Railroaders' Nostalgia > Mad Dog Chronicle #181: The Railroad Never Sleeps

Mad Dog Chronicle # 181: The 24/7 World


Back in those days the term 24/7 had not even been coined. But we were it to be sure, particularly if you had passenger operations on your Division. Sure, we ran a holiday schedule on the commutes, but on the Western Division, there were lots of Amtrak trains running on the rest of the Division. As a result of all of this passenger operation, all of the dispatchers, and interlocking operators and bridge tenders had to be on duty. The ticket offices and the stations were manned. All of the mechanical folks, involved in servicing the passenger trains and their supervisors had to be available. Since the crews in 1980 were all provided by the SP, the crew callers had to be there, and the track inspectors, and of course, the trainmasters, too. The passenger yard engines at Oakland and SF and San Jose, were all on duty, their yardmasters were all there too. Then there were the coach cleaners and the commissary folks.

So, you see, even if we abolished most of the local freight and yard engine assignments and cut way back on through freight operations, there were still an awful lot of SP folks still around over the holidays. I must not forget all of the people involved in servicing the locomotives either.

You see, even if you try to curtail operations over the holidays, you never really get there.
Things do slow down and there are a lot less trains running, a lot less activity around the yards and terminals, but the railroad never really sleeps.

And things happen too. I can remember more than one Christmas eve spent with a re railing crew at a derailment. I remember returning from Houston on the last flight to SF on the evening of 12/24. We were on our way back to Houston with RDK, Jack Stewart and others at 6 am on the morning of the 26th.

Yes, the railroad business does slow down between Christmas and New Years, but the railroad never sleeps


12/25/2006
mdo

Merry Christmas Mike. I've always enjoyed your posts and recollections behind the scenes of the classic SP that I remember seeing trackside on the Western Division.

Best Regards,
Harry

One thing in the current era of "Railroad Holiday Shutdowns"--even if there is but ONE, say, Z-train running over a route, just one train for the whole darn day--you watch. Something's gonna "happen."

mdo Wrote:
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> Mad Dog Chronicle # 181: > Things do slow down and there are a lot less
> trains running, a lot less activity around the
> yards and terminals, but the railroad never really
> sleeps.
>
> And things happen too. I can remember more than
> one Christmas eve spent with a re railing crew at
> a derailment.

Mike:

Amen to that. I always enjoy reading your Chronicles.
Merry Christmas!!

JB

Mike,

I spent many a trip on 98-99 SLO to Santa Barb on the 24th & 25th or 25th & 26th. My wife and girls would ride the cushions and I would work the headend. When we would get there, we would go out to the ranch to visit my mother in Goleta. The crew dispatchers knew I would always go so they never had to look for an engineer. Killed two birds with one stone and I got paid to boot.


Nudge

The first 10 to 15 years of my railroad career made it hard to be off for the holidays because I had little seniority. It is the only time of the year I really want to be off. I didn't care about Memorial Day, Labor Day, Mother's Day, Father's Day, the wife's birthday, the kid's birthday, or Thanksgiving but I wanted to be off for Christmas as it is also my birthday. I would do just about anything to be off for Christmas. How do you explain to your 5 year-old son that you won't be home on Christmas? I remember a couple of times we had Christmas while I was a kid while my dad was working. However, I must admit that when I was not able to lay off for Christmas and had to work, there were times when I would get home anywhere from 1000am to 400pm on Christmas Day. That wasn't too bad. As the years progressed and I gained more seniority, I was able to take the last 5 weeks of the year off for vacation so that way I would be home for Christmas AND Thanksgiving. Now, when applying for vacation, I only put down about 3 or 4 choices for vacation and if I don't get those choices, which I always do, it doesn't matter to me when I get my vacation.

JDE

It's funny how the railroad approaches this. They do have a considerable staff that has to be there on all of these holidays regardless. But it never made sense why they expect road crews to work as if it is just any other day while the rest of these folks make double time and a half for working. Why not pay the road crews holiday pay? Not only would they not need to shut down, they would have pool crews fighting each other to work the holiday!

sphogger

But now, they can have a few people run all the CTC from one screen and just a couple of people in CMS to find a crew.


Nudge

I spent more than a few Christmas days working in the tower at Barstow in the 14 years I spent there as trainmaster. In the later years of my time there, there was always a plan afoot to save big bucks by shutting down the railroad for at least 24 hours, or at least only running the extremely high priority trains with UPS etc. There was also an effort to get every crew home for Christmas, even if they had to be deadheaded home on Christmas eve and then deaheaded back on Christmas night.

I remeber Chirstnas day 1886 very well. I came to work in the "High" tower at 6AM. The man I relieved told me that all of the road crews had been released on Chirstmas eve when they arrived at Barstow, and told they would have to deadhead back to Barstow late the 25th or 26th. The yard was completely full of trains, with no open tracks. The only switch engines working were one at the hump, and one puller engine at the bowl tower. It was obvious not much would get done on Christmas day. I called the Chief Train Dispatcher in San Bernardino and asked how many crews were being deadheaded to Barstow to get some trains moving, so I would have room to hump some cars and make up more trains.

The Chief, an old timer with a real understanding of how things work, laughed, and said "No deadhead crews. Boss just wants to run the trains as they come from LA and from the East. Boss says we can save a lot of money by not deasdheading any crews."

