June 19, 2004 finds me as conductor on the River City Flyer, running from Cedar Park to Downtown Austin to pick up passengers to haul around Austin for a couple of hours. Here we are crossing the UP main at McNeil, TX. My brakeman, John Pedersen, stands the required 20 feet away from the switch that controls the derail. The silver-painted stand is the control mechanism for the interlocking. Whenever we get to the interlocking, we first have to look at the block indicator. If it indicates that the block on the UP is occupied, we have to wait 9 minutes before actuating the time release mechanism. If it indicates that the block is clear, then we open the door below the round indicator, and that turns the block signals on the conflicting route red. We then close the box, and that gives us a lunar (whitish colored) signal, indicating that we have the right of way and can proceed across the diamond track. Once we get across, we have to line the derail back to the derailing position so that a UP train approaching the diamond will get a clear (green-colored) signal, which allows them to cross the interlocking. I worked this train almost every Sunday during the summer of 2004. That was my break away from studying law.