While this may be Thursday for most people, today is my Monday.
Right now I’m sitting at the train platform at Altic/Howard Hughes. I’m waiting for my deadhead train to come in while watching this fellow feed the two dogs at the lot across the street. Just minutes earlier the two girls got treats from me.
My train should be here any minute now.
It has arrived, and I am riding on it. Rather than catch the train at 10:30am and riding it directly to Hobby, I like to get there earlier and catch Chacho’s* train while it’s still going eastbound to Magnolia Park.
I just picked up my train at Hobby from Kōsh*. There’s a young lady with a dog in her purse named Pippin in the train. People aren’t supposed to be on the train after Theater District, but sometimes it happens. I gave Pippin a treat.
It’s time to get underway.
There are two Stop and Proceeds on the train order. One is downtown, at Milam and Rusk. The train signal is in malfunction, while the traffic signals are in four-way flash. The other is at Chartres.
However, no one saw to telling me that that interlocking signal, CH2E, would be dark, let alone what to do. Seeing that interlocking signals are the sacred cow of all signals, as they are there to prevent train-on-train collisions, I radioed Control, who instructed me to proceed through the dark signal. The magnetic trip stop was supposed to have been deactivated, however my train got trip stopped anyway.
Of course this causes a stir, and the signals guys are trying to figure out the signaling catastrophe going on at that intersection. All four signal cases are open.
Nineteen minutes after getting trip stopped, I made it to Palm Center, the end of the line.
And now I am back at Hobby. One trip down; five more to go.
Heading eastbound on my second trip, I see a car on Main Street with its nose in the track, preparing to turn right onto Rusk Street. However, the car is not moving. Once the truck in front of me has cleared, I see what the holdup is. There’s a confused elderly man standing in the trackway. He has a walker that is way too short for him. What’s even worse is that the back legs of the walker are a good half foot shorter than the front, pitching the walker at a forty five-degree angle.
He could barely walk. Each step was an arduous is arduously attempt where he stops and turns his upper body in confusion. His trying to lift his walker over the rail is an exercise in patience. Meanwhile, cars are blowing by him.
In the meantime having to sit and wait at Main Street is going to cause a hold up in Red Line traffic. However, I really don’t want to get on the radio and call Control.
“Train 55 to Control, eastbound, Main. Please be advised that I am unable to proceed due to an individual with walker having difficulty crossing the street.”
Fortunately, a passerby helps the old man across. But I cannot proceed until my signal comes up again.
For some good news, at least, I’m able to make it through Chartres without getting trip stopped at CH2E.
The trip back is blessedly uneventful.
On my third trip out I see that the signal at Milam is working. And while I dislike getting on the radio and call Control.
“Train 55 to Control, eastbound, Milam. Please be advised I got my upgrade.”
A short while after that line Seven Charlie is annulled on the train order.
However, there is still that signal catastrophe at Chartres. But it does seem to be slowly improving. While my bar signal does come up, the signal at CH2E does not. As such, Control has to talk me through that.
“Train 55 copy. I have authorization to bypass CH2E, verifying switch alignment for a normal route.”
Up to Palm Center and back with no incident, I hand Train 55 over to Bullet* and go take my lunch in the break room shack underneath the overpass at Hobby.
On my third trip out I see that the signal at Milam is working. And while I dislike getting on the radio and call Control.
“Train 55 to Control, eastbound, Milam. Please be advised I got my upgrade.”
A short while after that line Seven Charlie is annulled on the train order.
However, there is still that signal catastrophe at Chartres. But it does seem to be slowly improving. While my bar signal does come up, the signal at CH2E does not. As such, Control has to talk me through that.
“Train 55 copy. I have authorization to bypass CH2E, verifying switch alignment for a normal route.”
Up to Palm Center and back with no incident, I hand Train 55 over to Bullet* and go take my lunch in the break room shack underneath the overpass at Hobby.
Lunch has ten more minutes left but I like to be out early to relieve Minnie* when she brings in Train 52.
Anyhow, the train I get for my second half is one of the spy trains — one of the trains that has a camera in the operating cab. (Can we say “workplace surveillance?” Sure we can.) No one likes getting a spy train.
The trip up to Palm Center — trip number four — went uneventfully.
There was the usual ongoing issue at Chartres and CH2E. But by now, I have gotten the hang of it.
School had gotten out, and the high school kids were waiting to be picked up. But thanks to the METRO police presence, they were pretty quiet.
At MacGregor Park/MLK there is student housing kittycorner from the platform. Ever since those student apartments went up, the university kids would cut in front of the train to get to them. Well, won’t have none of that. So, when I pull up to the platform, I pull slightly past the platform and have the train’s nose on the sidewalk. And then I watch in the right rear monitor and see all those kids automatically heading to turn in front of the train only to realize the train is blocking them. Of course there’s always one defiant skinny person who insists on squeezing through.
When I get to Palm Center, there’s a dirt bike on the platform. Lex* informed me that the guy with the bike wanted to get on the train, but that Lex told him that bike can’t come onboard. I hope he’s not going to try to pull that on my train. But then I see him riding off the platform and heading towards the low to no income apartments across the street.
