Loaded: Nebraska?-Kalama SASHN Soda Ash N=? NPSE North Platte-Seattle NPSET North Platte-Seattle (Trailer & Boxcar Manifest?) MKTAD Maresk-Tacoma Stack D=Dock? Thanks for the assistance. [ April 12, 2005, 08:37 PM: Message edited by: upguy ]
I'll try to help out some. On the SENP traffic, it's Seattle to North Plate, 1=Monday, 2=Tuesday, 3=Wednesday, 4=Thursday, 5=Friday, 6=Saturday and 7=Sunday for the way the symbols are listed. I don't see any discription codes in the symbols. GLNEKA=Grain from Lincoln, NE to Elko, NV and I'm not sure about the A at the end of the symbol. Z, K, N,and Q symbols at the end are Intermodel trains. SASHN=San Antonio, TX to Shreveport, LA intermodel. GLNEKA=Grain Lincoln, NE to Elko, NV, not sure about the A at the end. NPSET=North Platte,NE to Seattle, WA trailers. MKTAD=Mankato, MN to Trona, CA multiple sections. I hope this helps.
I believe that you are correct about the numbers at the end standing for the day of the week. i.e. 1=Monday, 2= Tuesday, etc. One thing I forgot to mention is that these trains are passing through the Blue Mountains in eastern Oregon. (I think it is the area of the Mountain Dispatching District, but I'm not sure.) The timetable shows them passing through Hinkle, La Grande, Nampa, and Pocatello. So, I am quite sure that the GLNEKA symbol refers to a LOADED GRAIN train heading to KALAMA, Washington, where there is a large export grain terminal. What I don't know is what the "NE" in the symbol means. I assume that it stands for the origin. Perhaps NE stands for Nebraska, but I don't know. The sheet of UP symbols that I have do not include "NE" or "ME." The three GLNEKA trains in this lineup average 120+ loaded grain cars. (Information on the lineup sheet that I didn't include in my original post because of the amount of typing it would have required.) Although Lincoln may be a likely origin point for this train(s), I don't think these trains are headed for Elko. Also, because of the area these trains passing through, the SASHN train can not be originating from and destined to the cities that the SA and SH would indicate. (Some of these letter combinations can mean different things in different parts of the country, and I think that is the case here.) An engineer that I talked to some time ago (who works this particular stretch of track) told me that this was a soda ash train. Given that information as fact...than what does the N stand for? If he told me that, I didn't write it down; and now, I can't remember it. The only other real questions that I have are the "ME" in the GLMEKA train...another loaded grain train heading to Kalama, WA (but where did it originate?); and the "D" in the MKTAD train (a Maresk stack train, I was told). I believe it is headed to Tacoma, WA where the containers were to be loaded on a container ship. Does the "D" mean the fourth train in a multiple section train, or does it mean something else? Thanks for the help so far. You have confirmed some of my information; and, perhaps, with this additional information someone can help with the questions still remaining. [ April 12, 2005, 11:41 PM: Message edited by: upguy ]
