storyteller

Chess

Well, if the rail yard work can be compared to playing checkers, with it’s billions of possible move combinations, then certainly railroad operations out on the mainline should be compared to playing chess with it’s trillions of possible move combinations.

Each “Chess Piece” out on the Main Line have different functions and move differently about the “Railroad Chess Board” Besides the Railroad Engineers driving the train, there are:

• Conductors – Sometimes when we aren’t driving the train, as engineers, we work as conductors walking the train making sure everything is the way it should be. We are there to do everything from fix common door problems to getting on the ground to flag the train through malfunctioning crossings.
• Train Hosts – They are both at stations and on the trains, helping passengers.
• Field Supervisors – They work throughout the alignment doing everything from dealing with trespassers and other illegal activity to helping with the trains and the rail alignment locations that are having problems.
• MOW Rail (Maintenance of Way) – Personnel that maintains the rails, switches, etc.
• MOW Signals – Personnel that maintains the signals systems and automatic controls.
• Radio Technicians – Maintaining the many two-way radios in our operation as well as the automatic announcement systems on the trains.
• Frontrunner maintenance personnel – They usually work in the yard, but do venture out on the mainline when a train with problems warrants it.
• The Instructors – They have licensing authority (can issue and revoke our engineers licenses), give efficiency tests and check rides to determine if we are still doing everything correctly and if we can still keep our licenses or not, and teach the basics to new engineers.
• UTA Police and Fare Inspectors – Out there keeping everyone honest and safe.
• FRA inspectors – They can be anywhere at anytime watching our operation to make sure we, as a railroad, are following all Federal Railroad standards.
• Controllers – They direct everything from a our Control Room. Everything that happens on the mainline is under the direction of the Controller on duty. I think of really good controllers as the “Grandmasters” of our Mainline “Railroad Chess Game.”
• Customers – And last but not least, I like to think of our customers, the passengers, as the King of our Railroad chess game, because everything else that the rest of us are doing ultimately is to take the best possible care of our passengers, just like the number one objective of all other chess pieces is to protect the king.

I read that there are 318,979,564,000 (that’s almost 319 billion) possible ways to play just the first four moves of chess. I think this is a fair comparison our mainline railroad operations.

Even when everything goes like clockwork, it’s a pretty complicated mechanism to run that “Clock”. Timing is everything, as the north and southbound trains meet each other. Typically this is at eight different locations along the alignment during our peak 30 minute service.

All it takes is something like heavy passenger loads, taking longer than usual to board and exit at the stations, to really mess up the schedule for all nine trains competing for the same single track. Add to that a door not functioning properly or a million other mechanical glitches that can happen and the delays can really add up.

Then the Grandmasters in the control room might start changing things up, trying to get the flow of trains down the track in both directions smoothly again. North vs Southbound “train meets” at the sidings may be switched, so that the normally faster train to the meeting point stays on the mainline and the normally slower train, which is now first to get there, goes into the siding and waits for the train to pass by in the other direction.

That maneuver can help get the slower train back on schedule because it won’t have to slow down as it passes the train coming from the other direction. However even that can be tricky. Because the switches have to be lined well ahead of time and then the Controller is committed once he guesses which train to line into the siding.

Other variables that affect the timing and flow of trains as they move in both directions along our single track include the fact that no two engineers drive the train the same way. Sometimes in the mix are new student drivers along with their instructors.

Some engineers drive the trains faster than others. Some try to push the limits of our automatic speed controls and frequently get shut down. That makes them slower in the long run than those who go slower. Some engineers leave such a cushion of safety that they never hear the Cab Signal System beeping  the warning that the train is going as fast as allowed for that particular stretch of track. I would describe these engineers as “Slow but sure”.

As I drive my train, I strive to always run at maximum authorized speed by keeping the “happy chirp” of the cab signals going as much as possible but avoiding getting to the point of hearing the “angry beep” of that signal system saying, “I’m going to shut you down!” I’ve also learned that keeping a train on time has as much to do with efficiently coming into and out of the stations as with running at maximum authorized speed through the open stretches.

All of it involves a fine line between great train handling skills and excessive penalty stops and causing a jerky ride for “The King” our passengers. It’s a lot of continuous practice and work to get it right.

Also, no two trains can be driven exactly the same way. Our 19 locomotives and over 50 passenger cars are constantly being remixed and matched as units are pulled out for repairs or preventive maintenance. Each time a particular consist is changed it handles differently. Variables include locomotive power, exactly what is required to keep the Cab Signals happy, and how the train responds to braking.

Opponents that can challenge the railroad chess players include:

