I got a short call for the "Q MEMSCO." It said that I was on duty at 9 am, but that was only 90 minutes from the time I got the call. This is what what we refer to as a "short call." We have 2 hours to get to work. Regardless of what the automated voice says, I have two hours. I made it to the depot by 9 am anyway. When I did I found that we had been "swapped" to the "Q MEMOIG." The Q MEMOIG was the rear half of the train that I had been called for. I would have to split the two trains, hang the ETD on the MEMSCO, do the Class III, and then do the Class III on my train. On top of that we had several cars in Yard 3 to pick up. I grabbed an ETD and my engineer and I got in the van. We got on the DPs in the middle of the MEMSCO. I closed the anglecock and made the cut. I hung the ETD, did the two way, and the Class III. Everything went well and they pulled out. We pulled our train ahead. We were in Yard 2 so the cars we were to pick up were next to us. They were all there. When we got to the west end of the yard I cut my two motors away, rode them over the switch, and lined the switch for Yard 3. I only had one switch to throw. I brought my engineer back to a hook, laced the hoses, cut the air in, and released the three handbrakes. There was a note in the coupler of the first car telling us what time the cars had been left there. It had been less that 24 hours. I had my engineer pull the cut of cars over the switch, lined the switch back into Yard 2, and brought him back to a hook. I laced the hoses, cut the air in, and released the brakes. I had the van run me back to the rear of the train. I pressed the button to arm it, did the two way, and the Class III. We were ready to go. I had the van run me up to the head end. I remembered that this engineer smokes cigars, so I brought him one of the cigars that I bought when James was born, 19 years ago. (Only one person took a cigar). I have nearly the whole box left. The trip was okay. When we got to Barstow they told us to tie it down on the Mohave Connector. (The train was going to Bakersfield, then on to Stockton and eventually Oakland). Our train was light. I only had to tie 2 handbrakes. after I checked into the hotel I went to Fuzzy's for a burrito and some lemonade. I went to bed around 9. I got up for the free breakfast at 6. I was projected to be called at 7:15 so I got ready to go. I got called right at 7:15 for a stack train going from Los Angleles to Clovis, New Mexico. We had a student engineer. We got on at the steps and were ready to depart when we heard somebody open the front door of our engine. He said he was a trainmaster in training and needed to make a trip. This was puzzing, as the BNSF just laid off a bunch of trainmasters. The fellow didn't know where he would be working. He is supposed to take trips all over the system. It turned out he is also a guitar player so he and I had a lot to talk about. When we got to Needles they told us to take it through Yard 2 to the East Needles signal where we would be relieved. Security would be closing several containers. We had to wait a while to be relieved but they showed up. I took a SMART Rest. No pictures.

I got called for the KCKBAR again! On duty time was 7:30 am. this time it was a little smaller than the previous time. Still, it was pretty big. We had 4 motors on the head end, 2 in the middle, and one on the rear. We were making good time to Barstow. Then they stopped us at Dagget for a while. Then they moved us up to East Barstow. We sat there for a while too. (One of the problems with this train is that it's so big that it takes up two tracks and the Receiving Yard has to wait until two tracks are open before they can bring us in. We had 90 minutes left to work when I heard a rock hit my window. I looked down and I saw a van with two railroaders- we were bing relieved, but no one had told us. I went directly to the hotel. I went to Fuzzy's to get a burrito, and I went to bed. I got up for the free breakfast. They were sering it early. My phone rang at 6 am. I was called for the H BARKCK! (I came to Barstow on the KCKBAR and I was leaving on the BARKCK, the two worst trains). Today the BARKCK was smaller than usual. I finished my breakfast and got down to the depot. I was goinig back with a different engineer- and we had a student engineer. The yard crew was building our train- which was unusual because we were head end power only (when it's head end power, or "conventional" as we say, usually the road crew puts it together). When our train was ready we took the van out to Tom's Megaburgers and relieved the yard engineer on our train. They ran us pretty good-until we got to Homer. Then they stopped us for a while. We went down to West Needles and waited a while. We had been on duty for 10 and ahalf hours when they brought us in. I rolled my train by. I have attached a picture of our leader, the 7880. I'm projected to go out tomorrow late in the morning. I hope so. I need some sleep.

