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The yard crew, having finished its chores for the day, points the nose of locomotive 487 towards the exit at the north end of the yard. No time is lost taking the train just past the switches leading either to the main line or back toward the water tank, ash pit, and engine house. Finally moving the switch to allow engine 487 to enter the east side rail tracks, the hostlers take her to the ash pit, not stopping at the water tank. The procedure seems to be to first remove he ash and clinkers from the fire grate, then move the locomotive back to the water tank, top off the 5,000 gallon cistern located in the tinder, and take engine and crew back to the engine house, without stopping at the ash pit. But, this time, the video does not show this procedure being completed. Yup, you guessed it. Operator error. Or was it a programmer's coding error? I had stepped away from the recording equipment, walked three steps to the coffee pot, poured a fresh cup and returned to my task. Too late. The pause buttons glared from the viewing windows they occupied. Locomotive 487 was someplace out in the wilds of the internet not to be seen again today, likely dumping ash and getting a steam cleaning. My coffee is great, I apologize for the shortened video. Enjoy what there is.
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