Passenger Car Switching

Today I write from a Viewliner Roomette on Amtrak's southbound Silver Star. This may be the first time we have composed a blog post from a moving train. It probably does not come as a surprise that a trip report will be put together after this journey, but that will be at a later date. Today I thought I would talk about switching passenger cars and a few other things from work.

Earlier today, I boarded the Silver Star in New York, with my wife, Sarah. We elected to take the train to Florida to visit her parents rather than fly because we both enjoy train travel and the cost for us to travel First Class on Amtrak was slightly lower than the cost for both of us to fly. When the train departed New York, it was lead by an AEM-7 electric locomotive. The overhead catenary, which provides electricity to operate such a locomotive, ends in Washington, DC. Upon arriving at Union Station, the electric locomotive was removed and a pair of P42DC locomotives were placed at the head end. This was the first time Sarah had ever seen this operation, and explaining what was going on got me thinking a bit about work, particularly about passenger switching.

When I started working with Alaska Railroad, there were many similarities to what I had learned on BNSF. One big difference between Alaska Railroad and nearly every railroad in the Lower 48 is that Alaska Railroad operates both freight and passenger trains. This is not like a freight railroad hosting Amtrak, which is quite common in the continental United States, because the host railroad rarely does any passenger operations beyond allowing Amtrak to use the trackage. Amtrak provides the passenger train crew and equipment. In Alaska, the Alaska Railroad operates the freight trains, but also operates the passenger trains. The Alaska Railroad provides the crew and equipment for passenger operations.

Since Alaska Railroad operates both freight and passenger trains, this means that train crews could potentially go back and forth between passenger equipment and freight equipment during the course of a tour of duty. This would have been an extremely rare situation for road crews, but was more common in the yard. During the summer, Anchorage Yard had two crews each day that were specifically assigned to switch passenger equipment. Occasionally, when they were either busy or not on duty, another crew could be assigned to take care of a few moves in the coach yard.

Every day in the summer, at 4:30am, the morning passenger switch crew came on duty. The first passenger train scheduled to leave Anchorage was the southbound Coastal Classic, which went to Seward. The train was made up the night before, by the evening passenger crew, so there was rarely any switching to do in the morning. This was done to expedite the morning movements and ensure an on time departure, at 6:45am. Occasionally the locomotives had to be added, but even that was typically done by the roundhouse hostlers, in the middle of the night. Once we got on the train, the Brakeman would release the hand brakes and walk through the train, getting the doors and steps positioned for use at the depot. The Conductor and Engineer would compare paperwork with the train dispatcher and perform an air brake test. As the train departed the yard, a couple of carmen would perform a visual roll by inspection, for safety. We would head south out of the yard, on to the main track. Once the Brakeman had walked through the train, he would stay on the rear car. Once on the main track, the train had to be backed up to the depot. The Brakeman would serve as the eyes for the engineer during that movement. At the depot, the train would be secured. The road crew would take over and bring it to Seward from there.

For the yard crew, there were still more trains. The Denali Star, which operates to Fairbanks, was next. This was usually the most complex. The evening crew usually had things in order, to minimize the work for the morning crew, but because this train operates with private tour company cars, it is impossible to have it put together the night before. The morning crew would first get on the locomotives and pull the Alaska Railroad portion of the train out of the yard. Next, the Wilderness Express cars, if there were any that day, would be added to the rear. They could only be added after they had finished servicing them and lowered the derail protecting the entrance to their track. Sometimes they were ready when the crew got there, other times the crew had to wait a few minutes for hem to finish up their work. Behind the Wilderness Express cars, Holland America Line's McKinley Explorer cars were added, followed by Princess Cruise Line's private cars. Since Holland America and Princess are sister companies, their tour operations in Alaska are combined and operate under the name HAP Alaska-Yukon. Both companies' private cars are serviced together, on the same track, and the evening crew usually had them put together, in the right order, the night before. Once they were added to the train, an End of Train Device was added and tested, and then an air brake test was conducted. Once again, the carmen did a visual inspection as the train departed the coach yard. This train went around the wye on the way out of the yard, and then backed out to the main track. The engineer spotted the train at the depot, where it was secured to await the road crew and an 8:15am departure northbound.

The last train of the morning was the Glacier Discovery, which went to Whittier and Chugach National Forest. This was usually the easiest train, since all the switching was almost always done the night before. After an air brake test and a visual inspection from the carmen, the train headed out to the main track and was then backed in to the depot. Just like the others, it was secured to await the road crew and the trip southward.

When the morning passenger crew was done the morning switching, there were still several hours left to work. Usually a short lunch break was on the agenda, followed by some freight switching. This was, of course, all determined by the yard master.

