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Railroaders' Nostalgia > Crew Change at Ark City


Date: 10/02/24 09:59
Crew Change at Ark City
Author: santafe199

There is a ritual in railroading called the 'crew change'. It has been around as long as trains have been running. And it will be around for a long time to come. A crew change can come in many different forms, and in my 32 years in train service I think I’ve seen about every variation I can think of. My favorite will always be the rolling waycar changes I took part in while working for the Santa Fe. That’s “caboose” to you non-SFe types.

The crew change pictured below did not involve a waycar. Unfortunately by 1991 they were well on the way to obsolescence. But my friend and fellow railroader John LaGesse did get a nice shot of crews swapping at the head end. And this particular spot holds a great memory for me. The first time I ever deadheaded on a train was from this spot right here in Arkansas City, KS. It was 13 years to the day before this scene. On June 24, 1978 my crew was called to deadhead back home to Emporia on a 583 train. As I recall it was a hot day, a real scorcher. I caught a bit of blind luck by following my conductor to the 3rd unit in the 583’s consist, which was an SD26. It may have been a Santa Fe rebuild but it had a working air conditioner! On the trip home I was sitting in the engineer’s seat, while my conductor and braking partner were sitting on the other side of the cab, chatting away. On this trip I got an early lesson in RR humor. The working crew up on the lead unit didn’t have working AC like we did. So every once in a while my braking partner would come over and use the console radio to call the head end. He would suggest that one of those guys should bring a couple of sweaters back to the 3rd unit because we were getting so chilly under our working AC. It was a valuable lesson about the smart-ass side of RR humor, and I soaked it right up... :^)

1. AT&SF 145 is stopped at the yard office for a crew change at Arkansas City, KS on June 24, 1991.
Original Kodachrome slide by John LaGesse.

Thanks for looking back!
Lance Garrels (santafe199)
John LaGesse (atsfer)




Date: 10/03/24 06:52
Re: Crew Change at Ark City
Author: MILW86A

Excellent Lance
Thank you for sharing
MILW86A 



Date: 10/03/24 11:55
Re: Crew Change at Ark City
Author: UP3806

Everybody likes a little ass but nobody likes a smart-ass!

Tom



Date: 10/03/24 19:45
Re: Crew Change at Ark City
Author: santafe199

UP3806 Wrote: > ... nobody likes a smart-ass!

 Au contraire... depends on how it's delievered...

;^)



Date: 10/04/24 13:00
Re: Crew Change at Ark City
Author: RetiredHogger

Great picture.

I'm guessing it's the hogger already on the power. If so, the conductor is on his way after a short "job briefing" with the third gentleman. Said conductor hauling his grip....what appears to be an Igloo cooler....and maybe a large soft drink. If you gotta work, might has well enjoy the trip.



Date: 10/05/24 10:43
Re: Crew Change at Ark City
Author: SCAX3401

Saw so many of these growing up and spending time at my grandparents house in Needles, CA.  Their house was just a few short blocks for the station and many an afternoon was spent watching the parade of Santa Fe freights passing thru.  Saw a few rolling waycar crew changes there also, but they weren't too common, so it was kind of a thrill to see them.



Date: 10/19/24 12:35
Re: Crew Change at Ark City
Author: DynamicBrake

Lance,
Thanks for sharing.  Crew changes can be very interesting to watch, but a rolling crew change is poetry in motion!

Kent in CArmel Valley



Date: 10/27/24 09:18
Re: Crew Change at Ark City
Author: OldPorter

DynamicBrake Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Lance,
> Thanks for sharing.  Crew changes can be very
> interesting to watch, but a rolling crew change is
> poetry in motion!

True that. I remember seeing rolling crew changes at Gallup, NM 
when I was sending my mom East on Amtk #4. It was poetry in motion.
(Thx for your original post, Lance)



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