Crew Changes

BNSF Unit Auto Rack Train running from Alliance Texas to Amarillo Texas cannot complete all of their assignments because they run out of work hours after arriving in Amarillo. The crew arrives in Amarillo just fine, but before they can remove their power from the train and take the power to the engine facility, they run out of hours, which is known as Dead-on-the-Law.

A BNSF Unit Grain Train, over a mile long, sits at a signal at E. 3rd Ave and Eastern St in Amarillo, waiting for its crew to arrive. We watch the engineer and conductor arrive, board the train, check over the locomotive and a few of the lead cars before getting clearance to depart west on the Red River Valley Subdivision. They proceed westbound to the signal at Bull Road where the dispatcher holds them for the Transcon to clear up in downtown Amarillo. After a few double stack trains depart Amarillo eastbound on the Transcon, the Unit Grain train with CSX #714 on the point, comes onto the Transcon after leaving the Bull Road location. The Unit Grain with CSX 714 passes by our camera again, this time showing the other side of the train as it departs Amarillo South Yard on the "Santa Fe" main of the Transcon.

Just how busy is Amarillo's BNSF Depot where almost every train has a crew change? Very busy, with up to three trains at a time stopped at the depot. Amarillo is a central location on the BNSF Transcon and a very convenient place for crews to end and start their 12-hour shift. In the old days of the AT&SF Railway, this location was a Yardmaster Office. In this video you will see photos of the old Yardmaster's Office as well as a photo of the interior. This video is the best way to visit this location because access to the site by car is difficult. One of the trains departing from this location has over 200 cars and six locomotives. Don't miss the exciting action of one of the hottest BNSF Transcon locations in the nation.