Lesson 7: What we haven't learned from the Penn Central
Well gang, today we went on duty at 0700 at Champaign. We took 8 hours rest
to try to get home sooner. We got an XMECH with 126 cars. Forgot my notes
and don't remember the breakdown, but it was around 7300 tons and 7600 feet
and headed up by 1010 and 6126. After tripling up the train, we departed at
0830. Again, the CCP General Orders and Dispatcher were our nemesis.
A short wait on a meet with I143 at Gar Creek and waiting on a track to open
north of Stuenkel account track work, and we arrived at Homewood at 1145 on
track 2. Not a bad run thus far. But this is good as it will get we soon
learn. GLME is putting his train away at Markham and the Markham Local is
getting ready to double out. The local highballs and pulls up along side of
us on track 3 awaiting his crew to be driven to the head end. Redbone
informs us the A/S has a plan to get me tied up in less than 8 hours so that
I cannot request 12 hours rest, but only 8. He has a plan that I will come
back in 8 hours and take yet another grain train south tonight. I have other
plans as I go on vacation when I tie-up this evening. He is not aware of
this and I am not going to tell him either. He also isn't aware that we have
to be cabbed back to Glenn Yard to tie-up as well. I'm keeping a good eye on
the traffic back-up on the northbound Tri State and muse the fact that this
trip will be an hour alone.
But alas, the "best laid plans of mice and men......" The CNIC is doing
their best impression of Penn Central, Norfolk Southern, CSX and UP all
rolled up into one. The local departs and goes exactly 9000 feet and camps
out. MofW in the way and MEGL sitting at Stuenkel. The trackage reductions
of the earlier 90's again paying great dividends. GLME is now starting to
double up his outbound train. The Assistant Super keeps telling us they are
going to run us first to pull up to Harvey and back our train into
Thoroughfare 4. The Greatest of all Dispatchers has other plans. GLME is
allowed to come out in front of us. GLME finally departs and after 2 hrs 45
min, we go to Harvey. Once again, we sit here so long we have to change our
voter registration cards. This of course, is after operating at restricted
speed from Homewood to Harvey account the electric lock switches are open at
Harvey.
As we proceed to Harvey, my Conductor and I both observe that Thoroughfare 4
is all full of intermodal type cars and we won't fit on top of it. Another
great plan falling into place. Upon our Harvey arrival, we are told that CN
(WC) 176 is coming off the GTW and had to use Thoroughfare 3 first to get to
F Yard. Then, we will shove our train into Thoroughfare 3 behind him. In the
meantime, the MIT job is showing up from Highlawn engines lite with two CN
and one GTW SD40 types. GT 397 is coming and WC219 is also getting ready to
leave. They run 397 up the old connection north towards Highlawn on track 7.
The MIT stops at Harvey on track 4. Finally, 219 departs. We are instructed
to pull our train north of the crossovers at Harvey on track 2. During all
this sitting, GLME has been brought up behind us and too, is sitting. The
MIT job gets to head back into the yard. We continue to wait for 176. 397 is
now on deathly short time and will not get into the yard before passing
away.
Finally, 176 shows up and surprise, he too is on short time. They recrew him
at Gateway as he pulls up along side the office there. Now it is our turn
when he clears. We shove our entire train into Thoroughfare 3, secure it and
take the power to Woodcrest. A cab meets us there and takes us to Glenn, now
in the teeth of evening rush. We depart Woodcrest at 1800 and arrive at
Glenn at 1910 and tie up at 1940. I then get the great joy of telling the
crew caller to mark me off on vacation. He says he has to ask me if I want
to make myself available to work in an emergency. After we both stop
laughing I politely tell him "NO!" Markham is plugged to the nuts and there
are nowhere near enough men to handle the work. There is not the capacity to
handle the volume of business now being dumped upon it. This too is how you
achieve a 62% operating ratio. Eliminate all of the jobs and hope that the
work will somehow get done all by itself. But they keep telling us we "don't
see the big picture." If this is just a snapshot, I'm not sure I really want
to see that 14X22 color glossy.
Well, we're off to Indy in the AM to set up for the show, so we hope to see
many of you there.
Tuch
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