• Form A Protection – Temporary speed restrictions because of track conditions.
• Form B Protection – Speed restrictions with possible stops required used to protect men and equipment working on or near the rails.
• Restricted Speed – Special reduced speed requirements that includes a mandate to watch for and stop before encountering a list of possible obstructions.
• Additional Speed Restrictions – Can be issued for any speed, for any stretch of track, for any time required, to protect either the train or men & equipment on the ground near the track.
• Crossing Protections – Special procedures including sounding a horn sequence and speed restrictions, with possible a stop for a flagger at crossings with malfunctioning crossing gate and/or lights.
• FrontRunner Efficiency Tests – Conditions in place on the train or track requiring the engineer to respond following specific protocols. These many different possible tests, administered under the direction of the training department can vary in complexity and delays to normal operations.
• Union Pacific Efficiency Tests – Same as the FrontRunner efficiency test when operating on the Union Pacific alignment. One big difference is the Union Pacific supervisor administering the test has less regard for the length and timing of the test that affects FrontRunner’s schedule. I’ve been involved with some of these tests that caused substantial delays to FrontRunner during our peak morning commute.
• Union Pacific Trains in Emergency – Because of the length and resulting cumulative slack action, when a Union Pacific train applies it’s emergency brakes (regardless of the reason), there is a possibility that their consist may become uncoupled or even derailed. When this happens on our adjoining track, it is possible that our track may be fouled by it. Also, the UP personnel must then walk and make a visual inspection of their train before they can proceed. We have special protocols to follow in how we can proceed past (and reporting about) the UP train as long as it’s in emergency.
• Police Action on the Train – Whether it’s someone running or hiding from police on the train, or someone is observed engaging in something criminal, the train may be asked to hold at stations while the police do their thing.
• Police Action on the Alignment – The various police agencies along our alignment will contact our control center anytime they have police action along the alignment. We will then be asked to proceed with various levels of caution (and reduced speed) depending on what is going on and how close they are to our rails. It is surprising how often this happens. Criminals and good people doing dumb things seem to gravitate to the railroad tracks.
• Medical Emergencies on the trains and at stations – It happens, and does cause the delays you might expect for such things.
• Bomb Threats – From a positive perspective, the traveling public are increasingly aware of their surroundings. The “See something, say something” awareness campaign is working. I’ve even had my own bag, locked the operating compartment of the train but seen through a small window, reported to me as an unattended bag. Even though it requires man power and other resources, usually the frequent sightings and reports can be quickly investigated and resolved without causing delay to the trains. However, even in my short time working for FrontRunner, I’ve seen these sort of threats close down a station and shutdown and evacuate a train. In the latter case, apparently a homemade tattoo machine, forgotten and left on the train, can look a lot like a bomb.
• Cars crashed or stranded on the rails – It is surprising to me how often confused, impaired or reckless drivers end up stranded on our rails. Of course this brings disruption to our regular train service, while the incident is investigated and the car is cleared from our tracks. One such incident recently happened on our main line tracks next to our rail yard. The innovative way that our controllers kept our trains rolling, and kept our “King” the customers happy, seemed as clever as the unique castling move in chess where the King is protected by simultaneously trading places with one of the rooks. In our railroad version, our “in service trains” full of passengers, were routed through our yard, thus avoiding being stopped on our closed mainline track. Besides the yard speed restrictions and personnel out throwing yard switches to accommodate their movement, the jurisdiction and communications for the train moved to the yard supervisor and then back to the controller as each train made their “Castling” move.
• Debris on the tracks – Certain types of debris (blown, dropped, or otherwise left on the tracks) can show “an occupancy” and require investigation before the signal systems are working properly and trains can proceed normally.
• Disabled train on the alignment – Nothing will disrupt the flow of all the trains running up and down our single track quicker than a disabled train anywhere on the alignment. Frequently, the mechanical problems occur at a station with things like door problems. If something happens causing the train to loose power between stations, the goal is to coast into a station so at least other trains can continue to run down our single track. When that doesn’t work, it’s really inconvenient. Bus bridges around the disabled train and the trains on both ends of the “blocked track” running back and forth on the shortened remaining line then become a reality.
• Train involved in collision with a person or vehicle – These events, almost always including personal tragedy will stop the train at the scene for hours. Like the disabled train on our single track, bus bridges and the remaining trains making shortened runs on each end of the accident to keep our passengers moving.
• Extra trains – Whether it’s a single locomotive sent out to rescue a dead train on the alignment, a replacement train to replace one with problems, or an additional train sent out to take up the headway of a substantially delayed train, the extra trains out competing for our precious single track during our peak 30 minute service can really complicate routing and flow of the other trains.
• Snow storms causing Signal issues – All the switches on our mainline are equipped with heaters to keep them from freezing in cold and snowy weather. In spite of our fancy equipment and all that the Maintenance of Way personnel do to keep these things working, stormy weather always seems to break the weakest links in the chain. The results include stopped trains, engineers tying down their trains, trudging out in the snow to manually throw switches, and a whole list of special radio dialog mandated to keep the system safe while trains begin moving (albeit slowly) through a manual system.
• Power Outage – Though the specific cause is different, switching and signal issues when the power goes out along the alignment is very much like what happens when snow storms cause havoc with our mainline switches and signals.
• Tripped Bollards – Bollards are posts mounted in certain places between our rail and very close Union Pacific track. If in these very “tight spots” a UP train (or something from the UP train) trips the bollard, it falls over onto our track causing any of our trains in that area to receive a “Zero Speed” on our cap control signal system, shutting down that train completely.
• MOW (Maintenance of Way) with Track & Time or Foul Time – Whether it is preventive maintenance or helping to get things up and running when the system fails, The controllers must also keep track of MOW personnel out on the track as well as the trains. Depending on what they are doing, when, and where, various types of permits are granted, and monitored by the controllers so that the trains and employees who maintain the track system don’t occupy the same space.
• Common Corridor Emergencies – When the emergency is bigger than just FrontRunners’s world, coordination in responding to, and managing the situation includes the other outside entities involved. Just recently, an I-15 wreck, involving a truck with potentially explosive material not only shut down the interstate in both directions for many hours, but also closed a close by section of the FrontRunner track. Like a disabled train on the alignment, Bus Bridges and trains makings shorter runs back and forth on each side of the track closure were included in the responseshe included in the responce de of the track closure also closed a  that the Controllers made in that particular railroad chess game.
• Trespassers – People along our rails is a constant occurrence. Many don’t seem to know that they are trespassing into dangerous territory. Others know but don’t care. Whether it’s just someone looking for a short cut, a foamer out trying to get the perfect picture, or someone with a death wish, they complicate and often slow our safe passage up and down the rails.
• Managing delays while holding for transfers – The controllers on duty are often weighing the balance between holding trains for transfers from the other modes of transit which are behind schedule and also making the FrontRunner trains late. “Do they sacrifice a bishop to save the Knight? Which one is more needed in the future to keep the King safe?”
• Train Host left at the Station – In the hustle and bustle of passengers exiting and entering the train, once in a while the train host, buried in the crowd, is left on the platform (often standing there holding the bridge plate that was just used to help someone in a wheelchair cross the gap from the train.) Once the train is off the platform it can’t go back, and the controller now needs to get another train host on board, somewhere down the line, until it can all be made right again.
• Holiday “Saturday Service” congestion – Even late at night on a Monday holiday, Controllers deal with congestion along the alignment as the late night “Saturday Service” trains continue until 2:30am, the five overnight trains are deadheading to their starting points in Provo and Ogden, MOW is looking to get on the tracks for inspections and maintenance, and the overnight freight trains are looking for their usual night time windows of opportunity to cross over the UTA Main track as they service the many businesses along both sides of our rail.

