Along the line of what we've been discussing about track names goes the
term miscommunication or no communication. While not exactly tied together I
think you'll understand the stories(they unfortunately are true). Yes
100%.
I got tired of the brknms extra list and working 10 out of every 7
days,that's not a typo. So I looked around for something to bid in with a day
off every week. I won the 6PM Rochelle job. I knew why,the
Condrs nickname started with a G and he was the farthest thing from
sweet. You could work 16 hrs and he might say 10 words. Rarely tell you the next
move. But one thing was certain; he would do your work,the other brkmns
and his if you didnt keep up. And he'd leave you standing by the rails if
you didn't follow the move and get on for a long shove somewhere. After a
few weeks I figured out the job pattern and old G got to trust
me. One day he hands me the portable radio and says take this piggyback and put
it on the ramp. You have the OK to x/o at the depot and use the other main.
I'm going to sit here and smoke a cigarette. So off I go,we shove
downtown,x/o,go in on house 1 or was it called 2,that darn #ing system,plus
there wasnt a frt house. The tracks simply went behind the depot. Any way,there
was a boxcar or something in the way,so I set it over spotted the pig,set the
box back, came out on main 1,x/o'd to 2 and headed back out to Carnation. While
on the way an 82 went speeding past and didnt return our waive ? When I got out
to old G he asked me why I "stuck" 82 so bad? I said you told me to
spot the pig and he said I told you to put it on the ramp !
Another day I was the extra brkmn at Oregon,IL on the switch job and while
I had picked up and set out many times at Oregon this as my first Oregon- Mt
Morris job service. This was a 2 man job(Condr and brkmn) and the regular brkmn
did 95% of the work and old Crazy Con mostly sat in the depot and
communicated with the dispatcher for time on the main,etc. We were parked on the
Mt Morris main in front of the depot and I was resting comfortably on the front
platform/steps when Crazy Con came out of the depot and said "go get the
bunk outfit". So I give the engineer a go ahead sign and we go down to the frt
house where there's a bunk outfit and it's the only one I see in town. Now
there's 2 house tracks and I dont know which is one or two but in this case it
doesnt matter as I cant miss those orange cars, right ?
After going over the switch I give the old cranky hoghead a come back sign
and he wants to know what the hxxx I think, I'm doing. After a short sharp
discussion in which I pass on the the old cons instructions he point to the west
and coming around the curve is a local with a bunk outfit on the rear end
!
Or how about the time we're on a rail p/u work train between Mendota and
Denrock picking up all the hundreds of rails that had been changed out in the
last x years. We had a lengthy train of gons as there was a lot of rail. About
lunch it's decided we'll run back into Mendota to eat. But there's a full yard
with no where to go. Being a poor lowly brkmn noone communicates the plan to me
and I look over in the North yard at the mty tracks thinking there's an easy
place to park this train for awhile but no........... We go into the south yard
and proceed to spend 20 minutes or so stuffing parts of our train onto the
various house tracks(they were numbered 1 to ? from the outside in,toward the
main. After completing this chore(which for a work train was a bit odd and
thinking this must have been the footboard ydmstrs or agents plan) I ask the
question whos brilliant plan was it to spend all that time switching when the
North yard is open? Old Ken who wouldn't say sxxx ,looked at me and said"it was
my brilliant plan" and I felt about 6 inches tall.
Leo