A few parting shots...

[groundeater]

Taken in Arizona up against a painted mural...hopefully she’ll be loaded up and headed our way back home after a 9 year long makeover

As I’ve said before, I feel privileged to be the owner. My extended family did ALL the work.
Myself, a blue collar workin’ man, 34 years riding the rails across Nebraska, never in a million years did I think that I would live to see a dream long abandoned come true.
I am so grateful for Alan & Tyrel my brother-in-law & his son for the countless hours of labor to see this project through for us !
Last but not least, my beautiful wife Teri who actually started the ball rollin’ way back in 2011 ! Not many wives would ever agree to “dump” money into such an endeavor...I’ve been SO BLESSED and humbled by the whole process to say the least !

 

[47coeman]

Taken in Arizona up against a painted mural...hopefully she’ll be loaded up and headed our way back home after a 9 year long makeover

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As I’ve said before, I feel privileged to be the owner. My extended family did ALL the work.
Myself, a blue collar workin’ man, 34 years riding the rails across Nebraska, never in a million years did I think that I would live to see a dream long abandoned come true.
I am so grateful for Alan & Tyrel my brother-in-law & his son for the countless hours of labor to see this project through for us !
Last but not least, my beautiful wife Teri who actually started the ball rollin’ way back in 2011 ! Not many wives would ever agree to “dump” money into such an endeavor...I’ve been SO BLESSED and humbled by the whole process to say the least !

What a beauty enjoy.

 

[landcrusher909]

Fantastic ! Looks Great Hoghead.

 

[groundeater]

Well ....a “hoghead” I wasn’t, those guys were made of much better stock than I ! I was a conductor on the second district based out of North Platte. Our run was over 305 grueling miles...to Council Bluffs, Iowa. We were called to work at ANY hour of the day or night.

12 hr. run. Many times depending on your train symbol (what kind of category your freight was.) also dictated HOW the train dispatcher was gonna handle you over the road. There were times in the 90’s where I only made it 13 miles out of my home terminal !!
Backed up bumper to bumper ...to much business and not enough track to handle it all !

Every man had to have some sort of game plan in order to survive it. Sleep deprivation is an endless treadmill. My main job was to keep the “hoghead “ awake. Some smoked, once I seen a fella that had lit up a cigarette and he fell asleep with his eyes open and the cigarette burned down to his fingers...crazy thing, the ashes stayed together all the way to the filter before waking him up !

 

[landcrusher909]

Well ....a “hoghead” I wasn’t, those guys were made of much better stock than I ! I was a conductor on the second district based out of North Platte. Our run was over 305 grueling miles...to Council Bluffs, Iowa. We were called to work at ANY hour of the day or night.

12 hr. run. Many times depending on your train symbol (what kind of category your freight was.) also dictated HOW the train dispatcher was gonna handle you over the road. There were times in the 90’s where I only made it 13 miles out of my home terminal !!
Backed up bumper to bumper ...to much business and not enough track to handle it all !

Every man had to have some sort of game plan in order to survive it. Sleep deprivation is an endless treadmill. My main job was to keep the “hoghead “ awake. Some smoked, once I seen a fella that had lit up a cigarette and he fell asleep with his eyes open and the cigarette burned down to his fingers...crazy thing, the ashes stayed together all the way to the filter before waking him up !

More than once when I first started running I had an Old Head Conductor used to carry a little plastic water pistol LOL My Conductors saved my bacon more than once over the years Going up Cajon Pass here in So Calif from Los Angeles to Barstow by the time I'd put 100 miles over the road there were times my head was soaking wet Ha ha Congratulations on your retirement. Many's a time I got dog caught in the same circumstances. I am still on call working a 258 mile run. Still the Best job I ever had.

 

[groundeater]

I agree friend...best job I ever had too . We used to throw those little “pops” that were sold around fourth of July. They went off when they were in contact with a hard surface ! They had powder in them and LKed like a round ball with a twisted tail on it.

Some guys as you know were worse than others when it came to dozing. I was far from perfect, that’s for sure. So glad it’s in my rear view mirror now.

 

[groundeater]

I agree friend...best job I ever had too . We used to throw those little “pops” that were sold around fourth of July. They went off when they were in contact with a hard surface ! They had powder in them and LKed like a round ball with a twisted tail on it.

Some guys as you know were worse than others when it came to dozing. I was far from perfect, that’s for sure. So glad it’s in my rear view mirror now.

Are you on a turn or extra board ?