"Well I can't take any trains until I get some out of here," I replied. The chief reiterated his instructions of no deadheads. It was three days before things got back to normal. We stashed trains everywhere, and somehow, we struggled thru the mess. I was so proud of all the money we saved......

TIOGA PASS

72368 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I spent more than a few Christmas days working in
> the tower at Barstow in the 14 years I spent there
> as trainmaster. In the later years of my time
> there, there was always a plan afoot to save big
> bucks by shutting down the railroad for at least
> 24 hours, or at least only running the extremely
> high priority trains with UPS etc. There was also
> an effort to get every crew home for Christmas,
> even if they had to be deadheaded home on
> Christmas eve and then deaheaded back on Christmas
> night.
>
> I remeber Chirstnas day 1886 very well. I came to
> work in the "High" tower at 6AM. The man I
> relieved told me that all of the road crews had
> been released on Chirstmas eve when they arrived
> at Barstow, and told they would have to deadhead
> back to Barstow late the 25th or 26th. The yard
> was completely full of trains, with no open
> tracks. The only switch engines working were one
> at the hump, and one puller engine at the bowl
> tower. It was obvious not much would get done on
> Christmas day. I called the Chief Train
> Dispatcher in San Bernardino and asked how many
> crews were being deadheaded to Barstow to get some
> trains moving, so I would have room to hump some
> cars and make up more trains.
>
> The Chief, an old timer with a real understanding
> of how things work, laughed, and said "No deadhead
> crews. Boss just wants to run the trains as they
> come from LA and from the East. Boss says we can
> save a lot of money by not deasdheading any
> crews."
>
> "Well I can't take any trains until I get some out
> of here," I replied. The chief reiterated his
> instructions of no deadheads. It was three days
> before things got back to normal. We stashed
> trains everywhere, and somehow, we struggled thru
> the mess. I was so proud of all the money we
> saved......
>
> TIOGA PASS

I CANNOT beleive you are that old !!!

V

SLOCONDR

Way way back I can remember being called on Christmas Eve as fireman on a drag from Bayshore to Watsonville. I was the last guy on the list, and two much of a weenie to tell the crew dispatcher no. What sticks out about that trip in my memory was the incredibly scrawney and (and to me) sad little Christmas tree that tried to bring some cheer to the old crew dorm in Watsonville Junction. The good news is the crew dispatcher took pitty on us and deadheaded us home early Christmas Day on the mail train.

Then there was the Thanksgiving in Houston when the Hearne Local went on the ground on the old Salt spur. My Thanksgiving feast that day was a turkey TV dinner.

As Mike says, we kinda invented 24/7 even if we never called it that.

JBW

72368 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I remeber Chirstnas day 1886 very well. I came to
> work in the "High" tower at 6AM....
> I called the Chief Train Dispatcher in San Bernardino...
> The Chief, an old timer with a real understanding
> of how things work, laughed, and said "No deadhead
> crews. Boss just wants to run the trains as they
> come from LA and from the East. Boss says we can
> save a lot of money by not deasdheading any
> crews."
> TIOGA PASS

I remember Norm at the high tower in 1986 but I don't think the high tower was around in 1886.
Who was that Chief? GAW? I think WNL might have been the super chief by then and George would have been the only real old timer left. Gee Norm how could you get up for a 6am shift? I thought you were a second trick guy.

mdo Wrote:
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> The Railroad Never Sleeps

Obviously you never tried telling that to Boedekker.

topper Wrote:
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> mdo Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
>
> > The Railroad Never Sleeps
>
> Obviously you never tried telling that to
> Boedekker.

I was, of course, referring to the railroad in a larger sense, not to individual switchmen at West Oakland, or San Francisco, either of which I have direct, personal experience.

On reflection, I am not sure that anyone ever really told anything to Boedekker. Herder Extraordinaire.

OK Topper, lets hear some Boedekker stories. We are also waiting for stories that you promised to relate re H. Deem

mdo

mdo Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>> OK Topper, lets hear some Boedekker stories. We
> are also waiting for stories that you promised to
> relate re H. Deem
>
> mdo


Any relation to Marshall Deem?

JDE

Steamjocky Wrote:
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> Any relation to Marshall Deem?
>
> JDE

I don't think so. Topper would know.

mdo

Steamjocky Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> Any relation to Marshall Deem?

I don't know who that is.

Any relation to Marshall Fields? Or Dillon?

topper Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Steamjocky Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
>
> > Any relation to Marshall Deem?
>
> I don't know who that is.
>


He's now a yardmaster in Stockton and usually works the midnight shift. I worked with him in 1979/1980 when he was the night planner at West Colton.

And no, he's not realted to Marshall Fields or to W.C. Fields. I know 'cause I checked. ;-)

JDE

Steamjocky Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> topper Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Steamjocky Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> >
> > > Any relation to Marshall Deem?
> >
> > I don't know who that is.
> >
>
>
> He's now a yardmaster in Stockton and usually
> works the midnight shift. I worked with him in
> 1979/1980 when he was the night planner at West
> Colton.
>
> And no, he's not realted to Marshall Fields or to
> W.C. Fields. I know 'cause I checked. ;-)

Well, alrighty then. And I guess we can also rule out Mrs. Fields (who hails from the same town where I now live and was an Oakland A's ballgirl back when she was a teenager).

.
>
> OK Topper, lets hear some Boedekker stories. We
> are also waiting for stories that you promised to
> relate re H. Deem
>
> mdo


Topper,

You are ducking the story here. Why? It is your turn.

mdo