The two DPUs on an eastbound Los Angeles Harbor (Pier 400), CA to Logistic Park Chicago, IL stack train slowly works up the grade into Crozier Canyon on a warm, August, evening. Thrown into the mix of the power is a Ferromex locomotive. At some point, this GE locomotive crossed the border, ended up on the BNSF rail system, and brought to the LA area. Now, FXE 4684 will have a short visit in U.S until it is delivered back to Ferromex at onr of the railroad border interchanges in Texas.
Unfortunately for the crew of this train, they would not make across the their whole crew route (Needles, CA to Winslow, AZ) due to working their max hours of service. When they departed Needles at 11 AM this morning, they faced a lot of westbound traffic and track work, causing for a lot of hold ups. Once in Valentine, they had to sit in the siding for nearly an hour to let a higher priority UPS train overtake them. Then near Nelson Canyon, the crew had a clear signal drop to red in front of them. Once stopped, it took a while to get the heavy train back on the move. By 5:15 PM, the crew told the dispatcher to get a relief crew ready for them, as they figured they would not be able to climb over the 7,335 foot high summit of the Arizona Divide in time.
