Another favorite memory of mine reverts back to "job briefing" and why they are so important.
One day when running a tourist train in NH, we were on our return trip about 3 miles from the station when I heard a sudden loud air hissing noise coming from the engine room. After telling the conductor we would be stopping so I could check ot out, we slowed and came to a stop at the bottom of the last big hill before the station. I opened the doors and realized we had blown a gasket on the compressor and time was critical as we were losing air pressure. The conductor and trainman walked up to the engine, just in time for me to get back in the seat and tell them we had to go. So the conductor told me ok to continue back to the station. Thinking they got off between the first and second car, I throttled up rather quickly. I glanced back and saw them still walking by the train and thought, oh this isnt good and applied the brakes and began throttling down. (We had already increased to 8mph) The trainman jumped on, and the conductor was running trying to catch the last step. He made it, but his radio fell off his hip. After we stoped again and he got his radio, we continued back to the station with the bad air leak. By now the engine resevoir had dropped to 110 pounds. We got the train up the hill, across the 3 whistle crossings in good time, but the challenge was yet to come. Going over the final crossing before the station the bell quit working. As you enter the station theres a slight down hill grade at the beginning of the yard. Air pressure had now dropped low enough that the train brakes had began to apply. By the time we stopped at the station the brakes were dragging so bad that I had the engine in Notch 5. The brake pipe had been reduced from 90psi down to 77psi. Not only did we arrive 1 minute late, but none of the passengers really knew what was going on. (Before someone fires off that running with the train line lower than intended pressure is risky, let me explain how it works. On a short train, even the slightest air leak will apply the cars. The only thing to be aware of is that once the brake pipe pressure drops below 50psi the brakes may begin to lose effectiveness. Below 45psi and an emergency brake application can no longer be made reliably.)
After doing a power swap, we left on the next trip about 14 minutes late. Knowing how to make up time on rough track will come in the near future.