Back when I started driving Frontrunner trains for UTA, family and friends would question what there was to do in the rail yard, and why I would have to work so late. Comments like “I didn’t think those trains ran that late?”, “FrontRunner doesn’t start that early!”, and my favorite, “What do you do all night, when the trains aren’t running?”

No! Even though the yard can be that quiet at times, this story isn’t about how we sit and play Checkers and Chess all night.

Checkers

They say that there are literally billions of possible moves in a single checkers game. I think it’s a fair comparison to the possible moves on any given work shift in the rail yard.

Even in our small rail yard, with only twenty-two tracks, and a shop with eleven tracks running into or through, the work that may be needed 24/7 is endless.

It’s certainly not an all inclusive, but here is a list of some typical yard work:

• Trains entering the yard as they end service. (Usually in the late mornings and at night.)
• Preparing trains to go into service on the mainline. (Usually in the early morning and afternoon.)
• Trains leaving the yard in the middle of the night. (To begin service at the north or south end of our line.)
• Moving trains into and out of the various servicing bays in the shop. (For cleaning, Inspections, refueling, etc.)
• Moving various railcars and locomotives as required for the maintenance personnel.
• Breaking up trains for (and building trains after) detailed preventative maintenance work.
• Staging trains in the yard for the next pullout (beginning of service).
• Testing trains, both on yard track and out on the mainline after certain repair work is completed.
• All the associated manual switch lining in the yard for everything listed above.
• On stand-by to go out in the mainline, with no previous notice, if a scheduled engineer is a no show, late, becomes sick while out on the mainline, etc.
• On stand-by with replacement trains to bring out onto the mainline to swap out trains experiencing mechanical problems.

Like in checkers, some movements can only be made when doubled up. While some of this work can be completed by one engineer, other jobs requires at least two or sometimes three to follow all the safety protocols. Work directly in front of, behind, or under any part of a train requires some form of protection. For engineers, the mandated protection is to have another engineer guarding the controls with it locked into what we call “Set and centered”. When coupling or uncoupling a locomotive or railcars, the engineer needs to follow the directions of another engineer on the ground watching the move. Sometimes three engineers are required so both ends of the train can be watched while making the move. And always, any movement that is not forward, and with a clear view for the engineer, requires that another engineer is stationed to watch, and to “call the shove” movement.

Like in checkers, the various combinations of everything that might take place during a “report shift” in the yard can easily number in the billions. No two days are exactly alike.

The busiest “Overnight Report Shift” I’ve ever experienced occurred soon after I was licensed. My scheduled start time was 8:00pm. And in this case I was the only engineer scheduled for the yard that night.

Of course, like always, I was substantially early.

As soon as I arrived, I was asked if I wanted to start early because they needed me out on the mainline. I was immediately driven 20 miles south to meet a northbound train that was lacking a conductor. By the time the train reached our rail yard, they had a replacement for me and I was back in the yard.

Because I was the only one on report in the yard, I wanted to be ahead of the game on everything I could think to do, so I headed out to inspect and line the track for the “Pull in” which would start shortly after midnight.

I only made it halfway into the south yard when “Control” called me on the radio and told me to get the spare train ready for a northbound departure. This meant that a train on our north end was having mechanical difficulties and just in case they couldn’t resolve it, I needed to be ready to go out on the main line with a rescue train.

Getting the train ready included turning on power for each car, starting the locomotive, firing up the HEP (the train’s electrical generator), starting up the locomotive and building enough air in the system for operations, “Cutting Out” the Cab car (for Southbound movement) and “Cutting In” the Locomotive (for Northbound movement), and performing the required brake tests, which included a lot of walking back and forth to visually confirm that the brakes were doing what they should when brakes were applied and released.

By now Control informed me that they did in fact need my replacement train out on the mainline ASAP. I still had to manually line the yard switches for my northbound departure and go back into the operations room for my backpack (which has all my required paperwork to drive the train on the mainline).

It’s surprising how long all that takes to do when you have to do it by yourself.

Finally, I was back out on the mainline, this time driving the train. We made a “Train Swap” where the train crew and passengers continued north in the train I brought to them, and after all the needed brake tests, I “limped” that train back to the yard for repairs. In this case, the broken train could not proceed northbound, but by cutting out the locomotive and cutting in the cab car, I could still drive it southbound.

On my return, finally I was able to walk the rail yard and line the switches to start the pull in. And that’s when the fun began. For the rest of the night I moved as quickly as possible, from one thing to the next. Always there were at least three for four things patiently (and sometimes impatiently) waiting for me to get to them. To condense my story, a sampling of my activities that night are reduced to this bullet list:

• Direct incoming trains where to go as they enter the yard.
• Line the track for the next train as each one enters it’s designated track.
• Help tie down each train when it comes to a stop.
• Line track for each train to move out of the servicing bay and to it’s parking place.
• Test the repaired “Broken train” from earlier with movement through the rail yard.
• Move each train out of the shop and to their parking place as maintenance releases them.
• Continually reline track as each train moves back and forth to reach it’s correct parking position.
• After moving each train out of the shop, drive the next one waiting behind it into the shop so maintenance can service, clean, and inspect.
• Each time I have a train to move, specific protocols must be followed including walking the entire consist and releasing several hand brakes.
• Of course all of this is done in the dark of night and on hard to walk on “ballast” rocks that the railroad tracks sit on.

