Unload Other Side

There are days when everything seems to fall into place. The kind of days that make up for all the times when things turned sour; the failed pieces, the empty spots, the evading of authorities or the bad weather. The good days are savored, the great days are burned into our memory banks where the smallest detail is never forgotten....or some shit like that.

We rolled into the lay-up in the early afternoon, eager to put in some quick work before settling down to rock a puurty end2end production. The engine always showed up around the same time, so we figured we'd put up a few fast burners until the workers arrived to juggle the lines. We headed up to the first boxcar and settle on our respective spots, but before we could drop even a single line, the oncoming lights of the engine decided for us that this would have to wait. The engine crept forward - a full hour ahead of it's usual schedule - while we grabbed our gear and scurried into the nearby woods for cover. We waited impatiently as the lines shuffled and after a good half-hour, the engine pulled out with a mixed line in tow. Heading back out, we returned to the ridged boxcar and proceeded to lay down a decent end2end of simple style burners. With the warm-up over, it was time to get serious on the steel. We settled on a grey Procor hopper and got to work. Within a few hours, under the setting sun, we were working on the finishing touches of a rather impressive end2end production. The flow seemed tight and I was proud to show my mom the pictures!

Do Not Hump

Still amped to do more, we attacked some more ridged boxcars with quick burners. With the majority of the good cars now hit, we decided to call it a day. Just as we were gearing up to leave, an engine appeared from the opposite direction along the mainline. We scattered behind the line we had painted to avoid being seen. The engine rolled up slowly and stopped a few cars down from us. Then, like a gift from the gods, the engine disconnected itself from the line it was hauling and rolled away, leaving an new line of unattended freights sitting idle along the mainline! I guess one of us had a horseshoe up their ass that day, I couldn't believe our luck. A fresh "in transit" freight line right before our eyes. In all honesty, it seemed too good to be true, and we half expected the Bull and a small army of railcops to jump out of the first boxcar and beat us to death with our own cans. Nothing.

Like kids in a candy store - with giant smiles from ear to ear - we ran around, somewhat unsure as to what sweet piece of steel to devour first. I settled on a brand new RailBox while my boy hit an Autorak next to me. Someone else opted for a CN slick-box. Where's junior... ? We rocked quickly, not knowing how long the line would stick around. Under the glowing light of the full moon, we walked down the line past beautiful boxcars, assorted hoppers, and other goodies, in search of that one obscure car. It was not to be found. Tired, with an angry stomach growling to be fed, we gathered the troops and headed home. As we drove off, the engine returned with more cars in town, and quickly hauled the line out. Good times.

Jack Here