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I like blogging, but do not want to spend so much time trying to figure out this service.  

My day is almost over, but who are they looking for???

(Above)  This young man was lucky – I still had people leaving my train at Beaverton Transit Center when he ran across the tracks.

This is an old post that I did not finish – I loved to operate the MAX at TriMet for about 2 1/2 years; this is a description of a particular “end of the day, into the yard” incident that I will never forget.  Enjoy!  :-)   

After a long day at work, dealing with people who obey all the signals, heed my bells, whistles and the occasional horn (I am lying), I am sooo happy to arrive at the yard.

At 170th/Elmonica, there are three ways for a train to get into the yard, if I count them correctly: 1. from the Westbound track, 2. from the Eastbound track, 3. from the Merlo/158th platform. For the most part, I come into the yard eastbound from the Eastbound platform at 170th Avenue.

After walking through the train to make sure all my passengers are off and getting back into my cab, I hit the Cancel button on my console to cancel the signal for a normal eastbound move; I then hit the Call button to change the signal to a diverging signal into the yard, preferably a Red over Yellow – actually, that is the ONLY signal I should be hoping for at this point. Around midnight it can be difficult to know what to do if I am a bit tired, something I am sure you can understand. As long as I see something red and yellow, I am telling my brain it’s a GO. I’m ready for take-off.

The train does this fancy zig zag over to the westbound track, then zigs again into the yard, thankfully. If it didn’t, I’d be in trouble, and I – or, we, as in TriMet, would have a huge mess on our hands. Going east in the west with trains in front of me still coming toward me westbound, is not my idea of a good night.  As of right now, I know the trains cannot come anywhere near my train since they (if one of them is nearing Merlo going west) will be stopped by a red light at Merlo (or is it Beaverton Creek?) while I make this funky into the yard move.

Ahead of me there is a sign that instructs me to change my radio to the yard channel. I make a safety stop at the *gang plank* – don’t ask – and go on to the Yard Limit sign (which is really all the way into the yard – probably to make sure the rear end of my train is off the mainline before I stop for this sign) where I call Control and tell them were I am.

The other night I did all this: “Train 36, yard limit.”

Control: “Train 36… uh… ” – long pause…

Control: “Car 221?”

Silence.

… followed by more silence.

Control, more urgently: “Car 221?”

By now, I was looking for car 221, but could not see it anywhere. Mechanics scoot around the yard (at 5 mph, so pretty much crawl speed, by the way) doing their thing 24/7, so Control really wants to know – needs to know – where any mechanic is with his train car when a train comes in from the main line. Nobody can move a train even an inch in the yard without prior permission from Control, yet Control does not always know from minute to minute exactly where each train car is while it is being moved around the yard. Thus, for yard moves, Controllers rely on operators and mechanics to tell them where each car is. It is a system that works well when everybody involved ANSWERS their radio… This was really irritating…

There was certainly no car 221 anywhere near me; I almost called Control and told them so. I was starting to get annoyed that 221 would not answer the call. That darn mechanic; didn’t he have his radio on??? I am tired and just want to go home.

Not so fast. Patience is a good policy…

Control, one more time: “Car 221!?”

Long, looong pause.

Then, *inquiring minds want to know* kind of a tone: “Train 36, what car are YOU in?”

Me: “Train 36, eh…” I looked up toward the ceiling of my cab, and saw – ugh – 221…

Darn it – how did *I* end up in the offending car???

Me, sheepishly: “Train 36, I’m in 221…” Sigh…

Control: “Oh, good! And are you in a two car consist?” (Consist = train)

Me: “Train 36, affirmative…”

The Controller did not know what cars I had, or that I had two of them??? (Could I have taken one with me and sold it for scrap metal? My trailing car was an old Type 1 – I am 100 % sure that not too many would have missed it…)

In theory, I could have given the Controller any car number I chose; say 404 – I love Type 4 trains – just to freak him out – the poor guy was one of our brand new Controllers.

(Why do I always come up with the really good comebacks after the fact???)

Smiling to myself – and about the new Controller’s confusion – I told him I was in 221 B; he promptly told me me to take the train to Storage 2EF. Cool. Storage track 2 is close to the main building and I just wanted to go home.

Going through the yard switches used to disturb me a lot. It seems complicated when you first start; from where I was, you have to push L for Left after getting instructions from Control, scoot up and go through two switches that take you toward the east roadway and the east ladder on the other side of the road – if they are set correctly. If they are not, you could end up back on the mainline heading to 158th Ave./Merlo. Bad move.

