Jim Prutch Conductor, Brakeman, Switch Foreman, Switchman Part 2 in Tales of the Jointed Track

Okay … I’ll own up to this one. Okay you’re thinking to yourself, your picking on Jim. NO Jim set’s himself up. Retirement is near, burnout who knows.

I took the engineers extra board by choice. I worked Pueblo maybe 3 to 4 times a week, sometimes it was dead. As long as I was marked up and available for call, I was paid the guarantee. I unloaded, coal trains at the Comanche Utility for Xcel Energy. I did fill in for yard engineers who marked off, all shifts. The 630 am Hill-Cut, the 700 am South lead and the 230 pm south lead.

I hear the Pueblo yard drama, but I also see, whats going on on all shifts. Jim is working the 630 am Hill-Cut, as switch foreman. John Howland is the regular engineer on the job. He’s one notch in seniority below me. Paul Brown is the ‘field man” on the job. Paul floats around, but a good hand.

The 700 am South lead, does yard cleanup, goes up to Johns-Manville and switches there and also delivers cars to Liberty Rail. Liberty rebuilds cars and they have a chemical plant,near their property, that Liberty switches as well. We set those cars out on the Liberty Spur just off the Johns-Manville proper. They will also make up trains and fill tonnage for pick up. Dale Williams is the Foreman, Rodger Herrera is the Field man, and Mike Ast is the regular engineer.

The 230 pm South lead, pulls the rip tracks and spots cars for repair. Breaks up the inbound Hill-Cut, makes up trains and fills. Spots and Pulls the Pueblo Chieftain, News print for the city paper. Makes up and or finishes the next day Hill-Cut train. Then the last move of the day, shove in and pull the transfer tracks at the old Rio Grande, now Union Pacific. Eddie Garcia is the Foreman, and Tony Trujillo is the field man. Ricky Kissell rounds out the engineer part.

Okay, you bang out cars and the switch lists as they come off the printer. They have and I have switched 150 to 200 cars a shift. The “early quit” is the key. You got your work done, said later for lunch and gone after 5 to 6 hours on duty. You might get banged by the dispatcher, trying to get up to Johns-Manville.

Second shift, same thing. get the work done, make the transfer to the UP, across the street.

The Hill-Cut is a money maker and Saturday and Sunday off. Jim is off on week ends. That’s the choice, but you’re working the Minnequa yard and up to Rio Grande Cement, 3 miles above Southern Jct. You may have to wait, to get a track warrant, to and from. BUT!! that’s the choice you make. So when Jim takes 9 to 12 hours to get into town, vs the yard jobs that get an early quit. Okay bump to another job.

No whining and complaining. It grates on people and!! then stuff starts to get going. I drive 1 hour 20 minutes to and from… That was my choice. Sometime 2 to 5 days in a row. BOO HOO poor ol Shoe .. Weep NOT!!

So a Jim whinefest!!! I worked with him two days and long hours. We died on the Hours of Service on Southern Jct Siding, and the 230 yard job, finished up our pick up. Okay he went DOL (Dead on Law) but the 230 did and finished up their job and theirs as well. That’s the Railroad… Been there done that !! All of US!!

I caught the 230 job a day later. Oh the horror the moaning and gnashing of teeth..rendering of cloth. Spare me please. Jim is on a rant, the voice is increasing in the upper octave range.

So I took a piece of copy paper and wrote the following message. I left it in his locker. I also wrote it left handed, because my writing gives me away.

Jim: Please refrain from your whining and complaining. It is demeaning and unbecoming. signed Tessa Bertram Trainmaster Pueblo.

Yeah Buddy… I just dropped the nuclear bomb!!

I got called two days later for the 700 am South lead job. I was told that management asked all to lay off on the jokes for a bit. Jim was marked off, that day. I also was told, “You work one to three days a week, and you start more shit than we do”. Well sometimes, people just set themselves up.

Shoe …