... this reminds me of how bees are considered fish in California

Looks at the locomotive in the thumbnail. Title of the video says it's a boxcar. Feels like a comical bureaucracy moment.

Sees GP unit. Corporate: Yup Boxcar!

*On The Radio*: “O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo? The fridge in 348 is ready to have the whip on it.” Lmao

Hearing all this union stuff is crazy. Being a shortline mechanic, we work on anything that has to do with the locomotive, electrical, piping you name it. In a shortline environment you are a jack of all trades.... but the master of none lol

This reminds me of a time one of my local railroaders decided to park his train on the main line rather then going to the siding nearby. Clogged up the whole railroad since he left to go get lunch. The crew for the other symbol didn’t want to move power assigned to the other crew, so the train sat on the main for a few hours until the crew got back. 😂

I come from a union family (both on & off the railroad) and I’m all for people unionizing, but the whole “we need an electrician to plug in the fridge” crap is EXACTLY why unions have gotten a terrible reputation the last several decades

I would get in so much trouble working at a unionized place like that because I'd probably do 5 different people's jobs without even realizing it.

On similar thing to the GP unit that's a 'boxcar': The British rail class 99 'locomotives' that floated. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Rail_Class_99_(ships) Because BR bought a computer system developed for union pacific, that tracked locomotives and cars. But BR had ships, so they needed to record them in the computer. So they were given engine numbers 99001 through 99015, and recorded as locomotives in the computer system. (This computer system is still in use to this day).

meanwhile union pacifics weed sprayer looking like a boxcar and being a locomotive...also love the content man!

Wow, for once I guessed the twist correctly! During my year in a tourist railroad, the freight/shop crews often used the term “set it up as a boxcar” for making a locomotive ready to tow. I can’t imagine how many incidents it took to convince crews to remove the MU hoses to ship locomotives!

5:15 my malicious compliance just had a knee jerk reaction of calling an electrician any time i needed to use power tools. I.E. battery needs replaced/ charged, or if its corded it needs plugged in.

That "boxcar" has some nice trucks. They usually dont have such nice suspension! XD

I think I saw that Geep in Shelton c. 2020ish, still lettered for P&W. I guess maybe it went from Portland to you, and then back down to PSAP. That's a weird move. Side note, those tracks the reefers are on used to be stub-ended, with an unconnected turnout sitting nearby. Eventually the industry in question decided to complete the connection on the east end (just out of view when you showed it) so they could use their Plymouth to service both tracks. I designed that connection, and it wasn't easy; the adjacent trail and fences meant the clearances there are very tight.

I have just to opposite story. Union Pacific has new MOW power, it's a SD40-2, with a new body, and Maintenance of way lettering. Kind of like a F-Unit now. it's not a "locomotive" (For union reasons.), it's a piece of MOW Equipment. One of them recently showed up at Albina Yard, needing new wheels. Yardmaster sends it to the One Spot (carshop), it's a piece of MOW equipment. We don't have a lot of room either, and here it comes on our inbound tracks. I asked what are we supposed to do with that thing? Manager says nothing, it's a Locomotive. Well, it does not belong on our inbound tracks, call someone, it needs to go to the engine house. Well if the call was made, it was likely met with, why would a piece of MOW equipment go to the engine house? They shoved it into the one spot track. It takes a couple days to make it into the shop. They do nothing to it and shove it thru, takes another day to be pulled. Then some MOW Manager calls, asks if it's done. Leadman says no, we don't work on Locomotives, it needs to go to engine house. Next day I come in, it's in our inbound tracks again, rinse repeat 2 more times. After the 3rd trip thru, and a couple weeks later, MOW Manager calls again, are you guys done yet? We really need it back. Our manager says same thing to leadman again, who starts to tell the MOW Manager. I yelled wait, tell him we can't do the work because the car shop does not have a drop table for removing traction motors, but the engine house does. That is the only way to change wheels on his piece of "Maintenance of Way Equipment", by removing the traction motors. Leadman tells him this, and call ends. They pulled it that night, we have never seen it again, I don't know if it ever made it to the engine house.

