I was hoping for one more good round trip to end the half but I got called for a dog catch. My engineer and I went to Walapai and shadowed a train to Topock. At Topock we were told to get on an engine n the siding and take it to Needles. The engine was coupled to some baretables, but the air was not cut in. My engineer did a release and the cars did not move. I had to drop the derail and line the swtich onto the main. The engine was facing the wrong way, so we would have to take it "long hood forward" as we say. We would be limited to 45 MPH. When we got to Needles I only had to throw one swtich. We left it in "Roundhouse 3." After that we were told to dog catch the H KCKBAR at Berry. I think we had to stop once and let a Z train get around us. After that we had been on duty 9 hours so we tied up and claimed 296 miles. Not bad for one day. Today is Saturday and I am not projected to go out today, but that could change. I have attached an article about how the BNSF expect a surge in traffic in the near future. https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews/news-wire/bnsf-prepares-for-container-surge/?link_id=6&can_id=a68003f214d0c1e72a8e7559e703b65b&source=email-td-newswire-bnsf-predicts-container-surge-after-tariff-pause&email_referrer=email_2754601&email_subject=td-newswire-bnsf-predicts-container-surge-after-tariff-pause

I got a call Saturday night Sunday morning for a deadhead to Winslow. I rode in a Z train with 3 other men. I tried to sleep but the seat was very uncomfortable. When we got to the thotel there was a half hour wait for a room so I killed time by eating breakfast. I slept most of the day Sunday and got called for a stack train back to Needles It was a big one- over 12,000 tons and over 14,000 feet. We had 3 motors on the head end and 3 in the middle, but the dynamic brakes on motors 2 and 3 weren't working- so my engineer had to set air a lot. No trip optimizer either. Still it was a good trip. Just over 8 hours. The ports were closed for the holiday so things have slowed down a little. It doesn't look like I will get called tomorrow. I have attached a picture of our leader, the 6669. Hope you had a good Memorial Day.

I got called for the Z LACNYC, which goes from Los Angeles to New York City. We went to Winslow. It was smoking trip- 6 and a half hours. Really good for a trip to winslow. I got in around midnight, got up for the free breakfast at 6 am, and they were behind. A bunch of us railroaders were in there waiting for the free breakfast. They finally came out and served it -with no apology. I went back to bed, slept for several more hours, and got up around 2 pm. I got called for the "WINKING," which is built in Winslow and goes to Kingman (it actually goes to Nelson, an industry east of Kingman). On duty time was 8:30 pm Mountain time. When I got to the depot the trainmaster said that we would have to take the power out of the roundhouse and hook it onto our train, which was in track 17, and do the Class I Air Brake Test. There was no herder on duty. My engineer and I would have to do everything our own. Keep in mind, I don't know the Winslow Yard that well. My engineer and I walked out to the roundhouse and our power wasn't there. We went back and the train master said it was on the "west end" of the roundhouse and we would have to take the van. We got in the van. I grabbed an ETD. We were lucky that we had a van driver who knew what he was doing He took us to our power and we asked him to wait for us at the east end of track 17. I briefed with my engineer. Neither one of us were sure how to get to track 17 from the roundhouse. We would have to figure it out. I dropped the derail and lined a couple of switches. We went ahead. My engineer said, "After we go over this swtcth throw it back and we'll start shoving." After he went over the switch I threw it back and positioned myself on the steps. I guided the shove back. We were shoving into the yard. After went went over one switch my engineer said, "I'm going to pull ahead, I think we need to throw that switch. So we did so. I continued shoving us back and I eventually saw the van waiting by a cut of cars in what should have been track 17. We were in the right track. I checked the # of the first car. It matched the # of the first car on my list of cars. I guided my engineer back to a hook, laced the hoses, and cut the air in. There were no handbrakes at the east end. I had the van run me to the rear of the cut, checking my list of cars as we went back. They were all there. I tried to hang the ETD, but the hose on the last car was too short. I had never run into that problem before. I tried placing the ETD n the ground and lacing the hose first. I couldn't get it to lace. The gladhand on the car looked pretty chewed up. I called for responder. Two men in a pickup truck showed up. Somehow they got the hose laced and mounted the ETD. I thanked them, activated the ETD, did the two way, and released about 6 handbrakes at that end. I had my engineer do a 20 pound set and had the van run me to the head of the train- checking the pistons as we went. They were all out at least 6 inches. I went up to the cab and briefed with my engineer. He said he would pull up to the signal while I watched the train roll by and made sure all of the brakes were released. I got in the van and watched aas the train rolled by. All of the wheels on the cars were rolling freely. The van ran me to the head of my train, I got on and we departed. We were limited to 55, and we didn't have a lot of power. We got to Nelson around 5 am Mountain time. A trainmaster had sent us a note saying that if all of the cars did not fit in track 4601 (the main track at Nelson) we should put the remainder in track 4608. My engineer found a track chart of Nelson and said that our whole train should just fit in track 4601. When we got to Nelson I threw the switch and dropped the derail. I had another switch to throw too. But, where was our van? I didn't want to walk to the head of our train. The van showed up just then. Perfect timing. He ran me to the head of my train. I tied 10 brakes and we did a release test. The train didn't budge. My engineer and I gathered up our gear and got in the van. He would take us to Needles. It had been a long night and I was tired. I tied up in Needles at 8:15 Mountain Time. I got some overtime and some held away. I am now on my rest cycle. I have attached a picture of our leader on the Z NYCLAC- the 8191.