Like in my best attempt at playing checkers, I was always thinking as many moves ahead as possible. After tying down this train, here in the east yard, do  I have time to walk back and line the track of the east and north yards for the next train out of the shop? Or should I cut straight across to the south yard to line it for the next inbound train and then move the next train in cue to the waiting servicing crew?  Sometimes a little delay now will save a lot of time later.

Even for someone who’s not afraid to walk a lot, and in fact in the habit of running about 10 miles in my off duty time, this was a very busy night of work. By 6:00am, the end of my shift, I was dead tired.

”

As we emerge from the cold of winter, I have a possibility of also emerging from the dark of night. On our upcoming Bid Day, all the UTA FrontRunner engineers line up according to seniority and choose our work for the next four months. On the last bid, I was number 46 of 46. That didn’t leave a lot of choices of work, driving me to continue my nocturnal life that began when I licensed eight months ago. This time I am bidding number 43 out of 52. A little better chance of seeing some daylight.

My Beautiful Wife thinks I make a lousy “night owl”. I have always thought of myself as an early morning person. I think I may get that from my dad who, as a kid on a farm during the great depression, was assigned the task of milking the cows before breakfast and school. He kept getting up earlier and earlier to do his work until his mother threatened him with, “Norman, if you don’t stay in bed until 4:00am I won’t let you milk the cows anymore.”

It’s an eclectic crowd that make up the FrontRunner engineers. Besides coming from other railroads, our backgrounds include bus and truck drivers, the aviation industry (helicopter pilot, air traffic controller, airlines), military, heavy equipment, mechanics, realtors, business managers and owners, social workers, continuing college students as well as those relatively new to the work force.

The supervisor who drove me to the station where I boarded the train to take my licensing “Check Ride” told me about this group of men and women that I was joining. “We are a big dysfunctional family here… bickering and fighting galore. But if anyone from the outside says anything against you, everyone is right there like a pack of wolves to defend you.”

I have since received a lot of advice from my “Big Dysfunctional Family”. Some is just overheard, because I listen more than I talk. I have found that learning from someone else’s mistakes is a whole lot easier than learning from my own. Those who have “been there and done that” have saved me more than once. I take in advise, direct and indirect from all sources that I can, and then mentally sort out what is useful to me. I just smile at the young 40 somethings giving me general “life advise”, thinking they are older and wiser in everything because they have driven the trains longer than me. I take these guys about as seriously as celebrities who are presented as “parenting experts” on a TV program because they are famous.

As I have worked closely with a few of these co-workers, and come to know some of their personality quirks, I feel more and more like a member of this big, likeable, dysfunctional family.

Back when I was training, one instructor was giving me a compliment on my work ethic. He said something like, “You go after the job like Keller. Do you know Keller yet?” When I said that I hadn’t yet met Keller, he added, “He’s an Idaho farm boy who really knows how to work.” Being an Idaho farm boy myself, I took the compliment as kindly as it was meant.

Later, Keller came into our operations room where my trainer and I were. So I was introduced to this very likeable fellow.

Me: “I heard you are from Idaho?”
Keller: “Arizona and Idaho, but I lived in Idaho for over twenty years.”
Me: “Where at in Idaho”
Keller: “Rexburg”
Me: “I’m from Rexburg”
Keller more thoughtful now: “Let me see… Haroldsen… Do you know Norman?”
Me: “He’s my dad.”

My trainer, Keller, and I laughed about this “Small World” coincidence and talked about the strong if not harsh work ethic we came from. I mentioned that you could almost tell an Idaho farm boy if his hands had at least one chopped finger. Keller smiled and held up one of his hands, proudly displaying four and a half fingers. He simply said, “Potato harvest.” I laughed and said, I’ll bet you didn’t take much time off of work for it either. Keller’s reply as he headed out the door to something more productive was, “I was back to work that same afternoon.”

I have worked with many different people from all walks of life. Everyone from kids with their first job to those retiring. From many varied cultures and backgrounds, from those with my same sub-culture (who think and talk like me), to those from exotic places around the world. Those who have part-time unskilled first jobs and “Top Executives” in large corporations. But I have never worked with a finer group of coworkers then I have the pleasure of working with now.

Maybe it has something to do with the “weeding out” process required to succeed at this job. It isn’t easy to jump though all the fiery hoops to get where we are now. Maybe it just takes a special breed of people to be willing to go through all of this for an average wage.

Whatever the case, it makes it a pleasure to come to work everyday. Change day is coming, where we are shuffled like a deck of cards. I’m looking forward to the new mix of coworkers that I’ll be sharing a chunk of my next 4 months with.

One comment I heard from an old timer, that has me thinking as this work shuffle goes down is, “It doesn’t matter if you really like your new work of if you really hate it. Because it only lasts four months and you will be bidding for new work again.

“People Wait for Trains. Trains don’t Wait for People.”

Even as a small child, my father taught me well to be early to everything. Through my life I have assumed that this is a sign of respect to always be on time. Over the years, I’ve observed many who weren’t taught as well as me and seem to operate in a different time zone. Though it doesn’t seem to matter if someone is late to church, a ball game, or a family gathering, it makes a big difference when arriving late for any public transportation, including trains.

In fact, trains invented strict time schedules more than anything in our recent history. They had to for safety’s sake when many different trains were sharing the same track.

