David C. Crammer 12640 Cowley Downey, Ca. 90242 (310) 861-8682 Article on a day in the life of a Metrolink Train origionally appeared in Passenger Train Journal in edited form. This is the complete article. At 0530 the moon is trying to peek out through silver clouds and the sun is still hidden under the coastal ridges just north of Oceanside. On the Camp Pendleton Marine Base the last Metrolink train scheduled to depart this morning is parked next to the office building at Lemon Grove. This will be the 605 due out of Oceanside at 0648 and scheduled to arrive at LAUPT at 0838. Engineer Dale Ligman and conductor Gene Winkler are busy getting their bags out of their cars crunching across the sand that is still wet and showing puddles from the previous day's rain. They make note of the fact that the forecast today is for clear skies for the morning run and this should continue for the run back down in the evening. In the office, on a wide bulletin board and written in various colored markers are items such as the phone number for the Border Patrol. This is close enough to Mexico that the Border Patrol has an inspection point at San Onofre along Interstate 5 which we will be able to see from the tracks. Also hanging from clips are "METROLINK ROAD FOREMAN NOTICES", "SAN DIEGO NORTHERN RAILWAY", "SUPERINTENDENT NOTICES", "METROLINK SUPERINTENDENT'S NOTICES", etc. These notices are available in these outlying offices to keep the crews up to date on what is going on around the systems they will be interacting with. Metrolink utilizes a plan that places the trains near where they will start out in the morning rather than bringing them out from a centralized point. This is because of the wide area that must be serviced from Oceanside in Orange County all the way up to Lancaster and Ventura. While the cars are at the outlying points they are also cleaned and inspected during their overnight stay and before they pick up their first passengers in the morning. This ensures a clean and comfortable ride for the "customers" in both directions. Having this yard in the middle of a Marine base also means that the security for the yard is built into the system. Gene and Dale pick up the track warrants from both Santa Fe and San Diego Northern and use the copier so that both of them will be carrying a complete set on board. They fill out their time slips, synchronize their watches, and go over the slow orders in the warrants so that both will be familiar with what they will be heading towards. Gene as the conductor has the responsibility for making sure that they travel safely from point A to point B. He must be ready to remind the engineer of all slow orders and when possible to call out jointly with him all signals. Of course since this is a passenger train he must also assist passengers, make announcements, make sure the doors open, and take care of anything else that arises in the course of the trip. If he is not in the same car as Dale they will still consult over their radio as to what is ahead and each constantly updates the other. Going over the plan they note and read off to each other: "Out of Oceanside running air test." "70mph coming out of Irvine." "Santa Ana, 25mph coming out." "Out of Orange 25mph." "Change radio just before Fullerton 30 to 36." "Just before bridge out of Hobart channel 47." "At Redondo check time past Redondo Tower." As they leave the office a northbound Coaster pulls in and backs past with engine #2105. Lemon Grove is shared with the Coasters so that passengers can continue on up from San Diego. The track here is designated as "5mph Maintenance Facility" so that mechanical can run the engines back and forth in testing them or spotting them for the trips out. Dale climbs into the locomotive while Gene walks down to the switch to set it for the trip down to the Oceanside depot. After we clear the switch Gene will get back on board in the rear car. From here he will communicate what is happening as we cross over and switch to the south track. Once we are out of the siding and onto the main CTC rules will be in effect and Dale will call out the signals over the radio from the head end with Gene repeating them. This interchange also allows any other trains in the area to monitor what is going on so that they are aware of the situation ahead and stating the train designation allows those eavesdroping to know who is talking. Knowing who is where and what they are doing is extremely important around the Oceanside area with all of the traffic with Coasters, San Diegans, and Metrolink plus the Santa Fe switchers. There is some speculation that in the future each unit will have a digitalized frequency specific to the unit except in emergency. What this would really accomplish would be to