The good and the not so great

[UPRR engineer]

You guys wanna hear some more of my stories from work? Most of them have to do with speed, some of them i confessed to, but the look on my crews face and what they had to say is what makes them fairly good reading. I also have a couple more when ive gotten knuckles here in the last year because ive had too many motors online, and i have one where i ran a huge train with an empty / load blocking error for a few miles.

[UPRR engineer]

Running From the Other End

Ran two back to back light SD40's out a ways to move a pipe train from the wrong track to the right track, then bring the power back to the yard one night. Everything went great on the way over there, clear blocks all the way, fast as the overspeed would let me go. Dispatcher let us line our self across and hold the mainline while we moved the cars over to the other track with the promise we wouldnt mess around. So once we nosed into the cars i stayed on that end till they tied the cars back down, then id change ends. Once i tryed changing ends, i couldnt get the PCS to reset on the new leader. After many trys i gave up and got back up on the other end. My conductor was back up there by then and i told him the problem, he asked what i thought we should do. Told him lets just get out of here before the Dispatcher starts bugging us. Our brakemen was headed up to the mainline switch in the van after watching the point to line it back. So i started her back to the mainline switch, brakemen was giving me car a car count, "one motor, half... thats good........ lined back and im on... lets go." I started getting after it, the look on his face when he saw we were all still on the motor we came over on when he opened the door was priceless. I was over there looking in the mirror laughing as i said "Never done a move like this before". Brakemen said "guess its kinda like running a big ol' steam engine.... but were all facing the wrong way." I didn't run any slower on the way back to town. Told the round house over the yard channel when we got in that i wasn't able to run from that other motor. They sounded like they were almost ready to ask me how i gotter back, but they just said "ok we'll see whats wrong with it."

[UPRR engineer]

Heres another story with the same conductor, we were on an empty coal train, take it out of town, load it and bring it back. We had a bunch of problems once we got out to the mine, getting some of the gates to close, tipple problems.... ended up setting out the rear motor half way threw loading because of a traction motor problem, so that made us under horsed on the way back. Its pretty flat on the way back, slight down hill grade here and there. Didnt have enough power to out run the slack, so once the rear of the train came out of those curves id get a little run in, 35, 40 miles an hour was the best we we could do. Finally we started down a hill so we could pick up some more speed, i was tired of everything that had happened, once the train got up to speed (50) coming off the hill i was in full dynamics, train ended up getting way above 60 as we shot accross the flats. Cant remember what he said, something comical like "What are you doing?" Besides speeding, i shouldnt have even brought the train back to town, i was really tired and fed up, i just wanted to tie up.

[UPRR engineer]

Heres one of the stories where i did get caught. I was on a set of light power off of a soda ash train that took all night to spread, same thing i was tired and really needed to get to bed. We had an 8000 on the point, if you dont know they make the most noise when you come right out to the 8th run from a stop. Sound like a mix of a monster truck and a space shuttle launch. Green River just cut off a switch engine so all the rest of the crews have extra work and the yardmasters dont want them to stop switching. So we were held up for quite a while watching the goat go up and down the lead. Once they gave us the ok to come in we lined the RCL switches and i jammed it to the 8th run... all the sound and smoke that comes along with that. After a few seconds, message comes across the yard channel, "...(My name).... come and talk to me before tying up." Guys on the back of the switch engine smiling at me as i few threw the crossovers over to the pit area. When i got in the Depot and down the hall, MTO said "I heard someone light up some motors, looked at the window and i knew it was you", with a big smile on his face. I said "Dont even ask how fast i was going... but it was pretty fast." Just then his wife came threw the door and asked what was going on. Told her i was testing how fast the motors could go. She laughed and said there wasnt anything else fun to do down here. In a round a bout way he told me to knock it off and didnt want to see me do that again.

[LCJ]

You're an original, man. I may have to recall that box I sent you. That "straight-to-8" stuff doesn't save a lick of gas, you know.

[UPRR engineer]

Those stories are Pre Fuel Master buddy. When ever i have a cut back engineer i always show him the new tricks I've found to get over the territory by using less fuel. Finding the right speed to top over those hills and just coast all the way down and reaching track speed at the bottom is one of my newest tricks. Yesterday when we looking over my tape i was complimented on how long my transitions were coming over the hills.