When i worked at the airport there was one hangar that was a union shop & we were not allowed to open the hangar door because pressing that button required a union electrician. Fine.. I guess your airplane will sit out on the ramp through that hailstorm then. Hundreds of thousands in damage ensued.

When I moved to Seattle in the mid-80's, that roundhouse was a beautiful brick building. Then, it disappeared under metal siding. I thought 'They are planning to demolish it, so they have covered it under metal siding so nobody remembers how beautiful it was before they demolish it.' More than 30 years later, it's still there!

We call that a dummy. It looks like a locomotive and it acts like a boxcar.

I am simple. I see SFS, I click.

When CN switches DPUs out of long trains they often leave them in "box car mode" so they can be picked up and taken to the engine shop like a box car would so they do not have to worry about any locomotive connections.

Real railroad shop: I can't move this engine or touch this wiring b/c I'm not in the authorized department! Preservation railroad shop: *works on brakes* $^@*! Why the I park it like this! And why did I wire this cr@p like that! A$^@*^×)!^$&×!!!!!

I mean, if you consider that a diesel is just a boxcar with the components inside of it to actually power itself (in a super simplified sense), it makes sense that the reverse is also true. A diesel incapable of actually powering itself is just a boxcar that holds broken train parts in it.

The Oklahoma Railway Museum has the ex-BNSF hydrogen unit, which no longer has any of the hydrogen system. So it’s essentially an empty shell with nice cab and trucks. I got to see it and the thumbnail immediately reminded me of that

Last time I was this early the RGS was turning a profit!

The thing about who plugs in something on a locomotive reminds me about something that I heard about the theatre and how things work on the stage with certain things like for example a lamp. The props department can bring it on stage but the lighting department has to plug it in and unplug it before props can touch it again.

Small railroads *HATE* shipping locomotives over the Class 1's, because they almost invariably get lost in voids exactly like this one. I believe the Wisconsin Great Northern had a new-to-them GP7 fall into the abyss for awhile not too long ago.

I’m also simple, I saw a ginesse and Wyoming livery, I clicked

The "Box Car" did exactly as intended. It hit yall like a Boxer and won some rounds. What a mess.

As a laborer In Tulsa we get DIC, DIT, & Rev moves all the time. Kinda sucks when we’re trying to moving and build consists; they’re always in our way occupying our other service tracks. So we will have less room for outbounds and they’ll sit at the diesel shop for days waiting to go somewhere else. I wish they just keep them in the yard or on the train.. little rant, love the video 👍🏻

When I see a locomotive and the title named THIS IS A BOXCAR!!!??? That's when I watch the video!

"I'm gonna go get the papers, get the papers."

Is this a locomotive? No this is a boxcar!

Hi Mark, that was a well told, and enlightening, description of rail yard workings. Liked hearing about the various types of specialists allowed to move and work on specific things. I now better understand what a hostler does. Using Google maps to illustrate what you were talking about and at the same time giving us a tour of where you worked was brilliant! I so enjoy your SFS episodes Mark, they are both hilarious and educational. Another fabulous video Professor, many thanks for creating it and looking forward to the next episode. As always cheers to you!

Boxcar?? Must be a shell then.

This reminds me. So, I used to volunteer at a heritage tramway. Now, we had a very tall double-decker tram, No. 26. The wires in certain places got low enough that No. 26 was barred from those areas over possible electric shocks. There were big red, black, and white signs that had a picture of No. 26 specifically showing not to take it down there. That was ignored constantly. So long as you didn't go into the upper floor, in theory, you would be fine. I once saw No. 26 parked on one of these sections, right next to one of the signs, and thought: No. 26: "I wonder who that's for?"

This is a great story. I could almost feel physical pain as you explained having to argue with the yard to come get the "boxcar".

Wow, what a mess. This was a fun and interesting video. I had a friend ( Less Olver ) whom worked as the yard master for the PC and later for CR here in the Dunkirk yard. He always said if you need / wanted overtime, do not do anything to try and cause it to happen. Just fallow the rules and you will get all the overtime you want. Less had a lot of great stories. I wish I had put them on video while he was still with us.