isolate each unit so that others operating nearby would not be aware of what was happening at other locations. "Red over yellow ahead 605" "Two to go there 605" (Gene is calling out to Dale how much further before the rear of his train has passed the switch. "One 605." "That'll do 605." "Red over green." "Highball 605." We pass CP FALLBROOK, get a double yellow at CP EAST BROOK, and a red over yellow at CP EASTBROOK. Once stopped at Oceanside Dale turns off the lights, cuts out the airbrakes in the locomotive, pulls in the mirrors, and closes the windows. While he is handling this part of the operation Gene is checking tickets on the commuters who have started to arrive. Failure to show a ticket can result in a citation from Gene and he may actually have to appear in court as part of the prosecution. However on this morning everything is friendly as Dale makes his way to the cab car and the end of car #628 chatting with the customers. Since this is in health conscious Southern California passengers are apt to be carrying bottles of "Crystal Geyser Alpine Spring Water" as they come on board. These are of course regulars and everyone knows everyone else. In the cab car the daily inspection shows that it was signed off on 4-18-95 at Taylor Yard which of course was yesterday. It also states that Cab Car 628 was built in 1993 and is owned by the Southern California Regional Rail Authority (RR Code as SCRRA). As we wait for our 0648 departure time we can hear other trains talking over the radio and an announcement on the opposite platform expecting a southbound San Diegan requests, "Please stand clear of platform." Over our speaker Gene makes the announcement, "Ladies and Gentlemen this is Metrolink and in about two minutes we will be departing." The announcement that "This is Metrolink." is so that those who think they are actually on a San Diegan have an opportunity to get off. Over the radio we hear the San Diegan, "Let's highball 68." and as it passes us Conductor Wayne Norwood waves to Dale from the open door. Now it is our turn and bell ringing we pull out past inlets with boats of various sizes and have a green signal ahead. The TMS light comes on and Dale reacts to it. The TMS system is used in Orange County where trains reach speeds of 90mph. A detector at rail level picks up a signal and failure by the engineer to react automatically brings the train to a halt. "Green flag right side." "Green flag. We pass the facility under construction by San Diego Northern where they will be maintaining their units next to Interstate 5. "No more restrictions till we get out of Irvine." Gene and Dale confirm over the radio and we are doing 70mph on the welded track passing most of the Freeway traffic with a green signal at 2171. By San Onofre, with the throttle at notch 5, we are at 90mph and then back down to notch 2 which has us at 70mph. At these speeds birds sitting on a track can mimic a rock until they fly off at the last moment and in fact later this morning a cracked light, surrounded by feathers will need replacing in the yard. By now we have the sun shining down on the track and off of Cotton Point surfers in wet suits are already out plying the waves while we are slowing to 40mph for San Clemente and the new station location. "Stand clear, doors closing." By milepost 53 we are at notch 8 doing 50mph as the clean burning 12 cylinders of the F-59PH which produces 3200 HP are pushing us uphill as we pass under pedestrian walkways built to cross over the tracks for beach access, make the big curve that takes us inland, and aproach San Juan Capistrano. Gene announces "Ladies and Gentlemen this is San Juan Capistrano." as we pass over the river which actually is full of water this morning and stop next to the arches. Coming into a station is an art. Wheel chair access at many of the stations demands that the cars be spotted at a specific point. As Dale came over the street crossing before the station he gave the brakes a squirt of air as he blew on the horn and when he came to a smooth halt beside his window was the crack in the platform under the arches he had been aiming for. "Stand clear doors are closing." Out of San Juan Capistrano towards Irvine we climb an .8% grade and pass the future location of the Laguna Niguel platform at 80mph once again at notch 8. Coming into Irvine Dale takes advantage of the little humps in the terrain that the tracks must climb to slow down and save on the air. With no wheel chair ramps at Irvine Dale can pick out his usual spot of, "stop at the pole." As we leave Irvine Dale punches the yellow sanding button as the track is a little slick from the morning dew and Gene reminds him of the slow order ahead. Irvine's platform is on the north track and we will be crossing