At 6:30pm, the evening passenger crew came on duty. Their switching was typically more complex, since they were responsible for setting up trains, as much as possible, for the morning crew. The first train scheduled to arrive was the southbound Denali Star, which was so long it had to be split in two when it arrived at the depot. That train was due at 8:00pm every day, and the evening crew would meet it at the depot. The cars belonging to Princess and Holland America would be cut off east (railroad north) of the C Street crossing, just outside the depot. Motor coaches were provided by Holland America and Princess for their passengers, and there is a large paved area there for easy transfer from the train to the waiting coaches. The remainder of the train would pull up behind the railroad depot. When the train arrived at the depot, some of the servicing was done immediately. The crew would have to wait until everyone servicing the train was finished. Once the toilets were all pumped, baggage unloaded, and money counted and removed, the train could head to the yard. Once in the yard, the switching began. The switching could be simple, or it could seem to go on all night. The current position of cars and the arrangement needed the next day determined the complexity of the switching. Other variables that contributed to complexity included the need for car to visit the shop or have wheels trued. Wheel truing is a process that removes flat spots and other imperfections from wheels, resulting in a smoother, safer ride.

When all the Denali Star switching was complete, it was time to do a different train. Usually. Y the time it was complete, both the Coastal Classic and the Glacier Discovery had arrived and were parked at the depot. It was up to the Conductor which one got done next. Both needed to go around the wye, so they would be facing south, since all the switching happens at the south end of the coach yard. Usually the Glacier Discovery was the easier one, since it usually just had to be put away for the night, with little or no switching. The Coastal Classic usually had a little switching, and sometimes a Wilderness Express car or two to put away. Both trains however were far easier to put away than the Denali Star usually was.

Switching passenger equipment could be frustrating at times, for a variety of reasons. One of the most frustrating aspects of passenger switching was the speed. All the coach tracks were limited to walking speed, and the train must be stopped prior to coupling to other equipment. This sounds and is simple enough, but it adds considerable time to even a simple switching move.

Perhaps the most frequent frustration of passenger equipment switching is the overwhelming amount of connections and the limited amount of space between cars. When cars are coupled together, the air hoses must be coupled and the angle cock opened. On freight cars, this is a quick task. On passenger cars, there are electrical jumpers, communication cables, and a walkway in close proximity to one another. Additionally, the air hoses and angle cocks are not located beside the coupler, but rather directly below it. In some situations, it is so crowded between cars that the only way to couple hoses and open angle cocks is to crawl under the car and lie down between the rails, facing up at the bottom of the car. Needless to say, almost anyone who switches passenger cars finishes the day covered in grease, oil, and dirt.

At this point however, I do not have to worry about crawling in the dirt under passenger cars. The Alaska Railroad experiences a pretty significant drop in traffic around the end of September, and consequently they lay off about a third of the workforce. This is a temporary, seasonal layoff, and everyone laid off is guaranteed their job and seniority in the spring, if they still want it. I was notified on September 18th that I no longer had enough seniority to hold a job, and I would be laid off. I will go back to work in the spring, in April or May, depending on manpower needs. It will be sooner if they decided to train ten or more Conductors this winter, but I will not find out definitely about that for at least another month yet. Most people would be disappointed to be laid off, but I am enjoying it. While I enjoy my job, it is nice to have a break. I had taken a week off in the past three years when I got my layoff call, and I was ready for a vacation! Besides, it gives me the opportunity to visit distant family and take leisure train rides, such as this one, aboard Amtrak's Silver Star. I'll be enjoying dinner in the diner next!

Working Hard!

First of all, I must apologize once again that I am writing so infrequently. This is not due to a shortage of activity, but actually quite the opposite. Between work, volunteering to work on engine #557, and some projects at a local model railroad club, I have been extraordinarily busy!

Progress on the 557 is going nicely. We have acquired some sandblasting equipment and will start cleaning up a lot of the parts. The equipment is not big enough to do the major components of the locomotive, such as the boiler or frame, but it will accommodate many of the more portable parts quite nicely. Additionally, the cab was sent out to a company that donated the labor to sandblast and paint it. We just got it back this week, in green primer. The biggest task remaining is to replace the firebox, which happens to be the next major task actually. Hopefully that will be complete before the weather gets cold. The engine house is not heated.

