Archie and Steven,
Whenever I got frogged it was in a position where a pole,tie butt,etc
wouldn't help. Here's one:(This is BN not Q era)
First trip as a setup Conductor and I catch the wayfreight around the horn.
Sunday westbound Eola-Mendota-Denrock-Savanna. Monday Savanna-Eola via C&I).
The entire regular crew laid off.That should have been my clue to get sick on
the call. The limit on the job was 25 cars,we worked at the limit both
ways.Keep
in mind this job stopped at every switch and never pulled or spotted more
than a handful of cars anywhere. I have two brakeman who can measure their
service in months and me who worked the job maybe three times as a brakie.
Somehow
we made Sundays' trip allright and delivered cars to what we believed were the
correct elevators,feed mills,fertz distributors,etc. Unlike a model RR the
full scale ones dont come with industry names on the back of buildings or on
tags
between the rails nor instructions as to which door or auger which product
belongs.
Mondays' trip was going along fine with our 25 plus cars. We made great time
up Burke Hill and started right out at Chadwick spotting a car of company rail
! Problem was there were two rail piles on the back track. Pick one and go as
there's noone around to tell you. So about 11 hours after starting out we're
coming into Hinckley with 6 loads of Fertz upfront for FS. Were eastbound on a
single trk mainline thats carrying 20 plus trains a day and the switch opens
west. I've got an hour to work before the hog law gets us. The engineer has
gone on record he doesn't want to take a cab ride and collect tow in time but
wants to put the engine on the pit at Eola.Unlike Bob Harding who was off.
We've
got a load for Big Rock that has already made three round trips from
Eola-Savanna and bye Big Rock each time as the other crews ran the work to get
in
under the law. The message with my orders says get the car spotted. So I can
set
the FS cars out downtown on the pass and let the next turn handle them or spend
an hour making this long runaround move and go dead or ...................
let's try dropping them into the stub at FS east of town.
Somehow Roger got up enough speed and we managed to accomplish dropping 6
hundred ton loads into the stub. Now the stub diverges sharply from the
mainline
and the cars bind in that angle and I can tell I'm going to end up with the
engine east of the switch,the train west of it sitting on the mainline and a
string of CH's hanging out on the main. As my mind envisions me walking to the
phone and calling the DS to send help and then the ensuing investigation for
delaying the entire RR a lightening bolt hits. I put my shoulder to the
creeping,almost stopped,string of cars and pushed,soon the two brakemen were
helping
and the cars rolled clear of the main ! We brought the engine in and spotted up
and headed east with the train.
The dispatcher calls and asks what work we have left do and time left. After
I reply there's a long silence and then he says "head for Eola" and run Big
Rock ! Roger did end taking a short cab ride from the east yard to the rdhse.
Next trip thru Hinckley on a through frt. I noted that the 4 of the six loads
had been pulled out of FS and run back into town on the pass. They only
wanted two at a time ?!
Leo
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