Karl Klontz would be proud: So yesterday Im running home on an empty stack repo train. I finally get on the BNSF at North Portland, and immediately Im following PSAP grain train out of Vancouver. Dinking along at 35-40 MPH the whole way, I get to Napavine at Centralia South comes on the radio and says Amtrak 500 is getting close and I need to keep moving. Uh huh... So she crosses me over 1 to 2 at Chehalis, where I get around the grain train stopped at Centralia South. 25 MPH through the plant there, then 40 MPH through downtown Centralia, so 500 is gonna be crawling up my behind any time now. So at Bucoda I pick it up to 55, figuring Ill get a little head room when 500 stops at Centralia. I get to East Oly, and get a flashing yellow for Centennial South; Im like, Whiskey, Tango, Foxtrot, over??? 35 MPH at Centennial South to get an Advance Approach to cross over to #1 at Centennial North. Now what kind of Fupped Duck signal sequence is that??? So I cross back to #1, figuring Im going to stop at Nisqually and let 500 around me there. Nope. Greenie Weenies. So here we go. Now Im hearing a work train on the radio off in the distance at Titlow, so I know there is single track coming up, with #11 coming south. Theres a Form B at Bridge 14, and sure enough a B&B gang is working on the bridge on #2. Hmmm... Now mind you, 500 stopped at Centennial when I left Nisqually, so he really is on my ass now and he is committed to following me into Tacoma. So we get through the Form B, and he comes #11 at Pioneer. BAM!!! One Amtrak down! I get to Titlow, and 500 goes by the detector at Solo Point, so now he is running on yellows. The aforementioned work train is indeed on #2 at Titlow, so 500 is definitely following me through the tunnel. As the detector at Titlow gives a readout on my train, 500 and 11 are saying good morning to each other at Pioneer. At Ruston I go down #2 on a flashing yellow, again wondering why. Now mind you, nothing is parked on #1 at Harbor, but back over we go; apparently the rails on #2 needed to be shined. Surely I am now out of 500s way. But wait, theres more! At Davis, there is a Big Nasty Slow F-er parked on the Tacoma Main. I get a dubble-yellow at Davis, so Im lined to cross over to the Tacoma Main at 21st Street. But the intermediate on #2 is displaying an Approach; 500 isnt lined up at 21st Street??? Just then an unknown voice on the radio calls and says he is in the clear at 21st Street for us. Huh? Who the F are you??? Around the curve at 11th Street, and there he is, a track inspector with his high-rail parked on #2 in the control point. 500 is still following me on #1. At this point, Boyz & Girlz, my tale of woe comes to an end, for I finish my journey into the yard lead at River Street and deliver my train to Tacoma Rail. But in this episode, I have come up with a new verb: Klontz. Klontz is defined as running an Amtrak train and getting screwed by Tommy-Boy because the train dispatchers like me better than you. Variations on the work include: Klontzed, Klontzing, Klontzified,etc. Used in a sentence: Tommy-Boy gave #11 and #500 a serious Klontzing this morning, at Pioneer.
Posted on: Mon, 06 Oct 2014 19:09:48 +0000
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