to the south track because of the track work ahead to make this all double track. "Hot rail coming west." A track foreman warning another further up the line of our approach. "Yellow flag 70 mph." from Gene. "Good rollby." From track gang "Good rollby." Dale acknowledges, "See you again tonight." "Flashing yellow approach to CP ALISO." We have a red over green indicating we will go in at ALISO. "Good rollby 570." Over the radio lets us know that we have a train headed our way. "570 at 17th Street." Gene reminds Dale, "Have to call foreman Smith ahead at MP 176." "Foreman Smith" "Metro permission to pass through limits - blow horn." As we pull into Santa Ana we meet with the southbound San Diegan and we see a man with a walker waiting to use one of the ramps. At Santa Ana poles are marked for spotting depending of the number of cars and we stop at the one marked, "5 cars." Departing we cross the work crew expanding the bridge over the 5 freeway to double track and with a double yellow sound the horn to alert the work crew to our presence. Track work here and at Orange to install more concrete ties means a slow order of 25mph and more work crews to be aware of and at Anaheim the passengers have spotted themselves under signs indicating specific cars. Into and then out of Fullerton we have a green signal as we pass as set of Santa Fe switchers and at Basta another work crew is in force with a flashing yellow over red. Planes take off in front of us at the small airport here and at La Mirada a headlight ahead turns out to be an eastbound Santa Fe hotshot pig train. All of this interaction is ignored by our passengers who sit reading newspapers, working at laptop computers on the conveniently provided tables and are more concerned with the article on Joe Montana's retirement on the sports page than the fact that we are crossing over DT Junction and approaching Hobart Tower. "Hobart Tower, Metrolink 605 coming toward you." This morning Paul Dumont is the tower operator. "605 double Hobart." We receive notification that there is some cross traffic ahead and call Redondo Tower, "Flashing yellow Redondo....605 clear Redondo." Across the concrete river we see an eastbound APL train as we turn towards LAUPT and on our left the Redondo Junction Amtrak facility is busy getting their cars and units ready f or the days action. We on the other hand are proceeding towards Mission Tower and LAUPT and a sedate 30mph at notch 2. Ahead of us another Metrolink is crossing the bridge ahead of us headed for the yard at Taylor and taking advantage of the push method we pull straight into our track 30 seconds early having made up the time from the slow orders between Anaheim and Santa Ana with the straight shot between Fullerton and LA. By building time into the schedules to anticipate such problems passengers can be disembarked in time for bus or Red Line subway connections. Most of the departing passengers pay heed to the signs admonishing them to, "Please take your newspapers and trash with you." But the conductors and engineers rarely actually have to pay for a morning paper as plenty are left behind for the coach cleaners to dispose of. To conserve on the crew's energy Dale and Gene will be headed for a motel to get some rest before the trip back in the evening while a second train set backs against there's for the trip to Taylor. Conductor Sheila Wilkerson supervises the second set backing up against our locomotive. Sheila has been up since 3am and her train left Oxnard at 0531 and she has been busy helping to get other trains over to Taylor. Sheila is used to this routine having worked for two years as an Amtrak conductor and has been with Metrolink since its startup. After a layover she will be back on board her own train, the 105, for a 1626 departure time. As a commuter service this is a five days a week job of Monday through Friday with weekends off and she rides over to Taylor in the rear car because of the need to make an air test. Our head end calls over to Joe Lee in the office, "605 and 607 equipment headed for you." Joe puts us onto the track next to the river and logs us into the yard on the computer at 0947. In the office he has on the computer the S&I (Service and Inspection) requirements for each car and unit. The 605 train will be kept together as a set and sent back as the first Orange County train as the 604 out of LAUPT at 1630. The set remains together unless there is some unusual occurrence. Even on the 88 day inspection they will remain intact during the 5 to 6 days through the shop. Metrolink does what is termed the 90 day inspection at 88 days so that if there any problem that crops up they will be under the FRA deadline. The inspection tracks are considered to run from south to