So last night didn't start out to be as busy as the last few weeks... Everybody, although very tired, sees the end in sight. Crop should be over by the end of March so that's got everyone in a better mood.
Jack and I only had two elevators to contend with last night and they were loading, well, sort of like old people fuck...
Slowly.
Anyway, we weren't chasing cane all night. Jack and I took a cut of 26 empty cane cars out to Townsite #3 spotted them and pulled in 30 loaded ones our first trip. Second and final trip of the night, supposedly easy, was to run 21 empties out to Flaghole #1, spot them up and pull in 13 loads they had waiting.
Easy, right?
Wrong.
We get out to Flaghole and it's around 4 AM at this point. It's darker that the inside of a West Virginia coal mine and a heavy, low fog has rolled in off the cut cane fields so it's harder that hell to see what we're (I'm) doing... We couple up to what I thought was 13 cars and pulled them off the siding to the main line. I do a break test and check the air in our train line and everything checks ok. I hop on the locomotive, finish my paperwork and stuff on the computer and we head back to the yard...
I get on the radio and inform the yardmaster we're inbound with 13 loads, he gives us our instructions and tells us he's lined us into track #5... We roll into the yard and the yardmaster is out at the #5 switch checking our train... Next thing I know he's on the radio to me asking "Just how many cars were you bringing in?" I tell him 13 and he says there's only 10 on my train...
Oh shit.
So now Jack and I have to creep back out on the main line all the way back to Flaghole, making sure we didn't leave them on the main line somewhere...
Fortunately they were there at the elevator...
So we get back in to the yard around 6 AM with the last three cars and here it comes... The ball-breaking that I've been expecting. Especially from one of the other crew's switchman, who I've been teasing about not being able to count cars...
Well, at least I receive a good ballbreaking as well as I dish out.
Because if you can't laugh at yourself, who can you laugh at?
Tomorrow's another day!
Copyright 2007 Thomas J Wolfenden
7 comments:
Great story RT...at least you brought the majority, huh!
I spent the day on the tracks yesterday. Thought of you.
A sense of humor is SOOOOO important in life.
I laugh at myself everyday- keeps the monsters (co-workers) away!
Yeah...It's either laugh or cry. I always try laughing first.
And if you can laugh louder than those other fuckers they'll think you're a crazy bastard!
Hope all's going well. Glad you didn't get munched!
oh god tht is toooo funny....I think it might be time to revisit sesame street again lol
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