Back in the day… every town or city, large or small kept their own time, based in some way on the position of the sun at high noon and proudly displayed on something public, such as a church clock or in the jewelers display window. So one city may have said that the official time is 10:00am, and a town down the road fifty miles says at that same moment that the time is only 9:55am. This system worked just fine because with the slow mode of travel, time was such a relative thing.

When trains came along, with ever increasing speeds, and the need to time their travel with other trains using the same track, this less than formal time keeping system began to show it’s weakness. As the circle of travel continually expanded, the railroad dispatchers needed to keep a correspondingly expanding table of reference of the dozens (and then hundreds) of time zones, as they managed the train schedules. With the new communication technology of telegraph (usually ran along the railroad track), all of these many time zones needed to be referenced in real time.

The railroad’s solution was to implement standardized time zones. Of course you are familiar with these time zones because we still use them today.

So starting way back then, trains are always striving to run on time. Early on, a late train caused accidents. Now days it causes missed appointments and commitments for both people and products.

My morning commuter run is full of people depending on me to get them to work on time. Most of these people are lined up at the station platform before the train arrives. Of course there are always a few who are scrambling to the platform after the train stops. If I can, I’ll delay just a few extra seconds, but my mandate is to keep the train on time. Because of the hundreds who arrived on time and depend on me to get them to their destination on time, I can’t wait for the late comer. I think Star Trek’s Spock would say it this way. “Logic clearly dictates that the needs of the many out weigh the needs of the few.” So though it appears heartless and cruel to depart the station when a late comer is scrambling to make the train but is too far off, I am thinking, “Be kind to those on time.”

As my train is rolling out of the station, occasionally I’ll see in my mirror, someone running up and banging on a passenger door, expecting it to open on the run. It’s not like the old time movies with the drama of someone running to jump on the train while it is picking up steam. Now days the doors are locked before the train can move so once it is moving the drama is left behind at the station. Unless of course a passenger on the train is asleep or other wise distracted and is too slow getting off at his stop. The frustration is palatable as they pound on the door from inside while the station begins to move away. The next stop in the next town is now his only choice.

The experienced traveler (and commuter) avoids these anxieties with a readily available schedule and a good watch. Of course back in the day, the train engineer needed a good quality watch that kept time in sic with the dispatcher and all the other trains. Back then the quality, and corresponding accuracy, was measured by its jewels. The officially approved Railroad Watch had at least 19 and as high as 30 jewels in its mechanism. Soon “Railway Time Keepers” were marketed to the general traveling public. These fake imitations were cheap watches that weren’t jeweled. They looked like the real McCoy, but were less accurate. So the savvy traveler cushioned his departure time to compensate.

Even though most watches today are much more accurate then the best of yesteryear, our fast paced lives are filled with unexpected delays. We frequently miss calculate how long it takes to go and do the things of our lives. So like the wise Old Timers, we need to cushion our schedules to compensate.

The one rule that is as applicable today as in the early days of railroads is that people wait for trains. Trains don’t wait for people.

I know that many times a person is running late because of unforeseen delays. Weather, traffic, or numerable personal problems can easily mar the best planned “Just in time” scheduling. The only fool proof answer is to plan to wait for the train a little bit.

As train engineers, and other railroad workers, we wait for trains more than anyone. For the trains to run on time, we must be there early every time.

I live 45 miles from where I report to work. Regardless of how I get to work, I have to leave early enough to be there on time even in the worst case scenario. For me, because of train schedules, that means if I ride the train to work, I generally arrive an hour early… and wait. If I drive, to compensate for unexpected traffic and weather, I arrive about 30 minutes early… and wait. (Waiting is great writing time for me.)

During the course of my work shift, I am frequently waiting on the train. After the required pre-pullout inspection, I wait for the prescribed time to pull out onto the mainline. At each station I watch my pocket watch (because I’m old fashioned that way) until the exact departure time. At our terminal stations (the end of the line each way) I wait for the exact time my train begins its next run back the other direction. When another train is late arriving at our meeting point (the short double track where we can pass each other), I wait. If there are problems along our alignment, with switches, crossings, mechanical problems with other trains, etc… I wait.

So everyone involved, (passengers, rail workers, cars and pedestrians at crossings), end up waiting for trains. Of course our goal is to keep that wait to a minimum. But if people didn’t try to make trains wait for them, everyone would have to wait a lot less.

Years ago, I observed a wise Greyhound bus driver counseling a young man who had arrived late. “You will have a lot fewer problems in your travels if you will just learn to be a little bit early.”

What I’ve taught my children applies to trains:

“If you’re early, you’re on time.

And if you’re late you’re forgotten.”

So it’s true that people wait for trains, but trains don’t wait for people. But ironically, as they watch the train pulling out of the station, the people who try making trains wait for them; end up waiting the longest because they now have to wait for the next train.

When I first started driving trains, I couldn’t help draw comparisons to how I drive my car. Some train rules are the same (or very similar) to the rules of the road for cars and trucks, though the consequences for breaking them may be much more severe.

For example, if caught exceeding the speed limit by more than 10 MPH in my car, I may or may not get a speeding ticket, depending on the circumstances. But in a train, I would have my license revoked even if the speed had just reduced, and I was in the process of slowing down to the new lower speed.

However, most of the rules for driving a train aren’t that similar to cars or trucks. For example, when I first started to drive trains, and then drove my car again, I had to fight off the impulse to turn on some sort of warning bell or honk my horn when passing through intersections.

If we drove cars like trains, I imagine that a quick trip to the store would go something like this.

My Beautiful Wife: “Honey, would you run to the store and pick-up a gallon of milk?”

Even though she’s a licensed driver, like all moms, she is always over her “Hours of Service” and so she can’t actually drive anywhere. Anytime someone with a license works more than 12 hours in any given day, or more than 13 days in a row, whether they are actually driving or not, “They go Dead” as we call it. Meaning that they can’t drive until they have the prescribed rest period. Since mothers never get any rest, they are always “Dead” and can’t drive.

