Helper Operations: Part 1

 A major part of the operating scheme of AIR 1 was the grade and helper operations. AIR1 was double decked, and had a long continuous grade,  as opposed to a helix, connecting the decks. “The Grade” was 86’ long and had various different sections that were at different gradients. The first 24’ out of Pettigrew was at 3%. This continued to the west switch at Salisbury, where the grade leveled to 1%, and at the east switch of Salisbury the grade increased to 2% for the remainder of the trip up to Summit, where, at the west switch Summit, the grade leveled out to 0.

I liked the grade and arranged motive power in such a way that no train could, generally, climb the grade with out help.

Helpers were stationed at Pettigrew, and these helpers were operated by the person who chose the Helper job.

There were three sets of helpers, a 2-10-2, a 2-8-8-2, and a pair of 2-6-6-2’s. The three separate sets, the 2-6-6-2’s were permanently consisted together and always acted as “One” locomotive, were assigned to so called “Advanced consists” in such a way that depending on what cab number you dialed up you could control one engine, or ANY  combination of helpers as needed to move a train up grade.

Once at Summit the helpers cut out and either came down grade or sat until such time as the dispatcher could move them down grade against traffic.

Since their were three different helper sets there usually was always one available in Pettigrew to help a train up grade. When all three were up at Summit, they were consisted together, received a train order, and brought down as one “train”.

The helper engineer simply walked back and forth between Pettigrew and Summit if there was another train to help. And trains waited at Pettigrew until the Helper engineer got back to Pettigrew. Sometimes, but not often a second helper engineer got drafted off the extra board to run a second independent helper, but I discouraged this as it drained the pool of available engineers for at least the time it took to get a train up grade, which was twenty minutes if everything went smoothly.

I swear everyone said they hated it but the “Helper Job” always was filled very quickly. Visitors often commented that they did not see the “play value “ in the job, but I never had a hard time filling it. This is the same argument for a “Clerk” position,  I cannot see the attraction, but just try to get that job, it’s always filled.

Helpers run up grade on the orders of the train they are helping, that is once they couple to that train they are part of that train. Once at Summit they MUST receive orders to come down. If I had been smart I would have built the entire grade with double track, installed ABS signals, and put the whole thing under rule 251, then helpers could have drifted back down grade, and a lot of grief over helpers returning to Pettigrew could have been avoided.

On AIR2 the design calls for a helix. I have devoted quite a bit of space to the helix, and some will likely be removed to allow other features to creep into the layouts design. Currently the footprint of the helix is 9’ x 7’!; I plan a 1% double track oval helix, with the tracks fully or partially exposed on two sides, and some early grandiose plans for a ABS signal system. Traffic will run right hand, “current of traffic” under rule 251.

This would be the helper grade, which I’m calling Cedar Creek Grade, and I have no idea how helper operations will pan out. AIR2 will start out fully dieselized, and the grade, at 1%,  is not nearly as challenging. I believe it will be long, possibly longer than AIR 1’s. The double track design will allow helpers to descend the grade with only a clearance, and the ABS signals.

If we choose to run without the signals and in order to speed the order issuing process I have considered printing up pre-written orders with blanks at the appropriate spots:

AFTER HELPING ————— TO SUMMIT ————— RUN EXTRA SUMMIT TO PETTIGREW

The operator could have a stack of these on hand and simply fill in the blanks and issue.

Helper operations were a popular feature of AIR 1’s operation. Do you run helper operations on your layout? What are your procedures for helpers?