We had an interesting thing happen yesterday. The BNSF is replacing lots of ties along the main line past our lumberyard. About noon, the head of the track gang operation showed up in our yard and needed a favor. He needed a place to park equipment overnight. The railroad had intructed him to pull all his equipment off at an old elevator in town a mile up the road. That siding is used once a year by an ag company and is in such tough shape he was worried all his equipment would be laying on it’s side.
So we struck up an agreement that he could pull his parade into our spur for two nights, and made arrangements to make sure he locked up the gates and such at night. He had two pieces of equipment needing repairs, so he had mechanics there till dark last night. The other members of the 45 man crew were taken by van to their motel.
This morning, we have nearly a half mile of equipment out there. I count 24 pieces of track equipment, half a dozen vans and 5 or 6 big trucks. It’s foggy this morning, so all that equipment with all those blinking lights looks like a dragon in a Chinese New Year’s parade in a movie. [8D]
As much as some folks can’t figure out why others would be interested in what they do for a job all day, some of the track machines are an absolute wonder to watch at work.
Hope one of your wandering lumber cars doesn’t show up one of those nights and find that its destination has been blocked by the same serving railroads . . .
“Sure, Mr. Tie Gang Foreman, you can park your equipment here. There’s just one condition to that permission, though: You - or one of your crew - have to give our resident railfan Mr. Murphy here a complete tour and explanation of the equipment - preferably out on the main line where he can see it in actual operation and ask questions, take photos, and generally have himself a grand ol’ time. Whaddya say ?” [swg]
Unfortunately, that would require me hiking a mile down the railway ROW that I don’t own. The photos would be of me being escorted to a Sherrif’s car for transport to jail for trespassing, or to the looney bin. The heat and humidty is way up right now. If I hiked the mile down the ROW I’d probably be incoherent and foaming at the mouth. [(-D]