Our closest grocery store is Walmart, which is two miles away.

Me: “Sure, I’ll go right now. I’ll go start my pre-op if you can you come out to the garage in five minutes to help me with the brake test and call my shove out of the to the street?”

I then go out and do my walk around the car to make sure everything looks good. I open the trunk to check that all the emergency equipment is in place. I then get in the drivers seat and test all the controls such as honk the horn, check that all the lights work (This includes getting out and visually checking them.) and checking all the paperwork to verify that all proper daily maintenance inspections have been performed. Fortunately, earlier today I had already spent the several hours completing these daily inspections and so the paperwork was in order.

In addition to the inspections paperwork, I need to have copies of all state, county, and city driving laws and ordinances in my possession when operating. Like everyone else, I keep a copy of these things in a backpack that I just carry with me when going anywhere. As I review this paperwork, I realize that I haven’t got a copy of the “Daily Highway Bulletin”. So I run back into the house, log into the State Highway website, and print it out. I then need to review it before proceeding.

Also, I not only can’t use my cell phone, or any other electronic device while driving the car, but these things must be completely turned off and put away in my backpack along with my operating rules books. Of course our car doesn’t have any other radio besides our special CB radio that connects us with the UHP Control Center. Music or any other type of entertainment is prohibited. Also any type of food or drink must be stowed away while I’m driving.

My engine is now running and headlights on. Specific lights need to be on anytime the car is moving or even parked out in public.

My Beautiful Wife, decked out in the proper safety vest and other gear, now comes out. She has a handheld CB radio which she uses to provide me with the “radio check” that I need to make before moving the car. Next, with a flashlight, she gets down by the rear wheels where she can see the brake shoes engage and disengage as I apply and release. On her command I work the brakes so she can verify that they are working properly.

She now stands back and waits while I contact the State Patrol Control Center (via CB radio on a specified channel) to get authorization to enter the street system.

Me on CB Radio: “Automobile operator #152569419 to USP Control – Over”

USP Control on CB Radio: “USP Control – Over”

Me on CB Radio: “Operator #152569419 requests permission for Auto # UT 375 HSP to enter the road system at 1428 N Reese Drive, Provo and proceed to Walmart Supercenter at 1355 Sandhill Road, Orem. – Over”

USP Control on CB Radio: “152569419, University Parkway is currently congested at Geneva Road. You have permission to proceed to Walmart via 2000 South Orem to Sandhill Road. – Over”

Me on CB Radio: “Auto # UT 375 HSP has permission to enter the Utah road system at 1428 N Reese Drive, Provo and proceed to Walmart Supercenter at 1355 Sandhill Road, Orem via 2000 South Orem to Sandhill Road? – Over”

USP Control on CB Radio: “Auto # UT 375 HSP, that is correct. USP Control out.”

Me on CB Radio to Beautiful Wife: (Who is now standing at the end of our driveway.) “152569419 to #152562871, Auto UT 375 HSP is ready for a westbound shove onto Reese Drive. – Over”

Beautiful Wife on handheld CB Radio: “Auto UT 375 HSP, the driveway and street are clear and you are clear to shove westbound 100 feet onto Reese Drive. – Over”

Me on CB Radio: “Auto UT 375 HSP is clear to shove westbound 100 feet onto Reese Drive. – Over”

Beautiful Wife on handheld CB Radio: “Auto UT 375 HSP, that is correct. – Over”

Before I begin to backup, I sound my horn with two short burst to indicate that the car is about to begin movement.

After I proceed half way down our driveway, my Beautiful Wife must call out that I am clear 50 feet and then count down my progress to a stop. Of course she is back behind me observing my backing process.

I’m now clear to proceed forward, of course only taking the route cleared by USP Control.

Before I speed the car past 10mph, I need to test the brakes again to make sure they are responsive in the moving vehicle. If I forget this “Rolling Brake Test” I could lose my license. As I pass 1440 N (just past my house) my headlights must be on “Brights” and I sound my horn. Turning west on 1520 N, I of course sound my warning horn. These many subdivision side streets have me sounding my horn more than not. As I come to Geneva Road, I must stop before the white painted stop line. Of course when the road is covered in ice or snow, I just have to know where this line is. Over running a stop sign or stop light will get my license revoked immediately.

Just down Geneva Road, I turn right onto West 1680 North. As I round onto this small side street, an state patrol trooper flags me down. He asks to see my operators license, checks my cell phone to make sure it’s turned off and tucked away in my paperwork back pack and then climbs in the front seat of my car, informing me that he will be riding along with me to observe my driving. (This is common enough that every driver can expect it once in awhile.)

We proceed through the short connector streets culminating in the round-a-bout that dumps us onto Sand Hill Road. Soon we are at the red traffic light waiting to turn into the Wal-Mart parking lot. Again, I must stop before the white line at the intersection. Also, I can’t proceed with a right turn into the parking lot until the light changes. Any of these things will get my license revoked.

Eventually, we arrive in the parking lot. I now have to sound my horn while moving about as I find a parking space in the far reaches.

The space requirements between parked cars make for a full parking lot even though there are relatively few shoppers here today. The cars can’t be parked closer than 20 feet from another car (front to back) and walking paths to the store, between cars requires at least a 100 foot space. So I feel lucky that I can park at all, instead of having to just leave and come back later.

Of course in order to exit my car and proceed through the Wal-Mart parking lot into the store, I have to wear the proscribed safety vest and move about the parking lot so that I don’t get too close to any parked car.

Once I’ve got my gallon of milk, and I’m back at my car, I need to wait my turn for the parking lot worker to call my shove as I back up out of my parking stall, just like my Beautiful Wife had to do to get me out of our garage back home.