I got called for a dog catch again. We were supposed to dog catch a Z train near Bartow. I figured it would be a good night. A good trip on a Z train, then they woudl let us go home. Instead we dog cauth it at Goffs. On the way the van driver was speeding, going 69 in a 55 MPH zone. I told him to slow down and he did. We made it to Needles very quickly. Then they sent us to Homer to untie a stack train. The note in the cab said that there were 39 brakes tied. I started untying brakes. How many? I didn't count. There may very well have been 39 of them. I was glad when I was done. The van gave me a ride up to the head end. We found out there was a problem with the lead motor and we were to set it out in Needles. This was turning out to be a onger night than I thought it would be. We went got to Needles and we were lined into Yard 2. We went to the east end of the yard. The outobund helped us with the set out. Usually when we set out a motor at the east end it is the last motor, not the first. It actually made things easier. The outbound got on the second motor, and we just cut the lead motor away. We went over the switch. I threw it and shoved my engineer back over the switch. I relined it for the outbound, and helped my engineer shove into Yard 3. All of the swtiches were lined for us. We were done for the night. I got home and in bed around 4 am. I'm not projected to go out in the next 24 hours.

I got called for a deadhead to Winslow. On duty time was 5:35 am. We deadheaded by tarin in an uncomforatble Norfolk Southern Motor. The seat wouldn't move forward, so I had to lean forward to read. I did catch up on my reading. The trip was about 8 hours. I went ot the hotel, and got called bright and early at 2 am for a Z train. (Too early for the wonderful breakfast in the hotel) We had a set out, but the inbound did it. We went out there in the van to assist. The inbound condcutor removed the ETD from the train, threw it in the back of the van, and we went up to the cut. He tied 5 brakes and made the cut, then hung the ETD. We ran him up to the head of the train and relieved them. The trip back was about 7 hours. We had a good train and there wasn't much traffic. I'm on my rest cycle this weekend.

I got called for a dog catch at 7:17 am on Friday. I was stil in the middle of my first cup of coffee. We were supposed to go to Summit and relieve the Z LACMEM. So, we got in the van and headed to Barstow. On the way there we found out that they were having problems with one of their motors and would be adding another one onto the head end in Barstow. When we got to Barstow our trian was in I1. They had just coupled the new motor onto the head end but they couldn't lace the main hose because thre was something wrong with the gladhand on it (it came out of Diesel Service that way) so they were waiting for Mechanical to come out and fix it. We relieved the crew. I went to the rear of the train to arm the ETD. When I got to the head end Mechanical had been there and fixed the problem. I didn't expect them to work that fast. The hoses were laced up and the cable was connected. We did the locomotive air brake test, my engineer did the Class III, and we departed. It was a good trip. I tied up around 6 pm. This is what we call a "flip," so I lclaimed the flip rate of 341 miles. The next morning I got called to take a grain train to Barstow at 9 am On duty time was 11 am. We had a student engineer. The trip was about 7 hours. We tied our train down on Main 2. I only had to tie 3 brakes. I checked in the hotel around 9 pm. I woke up around 1:30 and and tossed and turned for 2 hours. I got up at 6:30 for the free breakfast and went bck to bed. I got called for a stack train at 1 pm. On duty time was 2:30 pm. I had the same engineer and student engineer. We relieved the inbound at the steps. There were hardly any trains ahead of us. The radio ws dead for the second half of the trip. It was a 7 hour trip. I rolled my train by and tied up. Last time I looked I was 18th out. I made the union meeting this morning. This evening I'm going to drive my 57 Chevy to a meeting of the "Arizona River Cruisers." It's a classic car club that I want to join. It looks ike I will be able to go. I have attached a photo of our leader, the 7204

I got called for another dog catch. On duty time was 10:41 am. We went out to East Griffith to dog catch a stack train. We brought it into Needles. Then we had to go out to West Valentine and relieve the crew of the H BELBAR. They were almst DOL. We brought that train in too. That all took about 9 hours and we wre done. I'm on my rest cycle today and tomorrow.