1967 SN Joint Special Instructions

Tidewater & Southern Railway

Beginning in 1967, the SN and TS began issueing joint timetables and special instructions.  This mirrored the long-time integration of many functions of the two WP subsidiaries, including the sharing of officers and joint use of MOW equipment.  The SN-TS timetables would be short lived, however.  By the early 1970's, WP would integrate SN and TS information into their system timetables.

TS instructions started on page 13 of the booklet.  Many had to do with the special operating requirements presented by Ninth Street in Modesto, including prohibitions on blocking traffic and allowing right of way to emergency vehicles.

Of special note is RULE 17 (F) which governed the use of the spotlights mounted to the roof of all TS diesel locomotives after the 1950's.  These lights had a handle inside the cab and were similar to the spotlights used on police cars.  They were installed as a safety measure following a large number of expensive grade crossing accidents.  They were only found on Tidewater engines.

The Yard Limits table on page 15 is actually a seperate piece of paper that has been pasted into the book.  Presumably, this was omitted unintentionally from the original printing.  The table for Engine Speed Restrictions lists all current SN and TS classes, as well as 504-511, which were WP Alco S1s.  These locomotives were also the only "foreign" units listed in the 1961 TS Timetable, although they have been rarely photographed or mentioned as having run on the TS.  Note that they owning road is not mentioned for any of the locomotives.

Another interesting item is the listing of W. P. Shoemake of Modesto as an official watch inspector.  Shoemake is a station along the TS and was likely named for the family.