I got called for the "H KCKBAR." On duty time was 10 am. It was a big train. We had 3 motors on the head end, 3 in the middle, and two on the rear. Our train weighed over 21,000 tons and was over 10,000 feet long. This may have been the heaviest train I've ever had. We got as far as Danby when the detector desk said that we had a hot bearing. We had to stop and I had to inspect it with my heat sensor gun. It was only the 5th car back. The bearing was 158 degrees farenheit. I checked the 12 bearings ahead of it and the 12 behind it and they were all cooler. The detector desk said that we had to set the car out. Cadiz was the nearest place. It was on a hill. Since our train was so heavy I would have had to tie 47 brakes. It was in the 90s. Fortuately there were some baretables in the siding at Cadiz. They told us to set out the car at Amboy. They said we could proceed at 30 MPH, and 5 MPH over bridges. Since our train was so long, and sic\nce there are a lot of bridges between Danby and Amboy- we went 5 MPH the whole way. It took us 4 hours to travel the 20 miles to Amboy The sun was down. They took us into the siding. (At Amboy the spur is off of the siding). I tied 5 brakes and it held. (The ground is flat there). I made the cut. My engineer said he thought he could pull the cut past the switch without going through the signal. He was right. I threw the swtich and dropped the derail. There is enough rooom in that spur for maybe two cars. I rode the car in. A "Savage" security officer was watching us. I tied the handbrake and we did the "squeal test" (we pushed the car to make sure the brakes squealed). I made the cut and my engineer pulled the cars ahead. I restored the derail and threw the switch back. I rode the cut back to within a car length form our train, got off, and brought my engineer back to a hook. I had to lace the hoses in the dark. I got them on the first try. My engineer did the "Class III" while the brakes were still tied, then I relased the 5 handbrakes. The security officer gave me a ride to the head end of the train. He told me that he was the borhter of one of our engineers. He gave my engineer a ride back to the DPs because the cards needed to be signed. We had been told that we would be relieved at Amboy. A van showed up with our relief crew. We had maybe an hour left. The van took us to Barstow. We went thoguht the drive through at Jack in the Box My engineer and I were hungy, and I was thirsty. I got into bed in the hotel around 1 am. I got up for the free breakfast at 6 and went back to bed. I got my call at 11:30 am. I was deadheaded back to Needles in a van with two other men. I'm projected to go to work around noon tomorrow. No pictures.

I got called for the "B LPCSCO5." It had 3 motors on the head end and one motor in the middle. Behind the middle motor were baretables. The front half of the train was a regular stack train. Our work order said that we were to split it in Barstow. My engineer said that we would probably be told to take another motor out of the roundhouse because one motor wouldn't be enough for the rear half of the train. (The front half of our train was going to Stockton, the rear half was going to Long Beach. Our trip was slow. At least one train broke down and needed helpers They were single tracking. I noticed that my IPAD said that we were to set out one of our motors at Goffs. The AMSBAR was broken down in the siding at Goffs. Their leader was dead. Setting out our second motor would be a lot of work. Then as we neared Goffs we heard the crew of the AMSBAR say that they were in the van and heading to Barstow. I refreshed my IPAD and the set out was gone. We made slow progress to Barstow because they kept stopping us. We had maybe an hour left to work when we got to East Barstow and they told us to split the train. The rapid responder came out to help us. He ran me to the second motor in his truck. I tied the brake on the DP, and 6 handbrakes. I made the cut. The rapid responder had an ETD for us. I hung it and we did the Class III. We were finished just as we went DOL. The rapid responder ran me to the head end of our train. Our train was not tied down. We let the router and the terminal manager know that we were DOL and our train needed to be tied down We had to wait about an hour. A dog catch crew came out and tied our train down. They were nice enough to let us use thier van to take me to the hotel. My engineer went to the depot. I got to the hotel in time for breakfast. I slept about 5 hours, watched some TV, and slept for 3 more hours. I got called for the "S LHALPC3.' On duty time was 10:40 pm. I was ready to go when I got my call. I hadn't eaten all day. When I got to the depot I got some food from the deli. The terminal manager told us to go out to Hodge and get on our train. They were having problems and the crew was DOL. When we got there they said that ther was no air at the rear of the train. They suspected that someone had closed an anglecock and was robbng the train. The rapid responser was trying to find the problem. We had no sooner got on our train when the rapid responder said that he had found two open anglecocks. The air started to come up. It passed the train check. We were soon on the move They ran us good, but there were a lot of trains in the yard when we got to Needles. They told us to tie it down at the East Needles signal. It wasa big train-over 15,000 feet and over 14,000 tons. We had 4 motors on the head end, 2 in the middle, and 2 on the rear. My engineer tied the 4 motors and I tied one handbrake. It held. (It's pretty flat at East Needles). The van ran us back to the depot. On the way we counted 60 open containers. We filed a caim for 130 miles for getting on our train at Hodge. I am now on my rest cycle.

