was watching some trains before getting matt home from school.csx q393(up 4628 leading) asked the dispatcher if they could stop in defiance.I knew where they might be going.they stopped right behind the local KFC and were leaving as I pulled in.crews used to do that all the time when there was single track past FC in west defiance.of course some of the crews still call FC “fried chicken” as they go east and west.
stay safe
joe
Yes I saw that when I was in Utah. A UPRR stopped across the street from a diner & the engineer got out walked across the street to the diner & picked up his lunch which he must have ordered ahead via cell phone.
When I posted that here somebody said that is permitted by the contract if the crew will be missing there lunch.
That’s pretty funny. On my model railroad, I have a scene where there is an ice cream stand right next to the tracks, maybe the engineers get ice cream there. They can call ahead and hoop it on the fly![:D]
yeah csx crews can get pizza and/or ice cream in my old neighborhood too if they get permission.
stay safe
joe
Down in Folkston, Ga, the crews will go pick up some Mcdonalds if they have a lot of opposing traffic. You can here them asking the dispatcher how long it will be before they get a clear signal so they can run a get themselves a happy meal if they have adaquate time.
I got a better one than that Joe.
Back in the 70’s the IC had an arrangement with the union…to hand up meals to the trains. So, instead of the operator handing up orders, I have a picture of him handing up a box of sandwitches, etc.
Today if the NS sends a train into the siding for awhile, the dispatcher will tell the crew " you will be there awhile" which seems to be code for go to the local gas station for gas station chix.
Crews always ask if they can go get something to eat. Good communications on both ends.
ed
And they have to include the Happy Meal prize with their time report.
The crew on the GTW local I used to hang out with would regularly stop at a bakery in Coopersville for a leisurely cup of coffee, etc. No problam at all–the train was in the timetable, and the crew was waiting for the schedule to catch up with them. And they always departed on the dot.
I was on my way home one night and found a local sitting on the main, a short distance from the crossing (gates were back up). Coming into town I’d heard the DS trying to reach a local, so I stopped in to the convenience store next to the tracks where the crew was stocking up, found the conductor, and asked him if he was the {train number}. He was surprised to say the least, but surprise turned to hustle when I told him the DS was looking for him… He said something about his hand-held radio being on, but he was a ways from the tower…
They were rolling by the time I got back to my truck.
years ago i stoped my train on main track in a town to jump off at a store to buy a pack of smokes becouse i left my fresh pack in the car at the home terminals parking lot… the look on the stores clerk when she saw me walk in after getting off the train was priceless since trains dont stop there…
csx engineer
…I’ve often seen RR crews stop on the main here {waiting for a clear signal}, and rush into a local restaurant for some “take out”. Won’t mention which RR or what restaurant, not my intention to squeal…
Odd coincidence…
Saw a train parked on the CSX single-track Columbus-Ridgeway-Toledo line last evening in Columbus just south of the Trabue Road crossing, headlight dimmed - right next to Johnnie’s Place (which serves the best hot-cheese burgers in Central Ohio). Granted - they were just clear of last street crossing prior to the red home signal at Mounds (the crossing of the ex PRR Columbus-Logansport line just east of Buckeye Yard) - but why dim the headlights when you have the line blocked? 
A year or two ago during a trip to Rochelle I was suprised to see an eastbound coal drag on the UP come to a screeching halt (okay I’m embellishing a tad) right outside the Rochelle gift shop. One guy jumped down to buy two sodas and then they took off. I am surprised that they would able to do that given that Rochelle is basically the intersection of 2 railroad freeways.
I would have offered the guy a frosty beverage from the cooler, but that may have been a bit much.
if the crossing isnt blocked by the train they will dim their lights to let motorists know they are stopped.I have also given and recieved water from crews too. i also have run to get them food if they are going to be stuck for awhile.
stay safe
joe
Quentin,
I know to which RR and establishment you refer. I used to make those runs myself as a conductor and now I occasionally dispatch the line. Most of the time trains blast across that line, but in the day time when there’s a lot of track work I’ll often inform the crew and give them the O.K. to make a pit stop. All I ask is that they let me know when they’re back on the train ready to go.
There was this one day when I was working down at the Depot on our Model Railroad, and there was a train stopped. Next thing I know I see a couple guys squeezing throurgh the hole in the fence, they came in and looked around and we had a little chat. Apparently they had a derailment to the east and were going to be stuck for quite a while.
My contribution to this discussion will be “in reverse” as I have witnessed crews tossing cold bottles of H2O to hot and thirsty railfans (especially kids) watching trackside…it doesn’t happen often, but once in a while it does. I have seen this about four or five times.
I see that most of the time to over by where. The Cp does switching for fredorit malt the crew goes into wendy’s everynight about 6:30 or so and they sit and talk while eating lunch. They just park there engine on the main track and walk in. Then after that they go back to work running back and forth across lincoln ave blocking traffic up to 10 mintues at time.
When I was a youngster I used to help pick apples in an orchard that was along the PRR, Vandalia line. There are double passing tracks there also [N and S, sides of the main line]. Train crews would stop and get a bag of apples off of Mr. Cline at the apple barn.
The orchard is long gone now, but the road and crossing are still called Cline orchard, and train crews still used the name on the scanner.
Got to meet a few hobo’s there, who would help pick for a little pay. Course there were a few that would just steal’em too, but most seemed to be ok
Wandering a bit off topic, but it reminds me…
…of “our out one day back the next” freight train that used to go through my hometown on its way “up north”. A few times in early December, you would see the southbound go through town with a freshly cut Christmas tree stacked on the front of the locomotive. While I’m sure the likely candidates were scoped out ahead of time, I wonder how many crews did their tree shopping from the cab (or caboose)? Since it was the only train on the line, of course there was no problem with schedules, blocked crossings, etc.
Now, any stories of crews stopping to do some shopping at the outlet mall? LOL
I’ve witnessed the same thing when the CNW was running yet. There was a grocery store near Broad St. and New York Ave. about 60’ from the crossing at New York Ave. Most days the local would stop twice and get something from the store. I’d bet this is a fairly common occurance at most roads. Kind of a neat, human aspect that the public gets to see.
Seeing as this thread was started in reference to the CSX maybe CSX is an acronym for Covert Snack eXchange?