# Roseville Engineer story pt. 3



## Eng JR Lupo RV323 (Oct 2, 2011)

So that was that, they were on their ride. I had worked out with Lynn Thomas that I would ride his second units back to Roseville, Lynn Gale the engineer agreed and before long they were on duty and I was headed back to Roseville. Well, that train had all sorts of bad luck, nothing was going our way(or should I say everything was going our way and we were in the hole for all of it) We were in hole after hole for every train that passed, seemed like we had the worst priority on the line. Problem with that was I was now back on the board and available to be called and my name was getting to the top of the list. I had a conductor buddy in Roseville who I grew up with and he was keeping me updated on the trains and when I would probably get my call.

We finally got back on the move and as we were approaching Binney junction near Marysville the dispatcher called us and said there was a bridge ahead on fire and we had to stop. Well our train died on the hours of service right there and I was a good hour or more away from Roseville. I didn't want to lay off sick again cause that would have been my third time for the half and I'd lose my guarantee. If I stayed up against it I was guaranteed a certain amount every two weeks and if I went over that in earnings then I'd get paid the higher of the two.

Well then my call comes in, it's Gene. She's a real gruff sounding lady out of Omaha. She said I was on duty to dog catch a dead train out in Suisun and bring it back to Roseville, my conductor was Jared Farmer. I told gene alright and I hung up. I called my buddy in Roseville and said "where's the ride for this crew? I need to get to Roseville now! I'm on duty!" He said "I'm called on duty to deadhead to your train and dog catch it back to here, you guys are taking our van back." I said “man, that's perfect what time did you go on duty and how close are you guys now?” He then said “Im on duty in 30 minutes....” Well that wasn't gonna work for me considering I needed to get moving soon if I would ever stand a chance at making it on time.

I remembered it was Jared Farmer I was called on duty with, he and I were in conductors class together and he just stayed a conductor when I went to engine service. Well Jared lived in Marysville or near there as far as I knew so I gave him a call. He answered and I asked if he had left to work yet. He said he was walking out the door now. I said how much out of the way would it be if you stopped at this siding here. He said that was less than 5 minutes and on his way. It was like clockwork. He then asked what the fuck I was doing there, I said on a train and it's a long story I'll tell ya on our ride to work. He came through, swooped me up we rode to Roseville and went out to suisun to dog catch that train, brought it back to Roseville in less than 3 hours total on duty and I was done for the day.
Jared got a kick out of the story, in fact any worker I've shared it with has been open minded and some even saying they'd love to do the same thing someday. So I started loving that little jungle after that. I'd go down there and clean up some, I'd draw maps of all the main lines and how they all intersected at Hagin, Binney, etc. Which ways they all went, alternate routes like hour Dunsmuir can depart east or west out of Roseville. I drew them on wood and would stash them in the jungle with train lists sometimes and bottles of water when I thought to bring em.

I met Corey, Ian, and I believe her name was Sophie 2 days later in that same jungle. I walked down there and they gave me that same nervous look as the others, I broke the tension when I said "you're Corey, Ian, and Sophie right?" they just looked at me confused, didn't know to lie or say yes. I told them where I had just been and who I had been with and they had a great laugh, we fell right in together the same as the other 6 in the band and we drank, ate, and I got them on their train north as well.. Their train was a main line crew change there at Atkinson. I walked them to their boxcar and I even hopped in with them and said I'd ride it till the Y and hop off. I rode it some ways just to get it back in my blood and hopped off and walked back to my car.


About a week later I got a call from Barnabus. He said "we're in Roseville again, at the market near the jungle and we've got something we'd like to give you" I raced down there and met my friends, they had found some guy up at that mutant fest who was able to record their music and put it on a CD for them. They designed artwork for the cover and in the special thanks, the first person they listed was "Jason the engineer" I got a big kick out of that. They gave me a copy of their CD called "Where's Corey" and I listened to that CD on every locomotive I was running for probably 4 months straight. All the conductors heard it, and they were probably sick of it as much as I played it. It took my mind off the work and put me back in one of those boxcars behind myself. I kept in touch with those 6 and I kept on going down to that jungle when I was back in town.


