OpsLog – FEC – 02/29/2020

OpsLog – FEC – 02/29/2020

don’t think I’ve ever had a more pleasant ops session.

Was back on the FEC panel. It was a crisp late-winter day so the shed doors were wide open, the breezes cool and the skies cobalt. The crew was old pros so no dicking around and very sharp skills. I got the panel humming and the trains followed their timetables, meeting and working and generally not delaying each other.

In the yard, the ladies (and our new engine hostler) worked as a team, getting trains in and out. All that mattered to me was that they prepped the departure track and cleaned the arrivals. They did not let me down – not one time, nope.

And that’s what was needed about a third of the way through – suddenly I had four southbounds running through Palm Bay like elephants, nose to tail, looking for the yard. I’d signal one in and when I looked again, the arrival track indicator would clear and I’d line in another. I think we got the four in in something like forty fast minutes (or ten real ones).

Even when there were minor delays in main-blocking switching, the holding crews were patent, not reminding me of where I knew they were.

And after a session that ran through its paces, once it was all done, a group of us went out for BBQ as a super place down the coast a bit.

Now I’m sitting here writing a very easy piece – praise comes naturally when it is earned. Thanks, Ken and Bev, for having us out!

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