The Curious Case of ED495, 01-24-2011

So here was D-3 talking to, with, and about ED495 around 0900 on 01-25-2010. 495 was supposed to be around Wachusett, so there I headed. NewBlue 612 and OldGray 335 headed up a bunch of mixed freight, all of which was being tied down on 1 for a crew change a bit west of the pad. The curiousity was that 612 -- the leader -- was long-hood-forward. There was some more D-3 talk to FI-1, which was also 8721. With the temperature too low and me with other stuff to do, I departed before they did, but still kept listening, and heard that the FI-1 crew were going to cab to Wachusett and take 495 down the rest of the Hill instead choosing the other TOM-offered option of running 8721 west and having it lead 495 east. Later I drove by Fitchburg, and there was 8721 on the west end of a string of covered hoppers east of CPF-FG. That wouldn't otherwise be curious except for its cab pointing east.
Curiosity Questions, which hopefully someone can answer:
-Was 8721 the original leader of ED495?
-Is stopping a train at Wachusett and sending its leader east for a bit an operational pattern? I may have seen the same last Monday with 607.

NS 8721 was the leader of ED495 out of EDFLD.

They used it to bring 495ED west to EDFLD with 8721 being the sole power.

495ED 8721 just met the newly canned NBWA 503, 504, 328 at Athol.

atholrail-
That satisfies some of the curiosity. Thanks!

NS 8721 was the leader on ED495 today also. Assisted by 603, 616 were thru Gardner at 1300.

Also the canned NBWA at Athol yesterday made it all the way to Gardner last night and canned again.

Dag! Outta the can and 16~ miles later back in! Coulda been cab-hopping crews, power trouble, fate, The Fates, or Just Another Manic Monday (Is this the first Bangles reference on this board?).
Seriously, canning at Gardner must have made things interesting for AYMO/MOAY...

They are canned on track one allowing jobs to work the yard if needed,

http://photos.nerail.org/s/?p=183724

Here they are yesterday canned at Athol,

http://photos.nerail.org/s/?p=183709

(NBWA) Crew picked it up at the Junction on Sunday, they
outlawed at Deerfield. They brought it to Athol yesterday and canned. Today or
late yesterday it was brought to Gardner and tied down. 100 miles, 3 days, 3 crews.

So mebbe by Valentine's Day? Give your consignees the gift that shows you really care: their shipments!
I once read a 1920-ish governmental report about freight congestion troubles in New England, and the B&M was faulted for an average car-speed of 10 mph. No wonder some folks get nostalgic.

Hi,

I'll betray my ignorance, but what does "canned" mean in reference to a particular train?

Thanks,

Justin

It's not the train so much as the crew that gets canned. There are Federally-mandated Hours-of-Service caps on the amount of time both in a 24-hour and a one-month period that a crew member -- among others -- can be on duty. Before that cap is met, the train gets stopped until one or more of the crew members on short time can get replaced. Yes, each crew member might not have the same amount of hours, either for the given day or the given month. The effect is that the train might get canned, but only because the crew does. In times of stress, such as bad weather or equipment troubles, when trains take a longer time to move, more crews and in effect more trains get canned. Regarldless of weather, PAR/PAS will frequently have one crew cover more than one train. The travel time between trains is still duty time. The time spent in a company vehicle or cab traveling between assignments is service time that that crew is not moving a train. Without and even with effective managerial anticipation, the snowball effect can tie up a road.
Anyone experiencing sleep difficulties should Google or Bing the new hours-of-service law. As important as the law is on so many fronts, it is face-plant reading.

Sometimes you wonder if the crews spend as much time riding around in taxis as they do manning actual trains.
One Pan Am operating honcho proclaimed sometime last year they were going to get out of the taxi bussiness and move trains. Oh well....

It seems to me it would be better for PAR to simply allow a certain train through to the terminal. Sending one train all the way is better than sending two trains a third of the way.

obienick-
You are making all together too much sense. If anyone should ever wish to have a career in railroad or any other type of management, sense-making should come to a full and complete stop. (Dag! I think I just gave my self away as non-management.)

Lowell has six miles of double track that will not interfere with Commuter Rail, plus five interlockings to route trains around each other, so that is why so many trains are paked there to be recrewed, even though the crews may or may not be "canned" by the Hours of Service law.