At the local model railroad club, we had been having some pretty serious and unpredictable electrical problems. The sustainability of the layout was questionable, and normal operations were severely compromised. I suggested we basically rewire the entire thing. It was built about 30 years ago, and designed to run on a direct current power system. Once DCC came into the picture, it was rewired for that, but using some existing wire and some new. Nothing was color coded and very little was labelled. Since it was built, all troubleshooting occurred with no color or labeling and no standardization. All of this made finding and solving the problems difficult and highly impractical. The way the club operates most of the time is when someone suggests a project, they are designated the leader by the rest of the membership. That made me the leader on replacing the electrical system. It was decided that we would only do a portion to start, so that the layout would still be functional, in some form, during the project. Also, any changes or modifications to the track work or scenery would be done simultaneously. This was because almost every layout system ultimately relies on the electrical system. A color code was developed and standards were adopted, and we went to work. As of yesterday afternoon, the section we started with is complete and operating. It has seen a few significant upgrades, including the addition of its own power district, circuit breakers, energized switch frogs, a line change, and the removal of one tunnel and replacement of one bridge. We removed an estimated 3,000 feet of wire and replaced it with less than 300 feet, yet increased reliability and performance. We accomplished all of this in three weeks less than planned.

Work is where I have been spending most of my time, it seems. In July, they started running three person crews on almost every train. This was good because it gave Brakemen, including myself, the opportunity to see some of the railroad outside the yard. I went to Fairbanks three times, Whittier once, and Seward once. Fairbanks is a pretty easy trip, but it is long. The passenger trains run during the day, so to help prevent congestion, and potential delays, the freight trains primarily run at night. There is a freight train that operates northbound and one that operates southbound, between Anchorage and Fairbanks, almost every day of the week. Usually they depart their origin at around 8:30pm, and arrive at their destination 11 to 12 hours later. The trip is 358 miles, and includes both mountain grades and much more gentle river grades. The scenery can be spectacular, when it is light out, which, in the summer, is most of the night.

Whittier was certainly interesting. It is much closer to Anchorage, and freight trains only go there a couple times a week. Whittier is where the Alaska Railroad interchanges with other railroads. There is no direct rail connection between Alaska and the Lower 48 or Canada, so the interchange traffic moves on barges. These barges are huge, about 450 feet long, with eight tracks side by side. There are stantions between the tracks that support containerized cargo above the rail cars. The containers can be stacked four or five high. The barges operate between Whittier and Seattle and between Whittier and Prince Rupert, BC. They carry about 15,000 tons of cargo on the week long voyage. Usually, we operate freight trains to Whittier only when a barge will be in town. When I went to Whittier, we spent the day switching out our train and unloading the barge. We spent that night in a hotel in Whittier, and the next morning, we loaded the barge, built a new train, and brought it back to Anchorage with all the freight we had taken off the barge.

When I went to Seward, we had been assigned to relieve the coal train crew. When we arrived, they were still dumping the coal out of the train. They finished that up, and then we put it together and left town northbound. We brought it back to Anchorage. The coal comes from the Usibelli Mine, in Healy. It gets stockpiled in Seward and periodically loaded onto a ship, which takes it to South Korea. Typically there is a coal ship in Seward about once a month. It takes 24 hours to fully load the ship.

I have also worked a few other trains. To me, the most interesting have been the passenger switching jobs, in the yard. In the evenings, as the passenger trains get in, the yard crew goes out and meets them at the depot. The road crew gets off as soon as they pull in, and the passengers disembark. While still parked behind the depot, the cleaning crew gets on, and the first thing that gets done is a truck comes along and pumps all the toilets. Once that is done, we take the train to the yard. The evening crew is responsible for making up the trains for the next day, so that the morning crew is not delayed and the trains run on time. All the switching happens with the cleaning and food staff still on board, as they get things cleaned and put away for the night. On a typical night, there were three trains to switch and put away. Usually that kept us busy for six to eight hours. Once they were put away, the cleaning crew would wash the exterior. Alaska Railroad takes great pride in its trains, particularly its passenger trains, and they get washed after every trip. Usually they are so clean you can see your reflection in them!

