Western Railroad Discussion > What to do when your Fred dies

The Fred on a BNSF X (empty grain train), eastbound BNSF 7292, from Mandan,ND, quit. Solution no.1: operate at 30 mph restricted speed for the remaining 170 miles to Dilworth, MN. Solution no.2: find a Fred somewhere. The BNSF Mandan DS coordinated the search. The crew of the BNSF 9217 had taken an empty ethanol train from Dilworth to Spiritwood. After dropping the cars, they took the power, and Fred, to Windsor, ND to return the head end power to a loaded coal train tied down in the siding there. [part of BNSF's rob Peter to pay Paul power distribution system (common occurrence in these parts)]. The Fred was not needed as the coal train had a DP.

The DS suggested the 9217's crew stick around (they were ready to be driven on to Mandan) and help the X train replace the Fred, otherwise the conductor would have to walk the train.  The 9217's crew was thanked with an offer of two Big Boy hamburgers. They thanked them for the offer but said Bitcoins would suffice.

The photo show's the conductor of the 9217 replacing the 7292's Fred on the rear of what appears to be a brand new hopper.
Thanks for looking.

Bismarck Bill 

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Good photo and information about the EOT device.
Brian Stevens

Geez this kind of thing wouldnt happen if there was a caboose on the end. Just saying.
 

Freddie's Dead. That's what I said....Courtesy of Curtis Mayfield. SUPERFLY!!

Interesting narrative Bill!

Larry

That brand new hopper already has several dents in it

Rare for an air powered FRED to die these days. 

Proud Foamer
OAKLEY, CA

Once, I was on a long, 70 mph train going by the west switch at Chelsea, on the Eldorado lake. I could be in Wellington in exactly one hour, and chow down at Penny's Diner. A couple of minutes later, the train goes into emergency, and we grind to a stop. I gave it a minute, and tried to release it, but the air would not come back. The conductor started walking. When he gets to the rear end, he finds the air hose sticking straight out, blowing air, but the FRED is gone, completely missing. We called the DS, and told him about it, and that we would proceed to Wellington at 30 mph. By the time the conductor got back to the head end, we had been there almost an hour, and had trains stopped behind us, and one waiting for us at the end of double track, Eldorado. But as luck would have it, that train called and told us they had a nose full of Deadhead ETD's, and if the DS didn't mind, they would spot our rear end next to their consist, and they would hang one for us, if they could find one that worked. The DS was all for it, we stopped, they hung a new one, and we departed. A few trips later, I came across the lake going west, and a spot of orange caught my eye, and it was our old ETD laying  down almost to the water just west of the bridge. Nobody came right out to pick it up, it laid there for several weeks.

skinem Wrote:
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> Freddie's Dead. That's what I said....Courtesy of
> Curtis Mayfield. SUPERFLY!!

Probably next to nobody on this site knows about Curtis Mayfield  and that movie and  classic album Superfly! Good take on "Freddie's Dead"referencing the dead EOT.

SantaFeRuss