Barstow Depot

Got the Missus and the Grand Daughter off of the train this morning in Barstow. The stop is at the historic Santa Fe Depot and Harvey House. The building now houses the Barstow Chamber of Commerce, a railway museum and a Route 66 Museum. It is at the east end of the Barstow Terminal and Classification Yard.
The Southwest Chief was somewhat more than six hours late.

Barstow Station

These UP units were pulling the Herzog ballast cars in the three following pictures. Kind of familiar with them. I worked for Herzog on the Ballast Trains for four years.

Eastbound vehicle train. Empties.

The Southwest Chief.

Bailee at various displays at the station 

Rules is Rules!

From my good buddy, Shane. Shane is the Roadmaster on the BNSF Devils Lake Subdivision in North Dakota. We dumped a lot of rock in June of 2007 and a few other times before.

Oops!
Good news:
It was a normal day in Sharon Springs, Kansas, when a Union Pacific crew boarded a loaded coal train for the long trek to Salina.

Bad news:
Just a few miles into the trip a wheel bearing became overheated and melted, letting a metal support drop down and grind on the rail, creating white hot molten metal droppings spewing down to the rail.

Good news:
A very alert crew noticed smoke about halfway back in the train

and immediately stopped the train in compliance with the rules

Bad news:
The train stopped with the hot wheel over a wooden bridge with creosote ties and trusses.

The crew tried to explain this to Union Pacific higher-ups but

were instructed not to move the train!

They were informed that Rules prohibited moving the train

when a part was found to be defective!

'REMEMBER, RULES IS RULES!'

(Don't ever let common sense get in the way of a good Disaster! )