I got called for the "B LPCSCO5." It had 3 motors on the head end and one motor in the middle. Behind the middle motor were baretables. The front half of the train was a regular stack train. Our work order said that we were to split it in Barstow. My engineer said that we would probably be told to take another motor out of the roundhouse because one motor wouldn't be enough for the rear half of the train. (The front half of our train was going to Stockton, the rear half was going to Long Beach. Our trip was slow. At least one train broke down and needed helpers They were single tracking. I noticed that my IPAD said that we were to set out one of our motors at Goffs. The AMSBAR was broken down in the siding at Goffs. Their leader was dead. Setting out our second motor would be a lot of work. Then as we neared Goffs we heard the crew of the AMSBAR say that they were in the van and heading to Barstow. I refreshed my IPAD and the set out was gone. We made slow progress to Barstow because they kept stopping us. We had maybe an hour left to work when we got to East Barstow and they told us to split the train. The rapid responder came out to help us. He ran me to the second motor in his truck. I tied the brake on the DP, and 6 handbrakes. I made the cut. The rapid responder had an ETD for us. I hung it and we did the Class III. We were finished just as we went DOL. The rapid responder ran me to the head end of our train. Our train was not tied down. We let the router and the terminal manager know that we were DOL and our train needed to be tied down We had to wait about an hour. A dog catch crew came out and tied our train down. They were nice enough to let us use thier van to take me to the hotel. My engineer went to the depot. I got to the hotel in time for breakfast. I slept about 5 hours, watched some TV, and slept for 3 more hours. I got called for the "S LHALPC3.' On duty time was 10:40 pm. I was ready to go when I got my call. I hadn't eaten all day. When I got to the depot I got some food from the deli. The terminal manager told us to go out to Hodge and get on our train. They were having problems and the crew was DOL. When we got there they said that ther was no air at the rear of the train. They suspected that someone had closed an anglecock and was robbng the train. The rapid responser was trying to find the problem. We had no sooner got on our train when the rapid responder said that he had found two open anglecocks. The air started to come up. It passed the train check. We were soon on the move They ran us good, but there were a lot of trains in the yard when we got to Needles. They told us to tie it down at the East Needles signal. It wasa big train-over 15,000 feet and over 14,000 tons. We had 4 motors on the head end, 2 in the middle, and 2 on the rear. My engineer tied the 4 motors and I tied one handbrake. It held. (It's pretty flat at East Needles). The van ran us back to the depot. On the way we counted 60 open containers. We filed a caim for 130 miles for getting on our train at Hodge. I am now on my rest cycle.

I cot called for the Q NWHSCO6. On duty time as 8:30 pm. It was over 8500 feet with head end power only- but with the new rule we could go 70. It was a 6 hour trip. When we got to Barstow they told us to take it into Main 4. We had to wait an hour for the outbound to come and relieve us because their conductor got a late call. I asked for terminal manager for one of the new flashlights and he gave me one. I got to the hotel in time for breakfast and I slept for 8 hours. I got up and got a burrito at Fuzzy's. I got callled for a stack train going home. On duty time was 7:30 pm. We got on at the steps. It was a prtty good trip, but when we got to Needles they told us that they weren't callling trains and they held us at West Needles for about an hour. They finally gave us the signal and told us to tie it down at East Needles. I only had to tie 3 brakes. I should go out this evening.

I got called to dogcatch the U JOEWAT, or the "rolling bomb." We had 95 tanker cars of HAZMAT: gasoline, alchohols, and ethanol. We had a loaded hopper on each end of the train to at as a buffer, and we had 3 motors on the head of our train and 2 on the rear. The rear most DP was dead. Our train was still in the yard, on Yard 2. The crew was still on it and they had been non duty for 6 hours. They had set out a bad order and were waiting for helpers. The train would not make it to Barstow without helpers. We relieved them. The helper crew came on duty about the same time as us. The helpers hooked on to the rear of our train. We had been on duty for over an hour when we departed. The dispatcher put us in the siding at Goffs for a while, and then the siding at Amboy. They seemed like they wre in no hurry to get us to Barstow. Our helpers broke off at Pisgah. When we did get to Barstow they told us to take the defective motor to Diesel Service. We called for a van to run us to the rear of our train. When we got there we found out that the motor would not run under it's own power. We called Diesel Service, and the router. The rourtr told us to leave it on the rear of the train. The outbound would add another DP on the rear and they would "tag it and drag it" as we say. We were also told that we were being flipped. We jumped into a van that had been called for another crew and shared it with them. We had never seen this driver before. He was weaving pretty badly. He blamed it on the wind. I'm projected to go out around 5 am tomorrow. I'm sure that I will go out much sooner than that.