I met some good people down there, Matt Pist was one of them. He interviewed me and recorded it, find me that audio Matt! I met a legend down there, he went by the name Gonzo (rip). He was an old timer, with a heart of gold. He lived in that jungle for about 2 months and I'd visit often. Him and Croatian Mike, Jimmy, they're all up in Black Butte now, Gonzo has since taken the westbound. When he was still alive and living in that jungle I was down there one day and talking with him and some others and he turned to look behind him, and then back to me and said "you know that guy there? He's a conductor over there for UP as well" I looked over at the guy, I had seen him once before in Oakland. He was a train rider with a pretty well known moniker and he'd went and got a job with UP. I was a worker who had an old graffiti moniker of my own and I had went and started riding. We were meant to be friends just by circumstances.


That guy should remain unknown as he is still an employee. But I'll call him Tony for now. Tony is a mid 20's Italian kid from Chicago, he's fucking golden that guy is I swear it. He's a brother, and I'm glad I met him down there that day. He and I kept in touch and one day he called in the fall of 2007 and said "hey man, you wanna ride out to Chicago? We'll leave from Richmond and ride the BN south and be there in a few days" I agreed and it wasn't long before Erin was dropping us off in a field near the intermodal yard in Richmond CA. Tony and I drank whiskey in the field and waited for a train. That field had some bugs that seemed to only like Tony. Eventually we fell asleep under a eucalyptus tree.
I was waken by Tony rushing me to get packed and get on the train. In a haze I packed quickly and we rushed the train, it was a double stack train and the 48 foot wells had 45 foot cars in them I guess it was. There was about a foot and a half of room between the container and the end of the car. I jumped in and got real quiet. Tony ran up to the next car and did the same. The train was on the move in seconds flat and we were headed out... then it happened. The train stopped.
We started shoving backwards into the yard. I saw that yard and the lights and all the employees and I didn't like the looks of it and I didn't like the thought of going to jail, especially in Richmond of all places. I jumped my ass off that train onto the ballast and banged on Tony's car but nothing, it passed me by and shoved into the yard. I wasn't sure where he was but I figured he must have jumped off too. I kept calling his cell but no answer. I had lost my gallon of water in that stupid maneuver. It was fastened to my pack and when I fell and tumbled on the rock it broke off the clip and fell down the hillside into thick ivy in the night. I had no time to find it and I just laid there frozen as the train backed up until the engines were next to me.

I laid stiff in the ivy on the ballast rock and waited. I never saw the conductor get back on the locomotive but the train was pulling ahead after making a small pick-up. The train cleared the yard track and was all on the main and came to a stop about a quarter mile away from me, all I saw was the tele on the rear flashing red laughing at me in the bushes for being so foolish. I knew Tony must have stayed on since he was experienced and I had to hustle to the train. I ran my ass off until I got to the rear and it hadn't started moving yet. I could imagine the conductor was being driven to the head end in a van and I had little time to make it to my car again but I knew I could find a spot on the train and make do if I had to. I made it to my car and just in time, as I was settling in it started to pull.
Tony called my cell and I told him my mistake but confirmed I was back on the train. 

We rode through the night, I slept well and woke up somewhere between Fresno and Bakersfield. Tony and I texted once or twice and that was it till somewhere just short of Barstow. Our train came to a stop in the desert and Tony walked along the side of the well ledge back to me and we took to drinking whiskey again. He had drank most of his water so this probably wasn't the best idea cause I was out as well and we were in the desert. We rode in that same cramped car through Barstow dodging the heat that yard is notorious for. Some 15 miles east of Barstow they did a crew change and as soon as we stopped we were back on the move. We fell asleep and woke up freezing our asses off in Flagstaff AZ. That was the coldest I've ever been aside from the river in Dunsmuir 2 years prior.
******************To Be Continued Part 4 also found in the stories section******************


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## bryanpaul (Oct 2, 2011)

so awesome....... what a coincidence that the conductor you were gonna work with lived right there ....nuts...... i met gonzo in black butte a while back he was a fuckin character..RIP......


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## Eng JR Lupo RV323 (Oct 2, 2011)

I know right! Yeah, there's hundreds of employees in that terminal and the odds of my getting lined up with Jared Farmer was little. He smokes too, which if you're an engineer who smokes you're always more concerned with who you're actually called on duty with than where you're headed when the crew caller calls. He's either not offended by smoke if the window is open or he's gonna learn how to run a train cause we aint slow down and I'm not waiting 12 hours to smoke.


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