"We've got a crowd every night"
As the BNSF 7118 west rolled by L565 on the main, they hopped on the radio and exclaimed "Looks like you guys have your own personal photographers tonight!" "We've got a crowd every night. At least, ever since we got this old Rock Island engine," the 565's crew unenthusiastically replied.
At first, I was confused by the "Rock Island" part of that statement, but a quick Google search later confirmed their comment, as the GTW 5856 was built for the RI in November of 1978 as their 4374.
Regardless, we're at the west end of Peosta, IA, just one town west of Dubuque, and this unit has already caused its crew plenty of hassles. Apparently the sanders just wouldn't shut off, and piles of sand were accumulating in the cab and nose. This caused a call to the Diesel Doctor, who would relegate the unit to "Trail Only" status for future runs. Then, to make matters worse, they had to double the hill coming into Peosta, as the 5856 had stalled out. For us, it was a treat, but for the crews, it had to be an awful day at the office.
"We've got a crowd every night"
As the BNSF 7118 west rolled by L565 on the main, they hopped on the radio and exclaimed "Looks like you guys have your own personal photographers tonight!" "We've got a crowd every night. At least, ever since we got this old Rock Island engine," the 565's crew unenthusiastically replied.
At first, I was confused by the "Rock Island" part of that statement, but a quick Google search later confirmed their comment, as the GTW 5856 was built for the RI in November of 1978 as their 4374.
Regardless, we're at the west end of Peosta, IA, just one town west of Dubuque, and this unit has already caused its crew plenty of hassles. Apparently the sanders just wouldn't shut off, and piles of sand were accumulating in the cab and nose. This caused a call to the Diesel Doctor, who would relegate the unit to "Trail Only" status for future runs. Then, to make matters worse, they had to double the hill coming into Peosta, as the 5856 had stalled out. For us, it was a treat, but for the crews, it had to be an awful day at the office.