north. After the crew has parked the set it will be moved by the mechanical department by "LEO's" (Large Equipment Operator) who carry a pink card under a fourth class of engineer created by the FRA. This indicates a train service engineer for a mechanical facility and they are required to know whatever is relevant to moving a train in the yard. Once a set is on the inspection track it falls under the jurisdiction of a foreman such as Bryan Reese. They are pulled out onto the tracks as a double set and then disconnected though each set is left intact. Here the 19 sets that make up 75 trains a day will be cleaned, inspected, any repairs needed taken care of (usually brake shoes or air hoses and on the cars such items as latches on the restroom doors and toilet problems). First on the agenda is dumping the toilets. Toilet dumping is handled at the shops daily with the holding tank in the car capable of carrying 35 gallons. In a time when health concerns about toilet dumping along the roadway (HIV, Hepatitis B, etc. ) Metrolink follows the safe procedure of disposing of this potential hazard at the end of the run on a daily basis using a sealed hose to remove the wastes. Protecting the trains and employees there are derails on each end plus flashing blue lights on the sand towers over the tracks. These maintenance tracks are numbered 1 to 4 with track #1 closest to the river. On tracks 1 and 2 the pit underneath is 900 feet long while on 3 and 4 it is 40 feet long and the schedule is made up so that each train makes it over a long pit every two or three days. In addition to the derails and flashing blue lights each member of the team carries a tag which is hooked into the flag that has either been placed on a car or locomotive or on a derail. The tag not only has an admonition reading "BLUE FLAG PROTECTION Employee working on equipment DO NOT REMOVE." But, on the opposite side is a picture of the employee with the personalized plea, "MY LIFE IS ON THE LINE." The employees using these tags include the machinists who work on everything on the locomotive that is not electrical, the carmen who work everything on the cars that is not electrical, the electricians who work on both the cars and locomotives, and the coach cleaners who make sure everything is not just clean but sparkling before the next trip. Some of the problems that have already been reported are listed in the paperwork on hand. These may include "#138 toilet cover scratched", "#612 soap dispenser missing", etc. Each train has its own set of paperwork and if it comes under the 22 day inspection classification will have the fuel filter, oil filter, and main engine spin on fuel filters changed. In the locomotive must have its two MAP forms must be filled out. MAP stands for Maintenance Analysis Program with the "MAP 100" and the "MAP 873" which is the airbrake ticket indicating the proper terminal inspection has been made. The 229 card for the daily inspection and the "MAP 8" must also be signed off showing that the Automatic Train Stop (ATS) is working. These must also be signed off in the cab car as well as the locomotive. After electrician Cecil Bailey checks out the ATS system, machinist Joseph Baden makes sure the TMS is also functioning. Meanwhile machinist Brian Berger checks the oil and coolant levels and makes sure that the wheels don't have any flat spots. Any flat spots and the train gets a trip to the wheel truer in the shop. He also checks the sand, air tests the cab cars, and makes sure that there are flagging kits in both the cab cars and locomotives. The machinist also assists the other crafts at hooking up cables and air and fuels the locomotives. While the machinists are checking out the locomotive the carmen are going over the cars. These fall under two categories with both and outside carman and an inside carman. The outside carman makes a mechanical inspection of the underside including wheels, brakes, couplers, and basic running gear. The inside carman is responsible for repairing anything on the inside including seats, windows, restroom doors, etc. Should a window be cracked, defaced by vandalism, etc. it is changed the same day that the damage is discovered. They also inspect the grips that are in place to hold wheel chairs and the handhold for the handicap toilets. While this is going on the car cleaners are vacuuming the carpets, cleaning the windows, making sure that the schedule racks are full and placing notices, such as schedule changes, on the seats. All water that is carried in the holding tanks is considered potable. The car cleaners are also responsible for the cab of the locomotive and its windows. While the inside is quite accessible, cleaning the outside of the windows may involves Tami Roque hooking on a