Tuesday, July 22, 2025

I got called for the Q LACATG, which goes from Los Angeles to Atlanta, Georgia. It had 3 motors on the head end. When the train came in they pulled past the pad. They asked us if anybody had told us that the second motor needed water, and we said, no. Nobody told us anything. My engineer said that he had not added water to a locomotive in his 30 years with the railroad, so he wanted to help out. Adding water to a motor is a clumsy affair. You have to put a graduated nozzle on the hose, and put it up to a pipe and put water in the pipe. I asked if a certain valve was in the right position. It wasn't. They threw the valve and it was much easier to add water. We had been on duty for 2 hours by the time we departed. We did not make it to Winslow. We got dog caught at a place called Sunshine and got to the hotel around 2 am. I got up for breakfast at 6:30 am and went back to bed, and got my call at 4:30 pm Mountain Time. I was called for the H AMSBAR, going from Amarillo, Texas to Barstow. It was a 10,000 ton train, with 3 motors on the head end and 2 on the rear. Our work order said that we were supposed to pick up a dead motor from the siding in Selgiman. We saw a big buck elk and some deer near Flagstaff. By the time we got to Seligman it was dark. That was nice because it was't hot. I only had to tie 3 handbrakes. I made the cut, had my engineer pull the consist over the switch, and lined theswitch. I dropped the derail and shoved him back to the motor. We made the hook. My enginer helped me lace up the hoses and connect the cable. We pulled it out of ther enad went back to our train andmade the hook. We did the "locomotive air brake test." I laced the hoses, and released the 3 brakes. We were done. I went back to the cab and we waited for the disptadcher to line us out of the siding. We got to Needles with an hour left to work. I rolled my train by and tied up. Tomorrow I start a 2 day rest cycle. I can use it.

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