•July 8, 2015•

by Jerry Ginther
NP Columnist

From the second floor of the yard office I could hear the low rumble of diesel locomotives idling in the train yard below. One was the yard engine that a short time earlier had finished putting together a southbound freight. The other was the three unit engine consist of the freight train readying for its departure from Wisconsin Street Yard in Indianapolis. This was my first regular job for the Illinois Central Railroad. One of the telegraph operators had recently retired leaving an opening on the afternoon, 4 p.m. to midnight shift.
The blackness of night had settled over the yard two hours earlier. Now, all that was visible on the train were the lights along the sides of the coupled units as they sat motionless in the dark. The yard engine crew had come into the yard office to acquire updated switch lists from the yard clerk. After completion of the assembly of the outbound freight, the yard tracks would now be void of those cars. These changes made it necessary for the switch crew to get updates on what cars remained, their destinations, and on which tracks they were located. They surveyed the new lists as they waited for the outbound freight to clear the yard track it was occupying.
The outbound train crew had been in my office, picked up the train orders, clearances and messages of instructions, which I had stapled together in two sets for the crew members on both ends of the train. Each one had checked his watch with the standard clock on the wall and compared the time with each other. Finally, they checked the register to be sure that all superior trains due Wisconsin Street Yard had arrived or left.     Login or Subscribe to read the rest of this story.