[LCJ]

There you go. I knew that. Box is on the way!

[UPRR engineer]

Another Pre Fuel Master moment. We were out dogcatching locals and saving the mainline in between trips one night. Night trainmaster met us at the depot after what we thought was gonna be our last trip, we had a little more then two hours to work. He asked us if would run three motors out and relay (swap power) the power on the coal local, they forgot to do it. He said if i didnt think i could get it all done he would just call another crew, but if he did that they would probably have to late call that local in the morning, and then he would be in trouble. I told him i could do it, get on the phone and clear the path. The leader on the way out there had the worst lateral ive ever ran. 75mph (sometimes more) for 50 miles, few miles up the branch to the power plant, swap it, and bring the other motors back at high speed to town. Anyways the ride over there was so bad you couldnt hardly get a sandwich to your mouth let alone try to drink anything. Conductor (older guy) kept begging me to slow down, but i told him i swore we would make it back with the other power. I was also speeding both ways on the branch. Best part was when we ready to come back on the main and race the power back to town. Told my conductor "Better let me talk, sometimes you dont come across as being highly motivated there bud." Got the usual questions from the dispatcher, he was just sitting down by the way, "What time are you on duty.... think you can make it?" "Here we go then, i promise ill make it." The ride was better but i think i probably ended up breaking a certain rule a few more times on the way back then i did on the way over there. We just barely slid in that yard before our hours were up, didnt make it to the pit but we made it to town, and didnt die on the mainline. Night trainmaster had stayed a few minutes over to meet us at the yard office along with the other MTO's, they were tickled pink that i had did that. All smiles and thanks as they handed us some cool Denver Service Unit Thermos. (They know i like free stuff)Once i got mine in my hands, i told them, dont go pulling those tapes, or ill be fired.

[UPRR engineer]

Forgot to add, after the many thanks from the managers, i called the dispatcher and thanked him for trusting me. I asked him what his thoughts were. He laughed and said "I lit you up and closed my eyes."

[UPRR engineer]

There you go. I knew that. Box is on the way!

Thanks buddy.

[LCJ]

Another Pre Fuel Master moment...

You don't have to put that in there, man.

[CN_Hogger]

Another Pre Fuel Master moment...

You don't have to put that in there, man.

What's this "Fuel Master" you speak of??

[LCJ]

Here's a summary of it:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_Master

[UPRR engineer]

I ran a double stack as fast as she'd go one night a few years ago. Four or five motors with an older SD70 with a broken speedometer on the point and a bad rear end device. We dogcaught them, soon as the hoghead stepped out he started giving us an ear full. Back then for awhile those K trains were allowed to go 75mph, this was the first one i climed on sence they raised it. I did before, and still go that fast with anything thats good for 70. Anyways i asked the conductor if i could talk to the train dispatcher, i already told him what i was gonna say. When he answered, i said "This trains gonna get across the road alot faster with the relief crew on it." There were alot of trains behind us, he wanted it that way. There was a bit of a pause, and i cant remember what his responce was. The lights came up and away we went, by time we got in the middle of the patch (soda ash mine basin) we were flying. It wasnt really clear that thats the fastest any of us had gone on a train till we started passing the tracks with standing hopper cars next to us. My conductor asked us how fast i thought we were going, "gotta be about 85... maybe closer to 90 i guess." We could here the contractors talking to each other about something or another, when that was going on by brakemen asked " Did they say those containers are blowing off?"

Nothing ever happened, all the cargo was still on board, im not bragging. Like swimming with sharks i guess, see if i could do it.

I typed this up many times and ended up not posting it, just wanted to share it. Guys use to get up to 100 back when they use to tie down the speed tape with rubber bands. Im not the first one around here to see how fast they could go with a freight train. I know we all would have been fired.

[Burner]

Old heads tell me back in the day there was a century club on the CNW.

Basically a manager on board could dictate how fast you could go. A hogger out of boone was told to take it up to 100 and beyond on an officers special. He managed 104 before slowing for a 70mph curve.

They gave him a special award that is in a display case in the commons area in the boone terminal.