I got called to deadhead to Barstow with 3 other men in a van. On the way we were told that there are no more trainmasters in Barstow- and from now on the Terminal Manager will do everything that the trainmaster did. Trainmasters have been laid off system wide. There was a trainmaster at Barstow 24 hours a day 7 days aweek, now they are gone. We were also told that from now on trains with head end power only that are over 85oo feet can go 70 MPH-previoulsy they were restricted to 55 MPH. Trains 10,000 feet or longer must have a DP on the rear- that rule hasn't changed. When we got to Barstow the trainmaster's office was empty, and there was a note on the window that said, "Out of business." We asked the terminal manager if there were any trains that we could take to Needles so we could "flip" but he said no so we tied up and went to the hotel. I slept about 6 hours, got up for the free breakfast, and went back to bed. I was awakened by a telemarketer at 11 am. I couldn't get back to sleep so I got a burrito from Fuzzy's. I evetually went back to sleep and got called for the "Q LACCHI" at 5:30. On duty time was 7 pm. As my engineer and I went over the profile we noticed that our train was over 8600 feet long (cars only) and we had 5 motors on the head end- no DP. We looked for the new rule in our IPADS. Another conductor helped us find it. Yes, there it was in writing. We could go 70MPH. We got on at the steps. The inbound told us that we had 3 containers open at the rear of our train. We were a "Nike train," (we had lots of Nikes in our contianers). This is the kind of train that thieves love to break into. Security closed the containers. The dispatcher ran us good. We only stopped twice. We saw security most of the trip. Security or the railroad police were at several crossings, or riding on the highway near us with their lights flashing. We got into Needles after midnight and I tied up around 1 am. It was a 7 hour day. I should go out this afternoon. I willg et some held away for staying n the htoel so long. I have attached a picture of the trainmaster's window- and our leader, the 4601.

I got called for the "Q MEMSCO" for the second time in a row. For the second time in a row our train was to split at Needles. For the second time in a row I was on the head end and the other crew had to do the split. They would also have to pick up some cars in Yard 3. On duty time was 7:30 pm. Our trip was about 8 and a half hours. Our outbund came out pretty quickly. I got into bed around 4 am. (Daylight savings time had just ended and the clocks moved ahead). I got up at 6 am for the free breakfast and slept another 4 hours. I got up and I couldn't get back to sleep. I went to Fuzzy's and got a burrito. I got called for an X train going from Fresno to Minot, North Dakota. It had 2 motors on the head end and 100 empty grain hoppers. I was hoping that we would just get on and go. But the work order said at we had to pick up 51 empty hoppers in Storage Track 12. The inbound crew had 5 hours left but they didn't have to do it. Also, our train was in I1. We couldn't go directly into the Storage Yard from I1. We would have to go out to the main line and shove in. The van ran us out to our train. We asked the van to stay with us. We told the router, and the bowl tower what we needed to do. We went thorugh the East Barstow signal. I got off and rolled my train by. I got on the last hopper and we had a red over a flashing red. We shoved into the storage yard. I had the van run me back and I lined the switches. I shoved us back form the van. When we got within two cars of the hook I removed the ETD from the rear of our train. There was a work train trying to do some work in track 14 and they were irritated because we frogged them in. I brought my engineer back to a hook. I laced the hoses and cut the air in. I put the ETD in the van and we went to the end of the train,. My engineer could not hear me over the radio but the work train was nice enough to relay my messages to him. I hung the ETD. We did the Class III and the two way. There was one brake at the rear of the train. There were 3 brakes on the east end of the cut. The van ran me to the head end. They ran us pretty good. But our train was limit

ed to 55 MPH and we were underpowered. We got in around 3 am. I filed a cliam for riding the rear of my train for over 1 mile. I am now on my rest. I have attached a picture of our leader, the 8489.

