Tracking West
Problem After Problem
The northbound I-5 corridor stacks, ZLCTM, makes its way across the Central Valley as it roars through Sheridan, CA. If this was 2020 this would’ve been a normal occurrence, however, over the past few years the ZLCTM has seen itself take the former WP to the west of the SP out of Stockton since it’s faster. Today though was a bit different since the train’s second motor, UP 6318, was having problems. After listening to the radio it sounded like the unit was having a fuel leak. This would cause UP 7071 to be put on in its place, and after the regularly scheduled crew change that normally would happen in Sacramento, the train got on the move again. But unfortunately for the crew, they would notice that the train’s two DPUs, an AC44 and SD70M, were having problems the moment they left the yard… how convenient. This became an even bigger problem as it was the AC44 with issues, meaning the SD70M may had also had issues acting as a DPU due to 70Ms having unusual DPU capabilities. After meeting with the Rocklin Rocket at the first siding north of Roseville, the train would stop for the Rocket crew to inspect it, and ultimately after talking with dispatch about what to do, the train would leave with two DPUs without working dynamics. During this whole time several trains were backed up including, MGRRV, MPDRV, INPOA, and the Z’s counterpart ZBRLC.
Problem After Problem
The northbound I-5 corridor stacks, ZLCTM, makes its way across the Central Valley as it roars through Sheridan, CA. If this was 2020 this would’ve been a normal occurrence, however, over the past few years the ZLCTM has seen itself take the former WP to the west of the SP out of Stockton since it’s faster. Today though was a bit different since the train’s second motor, UP 6318, was having problems. After listening to the radio it sounded like the unit was having a fuel leak. This would cause UP 7071 to be put on in its place, and after the regularly scheduled crew change that normally would happen in Sacramento, the train got on the move again. But unfortunately for the crew, they would notice that the train’s two DPUs, an AC44 and SD70M, were having problems the moment they left the yard… how convenient. This became an even bigger problem as it was the AC44 with issues, meaning the SD70M may had also had issues acting as a DPU due to 70Ms having unusual DPU capabilities. After meeting with the Rocklin Rocket at the first siding north of Roseville, the train would stop for the Rocket crew to inspect it, and ultimately after talking with dispatch about what to do, the train would leave with two DPUs without working dynamics. During this whole time several trains were backed up including, MGRRV, MPDRV, INPOA, and the Z’s counterpart ZBRLC.