I was expecting an actual boxcar disguised as a locomotive for hauling secret items around.

Love the stories as always. Definitely why I subbed to you!

Hey Hyce, I'm starting training as a Conductor with CSX tomorrow morning and I just wanted to say I love your videos and thank you for motivating me to get into this world of rail!

See's thumbnail of a old P&W loco, see those trains all the time as they run lumber into Portland.

This is exactly how aircraft hangars work in the airlines as well.

Well, that’s the strangest looking boxcar I've ever seen.

As a retired yardmaster, I feel your pain. It wasn't just the mechanical department that got that Excedrin headache #5, the transportation department also shared the misery. Once we had an engine (boxcar) come in to the terminal and it hung around for weeks like a bad suit because of clearance issues. We finally got rid of it only to have the damned thing come back through a week or so later and it got set off again in our terminal. Luckily, the RR that owned it were now watching it like a hawk and it only stayed there a day or two, never to be seen again. Oversized loads that needed clearance were also a pain in the pants, but that's another long, sad RR story... you did a great job of explaining the reasons why things can be so crappy to deal with at the RR!

Since I saw the thumb I've been trying to figure out how that was a _boxcar_. Thank you for the fun story. Love these little slices of modern railroad life and big-organization shenanigans. More please! :)

You always talking about the book Little engines and big men, in your kah co-op videos, got me interested in it and I just won an auction for it, cant wait to read about the engine being brought to the other side of the train after being snowed in.

I worked in Tigard in the 00s and I'm sure I saw this one in service there. The WES units also arrived as "boxcars" but an employee traveled with them to make sure they didn't get lost. (Hi Jody if you're still out there.)

A wild Boxcar Appears! Maintenance uses Union Rules and hurts itself in the confusion.

Remember y'all, if it looks like a locomotive and smells like a locomotive, it might possibly be a boxcar.

I didn't realize this was a story from the shop video, I was expecting a one off shipment of military equipment or something that needed to be concealed in some way

Box car on paper. There. If what's on the video thumbnail was actually the thing that was being argued about when the logistical fiasco was the thing and not just there for props, then I have to say that the P&W recently had to get rid of it because the parent company was under fire from the EPA for failing to comply with certain regulations. Ironically, they ordered several newer GP38-2's (which are really no different emissions-wise than the 1xxx fleet they got rid of).

A video on the reasons why railroads got unionized and the stories of the messes that they fixed would be interesting.

clearly its a box shape and its a railcar so surely it must be a boxcar

Most intricate and advanced Box Car I ever saw. XD

Thank you for the story!

YES! A new stories from the shop episode

Reminds me of people put a “steam locomotive outline” body over a diesel locomotive and “qualified” it as a steam locomotive. Which is silly because when steam locomotives were withdrawn, children and younger adults never saw a steam locomotive in traffic which makes it harder for them to tell a steam locomotive and a diesel locomotive apart

Now I work in a depot in the UK. However, as a railway man, this video is entirely relatable! It's the exact same here!😄

Remember kids, don't be a plain succulent fish.

Great video, Hyce....! Loved it..!

what in the Schrodinger is going on

Reminds me of my run ins with Unions in New England building Powerplants. On the other Hand I am happy that our Railway in Switzerland is run totaly different.

“Hey VSauce, Hyce here! This is a boxcar. Or is it?”

Hyce: This is a Boxcar. Me: *Fry sus expression*

Great Video !

If that's a Boxcar then, why the hell has a diesel locomotive engine there, and a horn, and paint scheme AND!!!!! headlights. Lol, my brain is spinning with no dialog.

Similarly, crews picking up a short line engine in Snohomish and dragging it all the way to Everett with the handbrake on because no one had the keys to the cab to release it😂 I think it got a few new wheels courtesy of big orange😁

I remember when that thing got left at the Delta RH for a week or two.

If René Magritte was a railroad man...