In due time I’ve complete my radio calls to USP Control and gain permission for my return trip home. As I’m headed down Sand Hill Road, suddenly there’s a reduced speed 1000 feet a head sign. However at the prescribed distance there is no reduced speed sign. Of course I recognize what’s going on and slow to 10 MPH before I reach the 1000 feet distance. This is an efficiency test. If I don’t slow from the posted 35 MPH speed in time I will lose my license. These efficiency tests can take any form and can happen at any time.

As I approach a car stopped along the road, I honk my horn as a warning that I’m passing. I am also required to report any problems that I see along the way, including trespassers.

When it’s all said and done, I’m back with the gallon of milk in an hour and a half. As I close the garage door and carry my gallon of milk into the house, I think to my self, “Next time I’ll just walk to the store.” But then I realize, “I can’t do that. Walking along the public roadways is prohibited, and I’d be arrested as a trespasser

In the months since licensing as a railroad engineer, my work block has mostly consisted of overnight work on the northern half of the FrontRunner alignment. This work shift includes taking the last train of the day to Ogden at night where I perform necessary safety tests and inspections. I then tie down with the train for a few hours, before taking the two early morning trains farther up north to Pleasant View on Union Pacific alignment. (This requires two of us, one serving as conductor and the other one as the engineer.) I then bring my train back south with early morning commuters headed for Salt Lake and other points south.

My second Tri-annual bid for work has now left me with this same piece of work at least until April. And the repetition of going through this same workday, day after day, has mentally placed me in the Bill Murray movie “Groundhog Day”.

Being caught in the “same day loop”, Phil Connors eventually out grew his bungling, self-centered; second rate self, into a very talented and rather nice guy. I’m hoping for something similar as I relive my own Groundhog Day… day in and day out… week by week… month after month.

Currently, a small piece of my repeating Groundhog Day is as follows. Whereas the movie character Phil Connors nightstand alarm clock clicks from 5:59am to 6:00am and Sony and Cher start singing “I’ve Got You Babe”, my watch is sliding from 3:59am to start the last active portion of my work day. Mine is to the rumble of the waiting locomotive instead of Sony and Cher singing their signature song.

4:00am – I look across the Ogden Station Platform from my locomotive to the locomotive for Train 3. James stands up, dons his safety vest, gathers up his gear and climbs down out of his Locomotive. He is headed back to release the hand brake at the other end of his consist and make ready for our departure. I likewise gather my things together, climb down from my Train 5 Locomotive, enter the back door of Train 3’s Loco and release its handbrake. I then proceed up to the cab and settle into the Engineers seat and begin the preliminary paperwork.

4:10am – James joins me in the Loco cab and we complete the Union Pacific Job Briefing Checklist, review the daily UP Track Warrant, and begin the Conductor Report. This daily routine doesn’t take long and we are soon down to small talk while waiting for our departure time.

James tells of his latest weekend – Surfing on a California Beach (his flight attendant wife gives him travel perks), while I desperately struggle to think of something from my “weekend” that I can mention so he doesn’t realize that I have no life. In the pause in dialog, James brings up sports. I finally have to admit that I don’t follow sports… have always just worked. I’m thinking, “I do actually have a life… it includes long distance running on empty 2:00am city streets… trying to write… playing my harmonicas…” But those seem like awkward conversations as well. What kind of eccentric runs up and down city streets in the middle of the night for fun? And it is assumed that anyone who plays the harmonica, plays “Blues Harmonica”. I don’t… can’t… OK… the truth is I play ON the harmonica more than actually playing the harmonica. So I don’t bring it up.

4:22am – Time to go… bring up the cab signal… get a door loop… headlights… gen field on… radio call to Warm Springs control… bell on… reverser forward… throttle notch one… and we move forward toward the end of the platform where we lose our cab signals and have to stop to reset them for movement in Union Pacific territory.

I’ve made this same trip to Pleasant View many times. It is all exactly the same except it’s always different. The different trains vary in how they handle… some more power than others… they all brake differently than how the last train braked… I’ll have to quickly get a feel for this one and make adjustments accordingly.

4:25am – As I approach our first control point… CP G001, I need to slow down to 25mph… Both James and I call out the signal (as required) “Clear”. I give the brakes a minimum set… they seem to glide along too far and then grab a bit later. I’ll have to make adjustments to how I brake with this train. I call out my speed to James (the conductor) who makes the necessary notes in the Conductors Report. He is recording the required info on the UP radio for this signal. We both call out our next signal as it appears in the distance… “Advanced Approach”. I reach my landmark (an electrical box along the alignment) and notch up to speed the train to 55mph.

4:27am – James makes his UP radio transmission… “UTA Train 11 at CP G003, Advanced Approach – Out”. My speed is now 55mph and I drop back to “notch 2”. I know that this exact timing and combination of power will maintain our speed at exactly 55mph until we come around the corner and can see our next signal, “MP 4.6”.

4:29am – We both call out “Approach Restricting” at the same time. James makes his radio call and I make a minimum brake set. “It took me a long time to get this one right. (Kind of like Phil Connors repeatedly stepping in the slush filled pothole in Groundhog Day.) I need to slow to 40mph very quickly but was always slowing too much because the track runs steeply uphill here. I have finally learned to apply only a minimum set and release at 45mph and then immediately go to notch 4 on the throttle. As we roll up to the control point we always seem to be going too fast, but the train continues to slow and now the speed is always exactly 40 as we pass it, with enough momentum to maintain this speed until our next control point. (This is where I really start to feel invincible like “Groundhog’s Phil” stepping in to save the pending wedding or the choking man in the restaurant.)

