I decided that I should start putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) and share some of my experiences. I always enjoyed writing, though I'm not the best at it. I pretty much forgot everything I learned in all my English classes. So if I shift verb tenses here and there (one of my bad habits), please forgive me. I also lost my paragraph indentations in the copy-paste action.
I changed the name of places and trains, to protect the guilty (mainly, me!). But all the other details are as accurate as I can remember them.
If you enjoy this, I may have a couple more I can write up as time allows. Enough of my blathering, time for Vol. 1:
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The Empty Flat Special
by: zug.
I believe it was late afternoon when I got the call a year ago. I was still working the road extra list at the time. I was informed that I was to conduct an extra train to Harpersville. The train carried a special symbol, one reserved for special moves, high and wides, MOW work, anything that isn't of the norm. My engineer was also off the list, a nice guy, OK to work with, but was also quite a character. Not bad for a trip or two, but not the type I'd want to work with every day. He had a way of attracting attention to himself while I always preferred to be the silent type that flies under the radar.
I showed up at the designated yard where we were to footboard relieve the inbound crew on the mainline. A foot-board relief is the best type. No handbrakes to release, no 3 hour switching exercises with the power, so it was looking to shape up to be a nice trip. It was a nice summer afternoon, temperatures around 70, just a beautiful day for an afternoon/evening train ride.
A crew van drove us out to the automatic signal where we re-crew mainline trains. Our train pulled up. It was an entire train of empty military flats with heavy tie-down chains. The kind used to transport all the big military machines like tanks, APCs, and humvees. There's a national guard unit over by Harpersville and this train must be for them.
First problem I noticed was the lead engine. It was, as I deem them, the pride of the south. A standard cab SD60 that, despite having a low short nose, is set up for long hood lead. That means when it is facing short nose out (like most normal engines) the control stand is on the “wrong side”. Not a huge problem, except it means that as a conductor, you have to crawl over the hogger's lap every time you go in or out the front door. Some engineers, depending on the who the conductor was, may have enjoyed that. The fact it was a SD60 in and of itself wasn't the problem. Quite the contrary, for a road man (and railfan) like myself, I enjoyed older power, especially standard cab EMDs. The issue was the engine lacked cab signals. While we were not presently in cab signal territory, the last 30 miles of our run we would be, and thus would have to find a new leader. And we couldn't use our second engine, as it was a KCS SD40-2. This trip was not as easy as I'd originally hoped. Perhaps another hint was the lead engine number. I forget the fourth digit, but the first three were “666”. One of the infamous “El Diablo” engines.
We climbed in and got ourselves settled in the cab and my hogger called the dispatcher. He tried to get us out of our duties based on religious principles and the lead cab number, but the dispatcher wouldn't buy it tonight. He did get a hearty laugh out of the attempt, though. We were informed that we were to attach a new leader when we reached Adamsville Yard. Adamsville is a small local yard that is also the last spot before we enter cab signal territory. With those instructions understood, we were given the signal (an approach) and were turned lose on the mainline. As we picked up speed, it was apparent something was wrong. The engine started slamming side to side, like it was inflicted with major flat spots. At the next interlocking signal two miles down the track we had to stop anyhow. We both jumped down and started examining the wheels, looking for flat spots. Nothing was found. When the signal lit up, we once again took off east.
The problem didn't go away like magic, unfortunately. Once again the engine was bucking like a wild bronco, and it seemed to get worse as you entered left-hand curves. It wasn't too hard to imagine the whole train just leaping itself off the track. The hogger once again called the dispatcher. He told us we could bring the train to a stop at the next interlocking to take a closer look, and to let him know if we found anything. We repeated the procedure of examining every wheel and found nothing. Nothing leaking, nothing blowing, and nothing dragging. That's about all you can expect from a couple T&E guys. The dispatcher (one of the best on our division) told us he would try to get us a machinist at Adamsville to take a look, and that we were OK to proceed at whatever reduced speed the engineer deemed safe.
It was now getting dark and our train was poking along below 30mph. Everything seemed to be going OK. the train is still banging back and forth, but with the slower speeds, it isn't nearly as bad. We both could stay in our seats and not end up on the floor. A good thing since those floors are not the cleanest. We finally dropped down into Adamsville. Just a trip across a bridge, over a dragging equipment detector, and we would be at the yard. I'm fighting to keep my eyes open when the harsh computer voice of the detector starts screaming on the radio:
“CRITICAL ALARM...CRITICAL ALARM...DRAGGING EQUIPMENT...AXLE 162.... CRITICAL ALARM...CRITICAL ALARM...DRAGGING EQUIPMENT...AXLE 162”
--continued next post--
The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer, any other railroad, company, or person.
Remember those tie-down chains I mentioned earlier? I was guessing one of them slid off. We brought the train to a safe, controlled stop. The Adamsville yardmaster, hearing the detector, calls us up to tell us that he's sending a car inspector out to give me a hand. That was nice of him. I grab my light (pitch dark now) and drop down and start walking back. I got to the offending axle and sure enough, a tie down chain not only slid off the flatcar deck, but actually wrapped itself around the cut lever three or four times. I can only imagine what kind of light show that thing was throwing off as it was bouncing along the ground. I was also amazed it didn't separate the air hoses or even manage to lift the cut lever. At that time the car inspector drives up and gives me a hand in getting the chain secured.