safety harness before she climbs out onto the sloping wide cab hood. As the train proceeds down the inspection tracks the trash bins beside them begin to fill up with items such as copies of the Orange County Register, the Los Angeles Times, a suspiciously familiar plastic Crystal Geyser bottle, water cups, and an occasional banana peel. Next to last on the list for the day is the fueling racks. Fuel is stored in 8 separate tanks totalling out to 200,000 gallons. To activate the fuel rack, as #873 moves into place along side, machinist Paul Kennedy pulls out his green card and slides it through the slot just like an ATM card. He types in the unit number and sets the meter (Smith Meters from Erie Pennsylvania) for a maximum of 1150 gallons and places the Snyder nozzle in the filler cap. Pumping in at the rate of approximately 120 gallons a minute it totals out to 1148 1/2 gallons and the Snyder interacts as it is suppose to in automatically cutting off the flow. When Paul started the pump the time was 2:14pm and we were approaching the end of our day in the yard. With all of the inspections and cleaning done Brian goes over the paperwork to make sure it is complete and after making sure that all of the flags have been removed the LEO is ready to take the train through the washer. The joke around the yard is that they can always tell which are the Orange County trains because of all of the gnats imploded on the nose from the trip past the lagoons down by Oceanside. Orange County also has a sort of orange mud that also shows up on the snowplow and wheels. This will be removed as controlling from the cab car the LEO takes it through the revolving brushes of the washer and then continues on to the ready tracks next to Joe Lee's windows. Now it is the turn of engineer J.J. (Jesse James) Foley and conductor Darlene Morris to return it, once again filled with passengers, to Oceanside and points in between. Jesse spent 10 years working for the BN and 6 with Amtrak before coming over to Metrolink. He climbs into the cab car and checks things out while Darlene goes over the train and we pull out of Taylor's #1 ready track, cab car first, at 1520. Using the cab car to control allows us to pull into track #8 at LAUPT after getting a green at Mission Tower and J.J. switches to the head end F-59PH that trailed us up this morning. As we wait for our 1630 departure time we can hear other Metrolink and Amtrak trains talking to Mission Tower and watch as #35, the Desert Wind, pulls into place. Jesse has already signed off on the MAP 100 indicating that he has accepted the train and the MAP 101 behind us in its holder was filled out at 0315 down at Lemon Grove. The usual passengers come up and ignore the sign on the car that says Oceanside to ask if this is the train to Oceanside. Both Jesse and Darlene react as if this is the most sensible question they have ever heard and assure the inquiring mind that it is. At 1630, on the dot, we pull out of the station making a running air test as we leave the terminal. As we pass Mission Tower another Metrolink, its freshly washed cars basking in the late afternoon sun, heads cab car first into LAUPT. Making the turn to the right we are running along the Los Angeles River and at last on our way south. Beside us yesterday's rains, that created the puddles at Oceanside and were responsible for the red mud on our trucks, have the Los Angeles River running higher than usual. Passing Amtrak switcher 795 J.J. and Darlene work as a team communicating over their radios on the situation ahead. At Redondo Tower we are on the South track taking the curve to the left which will take us past Hobart Tower and on the south side of the 710 freeway spot the headlights of an westbound Santa Fe on the north track which is bringing empty flats into Hobart Yard. Now on our right is Interstate 5. While our passengers are enjoying their newspapers or catching a nap in their comfortable seats moving towards home at 70mph, on the freeway it is bumper to bumper for those who have chosen autos over trains. The signal at DT Junction has us green over red and we are down to 52mph by Los Nietos but back to 80mph as Jesse gives a rollby to San Diegan #581 and then we spot the work crew for the new station at Norwalk. They get a warning blast from the horn. At Buena Park the terrain and of course the track gives way to undulations and Jesse keeps tab on his speed which is indicated by the dots between the various numbers on the speedometer to his left. At Basta we have a sensation of almost gliding at 87mph which is a good indication that all the track work being done with concrete ties and welded ribbon rail are doing their job. They are also keeping us on schedule as we pull into Fullerton exactly on