jingle. jingle.
The inspection hammer hit the spring, half of the sound was swallowed up by the rain, making it dull. The cold rain dripped down along the brim of the hat. Zhang Kai did not wipe it away. He used the little light to bring his face close to the wheelset to check the anti-loosening thread.
Have you left?
Gone.
In fact, it was nonsense, the anti-loosening wire was not moved according to the regulations, and the spring did not crack. However, he had to speak out, and the person responsible for recording next to him also had to listen. This is a ritual that has lasted for decades and is difficult to change.
Who remembers railcars?
Most people don't know that the railways have such cars.
During the Spring Festival travel period, when I browsed short videos, what I saw were high-speed rail drivers, EMU mechanics, and uniformed train conductors smiling. But no one posted content related to rail cars.
It has an ugly appearance, with a yellowish appearance, and has an old quality. The whole body is covered with sludge. It is parked on the material line, like an old man squatting in the corner and smoking a cigarette.
But when it runs, it carries rails weighing thousands of tons, branches, and sleepers. The line work areas along the way are waiting for these materials, just like waiting for express delivery. Zhang Kai and others are the couriers who never show logistics information.
Have you ever seen Yulin at four in the morning?
They've seen it.
It's not just four o'clock in the morning, but one o'clock in the morning, three o'clock, five o'clock, and even the specific twenty-three o'clock on New Year's Eve.
It was cold at night, and the coldness in Guangxi was deep into the bones. The rain was not very heavy, but it was as dense as needles. During the roll call, eight people stood in the rain, no one holding an umbrella. The foreman explained tonight's task, which was to go to the rice field to collect the old rails, and then go to Chuitang to unload the rails.
That's it. scattered.
Zhang Kai got under the car. The ditch was very narrow. He went in sideways, and his knees were hurt by stones. He held the flashlight in his mouth, shifted the inspection hammer to his left hand, and started hammering. One screw was knocked, and two screws were knocked. The air compressor belt was not cracked, and the brake cylinder did not leak air.
He recalled the year when he first started working, and the master looked like this at that time. The master said that no one under the car can see it, but the car will clearly know whether there is any knocking on your side.
The master has been retired for ten years. Zhang Kai is also in his forties this year.
It's dark, the road is slippery, and the rails don't speak
At twenty-five minutes past zero, the signal was given.
Zhang Kai stretched out his hand, and the co-driver also stretched out his hand. They both pointed at the exit signal, which was a green light. They gestured with their hands while looking at it with their eyes, and shouted: "Exit signal, green light!".
This is a prescribed action. In fact, the two people are so close that they can see it, but they must shout. The object of shouting is to listen to themselves, the shouting is to let the people next to them accept the sound, and the shouting is to be heard by some things that may exist in the dark night.
The car moved.
Rail cars are not as stable as passenger trains and tend to sway, especially when empty. The wipers kept wiping back and forth, causing the car windows to fog up. When the heater was turned on, it made people feel stuffy again. The co-driver stood up and took a look, leaning forward like an alert bird.
Zhang Kai held the brake handle tightly, sweat dripping from his palms. He knew exactly what was being dragged behind him - it was a steel rail, and it was a rail weighing more than a thousand kilograms. If you brake too early, you will overshoot; if you brake too late, you will hit. It has to be precise, like a surgeon.
weight of steel
When we arrived at the rice field, the rain had not stopped.
Ye Minjie, the crane operator, jumped out of the car and couldn't help but shiver because it was warm in the air-conditioned car, and the wind blowing outside made it feel chilly even to the bones. But he didn't care about it, ran straight to the back of the car, and then climbed onto the console.
The rails lay on the shoulder, rusted and caked with mud. But the weight hasn't changed.
The suspended boom moves outward and the attached wire rope tightens. Ye Minjie's eyes were fixed on the rail, and he retracted the rope very slowly. The rail gradually broke away from the ground, swaying back and forth with an unstable posture, like a snake on the verge of death. He tried to stay steady and continued to retract the rope to ensure stability, and finally successfully transported the rail to the flatbed truck.
Boom.
The sound shook the car.
The person next to him quickly rushed forward, took off the hook, and fixed it. The action should be quick because the skylight window is relatively short. During the Spring Festival travel rush, there are many vehicles, and the time given by the dispatcher is only a little. If the work cannot be completed, it will have to wait until tomorrow.
A reunion that no one sees
Three o'clock in the morning, Chuitang Station.
When unloading the rails, Zhang Kai did not get off the car. He sat in the driver's seat and stared at the signal ahead, always preparing to move the train. In the rearview mirror, there were several black figures shuttled back and forth in the light beams of the car lights, carrying out the movements of moving rails and unloading materials. The rain was still falling, and those black figures were soaked by the rain, but no one cared.
He suddenly recalled the WeChat message sent by his wife. It was sent in the afternoon, and he had only seen it until now. It only contained four short words: Be safe.
He had the intention to reply, but he didn't. We have to go to Lu Chuan at five o'clock, and we can't put it into the warehouse until seven thirty. By the time everything was done, it was already dawn, and my wife should be sleeping by now.
never mind.
He put the phone back in his pocket and took another look at the signal.
Still green light.
It's dawn when we finish work
At half past seven, the car was put into storage.
Zhang Kai put out the fire, and then the cab suddenly became quiet. The co-driver stretched and claimed to feel sleepy. Zhang Kai didn't say anything, then picked up the inspection hammer and got out of the car.
Still need to take a closer look. Covers the running parts, including wheelsets, springs, and anti-loosening lines. After running all night, we must make sure there are no problems so that we can carry out shift handover work.
Wherever the flashlight swept, rain was still falling. He squatted down and knocked on the axle box.
jingle.
No one was around to record it, but he still muttered in a low voice: "The spring is good, no cracks."
Get used to it.
meaning
At eight o'clock, after the storage is completed. Zhang Kai walked in the direction of the dormitory, passing the material line on the way and saw the rail car parked there. The rail car was covered in mud, and the rims were stained with grass clippings and oil.
He remembered the question asked by the reporter: Don’t you find it boring to drive a rail car?
What he wants to express is boredom, which is the same every day, with darkness, rain, rails and signals. Sometimes traveling all night just to deliver a few rails. There was no one in sight and no one knew about it, not even the passengers knew that such a car existed.
But he didn't say it.
This is because he also knows that the rails along the route taken by the trains traveled by the train passengers were replaced and laid by them, and the sleepers were also laid by them. The public works system belongs to the basics. The word "basic" seems easy to say, but when it is actually done, it requires suffering night after night.
He said none of this.
He just smiled and said, someone has to do the work.
After that, he walked in the direction of return, his steps showing a slight drag, and his waist also felt sore. In the dormitory building, there are some people who have just woken up and are preparing for New Year greetings. He pushed the door open and closed the curtains to block out the daylight.
He glanced at his phone before going to bed.
My wife sent a new message: Are you back?
He replied: I'm back and sleeping.
The other side replied instantly: OK.
There's another night
A little light shines through the curtains.
He closed his eyes, but he was still thinking about the car in his mind. Tomorrow night, we still have to set off. Should we go to Maoming or Zhanjiang? Not sure. Anyway, no matter where you go, you have to knock it out one by one.
jingle. jingle.
The voice followed him and sank into his dream.
The rain is still falling in Yulin. The rail car stopped in place, waiting for the next group of people to wake it up.
Comments NOTHING