Since the car inspector had his trusty company Ford F250 (even if it's 2wd... bunch of tightwads) and there was a handy access road along side the main, we drove along the rest of the train to make sure nothing else was dragging. Let me take this time to mention that car inspectors are some of the coolest people on the railroad. Every one I met was always willing to lend a helping hand (or ride).
The car inspector drive me to the head end, and we started to move. The yardmaster told us to pull up near the office where a machinist would meet us. He came aboard, looked around, asked a few questions and told us a pinion gear might need lubed (or something like that). He sad he'd have the engine shopped when it reached Harpersville (in case you forgot, that is where this train is supposed to go). We were given the go ahead to go to the east end of the yard to get our add-on engine. There at the end of the designated track was a C40-9w. Facing the wrong way. Sigh. To be fair, we could have ran long hood forward with it, as it is equipped with ditchlights and cab-signal pickup bars on both end. But the yardmaster told us to turn it on the wye.
Now I have to stop and qualify you on some physical characteristics of the railroad. After leaving Adamsville, we must travel on half a mile going east on a regional railroad to access our mainline to Harpersville. But to get to the wye, you have to go west on the same regional. Not a major problem, but neither one of us has ever gone west on that particular railroad. I'm always up for learning new things, but my hogger was anxious and nervous. The yardmaster offered a solution that made him happy: he'd send out a yard crew to wye the C40-9W and bring it back to us.
By the time the yard crew showed up, we were already on duty ten hours. We'd have to push it to get the train into Harpersville Yard. And to complicate matters, Harpersville also hosts an intermodal yard, and one of the hottest trains on the division leaves there about 5am. So once you get close to that time, everything else gets shoved into a siding so you don't risk delaying the hotshot. The yard crew knew this, and were hoping that they could relieve us right there in Adamsville and then they could take the train to Harpersville. That way they would get a penalty day in their paycheck since they would be leaving yard limits. They took the engine out and returned an hour or hour and a half later. And at that time, the yardmaster at Admasville told us to look for a van as the yard crew was going to take over our train. We would take rubber wheels to the hotel in Harpersville. At least the yard crew had something go in their favor that night. It was all over for us. Just a stop at a convenience store for food, then to crash in the hotel to wait for the phone to ring once again.
It's funny – you never remember the good trips where everything goes to plan. But you always remember the days when everything falls apart. And thus was my experience with the empty flats, and our bucking bronco, El Diablo.
Zug.
Good story!
Keep 'em coming -- you're almost making me wistful I was back on the console on afternoons instead of living in an airport and answering the Blackberry at 0400 on Sunday.
RWM
That must've been something to behold!! From behind a barricade!!
There are a few places that the GEXRR still seems to use as wyes---although my not so favourite section is the track that comes out of Goderich harbour via a long grade up the valley, across a bridge on the same grade mind, then doubles back on itself to come east out of that same valley. When I used to visit a client there I'd take pix of the GP40's used at the time just plodding up the grade with a full cut of cars---probs 50(?)---and just hammering up that grade----I recently got a scanner and am now just starting to put the pix into my computer
BTW---what I've seen of your writing I don't think that you'd have ANY difficulty being a writer. Thanks for reminding us on what RR'ing can involve!!
More please!
Any argument carried far enough will end up in Semantics--Hartz's law of rhetoric Emerald. Leemer and Southern The route of the Sceptre Express Barry
I just started my blog site...more stuff to come...
http://modeltrainswithmusic.blogspot.ca/
blownout cylinder More please!
Dan
Ditto to be sure...your story was very captivating and I read each and every word while wondering "what next?". Please keep your stories coming...especially if others are half as interesting as the first. Thanks
CNW 6000 blownout cylinder More please! Yes, more!
ABSOLUTELY, THANKS FOR YOUR STOIRY!
Glad you guys enjoyed it. Unfortunately, unless stuff gets straightened out on this forum, there won't be a volume 2.
Sorry.
What????!!!! Problems on this forum????!!!!
I'm astonished...I'm aghast!!!!! I'm so....so....so very not surprised.
MurrayWhat????!!!! Problems on this forum????!!!! I'm astonished...I'm aghast!!!!! I'm so....so....so very not surprised.
What's that old saying? Ah yes, absolute power corrupts absolutely.
zugmann Glad you guys enjoyed it. Unfortunately, unless stuff gets straightened out on this forum, there won't be a volume 2. Sorry.
Zug,
Don't let it grind you down. I enjoy your writing. Keep it up.
Bucyrus zugmann Glad you guys enjoyed it. Unfortunately, unless stuff gets straightened out on this forum, there won't be a volume 2. Sorry. Zug, Don't let it grind you down. I enjoy your writing. Keep it up.
I agree with this
Don't let it get you down! Keep up with your writing
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