Stopping at a V-tag (a magic connection to fancy computers that control our switches), you have to push the Call button to align the switches to get to the east roadway, where you again have to push the Call button, this time to have the switches on the other side of the east roadway properly set to get to Storage track 2. Then you go up the east ladder to Storage track 2, park your train, and go home after you drop off some paperwork TriMet wants every night.

Above: my dream train car, one of our new 400 serious Siemens trains…

Easy.

Well, at least it is now…

After I parked the train and turned the AC off, the cleaners came on board to do their stuff. These men and women have the great displeasure of cleaning up the mess that so many leave behind every day. At regular intervals each train car is taken to the wash rack for a somewhat *deeper* and more thorough cleaning.

I would rather operate the trains than clean them; yet, my job would be really unpleasant, and our passenger’s would be extremely unhappy, if these good people did not do the job they do every night.

My hat off to these hard workers who do their job, come what may… :

This ship has special meaning to me…

My daughter is on this ship, now on deployment to the Arabian Sea.

Later this spring I will be on this awesome ship, taking a family cruise from Hawaii to California when the ship is on it’s way home from deployment.

About 1100 feet long, 260 feet wide and 24 stories tall…

She is an awe inspiring “boat”;  I cannot wait to see her in person and make her my home for six days full of new experiences…

OF COURSE I am looking forward to seeing my sailor daughter, too!  I miss her very much…

ATU 757 President arrested for DUI

From KGW.com: Head of TriMet union accused of driving drunk

From the Oregonian: Police: TriMet union boss was driving with nearly twice legal blood alcohol limit

It will be interesting to see what will happen to Mr. Hunt.  Loose his drivers license?   As a TriMet employee he has a union job where he needs a Commercial Drivers License to work…   Oh, but that’s right: he is the union PRESIDENT – and he is exempt, right????  I don’t think so…   Here, Mr. Rose’s comments about CDL’s and DUI’s: 

Typically, first time DUII offenders who enter and successfully complete a diversion program are not convicted and do not face this additional suspension.

However, under Oregon law, driver’s holding a commercial driver’s license are not eligible for the diversion program and Hunt will be forced to face his charges in court. A Feb. 2 trail date has been set.

It’s not clear if Hunt has his commercial license to drive buses or if it’s a requirement of his position as president of Amalgamated Transit Union 757, which represents more than 2,000 of TriMet’s operators, mechanics and support staff members.

My comment to the paragraph above: I must assume that it IS a requirement for our union president to be in good standing as a TriMet employee.  If he looses his CDL, he no longer is in good standing as a TriMet bus driver.   Should he then continue to be our union president?  No. 

To Mr. Jon Hunt, President of ATU Local 757, Portland, Oregon:

Mr. Hunt, what were you thinking????

You were DRIVING a UNION VEHICLE while you supposedly were DRUNK?

I assume you were on union business while while engaging in this irresponsible and dangerous activity?  Because if you were not, WHY were you driving a union vehicle, a vehicle and it’s upkeep which is paid for by my union dues? Is using a union vehicle any time you please – even to go out drinking – one of your perks as our “esteemed” union president?

WHY were you driving drunk in the first place???  Honestly, WHY?

It was “a mistake”? (See story from KGW above) What part of deciding to get into a vehicle while under the influence, was a “mistake”, Mr. Hunt? I find NO EXCUSE for you or anybody else deciding to drive while under the influence of any kind of drug, including alcohol.

Don’t fool yourself – it was YOUR decision to drive that vehicle, so NO MISTAKE.   These words: bad judgment, selfishness, thoughtlessness, carelessness, arrogance, are all more appropriate, Mr. Hunt. 

Wake up, Mr. Hunt!  Shame on you!

The best I can do is to liken your choice to that of parents who tell their kids not to smoke, but who are chain smokers themselves – and who then get upset when the kids start smoking.   “Like parent, like child”.

“Like ATU 757 president, like union members”.  Same principle, Mr. Hunt.

You need to step down as our union president immediately.

Your apparently careless and selfish choice is not helping us as bus and light rail operators, mechanics and supervisors during this uncertain time for us as transit workers; it is  not helping us to deal better with the challenges we face every day we go to work, nor can it help us in the stalled union contract negotiations.

You used extremely poor judgment.   You blew it.  Big time.

Step down.  Go away.  Now.

New Years Eve, bus driver style

To my great horror, I discovered some time ago that New Yeas Eve would be one of my regular days to work.  Ouch.  New Years Eve can be somewhat of a challenge because  – - – well, you know, the celebrations and all that…

But I had no choice, so off to work I went. 