More recently, I have been working the morning passenger switching job. That one basically just moves the trains from the yard to the depot, since the night crew has already put them together. There are a lot of little things to do on that though. The movements are pretty simple, pull out of the yard, wye the train if needed, and park it in front of the depot for the road crew to take over. But we also have to make sure the doors on the platform side are open and the doors on the opposite side are closed. We have to make sure the trap doors, exposing the steps, are in the proper position for high level platform boarding or low level boarding. We also have to make sure the end doors on each car close properly and that the last car has a gate to keep people from stepping out the end door. In the morning, the food service staff are on the train, and the dining cars all smell like breakfast. The cooks get a head start on preparing breakfast, because that will be what the passengers want as soon as they get on the train. Once at the depot, we have to place jump plates between the high level platform and the train, to eliminate the gap between the platform and train. There are barriers on and around the platform that must be positioned to keep people from wandering off where they don't belong, and guide them to the train. Those all have to be repositioned for each train, because each train has a different spot at the depot. So the movements are simple in the morning, but there are a lot of other little things to be done. After all the passenger trains have departed for the day, we usually do a little freight switching and then head home. I like both passenger jobs, which makes me a little different than most. Passenger cars can be frustrating to work with, because they are big and delicate, and the space between cars is filled with wires, hoses, walkways, and other utilities. There are a lot of extra safety rules when switching passenger equipment, especially when it is occupied, but it is something new and different for me.

In the next six weeks, I expect work will be tapering off, as the summer season comes to a close. Most of our passengers will be gone, until May, and our freight will see a bit of a decline as the construction season winds down. Hopefully, this will mean my time to commit to this blog and website will increase, and you will hear from me more! I do have several things in the works, just very little time to work on them!

As always, do not hesitate to email or leave a comment if you have any questions or comments! I promise I will respond!

Training Again

For the last two weeks, I have been busy working for the Alaska Railroad. Currently, we are in training. Training started about two weeks ago, with some classroom time. We spent two weeks in the classroom, mostly going over operating practices from the General Code of Operating Rules (GCOR). Conveniently, this is the same rule book that BNSF uses. While it is the same rule book, the Alaska Railroad does do a few things differently. The biggest difference in operations is due to the fact that Alaska Railroad runs both freight trains and passenger trains. On the BNSF, we did not need to know anything about passenger trains, because we did not handle any. They have to be switched differently than freight trains and air tests have to be conducted differently for them.

Despite having railroad experience, I still have to go through all the training. That is just fine with me though, because I have been learning more, and I have had to learn what the differences are between the Alaska Railroad and how things are done on the BNSF.

This week we have been doing field training, which involves going out to a yard with our trainers and learning things hands on. We have been at a place called Birchwood, which is about 20 miles from Anchorage, where there is a four track classification yard. Since the Anchorage yard handles most of the switching, Birchwood is usually pretty quiet, which allows us to do our stuff without getting in the way of anyone else and without having anyone else get in our way.

Yesterday was our first day out at Birchwood, so we started by practicing hand signals. Most of them are exactly the same as they were on the BNSF. After we had all practiced a bit, they decided to have us move a locomotive, using the hand signals we had just practiced. That was quite entertaining. For a lot of people, it seems like it is easier to remember what each proper hand signal is when they do not have the pressure of actually controlling a moving locomotive with them! Everyone did very well when we were all standing in a circle practicing. When we got next to the engine though, some people did some goofy things. It was funny, and everyone did improve as we moved the engine several times. It is just part of the learning process.

We also got to practice applying and releasing hand brakes, and lacing and unlacing air hoses. Most of the equipment we are using is very old, some of it goes back to World War II, so most of the hand brakes are up high. That proved to be a bit of a workout, to tie and untie those brakes several times. Later in the afternoon, they showed us how to change knuckles and air hoses. We each had to do both of those tasks several times, to get some practice.  Before we knew it, the day was over. It went much quicker than the classroom time had!

Today, we started the day by practicing hand signals again. Everyone is getting better. They had us move the engine again, and then they had us ride the engine and move it around. There were far fewer goofy hand signals today, and I expect there will be almost none by tomorrow. After we had all had a few turns at riding the engine, they taught us how to get on and off moving equipment. This was something new to me. On Alaska Railroad, the do not use it much, it is mostly for when necessary because of an emergency, but they want us to know how to do it so that we do not get hurt if there ever is an emergency that requires it. It is not particularly difficult when the train is going slow, but there is still a proper technique to it.

In the afternoon, they got a little more ambitious with us, and decided to have us switch cars. We got a cut of four cars and went to the north end of the yard. We practiced switching a couple of cars out, using two different tracks, and using all the appropriate hand signals to make that happen. We also got to practice passing hand signals. I think everyone liked switching more than most of our other activities up to that point. It gave everyone a chance to see and experience what exactly they signed up for by taking a job as a Brakeman.

After switching, we looked at some freight cars and learned what all the different parts are called. I had to learn some new slang for parts I knew already. We looked at several different types of cars, from modern intermodal cars, to some very old gondolas that were built before World War II. The basic parts are all the same, even if the overall appearance and size has changed a bit. Once again, the day was over quickly, and we all headed home. It is nice to be outside and learning more hands on. Everyone seems to be enjoying it a lot more and understanding everything better.