On August 27th, I was called for 15:05 at Amarillo on train P-PHXCHI1-26.
This was a Phoenix to Chicago P train that on some days runs as a Z
train.  On Sunday, it wasn't that hot, so it was a P train.  When my
conductor Jim Ybarra and myself arrived at the yard office at Junior
(Amarillo south Yard) we were still four times out.  In other words,
there were still three crews ahead of us waiting on trains. 

The 1st out crew was called on a Z-LACWSP1-26A train that showed up and was a 55 MPH Z train.  Someone had loaded it wrong at Los Angeles by leaving an empty well on a non-articulated double stack car.  This gave the train an empty so it was 55 MPH instead of 70 MPH.  The train got more delay at Amarillo waiting on track warrants.

  Each Sunday at 10:00, the computers are taken down for routine maintenance and data base retrieval work.  Normally this
takes about an hour to an hour and a half.  For some reason when the
computers came back up at, they were not working properly at Amarillo.
They were running extreemly slow.  I called the computer help center in
Fort Worth who finally traced the problem to a router box and made a
temporary fix for us to use.  The system was so slow that it was taking
about 5 minutes to print a page.  It was so slow that the dispatcher
finally faxed a set of track bulletins to the Z train then had the copy a
track warrant via radio to get them out of town. 

After they were able to leave, a P-LACCHI2-25 pulled in with engines
4930, 789 & 545.  This train would later set out the rear unit at
Wellington.  The crew in front of us was called on the H-BARKCK1-26, but
got our P -PHXCHI instead as the Hereford sub dispatcher was sorting out
eastbound trains the order the Panhandle Sub DS-6 wanted them out of
Amarillo.

  The P-PHICHX1-26 had BNSF 4366 & ATSF 328.  Next, we caught the Q-SBDNPV1-26A with engines ATSF 912 & BNSF 4580 with 51 trailers following it.  This is the Ice Cold Express train with the Reefer-Railers.  They were loaded with grapes, lettuce, carrots, broccoli, celery, oranges, melons, and three with Freight - All Kinds (FAK). 

To say that it was a busy day on the Panhandle Sub would be an
understatement.  We met three trains at Amarillo, two while waiting on
ours and one as we got on ours.  As we pulled out to East Tower, we met a
coal train that was on the Boise City Sub.  This was a Black Thunder Mine
to Mill, TX train that would go west on the Hereford sub.  These trains
normally get the older SD70MACs due to them not being Distributed
Powered.  For some reason, the C-BTMMLT2-20A had the BNSF 9870, BN 9652 & BNSF 9984 for power.  The two BNSF units are equipped for DP.    There was also an empty coal train coming west on the red River Valley sub
(former BN) that I couldn't tell the engine numbers on, but since it
wasn't a DP train, so it was most likely one from Oklaunion, TX. 

Even though the Z-LACWSP1-26 was a 55 MPH train, it was going to lead
the pack all the way to Wellington as it was over 4 hours late leaving
Amarillo.  The two P trains were both 70 MPH trains and the Q train that
I was on was a 60 MPH train.  The road railers on the BNSF are limited to
60 MPH.  This doesn't include the Amtrak road railers.  The H-BARKCK1-26
departed Amarillo right behind us with BNSF 4900 & 4699 for power. 
WE didn't meet much between Amarillo and Pampa, only two trains, a
Z-WSPLAC1-26 & a V-CHILAC8-25.  At Pampa we met the M-TULAMA1-27 with BNSF 4613 & 8253.

    Right behind the TULAMA was a track rider.  He was copying track & time limits about every five minutes behind the BNSF 4613 west.  The dispatcher asked "are you going to be a thorn in my side all day?"  We still had a little gap in traffic until we got to Lora, TX. Went in there for one westbound Z-KCKRIC1-27 with ATSF 871 leading EMD 9093, 9048 & LMX 8539. 

While at Lora, I got to see some unusual fire fighting equipment.  There had been a right of way fire along Red Deer Creek and next to  the tracks.  In order to get into the sandy area, the Roberts County Fire Department has a Half-track that they use to pull the fire trucks with if necessary.  They also had two trucks that looked like they should have been used in desert storm instead of fighting fires.

After Lora, things got busy.  It seem that every siding we met a train
at.  And it also seemed that we went into every siding.  Being only 3000
feet long, we fit in every siding and I think the dispatcher took
advantage of that. 

Between Amarillo and Wellington we met at total of 29 trains plus three more that we met at Amarillo and the two coal trains! We got ran around by the Z-FRSCHI1-26 at Avard also.  Normally, the ICE train moves right along taking about 7 hours to get to Wellington meeting traffic.  We were on duty 11 hours and 20 minutes.  It took two hours togo the last 8 miles.  As we got to Wellington, the U-CRLKCK1-26 was on Main 1 setting out an engine for a westbound train.  Behind him was the P-LACCHI2-25 that had the ATSF 545 to set out off of main 1.  The P-PHXCHI1-26 was sitting right behind him on Main 1 and behind that was the Z-FRSCHI1-26.

  We were at Mayfield waiting on the Z-WSPNBY9-27 to show up.  It was being followed by a P-CHIRIC1-27 and the Z-NYCLAC1-27. Those three trains are why Main 2 was not being used to move eastbound
trains on.  Meeting 32 trains between the two terminals is the most that
I have ever met.  Included in the mix was a G-LINELP1-25A. (Grain train
Lincoln to El Paso.)  This train was badly under powered and was running
so slow that it was causing delays to trains every where.  It climbed
Curtis Hill at 6 MPH.  The 101 car train with 13,195 tons had BNSF 4672,
BNSF 4691 and BNSF 6755.  (Two Dash 9-44CWs and An SD40-2).  It was rated at 0.6 Horsepower per ton.  BNSF doesn't normally run anything over Curtis hill less that 0.8 HPT and that is for grain trains with all new
power.  In contrast, the Z-WSPNBY9-27A had 4.8 HPT.  There was also an
Automax train in the mix of westbounds, this time with all BNSF automax
cars. 

Our westbound trip to Amarillo was on a Z-WSPSTO9-26 (Willow Springs to
Stockton) that was good until we hit Amarillo.  Traffic was bad around
East Tower again.  As we arrived in Amarillo, the M-SLAAMA train had
crossed over the main lines and was waiting to back into the former BN
yard from our Boise City sub.  There was a Coal train on the Boise City
sub that had to wait on him to clear so they could head west on the
Hereford Sub, a loaded coal train on the Red River Valley sub that had to
wait on us to clear the crossing so they could go so the M-SLAAMA could
back into the BN yard, so the coal train could get off the Boise City
sub.  And there IBP switcher was trying to go east to Iowa Beef with not
much luck.   

All in All, it was a long trip on the ICE train this time.    Can't wait
to see what happens next trip.