Wednesday, March 30, 2005


Here I am helping fuel ECRX 9055. We left Cedar Park with only 250 gallons of fuel, and the run takes 300 gallons. This was on 3/19/05. I also added 55 gallons of oil to the sump, 4 gallons at a time. Lots of fun!

My superintendent and I talked the local fuel jobber into fueling our engine on a Saturday by helping him mix and pour concrete for a sign foundation this past March 19 on the Hill Country Flyer. We left Cedar Park with 250 gallons. The round trip takes 300 gallons. Our option, if this kind man hadn't agreed to provide us with some fuel, was to fill up the diesel fuel tank on our hy-rail truck, 50 gallons at a time, and pump that over to the engine. We left Burnet on time because we were able to get 920 gallons from the local jobber. If we had to do it using the hy-rail, we might still be there ;-)

Monday, March 28, 2005


Alco RSD15 442 is back in service. We used ECRX 9055 as emergency backup power in case the 442 was unwilling to perform after being rewheeled. I was conductor on the train today. We had 8 cars and 400 passengers on a cold rainy day, but everyone loved it. This picture was taken climbing up out of the San Gabriel River valley on March 26.

Saturday, March 05, 2005


Me at the throttle of AUAR engine 191, an EMD GP40 3,000 hp diesel, on March 4, 2005. I had 3 coaches and two lounge cars with about 125 passengers on a cool, rainy day. I am at the platform at Burnet, TX, having just brought the A&TC Hill Country Flyer into town. I tested the dynamic brakes out on our 2 percent grades, and they held as long as the rail was dry. I had wheel pickup coming down the Summit grade and had to back off the dynamics and set the train air brakes.