I got called for the Q MEMSCO. On duty time was 6:30 pm. We had 3 motors on the head end and 3 in the middle. Our work order said that we had to split our train. My engineer and I got on the head end and another crew got on our middle DP. They made the cut and hung the ETD for us. It was a good trip to Barstow. They stopped us a few times. We got to Barstow in the wee hours of the morning and tied our train down on Main 2. Our day was just over 8 hours. I slept for a couple of hours, got up for the free breakfast, and went back to bed for a while. I woke up in the afternoon and could not get back to sleep. I went to Fuzzy's to get a burrito, and got called for the "Q STOCLO." ON duty time was 8 pm. Our train was tied down on Main 2 when we went on duty. It was a good train with 3 motors on the head end and 2 on the rear. Our trip to Needles was longer than it should have been because there was a lot of traffic ahead of us and we had to keep stopping. When we went through Amboy Ii looked in my IPAD and it said that we had to set out one of our motors in Needles when we got there. We came into Needles around sunrise. The outbound met us at the east end and they helped us. The setout went smoothly and we parked the motor on roundhouse 2. I should go out again this evening.

I got called for the "H GALBAR." On duty time was 3 pm. It was a big train with 4 motors on the head end and 1 on the rear. They were in no hurry to get us to Barstow. We sat at the depot in Needles for a while before we departed. They put us into the siding at Goffs to let a train run around us, then put us in the sding at Ash Hill. We swapped with a Q train at Ash Hill. We only had 2 hours left to work. The other crew had much more time left than we did. We got as far as Dagget on our Q train and they sent our outbound to us. I went straight to the hotel. I slept for a couple of hours, got up for the free breakfast at 6, went back to bed, and I woke up around noon. It was a beautiful day in Barstow so I walked over to Fuzzy's and got a burrito. After I ate I could not get back to sleep. I kept looking at the lineup t see what train I was going to get but it kept changing. I finally dozed off. I got called for the "S LBEMEM." It was a nice small train with 4 motors on the head end. On duty time was 11:30 pm. I had been in the hotel over 20 hours, and I will get some "held away" for that. It took a while for our train to come in. We got on at the steps. It was a good trip. When we got to Needles the dispatcher told us that we had several open containers and that we would have to instruct our outbound to pull down to the east end so security could close them. An H train was stopped on Main 4 and we had to climb over it. I didn't sleep good today. I will probaably go out in a couple of hours. I have attached a picture of our leader, the 6866.

I got caled for the "B HCKSCO," a train of empty intermodal cars, or "baretable flats" as we call them. Our work order said that we were supposed to pick up more baretables out of a siding. at Saltus. I looked in my TCMs and they said that the switch at the west end of that siding was "hard to throw." I notified the dispatcher. After we had departed they told us to "highball" the setout. Before we got to Barstow my IPAD said that we were to set out our last two cars in Barstow. When we got in they told us that we were to set out our first two cars. I told them that my IPAD said that we were to set out our last two cars. A different voice came over the radio and called me by name. They said that the cars were lines 3 and 4, and they gave me the car numbers. The router first told us we would be going into Receiver 7, then they told us that we would be going into Receiver 5 and setting the cars out to Receiver 1. We pulled into Receiver 5. I got my "in between" and walked back to look for the two cars. It seemed to me they were much farther back than lines 3 and 4. I found them, tied 3 brakes behiind them, and made the cut. I rode the last car over the switch, and then I shoved us into Receiver 1. We were told to make a hook. I got off when we were about one car away and took my engineer back to a hook. I tied the brakes on the cars tha we were setting out (they were each "5 packers," so they each had one brake on each end). Then I cut us away and rode thel ast car over the switch. I was stopped under the bridge. I kept asking the rotuer to throw the swtich but he did not respond. (I didn't know it but he was having radio trouble). We finally got the swtich and I shoved us back into R5. I stopped us when we were a car away and shoved my engineer back to a hook. I laced the hoses and cut the air in. Since we larady had brakes tied I didn't tie any more. I walked up to the head end and the engineer called for a van and tied the brakes on the motors. I wrote a note for our outbound, telling them that there were 3 brakes tied about 15 or two platforms back. A van showed up quicker than we expected. We went to the depot and tied up. It had been an 11 and a half hour day, which meant that I would get some overtime. I went to the hotel, slept for a few , and got up at 6 for the free breakfast. I went back to bed and slept like a log. I got called for a stack train. On duty time was 5 minutes after noon. We got on at the steps. It was a nice, small stack train with 3 motors on the head end. No setouts or pickups. Still, it was an 8 hour day because they stopped us a couple of titmes. When we got to the Needles singal it was red. I asked if we could flag it and the dispatcher said yes. The railroad police told us that we had several open containers. We notified the outbound that they would have to pull down to the east end so security could close the doors. I stayed behind to roll my train by and told them they had 5 containers open. I tied up. I am now on my rest cycle. I have attached a picture of our leader, the 6202.