On Thankgiving Day I got called for the worst train I could be called for- the KCKBAR, It had 9 motors on the head end, 2 in the middle, and one on the rear. Our paperwork said one of the DPs in the middle was to be off and the one on the rear was to be off. This made no sense. Our train came in with all of the DPs online, so we left it that way. We had a good trip to Barstow, and we had enough time to put it away, but they held us outside the yard for a couple of hours. Finally they told us to bring it into Receiving 3 and put the overflow in 1. (Our train was going to take up two tracks). We pulled into Receiving 3, I got off and had my engineer pull ahead, He stopped when we were clear of the east end. I had to walk back about 20 cars to the DPs,. I tied the 3 cars behind the DPs and cut the first half of the train away. I rode the DP over the switch, and then we shoved into Receiving one. I tied one brake and we did a release. It held. The van ran me up to the head end. I cut my 9 motors away. At first they told us to put them into Roundhouse 14. I knew that they wouldn't fit in there. So I told them ,"we have 9 motors." Then they said, "17." It's a much longer track. We shoved back over switch 25, and then into the roundhouse. I had to throw a couple of switches. By this time we had a half hour left to work. They told us we didn't have to go get the DPs. There was some food in the refigerator at the depot. I had some. Barstow Burger was closed. I went to bed and slept like a log. I got called at 1:37 am. I was callled for the BARGAL. I got down to the depot early. There were some fresh meals in the crew room. They had just been delivered by Denny's. I grabbed one. We had to take our power out of the roundhouse and put it on our train. We had 5 motors! Our train was small and light. We didn't need that much power. It was facing the wrong way. We would have to shove out of the roundhouse and I would have to protect it. We had to go around the balloon, and then used D6 as a runner. Our train was on D8. I shoved us back to a hook. I had to struggled iwth the hoses but I finally got them laced and cut the air in. There were no brakes on the east end. The van ran me to the west end. The ETD was already hung. I armed the ETD and we did the two way. I released the 3 brakes at the west end. We departed. About 20 miles outside of Barstow the detector said we had a hot bearing on the 11th car. All of the cars on the head end of our train were auto cars. I would have to check the bearing on the "hot side." (Just a couple of weeks ago one of our conductors was killed in Montana releasing the brakes on auto cars on the hot side). I walked back on the field, off of the track. I brought my temperature gun.One of the bearings was 89 degrees, another one was 99, another was 89, and one was 100. The brake on that car was tied! I released it. I got back to the head end and told the detector desk what I had found. They cleared us to procede. When we got to Needles we found out why we had 5 motors on the head end. They wanted us to set out motors 2 and 3 and put them in the roundhouse. The outbound helped us and it went pretty quickly. There were some sandwiches in the refrigerator when we got in. Due to the fact that I worked 6 days in a row I have 48 hours off, and I will RISA into my rest cycle. I need some time off. I hope you had a good Thanksgiving.

I got called to relieve the KCKBAR on Sunday morning. There was a "maintenance window" because they were working on the tracks. Nothing was moving. The van ran us to Goffs and we relieved the crew that was on our train. It was a big train, - over 19,000 tons, with two motors on the head end, 3 in the middle, and 2 on the rear. We made pretty good time to Barstow. They told us to put it in "9 and 8." The Receiving Yard was empty. We nosed into Track 9 and I called for a van. When we got to the west end of track 9 I got off, and told my engineer to take it ahead. When the middle DPs were in front of me I told him to stop. I tied the brakes on the first three cars after the DPs and made the cut. I rode the last DP over the swtich and I yelled to the van driver "Meet me at the east end of 8" as I went by him. We had to wait for another train to go by. When it did the router threw the switch and I protected the shove into 8. We had lots o f room. The van ran me to the ehad end of our train. The router informed us that a yard job would grab our DPS so I released the van when I got to the head end. I tied 3 brakes at the head end, cut my motors away, and we took it to the roundhouse. We were done. Barstow Burger was open when I got to the hotel and I grabbed a burrito. I got called off my rest at 4:10 am. I called "Lola's " and ordered a burrito. Our train was at the steps when I got to the depot. It was a big stack train- over 14,000 feet long. It had 4 motors on the head end and 3 in the middle. It looked like it was going to be a good trip. They kept us moving. Then we sat at the signal before West Needles for over an hour. Then we sat at West Needles for while. That screwed things up for me because I wanted to run some errands when I got off work. It would be after 5 pm by the time I got home. We pulled down to East Needles because security had to close some containers on our train. We got relieved there. The hotel and Barstow Burger have put Christmas trees up. I have included a picure of our leader on the stack train- the 7234.

