A "meet" is a term for two trains passing each other. It is normally while one train is in a siding. Sometimes it is used for two trains passing each other enroute on multiple track mains without stopping. Crews on some railroads will swap trains enroute so that each crew will return to its home terminal during legal on duty time. I am not familiar with any of our crews doing that, it would be under a "local agreement" with the unions. In Chicago we operated an "inter-divisional pool" for the Chicago/LaCrosse route. Crews were based in both Chicago and LaCrosse WI and an arcane method of mileage accrual was used to supply crews. If a crew would "outlaw" enroute, it was up to crew scheduling to decide where the pickup van would take us. Usually it was to the "away from home" terminal, but again there was no "rule". Nor would it mean that the crew you began with would be the one you would return with. There was deadheading in both directions. Deadheading was done by transport van, on trains,or(in the case of Chicago/Lacrosse)by AMTRAK. I was lucky and got to do that once!! I've also deadheaded both ways and never set foot on a train. Crews can perform service for 12 hours continuously under the "Hours of Service" law. Special agreements are in place for commuter train crews whereby they are given a split rest or "respite" during a duty day. Most of the commuter train assignments on the BNSF/METRA span a period longer than 12 hours but the crews have a "respite" during the day. A lot of them have a 2nd job during the respite period! Duty time being defined by the time the Crew caller tells you to report or in the case of a regular job(switch engine etc)by the time the job is scheduled,and posted,to start. Scenario... A crew caller calls me at 0dark:thirty and says "Charles, you are ordered as engineer for Z ABCDEF 05 on duty at xxxxxxxx(1 1/2 hours later) at Cicero,your conductor is(hopefully a good buddy), do you need transportation"? You sleepily reply Yes or No, whichever is applicable and bid them a good day. Now my duty time is the time the caller told me as being the "on duty" time. I get to Cicero on time, get my paperwork and discover that our train isnt finished being made up yet and we are waiting on power to come in since there is nothing in the roundhouse in the way of road power. Now I am on duty and I am sitting,waiting for a train. The clock is ticking all this time!! I have been on jobs where we actually got on our train and never turned a wheel in 12 hours. All of the other rails here will tell you the same story! I cant begin to tell you how many times I have seen a train sitting on a siding or on a yard track for days on end before being moved. I was on a dogcatch assignment once while a student conductor and we moved the train 100' before we "outlawed". It's just the nature of the job! Charlie