"Just send all the broken stuff to the maintenance facility at once." Good lord that is so true lol. Good to know it's not unique to where I work. You'll have 3 days with nothing of note, and then out of nowhere "hey I have 11 engines, and only two of them are running." "Oh ok..." looks at power sheet. "They want all of those to go back out within 12 hours..." "Yeah... And?" "Ok, drop them on the pad." *calls dispatcher to tell them someone's gonna be late leaving* It gets even better when half of the defects haven't been reported yet. Or they got reported, but didn't end up in the system where they're supposed to be.

at our roundhouse we have 3 trades,, machinist, electrician, laborer. except third shift. we have the electrician working gang leader who never leaves the office if he can help it, and me (electrician) who does all the service for all 3 trades. good times.

That’s a locomotive not a boxcar silly!

Ah Portland and western.

Why I'll never work in a union shop. All that time and money wasted because someone would get in trouble for violating a pointless rule.

17:42 LOL. Literally laughed out loud. You don't say!

Reminds me of when I worked in "The Milwaukee Road" shop in Milwaukee, WI, in 79/80. However, they were in their third bankruptcy and going under. We no longer had labors except for their union rep, who would bitch and moan whenever one of us trade craft types would do one of their jobs so we could get to doing ours. The Milwaukee shops closed Apr 12th 1980 at the loss of 7000 jobs.

Hyce wow! This story about roundhouses is more round about than the song Roundabout by YES.

Love the stories

I love seeing this one, or loved, haven’t seen it in a long long time down here in Oregon 🤣

Wonderful!

9:43 See if I can get myself in trouble here. Yeah, that's definitely the rule... lol

It seems like _everything_ that starts good always turns stupid. This is because *PEOPLE* are stupid.

Yard sees someone else's engine. Move it!!

I remember seeing that GP9 sitting there and thinking it was cool to see a road I don't get to see often around here 😊

I can't see why they did not put language in the union agreement that covers locomotive ferry moves. Especially on the BNSF. I don't think i've ever seen any other railroad do locomotive ferry moves quite like them. So many locomotives in a single train, and nothing else. Sure other lines do dead moves all the time, too, but BNSF just does it on an epic scale.

I would say you sound like a good boss. As long as everyone does their job and the Eye of Sauron (corporate) doesn't look down at you, _who cares?_

I love railroad stories, no matter where they happend. My dad told me a lot of this when he was at the "Deutsche Bundesbahn" here in Germany in some kind of the "good ol' times". Remembering a story about an interesting derailing of a heavy steam shunting locomotive which happend with a lot of loud bangs exactly on midnight at new year's eve on an empty rail in a freight station.... After this "incident" several people had to explain several things in a way they dont get degraded.... 😉🙃😂

One of my business partners also owns a locomotive leasing company, and crap like this happens ALL THE TIME with units in transit. Meanwhile the customer is like hey why has my unit been sitting in some class 1’s shop for three days and not moving!?

reminds me of this other youtube channel I saw one time where a guy was getting a engine prepped to be a "Box-Car" so it could get shipped by rail from somewhere in south USA up to Canada... it ended up being handled by something like 3-5 different rail companies before it made it to its new home (about 11 months late...)

Cool video and channel just subscribed

hyce do you like the 0-6-0 in derail vally?

Were there days where yall did nothing at the shop

I'm gussing this happened around 2017 as thats when PNW 1803 was transferred to the Olympia & Belmore Railroad in Centralia, WA

TE&Y crews can operate inside a mechanical facility with the permission of mechanical forces. I’ve gone through that scenario at Hinkle. I always felt nervous running inside a mechanical facility.

good video

"The Treachery of Images", railroad edition. "Ce n'est pas une locomotive"

we don't have hostlers at our yard... we only have 1 engineer yard job... unless they call a "50" yard job (extra)

Just like working for the movie outfits

@5:40 same shit happens at my shipyard but its a safety thing hyce ... they dont want you not thinking with maybe a glove with some sweat on it and you plug in the fridge and zap

When i saw the title, i was really hoping they had torn out all the inner workings. and just made it a actual box car with a GP9 shell