time at 1504. Jesse hits his mark at the platform which he likes to think of as a jet fighter landing on a carrier and looking for a wire. Darlene gives the familiar, "Stand clear, doors closing." and we are out of the gate again, taking the track to the right and making the turn for Anaheim and Santa Ana. At the EAST ANAHEIM sign we are at 80mph with horn and bells both working to warn motorists at crossings of our approach and are a minute ahead of schedule pulling in next to the California Angel's Big A Stadium. Here a sign looming overhead advises motorists "Getting Here By Train is a Whole Different Ballgame." We hit our first slow order just before the station at Orange and Darlene and Jesse confirm it with each other over the radio. Then out of Santa Ana: "Highball" "Roger, highball." and we pass rail cars loaded with ballast for the ongoing trackwork. According to the schedule we should meet an Amtrak at SERRA which is just past San Juan Capistrano. If it is on time we will be also. We do hit one slow order that takes us from 90mph to 70mph but soon are back at 90 on those lovely smooth concrete ties as the God of Trains is smiling on the commuters this evening. Darlene gives another "Highball!" to accompany the green signal ahead as we pull out of Irvine, cope with the dip in the track, climb over the crest of the hill and then are again at 90mph as we descend the .8% grade that will take us to San Juan Capistrano and the Pacific Ocean beyond. At 90 we seem to be passing most of the cars to our left on Interstate 5 but there are still a few over there that are making a game effort to keep up and at the same time avoid catching the eye of the highway patrol. We discharge our passengers at the depot and then watching for the San Diegan get word over the radio that it is waiting for us. The signal at SERRA is yellow and as we pass it J.J. notifies the dispatcher that we have cleared and receives a green at the east end of the siding. Past Serra we once again have the Pacific Ocean along the tracks though this time it is on our left and the sun is shining from a different direction than it was this morning. As we pull into San Clemente sea gulls are hovering along the tracks and there is a smell of wood fires while surfers are still braving the rather brisk air and even cooler water in their wet suits. Surfers crossing the tracks can be a problem down here especially if they are attempting to cross bridges and get their boards tangled but today everything is smooth sailing and happy trails with a green signal at SONGS where we are doing 72mph past San Onofre and 90mph at MP 213. Here a mixture of the yellow of wild mustard, blue of the ocean and the white wave crests create almost a postcard effect. We pull into Oceanside exactly on time at 1820 and for Jesse and Darlene who left here at 0453 this morning on the 601 train that arrived in LA at 0645 a long day is about to end. Jesse remains in the lead unit with Darlene in the cab car to activate the horn and keep him informed that everything is clear as we back to Lemon Grove. "604 Two to a flashing red." "604 One to a flashing red and one to a crossover." "604 Crossing over right now." "604 wer'e all lined in crossing over in 3." "Crossing in two." "One long to a crossover 5mph." She is reminding him that the track in the yard is 5mph. "604 wer'e crossing over." "604 two to a spot." "One car 604." "1/2 car." "20 feet." With that we have come to the end of our journey. Darlene and Jesse will climb into their cars and head for home but, that isn't the end for our train. Even as we are pulling into the yard machinist Ben Hernandez is already on hand to perform the necessary inspections and repairs before the next morning's departure. The car cleaners are also arriving to do their job to ensure that tomorrows commuters will have a pristine enviornment for their sojourn north. If any electrical work needs to be performed an electrician will come down from LA to handle it. All of this attention to detail on both ends of the line means that Metrolink is dedicated to provided the best possible service for its customer in both on time performance and accommodations. The machinists, electricians, and coach cleaners both in the yard and at the outlying facilities also wear an Amtrak logo on their hard hats and are proud to say, "We're Amtrak employees and here we have the opportunity to show just how good we can be." I want to thank Jack Rich, Art Mallette, Dale Ligman, Gene Winkler, Frank Brown, Sheila Wilkerson, Joe Lee, Bryan Reese, Paul Kennedy, Joseph Badon, Tami Roque, Lillie King, J.J. Foley, Darlene Morris, and Ben Hernandez for their help in showing how Metrolink makes sure the commuter is treated as the valued customer that he or she is.