I got called for the "B KCKSCO," a baretable going from Kansas City to Long Beach. For some reason our train had 5 motors on the head end. A couple of them were isolated. My engineer and I went to a safety briefing while we wer ewaiting for our train to come in. . (Due to the number of incidents that have occurred lately the BNSF has instituted some safety briefings). The dispatcher called me during the briefing. They wanted us to set out the two lead motors on our train and put them in the roundhouse so they could be used as "helpers." (There were no motors in the roundhouse at the time). My engineer tied down the last 3 motors. I disconnected the MU cable, closed all of the anglecocks, and made the cut. We went over the switch. I just had one switch to throw. Since the roundhouse was wide open we shoved into the track we were lined into. I wish all set outs were that easy. We deparated and it was a good trip up until we got to Troy. They stopped us there for an hour. Then they let us go to Dagget and they held us for an hour there. We were close to going DOL. They told us to tie our train down. My engineer tied the 3 motors and that held us. The van came and took me straight to the hotel. It was too late for breakfast at the hotel, so I went across the street tfor a burrito. I slept good for about 3 hours and then woke up. I tossed and turned for a couple of hours, watched some TV, and finally got back to sleep. I got called for the BARTUL with the same engineer at 10 am. I was asleep when I got the call. I made it down to the depot and the trainmaster said that the yard crew was putting our train together. Our work order said that we were to set out 7 cars in Needles. That was unusual. We got swapped to a stack train that was at the steps because the yard crew had to set out a bad order. The trainmaster gave me a hard copy of our work order and the GTBs but I didn't have time to look at them because our train was at the steps. It was a big train- over 14,000 tons and over 14,000 feet, with 4 motors on the head end and 3 in the middle. We relieved the LA crew and started to pull. We stopped at Dagget. The dispatcher said he was having problems with one of the switches there. I was hoping that he wouldn't tell me to get down on the ground and "take it by hand" as we say. But eventually he did. He recited a script and I repeated it. This switch was connected to a "movable point frog." Just the other day we had a train derail because someone did not liine a "movable point frog" properly. In 7 years on the railroad I have not lined one before. We pulled forrward to the switch and I got out. It had stopped raining but it was cold and wet. I unlocked the swtich and threw the lever to manual. I tied to throw the switch arm- but I couldn't. My engineer came down. He is a larger man than I am and he was able to throw the switch back and forth. The switch was lined for our movement. I unlocked the frog. I thew it back and forth a couple of times. My engineer verified that it was lined the right way. (There was a man in one of our trucks watching us. He said something but we couldn't hear him). I had my engineer pull our train ahead and stopped him when the first truck as over the frog. I took the frog and the switch out of manual and I got back on my train. My job was done. We went over to Main Two and we were making good time. We were almost to Needles when our train went into emergency. I got on the radio and said what I needed to say. My engineer said that he thought someone cut our air hose. "We haven't stopped since we left Dagget," I said. My engineer said that someone may have been riding on our train since we left Dagget. "It's awfully cold and windy," I said. My engineer said that the cartels are "coyoting" some people across the border and forcing them to commit these crimes. He also said that they kidnap their family members and force them to work for them. 3 vehicles passed us, movng east. Two of them were trucks. My engineer said the had noticed them parked by one of our signals- as if they were waiting for us. Another train told us that we had several open containers. We were also told that there was a box on one of our containers that was burning. My engineer said that possibly the culprit was using a grinder to cut one of our hoses and the sparks set something on fire. The fire departement, security, and the rapid responder showed up. The fire department put the fire out. The rapid responder said that there were two hoses that had been cut. He repaired one and said that he "temporarily" repaired the other one. Our air started to come up. We started t pull. The independants would not hold the train. Finally there was enough air in the brakes to stop the train. We pulled into Needles and briefed our outbound about everything. They would have to pull down to East Needles so security could close the containers, and the rapid responder would have to repair that one hose. I didn't stick around to roll them by beause it would be a while. My engineer and I each took a SMART Rest. He said that he was going to do some off roading when he got home. I said, "I've had enough excitement for one day. I'm going to go home and have a good cup of coffee and relax." I'm projected to go to work at 9:28 tomorrow morning. I hope it's a routine trip.

