When a mobile mechanical team specializing in locomotive repairs recently found itself briefly understaffed, team member Dustin Larsen took it upon himself to ensure operations kept humming seamlessly. 

With his supervisor out on paternity leave, it was up to Larsen to provide locomotive inspections and repairs to Watco’s short lines and transload terminals as well as for other customers in the Midwest.

While Chief Mechanical Officer Andrew Carmack was away, Larsen didn’t wait around for someone to tell him what to do. He organized his own workflow, communicated with site managers, stayed on top of inspections and repairs, and made sure work kept moving. Carmack said Larsen was “a one-man show for a bit.”

It was during that time that a locomotive at Watco’s Elwood Joliet & Southern Railroad (EJSR) needed major repairs: a new traction motor and full wheel change-out. Those are the kind of repairs that would typically require Carmack and Larsen as well as the local team. 

In place of Carmack, Director of Locomotive Support Services Rob Snyder and a locomotive mechanic from Watco’s Great Lakes Central Railroad joined Larsen. Also on hand to assist were two EJSR car mechanics and two contracted crane operators to lift the locomotive.   

From the get-go, Snyder was impressed with Larsen’s leadership. He said: “It was impressive to watch him take charge without Andrew. He knew exactly how to guide the team through
the repairs.”