It was OK until a young woman yelled at me for not having my bus running at my layover.  It was pretty cold, but not cold enough to keep the bus running.   The young lady was waiting for a 78, but yelled at me because I was the only bus driver in sight; my bus and the 78 were the only two buses not running while at the layover.  It WAS very cold – with windchill it was probably in the low 20′s.  But no message from dispatch, meant no running my bus at the layover.

Telling me I don’t care about my riders (why did she keep yelling at me, an innocent 54 driver???  She wanted the 78, for heavens sake…), she asked for my name, which I refused to give her.  I calmly tried to interrupt her tirade to explain the policy about when we can keep the buses running at layovers, but to no avail.   Her threats and stance while she screamed at me, were of such a nature that I called in a Verbal Passenger Alert – I felt threatened.  Dispatch called me back within seconds, and confirmed that they had indeed NOT yet sent a message allowing us to run the buses at layovers.  It must be 32 degrees before that message is sent out, and I guess windchill does not count.

The 78 driver came out and took over dealing with the out of control young woman; had she wanted my bus, I would have denied her boarding no matter how cold it was.  I did not envy him the job of transporting her.    Good riddance!

Later, on a trip from downtown to Washington Square, I had two guys almost start a fight over some incomprehensible babble about blacks and whites and who had done what to whom as far as races were concerned.  It was starting to get out of control when we approached a very icy spot on Barbur Blvd south of Hamilton, near the area where a 26 year old woman was tragically killed about two weeks ago.

The younger man loudly told me that he was being threatened by the older guy – I quickly decided he was not, since I heard the whole conversation; while he was spewing out racist remarks, the older man was responding to them, but also escalating the situation.  I felt the older dude should have known better, yet with the icy road ahead, I saw no opportunity to deal with these two would be trouble makers.   Driving safely through the icy area was my first priority.

In a calm pleading voice I told them that I really did not have time to deal with them now, because we were going to enter a very icy area, so “Please calm down so I can concentrate on driving safely” – and it worked.   Hearing the words ICY ROAD shut them both up, and I had no further problems with either one of them; Mr. Young Hothead de-boarded at Sunset, Mr. Older Guy Who Should Have Known Better,  a few stop later.  Thankfully.

However, the evening was not over yet; all “good things” supposedly coming in 3′s,  this was apparently my evening to get a threefold lesson in patience – which is a good thing.  I think. 

On my last trip through town, at 12:31 AM, just minutes into the new year, I picked up a bus load of people, including a young man who ran after the bus on Burnside.  Normally, I pay little attention to people running after my bus, unless I am the last bus, the next bus is an hour away, or it is freezing cold.  All three applied, so I was a good little bus driver and opened my door.  That would later turn out to be a mistake of sorts.

As soon as he stumbled onto my bus, he sat down and fell asleep.  I kept an eye on him, and saw little sign of life.  At Sunset I got out of my seat, went back to him and yelled at him several times to wake him up – I did not really want him to miss his stop.   He sort of woke up, but could not tell me where he was getting off.   I warned him that he might not get off where he wanted to, went back to my seat and called dispatch to tell them of a potential problem.

By the time I arrived at Washington Square, he was the last passenger on my bus – and he was still sound asleep.   I had no more luck waking him up there than I had previously had at Sunset.  Dispatch sent for Tigard Police, Tigard Police sent for EMT’s and I was delayed for 49 minutes; it was too cold to take the man outside to wait for EMT’s, so we had to keep him on the bus.

The police officers asked him several times if he had had anything to drink.  Oh, no, he had not.  Had he taken any drugs?  Oh, no, he had not.  Exasperated, one of the officers asked him “How much have you NOT had to drink tonight?”  which for some reason helped him remember better that he had indeed had 5 or 6 cocktails.  Bingo.  Probably more, but at least now they knew that he had indeed been drinking.

I had a nice talk with two of the officers, so the time was not a total waste.  One of the officers who arrived had been with our transit police for three years and had some fun stories to tell.  More overtime for me and some interesting entertainment at the end of my shift!  I was not complaining at all! 

The police eventually put the confused drunk in a police car while he waited for a friend to come pick him up.  He was not arrested, nor was he given any kind of warning.  He was just a man who lived on BURNSIDE, who got on a bus that took him far far from home.     I kind of felt sorry for him.

All in all, not a bad shift.  A lot of happy people and few who were just a little drunk.  Even my sleeper at Washington Square was a quiet drunk. 

Another feel good movie about animals…

http://www.youtube.com/v/SdYsOs8TpD4&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3

The Nativity scene – new age

Very cute!  Loved this one…