I got called for the Z ATGLAC to Barstow. On duty time as 3:55 pm, Pacific It was pouring rain. We got on our train and we had a flasher. My engineer didn't want to start pulling until we had a clear because he was afraid that if we stopped on the hill we would stall out when we started to pull again due to the wet tracks. But, we didn't get a clear signal so he started to pull. We eventually came to a red signal and we started to stop. Wouldn't you know that the signal changed to green. My engineer tried to get going again, but he had already set air and we were almost stopped. He gave it some throttle. Our wheels started to slip on the wet tracks. We went down to about 3 MPH and I thought we were going to stall. But, we started to move. We didn't stall. It was about an 8 hour trip. We pulled into Main 2 at Barstow and our outbound came out to meet us. I tied up, went to the hotel, and went to bed. I got up at what I thought was 6:20 in the morning. I went down to the kitchen and was suprised tthat breakfast wasn't ready. Then I remembered that my watch was set to Mountain Time because I live in Arizona. I was early. I sat there and drank apple juice until breakfast was ready. The nice lady there had it ready early. I slept like a log until the afternoon, got a burrito from across the street, and couldnt get back to sleep. I watched TV for a while and eventually dozed off. I eventually got called for the "BARKCK." On duty time was 11:30 pm. I was working with an engineer I didn't kknow. We had a student engineer. The two of them didn't know each other. We were glad to find out that the yard crew was building our train. It was small for a BARKCK. It only had 3 motors on the head end and one in the middle. The train master told us our train was almost ready to go and the head end was behind Megatoms. I found us a van and we went to Megatoms. But the head end of our train wasn't there. It was father east. We asked the van driver to take us to the other side of the tracks, and he complained about it possibly being too muddy. My engineer said, "It's an asphalt road." The van driver took us there. We had to cross over 3 mains to get to our train. We also had to climb up a bank with our grips and coolers. I slipped and fell twice. We got on our train. The main reservoir in our DP was low but it eventually charged up. When we were ready to go I called the router. He did not respond properly. We toned up the dispatcher and told them we were ready to go. Eventually we got the signal. It was a pretty good trip considering we were an H train and we were underpowered. They stopped us 3 times. My engineer complained about some strange things that the train was doing. We were almost to Goffs and we heard that a train was in emergency. When we went through Goffs we saw that another trian was derailed on Main two. The lead truck had run through a switch. (The conductor did not throw the movable frog properly). It's been a weird night," said my engineer. We stopped at the Needles signal because it was red. The disptacher told us that her system was down and she couldn't see where anybody was. It really was a weird night. We sat there an hour before the dispatcher sent out outbound to us. The wouldn't be going anywhere for a while, but at least we could get off the train after 10 hours on duty. I tied up and I was first out! It was probably because they "flipped" the person ahead of me from Barstow back to Needles. I will go to work around midnight. And I haven't slept good. It really was a weird night.

I got called for another dog catch on Sunday evening. It was almost identical to the previous evening. We had to get on our train at the sding i Berry. The only differences were that it was a stack train this time, and it wasn't raining cats and dogs. After that we shadowed another train form Yucca. Yesterday they cut several people from the extra board and I was forced back to Board 31, so I will be going to Barstow for a while. I'm not happy about that, but at least I will be working.

It was raining cats and dogs yesterday when I got called for a dog catch." My engineer nad I had to releive the H GALBAR at Berry. When we got back they told us to wait until two trains came in, annd then they let us tie up. It's not raining today. It's nice and sunny, but there rare a lot of large water puddles on the road. By the way, it's that time ofyear when those of us at BNSF who served in the miltary get our pictture posted on the computer screen at the depot.

