I Would Have Paid to See That

So yesterday I was 0 for 2 with trains it seems. My local train in the morning was running a bit late which didn’t bother me because I was more interested in watching the disabled train on the North-bound tracks. They brought in an engine to try and push it but it made the most horrible grinding noise when they tried to move it. Despite the cold weather I decided to stand outside and watch to see what would happen next. Of course my train showed up so I had to go, but my train wasn’t quite right either. The conductor had to push the train door open. Apparently they started having power problems a few stops prior.

On the way home I had to catch a later train because I had an end of the day meeting and missed my usual train. I caught the next train instead. Next thing I know the conductor is saying that we have to couple up to my usual train because it’s broken down! So I technically caught my usual train after all. It took us extra long to get home because our extra long train didn’t fit most platforms and passengers didn’t plan in advance to move forward to be able to get off the train. Each stop took much longer than it should have. And because we were late, everyone behind us was late. I missed 2 connections but ran into my morning buddy so we stood around and watched a total of 5 trains come in within 20 minutes.

This morning I finally found out what the deal with the disabled train from yesterday. The axel had seized up. I had been guessing fallen emergency brake or slight derailment (wheel off the track). I did miss the cool part. Apparently they have to jack the train up onto dollies and cart it away. I would have paid to see that. On top of that, it turns out that my goofy morning train with the power problems had its problems fixed at the yard only to break down completely on its way out of the yard for another problem.

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