4:32am – At CP G005, I need to be slowed down to no more than 15mph. This one should be easy, but the variation in braking from train to train gets me when going this slow. This time I cross the signal going 13mph. This is well within the speed requirement, but I wanted perfection at maximum authorized speed… that’s the game I play over and over. That and the perfect station stop. I’ve got a ways to go on that one too. Since licensing, I have never had to make the radio call of shame to tell control that I’m a door long, but too many of my stops could be classified as sloppy.

4:34am – This station stop was perfect. We now perform the needed operations to “turn the train” which means that we will be operating from the other end of this same train as we depart south bound in 18 minutes.

I will pass this same 12 minutes of Union Pacific track another 3 times, doing the same thing before arriving at Ogden Station where I begin collecting the masses of commuters headed south.

6:03am – I bring my “Train 5” to a stop on the Ogden west platform to the gathering group of southbound commuters. My conductor, from our just completed “Pleasant View” trip has gathered his bags and the special UP radio, and exits the train. As a southbound train, I am operating in the “Cab Car”, which is on the opposite end from the Locomotive. Down here, I am more visible to my passengers, and they to me. While passengers are boarding, I open the operator’s window to greet my newly boarding Train Host, who will be back with my passengers as we proceed south. “Good morning Joan.” “Good morning Ron.” I watch from this opened window while passengers continue to board. Though I don’t speak to these people personally, I know these passengers very well by now. The same man in the dark business suit (now also with an overcoat) who always carries a newspaper under his arm gets on in the Cab Car and takes his seat behind my operators compartment. He always sits facing away from me, and spreads in his lap newspaper as if to share with anyone looking over his shoulder. (He will ride to North Temple Station). The woman, always wrapped from head to toe, (even in warmer weather) takes her seat right behind my operating compartment. This seems strange to me, because this is the coveted seat, the only seat on the entire train where the passenger can see what the engineer sees while the train is moving down the track. But she never looks up. Her face is always buried in the broad collar of her coat, so that only her eyes and nose can poke out at her cell phone which is the continual focal point until she exits the train at Salt Lake Central Station.

I could go on with each passenger within my view every day, but you get the Idea.

6:07am – It’s time to depart, and I am standing at the open window telling the last three commuters, who are still off in the parking lot but scrambling to make the train, to hurry to the nearest train door. It’s always the same three people, and they always seem surprised that the train is ready to leave at 6:07am. (These 3 commuters don’t know this but if I haven’t started to move the train yet, AND they are hurrying… like running if capable… I will wait for the latecomers. But if it’s time to go and they are just walking along in no hurry, I’ll leave them behind every time.)

6:08am – Finally, the last late comer has boarded the train and I close and lock the doors. Now I need to try to make up for my late departure. My first three station stops are rather tight on the schedule, so now I feel like Scotty from Star Trek fame trying get all I can out of the locomotive as we build momentum and climb the Ogden “Flyover” which bridges over the top of the many Union Pacific tracks below.

I know the exact power setting and adjustment as I at first build speed while climbing the “Flyover” and then descend, all while maintaining the maximum authorized speed. A speed which keeps changing as we proceed south.

6:15am – I’m still creeping toward Roy Station on my 15mph cab signal. The same late comers are cutting in front of my train at the platform. I’ve got my hand over the horn button ready to “warn away” any more attempted crossing in front of me as I near. The same man stops and waits. Once he was too close when he crossed. I had tapped my horn. He first completed his run in front of me and then turned and shook his fist at me. I’m sure he had a few choice words for me as well. Now he still comes late as my train approaches, but he waits… glares. I’m thankful that he is alive and well and can glare at me every morning. I’ve heard stories from other engineers where the outcome wasn’t this happy. Of course I make sure he is on board before I depart.

This is the first of three “train meets” I’ll have before arriving at North Temple station. On our single track, we have to meet the trains headed in the opposite direction where we have sidings or at stations where we have two tracks. Some engineers make it a competition to beat the other train to the “meet” and others not so much. I guess I’m competitive that way. Everything I do as I move south is all about beating the other train to the meet.

6:24am – Clearfield Station… I depart almost one minute late at nearly 6:25am… still trying to make up for my departures from Ogden and Roy.

6:30am – Layton Station… train meet with the northbound… depart on time.

6:38am – Farmington Station… I arrive 2 minutes early and can relax a bit. We depart on time at 6:40am.

6:46am – Centerville Siding waiting for the oncoming Northbound train.

6:51am – Woods Cross Station… one minute late because of waiting for northbound train at the Centerville meet.

7:01am – North Temple Station. This is where I am relieved from duty. I just take a seat on the same train and as a passenger now, and let my replacement engineer take me home.

It takes a little less than an hour go from Ogden to North Temple Station. Of course I could tell all, detailing my awesome train handling skills as I meet difficult sections of track, how I can manage the brakes and throttle ahead to provide perfect timing in the trains delayed performance. I could tell stories of passengers from each station. Like how at Clearfield Station, everyone is lined up in perfect single file at each marked spot on the platform for a door. Yes, those are 8 perfect single file lines waiting for me to stop a door directly in front of each one. (No pressure there on making a perfect station stop!) I could brag about rolling into the “Centerville Siding” early enough to get my train out of the way so that the “Northbound” train won’t get a “Cab hit” which would slow it down. But, this is enough… you get the idea.

At least up here on the north end of the FrontRunner alignment, I feel more like the Groundhog “Phil Connors” at the party (after he has honed his talents, as well as his social skills, to perfection) when Rita (who is surprised at his suave interaction with everyone at the party) asks Phil, “What did you do today?” Phil nonchalantly replies, “Oh, same old same old.”

If I ever get to drive the trains on the south end of our alignment, I probably won’t remember what to do. I’ll be like the bungling Phil Connors on his first few days of his Groundhog Day loop again. But for now it’s looking like that by next April, I’ll be operating my Train 5 on the north end like Groundhog Phil playing the piano at the Punxsutawney Celebration.