There was one cool thing, I could say about Enola. The longest freight train I ever ran, was dispatched out of the bowl, there. (the departure yard, on the river side). I was called for an ENSE, and we went on duty, got our paperwork, walked through the tunnel, found our motors, cab signaled, etc. The yardmaster called the conductor back, for more paperwork. while he was gone, the relay foreman instructed us to grab another motor, and add it to the consist. The cndr came back, and said we were combining trains, with ENAL, that didn't have a crew. Our first move was to grab 34 frame cars, for RDG. These are 90 foot pigs, with auto frame racks on them, for transporting pick-up truck frames, made in RDG. (now we were doomed, knowing we had to work in RDG, always from the west end. pull all the way through, a clear track, then come all the way back) We started making "doubles", and soon I was on the Rockville bridge. Then I was by the tower, on the east shore, and soon I was looking at the fuel pad in HBG. The cool part, as you know Larry, was after I crossed the bridge, I could then watch my train being built, across the river ! Final car count was 232 cars, including the RDG cars. We air tested, and the cndr met us at GI-8. we got highballed, and started to pull. Almost 10 car lengths later, we had 'em all moving. We knew we were going to keep moving, as there was no place to hold us, not that it mattered on the double track RDG main. I was in run 8, coming across the relay/fuel pad, in HBG, within half a minute, and I literally never came out of the 8th, again, until descending into the hole, at RDG. Even in the 8th, we couldn't get away from the giant rubber band, we were dragging. We eventually made it to R tower, and we died. Never got it inside the yard, at Allentown. The biggest mixed freight, I ever got. I've had heavier, on DP coal and Potash trains, and longer on Sprint trains, but never a mixed freight over 200 cars, before that day, or since. The only time I left Enola, with a smile, for any reason other than to be getting my butt outta there. Regards
