As I was reading the April 2019 MRH Running Extra, I noticed that one of the articles mentioned that the modern age is almost all unit trains and there's no/very few switching opportunities. As a former conductor for a short line, I'd like to give a detailed description of what a typical day is like in the modern (2011-2013) age. The area I used to work (company names omitted) was an industrial park that was about 3 miles wide (east-west) and 5 miles (north-south).

Good afternoon all,

I was going through some "old" ( 2009 ) images that were taken while on a historical group's safari. These images were taken while watching a crew operate a remote engine to switch cuts of gondolas. The unused (and  VERY rusty) track on the right hand side of this picture and other details were a pleasant discovery when viewed afterwards!

https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2019/03/private-rail-car-fan-owners-amtrak-cuts-trains-are-cool/584971/

I read this article and thought it was amusing. Although I doubt I would ever own rail cars and travel like this, but who knows...there's always the lottery.

Last weekend I received a wonderful anniversary gift of spending time with my terrific wife of 40 years and my son, together with a McCloud River RR #25 2-6-2, Polson Loggng Co #2 2-8-2, and the newly restored "Skookum" #7 2-4-4-2 steam locos. I thought I would share some pics with you. Enjoy! (You should be able to click on the images to get an expanded view.)