funnelfan
Member
The thing about a recession is that the managers are quick to cut jobs, but slow to add them back. The same holds true in railroading, and that often causes trouble when the business starts coming back. Back a couple years ago when things got real slow, the local trainmaster cut the day shift city switcher in the industrial city of Post Falls. His idea was that the local between the Half Moon Yard and Post Falls would spot and pull a few "Hot Loads" during the day and the night switcher would do the bulk of the work. Well the business is coming back now, and there are more than a few "Hot Loads" now. So much so that the local never finished it's work in Post Falls, let alone getting back to the yard.
As a extra board engineer, when the trainmaster calls you about thirty seconds after you get off the phone with the crew caller, you know he's got either his superior or a customer breathing down his neck. "Ted, that damned local crew went dead before they switched out the Furniture factory and the Cannery, and now they're all hopping mad. I need you and the boys to get out there and get this mess straightened out."
After marking on at the terminal, we hop in the van for a hour long trip to Post Falls. The Local's power is tied down on siding next to a convenient crossing. The conductor's digging through the paperwork while I'm giving the power a once over. Power untied, it's off to the Furniture factory. I vaguely recall the trainmaster saying something that they were running out of room in their warehouse, and desperately needed some empty boxes. Bad news, they're only going to get one box today....I'll let the TM deal with them.
Post Falls is amazing tangle of spurs and sidings, bisected by roads and alleys. You carefully poke out onto the city streets hoping not to trade paint with a kamikaze truck driver. Your extra board conductor and brakeman only have a few years under their belts, and have only worked in this town hardly a dozen times between them. They're almost lost trying to figure out which switch gets us to the desired track. Last time you saw the conductor he was marching off in the direction of the yard office in search of a track schematic. The brakeman guides you to a hook onto a box full of sofas. You whisk that car back out into the small yard that supports these industrial spurs. You drop that car and pull a empty box from the strong of inbound cars, along with a couple insulated boxes for the cannery.
The conductor finally rejoins the crew, plopping down a well worn hand drawn map of the city tracks. I quip "that you're a little late with that Joe...., we already found the factory." We shove the empty into the factory and come back to the RBL's, and head off to the other side of town where the cannery is. The Cannery had a couple reefers full of seafood that they are itching to get movin'.
As a extra board engineer, when the trainmaster calls you about thirty seconds after you get off the phone with the crew caller, you know he's got either his superior or a customer breathing down his neck. "Ted, that damned local crew went dead before they switched out the Furniture factory and the Cannery, and now they're all hopping mad. I need you and the boys to get out there and get this mess straightened out."
After marking on at the terminal, we hop in the van for a hour long trip to Post Falls. The Local's power is tied down on siding next to a convenient crossing. The conductor's digging through the paperwork while I'm giving the power a once over. Power untied, it's off to the Furniture factory. I vaguely recall the trainmaster saying something that they were running out of room in their warehouse, and desperately needed some empty boxes. Bad news, they're only going to get one box today....I'll let the TM deal with them.
Post Falls is amazing tangle of spurs and sidings, bisected by roads and alleys. You carefully poke out onto the city streets hoping not to trade paint with a kamikaze truck driver. Your extra board conductor and brakeman only have a few years under their belts, and have only worked in this town hardly a dozen times between them. They're almost lost trying to figure out which switch gets us to the desired track. Last time you saw the conductor he was marching off in the direction of the yard office in search of a track schematic. The brakeman guides you to a hook onto a box full of sofas. You whisk that car back out into the small yard that supports these industrial spurs. You drop that car and pull a empty box from the strong of inbound cars, along with a couple insulated boxes for the cannery.
The conductor finally rejoins the crew, plopping down a well worn hand drawn map of the city tracks. I quip "that you're a little late with that Joe...., we already found the factory." We shove the empty into the factory and come back to the RBL's, and head off to the other side of town where the cannery is. The Cannery had a couple reefers full of seafood that they are itching to get movin'.
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