I got called for the H Barlub to Winslow. On duty time was 11:40 am. It was a nice, small train for an H train. It only had 3 motors on the head end, but it was short and light . Our trip was about 9 hours. When I got to the hotel they kept the grill open for me. I had a bandit burger and went to bed. I got up time for the free breakfast., then went back to bed. I slept like a log! I got up at noon. It said I was going to go to work at around 2:30 pm. Then 4:30. I went downstairs and got one of the frozen dinners. I got called for the "Q CHISTO." On duty tme was 4:05 pm. I got down to the depot early. When I got down there I found out we had been swapped to the "Z WSPSTO," which goes from Willow Springs, Illinois to Stockton. I was happy to get this train. It had 4 motors on the head end, and our horsepower per ton was a whopping 3.8! It was a good trip, about 8 hours. I rolled my train by and tied up. It looks like I won't go out until tomorrow, if then. I'm going to catch up on stuff around the house. No pictures.

got called for a grain train that weighed over 16,000 tons. We had 3 motors on the head end and 3 in the middle. When we came on duty it was tied down "second out" on Main 2." The van ran us out there. A note on the conductor's desk said, "power plus 13 or 14." My engineer and I thought that was an excessive amount of brakes, even for a 16,000 ton train. It's pretty flat there. I released the brakes and we were on our way. Even though our HPT was only 1.5, and we were going 15 MPH uphill, we made it to Barstow in pretty good time. Before we got there they told us that we would be "flipped." They told us to to our train down on Main 1, leave room for one, and go to the roundhouse to get another motor and "tack it on" to the head end of our train. They didn't tell us to do the "Locomotive Air Brake Test," link the DP and do the Class III. The motor was on "Ready 4." We got permission to come out. Since it was facing the wrong direction we would have to go "around the balloon." They stopped us at the pullback, and told us to go out the "north entrance to receiving and shove back to our train." My engineer and I were both confused, we clarified it with the router. We would have to go up R11, and out the west rentrance to the Receiving Yard onto the Mohave Connector, and shove bakc to our train. I had never done a move like this before and neither had my engineer. Since it was just one motor I didn't have to ride the steps but I did anyway. It was cold! We had to flag one signal. I shoved us back to a hook, laced the hoses, connected the MU cable, and cut the air in. We were done. A yard van took us back to the terminal. The other crew that we were supposed to share the van with was there, so we piled into the van and it took us to Needles. I tied up after 2 am. I'm not showing out again in the next 24 hours. Hopefully I will be able to get my free breakfast at Denny's tomorrow.

I got called for the Q STOATG, which goes from Stockton to Atlanta, Georgia.On duty time was 1:05 am. We almost hit a buck elk but he got out of the way in time. . It was a good trip about 6 hours. When we got relieved the outound engineer wasn' there yet, so I didn't stick around to give them a roll by. I had breakfast at the hotel, slept for about 6 hours, had a bandit burger when the grill opned, waatched TV, and then went to sleep. Boy, did I sleep! I was still there for the breakfast the next day. I had just started to eat my waffle when I got a call for a deadhead at 6:06 am. I finihsed my breakfast, got donw to the depot, and got on the third motor of a Z train. The trip back was about 7 hours. I caught up on my reading. I'm back on the extra board now. No pictures.

I got called for the "Q SBDCHI," which goes from San Bernadino to Chicago. On duty time was ten minutes after noon, Mountain Time. We were followoing another train and we couldn't move very fast. It was almost a 12 hour trip. I didn't have time to roll my train by. I was surprised that the grill in the hotel was open. I had something to eat. I got up at 6 am and had breakfast. Boy, did I sleep! I got up around 2 pm. I forgot about the time change. )Arizona does not observe Daylight Savings Time, but the railroad does). I finally got called for the "Z ATGSBD." On duty time was 6 pm, Mountain Time. There was a probelm Our train only had tow motors on the head eand. It did not have enough power to make it to Needles, and then San Bernadino. Our work order said that we had to add a motor. But another train was doing work in the yard and was blocking our train from coming in. The inbound would have to help us with the pickup- but they were running out of time. We notified the trainmaster and he asked a dog catch crew to replace the inbound when they came in. They helped us. My engineer and I got on the motor, in "roundhouse 3," and I threw the switches. I had to throw two siwtches to get us out of there, then I dropped the derail and threw the switch to the main. The dog catch crew made the separation and took our two motors ahead. My engineer made the hook then saved tme by lacing the hoses himself instead of waiting for me to do it. I guided him back to make a hook with our train We took over at that point. We did the "locomotive air brake test." I laced the hoses between the last motor and the first car, and cut the air in. After being on duty for over two and a half hours we finally departed. We followed an H train for most of the trip. They finally ran us around it at Berry. Our trip was over 10 and a half hours. I rolled my train by. I'm taking a rest day tomorrow. I have included a picture of our leader, the 7026.