Good point on the blower. The past few trips I have made I have tried cracking the blower in places where light throttle is used. Made a difference. Instead of the pressure staying put, I could now make steam. Not quickly, but it was gaining. I know the railroad well enough now that I can turn the blower on before they shut off. They always shut off on the same spots every single trip. One thing I am glad I haven't done is become what these guys like to call "landmark fireman" or enginemen. Some fireman here fire using trees or rocks along the line and they wonder why on a certain trip they don't have any water when they top the hill. They fail to compensate for the conditions. Usually a different engineer.
Yes, I am paying close attention to what i'm doing. I don't consider myself a perfectionist, but I like to keep her hot thats for sure. Everytime I fire for the CMO Mike Grimm he laughs at how relaxed I look. I probably do and I feel relaxed but I believe I am always thinking about what's going on. It is awefully easy to space out though. You know that, John. You run the damned thing day in and day out...it's going to happen. I have done that before. I have spaced out thinking about what I am doing! I'll be in thought then all of the sudden "oh man!". I'll look back in the cab and see I've got 170lbs of pressure because my injector has been running for a minute and a half...or since I had 195lbs. Usually I mess up going back from Keystone. We are backing up and I sit backwards away from everything. I just occasionally look over my shoulder to see everything. But it's better than what most guys do. They just let the engineer watch the railroad and they sit facing the stack and train like idiots. Not watching the crossings or anything. They just have their eyes locked on the steam pressure gauge. Sometimes I sit in the window with my feet on the seat. That's not too bad...especially on these hot days.
