Sorry I haven't written a new post in a while, my only internet access at the campground is in the bar and well, I don't do a whole lot of writing in the bar.
I have been wanting to write a post on what I generally do day to day because I get a lot of questions on what exactly trainmasters do. There are a lot of days that have me looking like this
But there are a few things I do everyday no matter which fires spring up.
There are 3 things you need to run a train; engines, a crew and a built and air tested train. Part of my job is coordinating with the power desk, the ready track, crew management and the car department to make sure these trains go out as soon as I have all 3 of those things.
Another big part of my job is making sure the yard is fluid. I work in a hump yard so we bring trains into the receiving yard, hump them according to where they need to go, and then pull blocks of cars from the bowl and build new trains. I keep track of what is coming in and going out, keep the division updated on how much traffic we can handle and give the yardmasters a plan to get the trains built and the cars humped in order of importance (and sometimes they even listen!)
I do have to say though, I am a supervisor and the guys in this yard do a pretty good job of getting all of the hard work done. Many of them know the job better than I do and only a few have tried to take advantage of my lack of experience in a hump yard. Those that have tried have just helped my learning curve along and as the saying goes fool me once....
There are also problems that seem to crop up every day that I have to deal with in one fashion or another.
Power breaks down, daily. Sometimes on a through train, sometimes on an originating train. It always has me scrambling to find some way to get another engine so that I don't waste the crew and the train is not delayed.
To many trains not enough room. This is a good problem to have, it means our company is doing well. However, sometimes there is just no more room at the inn. I have to get creative on ways to get trains in and out or move things around to make more room. The afore mentioned guys that know more than me have been really helpful on this one.
No crews. For the yard, this usually means holding over guys to work part of the next shift, and then finding someone to come in 4 hours earlier. This is crew managements job, but I need to let them know what I need, who I am holding over for what job, and what job is the most important to fill if they don't think they will find enough people. For road crews, this means convincing the division that my originating train is more important than their through train. We share pretty good, but on weekends and holidays it can get pretty sticky. (See to many trains not enough room)
As for some of the stranger things that have happened here is a short list.
1. The hump tower got hit by lighting and did actually start a fire (real firemen came and everything!)
2. Guy fell in the shower and couldn't come to work that day after he accepted his call.
3. Major rain storm caused a washout on the Cumberland sub.
4. Same storm caused a landslide in Baltimore.
5. 3 minor derailments in the yard in one day.
6. Guy got on the train, went a few miles and reported that he was to tired to continue?
I could go on, but you get the idea. No two days out here are the same, which is one of the things I like about this job, but some days, when everything is going great, you are just waiting on that other shoe to drop.
I promise I will try to get in a few more post, and throw in a few odd ball ones as well. The pictures on this post are a few of the extracurricular things I have been doing.
