Crew pools, terminals, routes, bidding, agreements, HUBs, seniority, etc. How does it all work? - Trains Magazine

kfleeman1 wrote:

Ok, thanks to all who have helped so far.  It's beginning to get a little clearer in my mind now. One question that stands out to me right now, and I believe MP173 asked as well: If a "pool" of crews is assigned to the regular "pool" of trains that come through their territory, do these "pool" crews run those "extra" grain trains and coal trains as they come, or will only the extra board guys get those trains even though there may be a "pool" crew available?  Does that make any sense?

I would guess it would depend on how strictly the use of pools is enforced and where the pools are assigned to operate to.  A pool may be assigned to run to multiple terminals, even if it only normally goes to one terminal. 

Using Clinton, Iowa as an example.  On the Iowa side, it is the home terminal for the Clinton-Missouri Valley Long Pool.  Currently it's not very large and is almost all Z trains (2 each way).  Clinton is also the away from home terminal for the Boone Engineer's East Pool, the Boone East-West Conductor's Pool (they can run either east or west out of Boone).  It is also the away from home terminal for the Des Moines Engineer's and Conductor's North Pools. 

The Boone based pools handle just about every thru train going thru/to/from Clinton.  The exceptions are the Z trains going to the Long Pool and the Des Moines trains. 

The Des Moines pool works to Clinton on trains that come out of Des Moines, usually the MDMPR.  They normally work back on the counterpart MPRDM.  Sometimes there are other trains that come from/go to Des Moines.

When everything is normal the different pools handle the trains they are supposed to.  If there is an extra train going to Des Moines and there is no Des Moines crew for it, it usually will go to the Boone crew.  Sometimes the Des Moines crew isn't rested for a Des Moines bound train.  A Boone crew will be called for it.  When the Des Moines crew bcomes rested, they might get a Boone bound train, unless a Des Moines train is fairly close.  Both crews will need a cab ride to their respective home terminals for final tie-up.

If there is a train for Boone and no Boone or Des Moines crew rested, a Clinton extra board crew might be used.  They will take the train to Boone and then be cabbed back to Clinton.  Sometimes a Long Pool will take the train to Boone and then cab on to Missouri Valley.  I can't recall the Long Pool taking a train that "belongs" to the Boone short pools thru Boone all the way to Mo Valley.

The already mentioned Clinton Road extra board (there's also a switchmen's extra board) also does the dog catching when needed.  If it is exhausted, any of the pools can also be used to dog catch.  The road extra board can also be used to protect the yard if the switchmen's extra board is exhausted.  As a last resort, people off the pool, even from the out of town pools, may be asked to protect a yard vacancy.  That's very rare, but has happened.

Jeff