Railroaders' Nostalgia > The day I got to pay back a cranky conductor

A while back, I was dispatching my normal job covering all the former MGA territory in southwest Pennsylvania going to Bailey, Loveridge, and a few other mines. It had an equal mix between signalled territory and dark territory. The signalled territory was relatively straightforward, line loads out empties in. The biggest headache was the Loveridge secondary, which ran from a connection with CSX near Brownsville, PA (newell) to Loveridge mine, with a connection with CSX at a place called Catawba Junction. This was around 75 miles of dark territory. Loveridge mine loaded 2 to 3 trains a day, there was a local, a work train, and CSX run through traffic. With 3 sidings, it was easy to get in a mess. The ns train crews loved to go to the loveridge and always wanted a quick move as it paid mileage. I tried to keep them happy, and would move them the best that I could. On to the story.

This was an unusually busy day. The loveridge was hopping. If I remember right I had 3 northbounds and 4 southbounds to run and the local. I was flinging track authorities, some of them were for only 2 miles at a time but I had to move the trains. 2 of them had just enough time to make destination. One of the trains I wrote 13 track authorities to move 55 miles. Then n72 asks out of Newell. The conductor on this train was a habitual whiner, always late, always making snarky comments. Just not fun to work with. When she asked for the railroad to go south on the loveridge, I was only able to give her track to a point 3 miles south of Brownsville called glen. After I wrote the track authority she says something to the effect of is it going to be like this all night. I said what is that supposed to mean. She said I didn't bring enough track authorities to write 3 miles at a time. At this point I blew up and screamed that she wont have to worry about getting track 3 miles at a time, she can sit there all night. This was somewhere around 8pm, immediately my phone started ringing from yardmasters and train service guys telling me good job for not taking her crap. And then about 830 my phone rang and it was her engineer asking if I could please move the train. I refused, told him sorry. So I continue moving trains, writing track authorities, trying not to let the place meltdown. At 10pm my relief, who was never early, walked in the door. As we are going through the turnover, he sees n72 sitting without a track authority for more railroad and asks why. I told him the story, saying she can sit until she outlaws she wasnt in the way. Turnover finishes at 1015, my relief gets logged in, and I hear my relief giving her the track authority to the first siding to meet a northbound. 2 hours 15 minutes of the most satisfying delay I ever gave.

Posted from Android



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/11/18 16:07 by gtwtd3.

gtwtd3 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> A while back, I was dispatching my normal job
> covering all the former MGA territory in southwest
> Pennsylvania going to Bailey, Loveridge, and a few
> other mines. It had an equal mix between
> signalled territory and dark territory. The
> signalled territory was relatively
> straightforward, line loads out empties in. The
> biggest headache was the Loveridge secondary,
> which ran from a connection with CSX near
> Brownsville, PA (newell) to Loveridge mine, with a
> connection with CSX at a place called Catawba
> Junction. Loveridge mine loaded 2 to 3 trains a
> day, there was a local, a work train, and CSX run
> through traffic. With 3 sidings, it was easy to
> get in a mess. The ns train crews loved to go to
> the loveridge and always wanted a quick move as it
> paid mileage. I tried to keep them happy, and
> would move them the best that I could. On to the
> story.
>
> This was an unusually busy day. The loveridge wa
> hopping. If I remember right I had 3 northbounds
> and 4 southbounds to run and the local. I was
> flinging track authorities, some of them were for
> only 2 miles at a time but I had to move the
> trains. 2 of them had just enough time to make
> destination. One of the trains I wrote 13 track
> authorities to move 55 miles. Then n72 asks out
> of Newell. The conductor on this train was a
> habitual whiner, always late, always making snarky
> comments. Just not fun to work with. When she
> asked for the railroad to go south on the
> loveridge, I was only able to give her track to a
> point 3 miles south of Brownsville called glen.
> After I wrote the track authority she says
> something to the effect of is it going to be like
> this all night. I said what is that supposed to
> mean. She said I didn't bring enough track
> authorities to write 3 miles at a time. At this
> point I blew up and screamed that she wont have to
> worry about getting track 3 miles at a time, she
> can sit there all night. This was somewhere
> around 8pm, immediately my phone started ringing
> from yardmasters and train service guys telling me
> good job for not taking her crap. And then about
> 830 my phone rang and it was her engineer asking
> if I could please move the train. I refused, told
> him sorry. So I continue moving trains, writing
> track authorities, trying not to let the place
> meltdown. At 10pm my relief, who was never early,
> walked in the door. As we are going through the
> turnover, he sees n72 sitting without a track
> authority for more railroad and asks why. I told
> him the story, saying she can sit until she
> outlaws she wasnt in the way. Turnover finishes
> at 1015, my relief gets logged in, and I hear my
> relief giving her the track authority to the first
> siding to meet a northbound. 2 hours 15 minutes
> of the most satisfying delay I ever gave.
>
> Posted from Android

Was this out of Punxsy?

> something to the effect of is it going to be like
> this all night. I said what is that supposed to
> mean. She said I didn't bring enough track
> authorities to write 3 miles at a time.

At this
> point I blew up and screamed that she wont have to
> worry about getting track 3 miles at a time, she
> can sit there all night.

Last paragraph,Great Quote!!

Uncle Joe
Seffner,Fl.

Yup! In my time I worked with a few 'old-head' cranks out there who would always TALK themselves into endless delays. As a rule, the rest of us quietly cheered when they got put away like that. Except when we were working with them, of course...

Lance/199

No, this was the mon valley dispatcher based out of Pittsburgh division headquarters in Greentree. Prior to the takeover, MGA (Monongahela) was dispatched out of Brownsville, PA, but only from there South. NS and Conrail added up to Shire OAks to the current MGA dispatcher.

Also, I forgot to write this story was inspsired by TAWs great stories.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/11/18 16:21 by gtwtd3.

Way to go. As was so often the case with me, you were doing all you could for them and took heat for it. The really amazing ones don't learn from the lesson and keep on with the behavior.

TAW

gtwtd3 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> No, this was the mon valley dispatcher based out
> of Pittsburgh division headquarters in Greentree.
> Prior to the takeover, MGA (Monongahela) was
> dispatched out of Brownsville, PA, but only from
> there South. NS and Conrail added up to Shire
> OAks to the current MGA dispatcher.
>
> Also, I forgot to write this story was inspsired
> by TAWs great stories.

Okay, thanks. Was in the B&P offices during the takeover.

Hell hath no fury...

One of the first things I learned after hiring out in train service with the SP in 1966 was that the dispatchers could be your best friend or your worst enemy, depending on how you worked with them. One time, I had the opportunity to sit in with a couple of dispatchers at the Los Angeles Division dispatchers office at 6th and Main. One ran the CTC board between Los Angeles and Colton. He was noted for his crankiness, but he told me he enjoyed working with me. Can't think of his name. The other was Gary Leith, who was running the "Monster," as the Colton-Yuma territory was known as at the time.
That experience was a real eye-opener, especially when you think you're the only train on the railroad getting delayed.

Brian Black
Castle Rock, CO