Law School Graduation

July 30, 2005: Here I am graduating from law school with a Juris Doctor (JD) degree. I may or may not practice law- I haven't yet decided. But, first I am going to finish my railroad career. Anything I do with the law degree will be after I retire, although it does come in quite handy when dealing with the FRA. Not only do I know the FRA regulations; I also can intepret them thanks to my law degree.

I know- it's not a railroad picture. But, my oldest son got married, and the wife and I dressed up in our best. This is the third and last son to get married, and I am through putting on tuxedoes (I hope).

Merry Christmas! This was a Christmas run to Burnet. I had a miniature Christmas tree sitting on the AAR radio. Even when it is way below freezing outside, I like to run with the window open. The hat is a Stetson I wear in cold weather. It is extremely comfortable, and I like wearing it.

Sun kink! ! ! I was on the way to Austin, and I whipped around the curve coming up to MP 78 when to my surprise the rail in front of me was not quite what it should be. Temperatures had been hovering in the mid 110s, and the rail finally said enough- I am stretching out. This caused the S-shaped sun kink. I was able to stop short by making a full service reduction. The conductor and I gauged the track, and it was tight in some places but never wide. So, I eased the train over the sun kink at about half a mile an hour. The wheels of the cars climbed up on the rail and then dropped back down into the gauge. We made it over without derailing, called the superintendent, and a track gang had the rail repaired by the time we returned 8 hours later. This picture is me trying to straighten out the track. I thought I could yank it back into alignment, but the track didn't budge at all ;-)

Westbound at Bertram 6/12/06. I have one passenger to pick up. I made what I called a flying pickup. My passenger is Tex, the president of the Burnet Gunfighters Association. Tex likes to board while we are moving. I slowed to a stop, but never shut off on the throttle. I released the brakes just before I came to rest. As a result, the train made a split second stop and then began moving again. That way the gates didn't time out on the highway crossing. The rear of the train was moving 20 mph as it passed the platform. That's the way I like it.