FL9

Only a few minutes passed after the 8449 left the depot before the headlights of the 4374 West came into view from the east.  It pulled down to the steps and the crews exchanged pleasantries as the Fort Worth crew got off and the Pecos crew boarded the train now under their control.  Soon they were sealed up and ready to depart.

Wisely they waited a few more minutes until the 8449 was far enough ahead that the ABS signal in front of them had cycled back to green before departing.

Next and last was the 8107 West that had been broken down in Weatherford earlier in the day.  The Fort Worth crew had run out of time and the Pecos crew had taken a van ride out to Eskota to swap with them, so they would be running past the depot without stopping.  They too drug their feet so to speak until the 4374 was far enough ahead that they could proceed on green boards instead of yellow or worse.  As a result they were doing around 50 mph as they sailed by the depot and milepost 447.8 as the rear guard of the westbound fleet.  I checked the time, and all this had taken place in just under 90 minutes.

I thought we were done now, but one more train presented itself before we headed home.  The BNSF 5384 East at Sweetwater Yard called the Baird Sub dispatcher to ask if they could finally get a track warrant to proceed towards Fort Worth.  They had been patiently waiting for the last hour and a half, but now they wanted to get moving!  They got what they asked for, and we ran out to Tecific to get this shot of them switching over from the BNSF Lampassas Sub to the UP Baird Sub.

Now it really was time to head back to the house, but after this busy day train-wise I was ready to go.