Western Railroad Discussion > First Watson Is Smaller Than A Tree

With early afternoon high sun finally starting to wane I headed out for my lunchtime non-Summer standby, BNSF's First Watson, which while a yard job, runs from Wilmington California to Torrance California and then all the way to El Segundo Calfiornia and back, all on the one-time main line, Harbor Line, now cut at El Segundo. Driving to Lawndale, I spotted the job going to beans at Costco near Manhattan Beach, so settledat the beginning of Monaco Hill at a spot that used to have wire obstructions in the way. Apparently someone cleared them away. Waited about 30 minutes before the horn started chirping and blaring as the short four car train (three tanks and one buffer) made it was down to Lawndale.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/13/19 19:36 by erielackawanna.

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 How long is the "First Watson" normaly?

SantaFeRuss

Varies from light engines to maybe twenty cars?

The largest train I’ve seen is about 43 cars.

Posted from iPhone

Back in the GP30 days, it was 20-30 cars a day.    I rode with them once back then. Exxon and Chevron were the big customers, with a handful others. They also sometimes hauled cars into or out of storage at Alcoa. 

  More recently they were using the ancient sidings at Lawndale and Ironsides for storage. Those tracks were unused for years, and then they started using them for storage sometime after 2000.  Unless they updated things, those tracks had really old handthrows, and 80 lb rail...

Real nice catches of a job I worked many times. Other jobs normally come out from Watson to handle storage cars. Sadly, but I guess fortunately, this job is down to just Chevron and Exxon Mobil. It is truely amazing how rule changes, as well as a NEW generation of railroaders, have eliminated efficiency on switch jobs. THIS job ( I should clearify, the OLD REAL First Watson ROAD SWITCHER, before Watson was changed to yard jobs ) USED to switch out four the industries at Watson yard, sometimes take to and bring back PHL interchange, build the outbound Watson to Barstow train, switch two industries as well as Chevron interchange at El Segundo, switch Exxon Mobil and Arimin Plastics and still come back to Watson in under ten hours. Life goes on.
JB

Once the nimby’s, the complaining young people get their way, Exxon and Chevron won’t be there in 20 years. Just beach house/apts

Posted from iPhone

Nice looking location, excellent job!