Heading back west, the signal catastrophe is finally rectified after ten hours of work. Seven Bravo and Twelve Bravo are annulled. We finally have a clean train order.
My fifth and penultimate trip eastbound is proceeding well, and I am making good time finally. I may be able to actually make it to Palm Center without losing any time off my time points. However, it’s no such luck as I get to Elgin/Third Ward. There is some first responder — EMS and cops — action going on the platform. The supervisor on location, 1695, flags me to the platform, as the cop car on the tracks slowly backs out. (METRO is like “Secret Agent Man,” where “they’re giving you a number and taking away your name.” By the time I let off my passengers, and 1695 and I exchange a couple of snarky comments, my signal drops. I have to request a stop and proceed, which Control grants. But I still have to wait until it is safe to proceed.
I get to Palm Center late, once again.
When it’s time to leave, the sun is going down fast, and it’s getting dark. I don’t like operating the train when it’s dark because the alignment goes through some very poorly lit areas that makes it hard to see people when they’re crossing the street. I slow down my operation. And by the time I get to Hobby I have to do a turn and burn.
The sixth and last trip eastbound goes slower than usual because it is dark and the glare of traffic lights makes it difficult to see. I have to sit and wait two minutes at Albermarle because a westbound train caused my signal to time out. And while the Controller on duty granted me a stop and proceed at Elgin, I know he won’t grant me one at this intersection.
Once again I make it to Palm Center late. And I wind up leaving a tad bit late too.
On approach to MacGregor Park/MLK, a car runs a red light into the path of my oncoming train. This is the usual typical bullshit I, and every other train operator, deal with every day. Some of these idiots get lucky and some don’t. This one is one of the lucky ones — for now.
The rest of the trip back goes without incident. BB* is there to relieve me.
I hop on my deadhead train, which was behind me, and I’m heading back to the Altic/Howard Hughes platform, from which I will make the 0.33-mile walk back to the station office. Once I get there, I’ll turn in my radio and vamoose.
One day down, four more to go.
Anyhow, the train I get for my second half is one of the spy trains — one of the trains that has a camera in the operating cab. (Can we say “workplace surveillance?” Sure we can.) No one likes getting a spy train.
The trip up to Palm Center — trip number four — went uneventfully.
There was the usual ongoing issue at Chartres and CH2E. But by now, I have gotten the hang of it.
School had gotten out, and the high school kids were waiting to be picked up. But thanks to the METRO police presence, they were pretty quiet.
At MacGregor Park/MLK there is student housing kittycorner from the platform. Ever since those student apartments went up, the university kids would cut in front of the train to get to them. Well, won’t have none of that. So, when I pull up to the platform, I pull slightly past the platform and have the train’s nose on the sidewalk. And then I watch in the right rear monitor and see all those kids automatically heading to turn in front of the train only to realize the train is blocking them. Of course there’s always one defiant skinny person who insists on squeezing through.
When I get to Palm Center, there’s a dirt bike on the platform. Lex* informed me that the guy with the bike wanted to get on the train, but that Lex told him that bike can’t come onboard. I hope he’s not going to try to pull that on my train. But then I see him riding off the platform and heading towards the low to no income apartments across the street.
Heading back west, the signal catastrophe is finally rectified after ten hours of work. Seven Bravo and Twelve Bravo are annulled. We finally have a clean train order.
My fifth and penultimate trip eastbound is proceeding well, and I am making good time finally. I may be able to actually make it to Palm Center without losing any time off my time points. However, it’s no such luck as I get to Elgin/Third Ward. There is some first responder — EMS and cops — action going on the platform. The supervisor on location, 1695, flags me to the platform, as the cop car on the tracks slowly backs out. (METRO is like “Secret Agent Man,” where “they’re giving you a number and taking away your name.” By the time I let off my passengers, and 1695 and I exchange a couple of snarky comments, my signal drops. I have to request a stop and proceed, which Control grants. But I still have to wait until it is safe to proceed.
I get to Palm Center late, once again.
When it’s time to leave, the sun is going down fast, and it’s getting dark. I don’t like operating the train when it’s dark because the alignment goes through some very poorly lit areas that makes it hard to see people when they’re crossing the street. I slow down my operation. And by the time I get to Hobby I have to do a turn and burn.
The sixth and last trip eastbound goes slower than usual because it is dark and the glare of traffic lights makes it difficult to see. I have to sit and wait two minutes at Albermarle because a westbound train caused my signal to time out. And while the Controller on duty granted me a stop and proceed at Elgin, I know he won’t grant me one at this intersection.
Once again I make it to Palm Center late. And I wind up leaving a tad bit late too.
On approach to MacGregor Park/MLK, a car runs a red light into the path of my oncoming train. This is the usual typical bullshit I, and every other train operator, deal with every day. Some of these idiots get lucky and some don’t. This one is one of the lucky ones — for now.
The rest of the trip back goes without incident. BB* is there to relieve me.
I hop on my deadhead train, which was behind me, and I’m heading back to the Altic/Howard Hughes platform, from which I will make the 0.33-mile walk back to the station office. Once I get there, I’ll turn in my radio and vamoose.
One day down, four more to go.
* Names have been changed to preserve privacy.
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