I got called for the "B SCZSCO5," a baretable flat (empty intermodal cars). On duty time was 3:30 pm. We had a good trip-about 6 and a half hours. When we got there we had to wait a while for our outbound to come out. We were a little irritated. When they showed up the van driver said that they had been blocked by a train and had to go around the long way. We tied up at the hotel. I went to bed, got up at 6:30 for breakfast. I was saddened to get a text message saying that my Aunt Florence had passed away at the age of 101. I went back to bed for a while, got up and got something to eat, and went back to bed. I was asleep when I got called for a stack train going back to Needles. On duty time was 5 pm. .I didn't feel good in the van going to the depot. Our train was at the steps. They had miscalculated time it woud take to get to Barstow. My engineer and I went up the steps as soon as we were on duty. It was a big train- with 3 motors on the head end and 2 on the rear. We had a decent trip to Needles. They brought us into the yard. I had to throw a switch to line us into Yard 2. The oubound met us at the east end. A trainwas stopped on Main 4. I thought they were just closing containers But the disptacher sadi something about a "police situation." We saw a sheriff's car drive by us . Maybe there were some people breaking into the train and the police were tying to catch them? We neer found out. The set out sent very smoothly with the outbound helping us. We let the motor on Roundhouse 3 and tied up. I should get called any minute. If there is any way I can go to my Aunt's funeral I will.

I got called for the "V BIRBAR," a vehicle train that goes from Birmingham, Alabama, to Barstow. What was unuusal was that we had 6 manifest cars on the rear of our train. (I believe they were all hoppers.). We didn't know how they were going to have us break it up when we got to Barstow. We arrived in the yard after dark, and they told us to pull into the storage yard, leave all but the firrt 14 cars in the storage yard, take those 14 cars to the Receiving Yard, leave them there, and take the power to the house. This wouldn't be so bad. We pulled into the storage yard. I got off and had my engineer pull the cut up to me. He couldn't pull all of the way forward so I walked back a few cars. I tied 3 brakes andw e did a release test. It held. So I made the cut, walked to the head of my train, and we took it to the Receiver Yard. I tied 3 more brakes and cut my power away. We took itto the house. We were done in less that 10 hours. I went to the hotel, had something to east, and slept like a log. I got called the next morning for the Q LACCHI. We had 5 motors on the head end and we didn't need them all. That turned out to be a detriment. Another train was having problems iwht their DP and we were told to give one of our motors to them. My engineer knew a pace near Cadiz that was flat. I tied the first car and it held. I cut my power away and we went up to East Danby. We had to "flag the signal." The dispatcher threw the switch and I shoved us back to a hook on the rear of the other train- it was the H KCKBAR. I asked the the other crew if they wanted me to let it go into emergency, and they said, "Cut it away and leave it." So I closed the angle cocks on the other motor and disconnected the MU cable. We cut away and let it go into emergency. We had to flag the signal again and shave back about 8 miles on the main line. I was protecting the shove and it was cold! I shoved us back to a hook with our train, laced the hoses, cut the air in and released the one brake. After we started out we heard that the other crew was having problems with the engine that we gave them. It worked fine on our train but it didn't work as a DP. So the dispatcher sent helpers, and a releief crew for them. We were almost to Needles when the "dragging equipment detector" got us. It was back about 80 cars. Another train said they saw several open containers on our train, and some people back there with flashlights. I wasn't going anywhere until security showed up. I had the # of the car. We went back in his truck and on the hot side a box was mangled between the wheels of the car. I tried to get it out but it broke. I went back to the hed and end reported what I had found to the dispatcher. My engineer went back there wiht security and somehow got the box out. We continued on our way . We were told that we had 58 open containers and that the outbound would have to pull down to the east end while security closed those containers. The next day I got called for the H GALBAR at 10:30 am. It was just when I wanted to be called- after I had my second cup of coffee. It was a pretty routine ctrip to Barstow. We had 3 motors on the head end and 1 on the rear. Our train was too long to fit into one track. When we got to Barstow I had to make a cut, shove the excess cars into another track, and take the power to the house. I didn't bother to call a van. I just rose the shove and walked up. We went back and got the DP and were done in about 8 hours. I expected to be called at about Breakfast tie the next day- but I got called at 1:30 in the afternoon. I got called for a 14,000 foot stack train. We had 4 motors on the head end and 3 in the middle. There was only one train ahead of us. There was hardly any westbound traffic. We made the trip in 5 and a half hours- a good trip on any day. I am now on RISA after having worked 6 days in a row. I did a lot of running around today.

