Boat Job
- Equipment & crew
- Engine MP #1817 (Baldwin 4-8-0) + Idler Car
- Requires Conductor and Engineer
- General Manager will demonstrate boat operation for new employees
- Boat pulls & shoves
- Conductor aligns and works boat
- Boat capacity is 4 cars on each of three tracks (total of 12 cars per load)
- When aligning boat to another track, assure car brakes are set
- Semaphores restrict movement at the incline grade crossing [installation pending as of April 5, 2023]
- Boat job has priority over main
- Call tower when needed
- Work boat’s center track first
- One car cut is removed, taken to Thomure and engine returns with a cut to be shoved in its place
- The boat is then repositioned to another track for repeat performance; and repeat again until all cars have been exchanged
- The adage to remember is “one cut off, one cut on”
- Note for new employees: if you have a better idea on how to handle this, feel free to climb up to the pilot house and discuss with Captain “Gunnie” Grieshaber; the John-boat at the dock will pick you up if you can’t swim
- When all boat cuts have been pulled and the cut is ready for movement to Middle Yard, contact the Yardmaster for clearance
- Deliver cut to Middle Yard and pull northward bound cars
- Operators will typically spend about an hour working one boat load of cars; the prototype worked a cut of 18 cars on the Missouri side, worked the same number of cars on the Illinois side and traversed the Mississippi River twice in 90 minutes!
Yardmaster
- Equipment & crew
- Engine MP #4612 (Alco RS11) [to be replaced by GP9 when ready]
- Requires 1 (serves as Conductor and Engineer)
- “Boss”of Middle Yard
- Makes & breaks trains
- Scheduled & extras
- Boat transfers
- Weighs outbound Loads
- Redirects if excess weight
- Directs entry into Middle Yard
- Facilitates Bad-Order cars
- Note: occasional river flooding may cause yard tracks to be out of service
Road crew
- Engine TBD + Caboose
- Requires Conductor and Engineer
- Run local freight trains № 92 and № 93 between Ste Genevieve and Bismarck per Employee Timetable
- Run extra trains per orders
General Manager
- Also known as the Layout Owner
- Stages cars on the Boat and at Derby Jct
- Facilitates boat operations
- Serves as Tower Operator
- Re-rails cars as needed
- Assists when called upon
- Manages car forwarding system
- Other duties as assigned