Midday has been busy on the CLNA in Farmville. After the work train arrived from Wilson at 1100, met the road train, and took care of a minor derailment, the crew picked up their work train, shoved a few miles west out of Farmville, and was ready to start dumping rock again. I’d wondered why the step ladders on the ends of ballast hoppers always seemed bent, and apparently that’s because they are chained to the hopper doors to keep them from opening too far. Why is there a tie on the rails? Once the rock was flowing and the work train started to pull, the tie was pushed along the railhead by the rear truck to spread the ballast. After a few minutes of trying to clear the clogged spillways, the crew will be rolling east dumping rock.