I got called for a stadk train goinig to Barstow. On duty time was 6:45 am. Evereyting was going good. Then when our train came in the inbound told us that our horspower per ton was 1.4. Our train was a 14,000 ton train, with 3 motors on the head end and 3 in the middle. One of the motors on the head end was dead. We would not make it up the hill. We talked to the dispatcher and she told us to take a motor out of the roundhouse. I tied 7 handbrakes and we cut our lead motor away. I only had to throw one handswitch. We shoved back and made the hook, then went back and made the hook wiith our train. We had to do a locomotive air brake test, then I went back and released the 7 handbrakes. By the time we were ready to go we had been on duty for 4 hours. After we departed a passing train told us they could smell something burning near the head end of our train. Possibly we had a brake that didn't release. We stopped and I started to walk back. The brake chain on our dead motor had not fully released. Perhaps that was the problem. We started out again. As we got closer to Barstow Iooked in my IPAD and it said that we would have to set that dead motor out at Barstow. We stopped at Dagget with 10 hours on duty. They forgot about us. They ran at least two train around us. There was a lot of activity in the yard. We had about a half hour left to work when a van pulled up with our outbound. No one had bothered to tell us tht we were being relieved there. We went straight to the hotel. I got something to eat from across the street and slept like a log. I woke up in time for the free breakfast at the hotel and got my call right after- perfect timing. I had been called for a stack train. Then we got swapped to a Q train. Then we got swapped to the H BARGAL. I told my engineer, "It's musical trains today." Actually, it wasn't so bad. The yard crew put it together for us. The trainmaster took us out to the head end of our train when it was ready. It was in front of the Harvey House. By this time we had been on duty for two hours. It was a 6 hour trip to Needles. An 8 hour trip is not bad these days. I rolled my train by and tied up. I'm projected to gotowork around 9 am my time this morning. I have attached a picture of our leader on the BARGAL, the 6814.

Saturday afternoon I was waiting to be called for a train when I got a call for "special work." A call for special work is a call for a job you normally don't get, and you can refuse it without getting into trouble. In this case it was a Z train going to Winslow. How could I turn that down? So I accepted it. It was the Z SBDALT. On duty time was 4:20 pm. They didn't run us like a Z train. It was a 10 hour trip. I got to Winslow after 2 am.I was exhausted after being awake all day. I slept for a couple of hours, got up for breakfast at 6 am, and slept until 5 pm. I got up and went down to the grill. I had a bandit burger. They were out of potoato chips so I had salsa chips. I got a call for another Z train going back to Needles. Our train was over 8500 feet and we had only head end power- so we were limited to 55 MPH- unusual for a Z train. On duty time was 9 pm. Our leader was a CSX engine but it wasn't bad for a CSX engine.We got to Needles around 6 am. I got home around 7 am and I went to Las Vegas to work on my next CD. I had no trouble staying awake even though I had been up all night. I slept good that night. The trip back was my 7th start, so I have 72 hours due to RISA.

I haven't written in the last few days because I have been getting called off my rest. I have worked 5 days in a row. This morning I got called for a stack train. On duty time was 2:25 am Pacific Time. We had to wait a while for our train to come in and we departed at 4 am. We were moving along pretty good. It wasa light stack train with 3 motors on the head end. Then they put us in the siding at Amboy. They told us we were going to swap with the H AMSBAR because Barstow didn't want our train. So the AMSBAR pulled up next to us and we swapped. Then after they left they pulled out behind us. It made no sense. We found out later that they had to double up with another train at Dagget. So they had some work to do. We had a good trip to Barstow and they took us into Receiver 6. They told us that we we would be "flipped" back to Barstow. Our train had 3 motors on the head end and 1 on the rear. I cut the lead 3 motors away. Another train was putting 7 motors away in Diesel Service and we had to wait for them to get out of the way. We put our motors in Track 13. I had to line 2 switches. We took a van to our DP. I cut it away. It was facing east. We went over the switch and then shoved toward Diesel Service. Then they threw us a curve ball. They told us to go around the balloon and put our motor in the "balloon pocket." So we did that. There was some equpment in the pocket but our one motor fit. We deadheaded back to Barstow in van with the crew that we swapped trains with. This was start 5 for me. I will get start 6 tomorrow and start 7 on Sunday. Then I will have 3 days off due to RISA. I'm looking forward to it. No pictures.

I got called for the G BYLAR, a grain train that terminates in Barstow. We had 116 hoppers of wheat. Our train had 4 motors on the head end and 2 on the rear. There were about 20 cars on the had end that were going to Colton, several cars after that that were going to Verdemont, several cars that were going to Stockton, and at the rear there were 16 more cars that were going to Colton. We usually have to yard this train in the storage yard at Barstow and break it up according to where the cars are going. This was going to be a nightmare to put away. On duty time was 8:05 pm. It was raining in Needles. As we went up the hill our wheels were slipping on the wet rails. We were only making 12 miles an hour most of the time uphill. When we got to Barstow we had 3 hours to work. They told us to put the Colton cars in Storage Track 10, the Stockton cars in Storage Track 8, then take the rest of the cars to Receiver 8. Keep in mind we had Colton cars on the front and rear of our train, so we would have to do some switching. My engineer told them that after we cut off that first cut of cars and left our DPS behind she might not have enough power to pull the cars. They told us to try. I called for a van and lined us into track 10. When we were clear of the east end I tied 3 brakes and made the cut. My engineer was able to pull over the switch and I lined her into track 8. I shoved from the van. We were almost out of time. I tied 5 handbrakes. They told us to tie the train down. I helped my engineer tie the brakes on the motors. We did a release test and it held. The van took us to the depot. We got to the hotel just in time for breakfast. I slept good. About 8 hours. I had just gone across the street to get a burrito when I got called for the BARTUL. The yard crew built our train. It had 5 motors on the head end, 1 in the middle, and one of the rear. 2 of the motors on the head end were isolated. We went out to the Storage Yard and got on our train, There was a thick fog- so thick that we could barely see the track ahead of us. We crawled out of the yard at 2 MPH when we got permission. Luckily the fog dissipated after we got out of Barstow. They gave us clear signals all of the way. our trip was about 6 hours. As a result of working 7 days in a row I have 72 hours off. I have attached a picture of our leader, the 8227. I hope you had a good New Year's Eve and a good New Year's Day. Happy New Year!