Hour at a time? Well, I can't say about that. Anyway, on the BNSF, a relatively recent way of obtaining track and time is via a laptop-style interface with the DS. It may be that they need the engine running to power that up while waiting, but that is well beyond my area of knowledge; I am just speculating. It may be running to keep the A/C cool. As inefficient as that may sound, it could be the case.

On the flip side, Renzenberger punishes their drivers for leaving the engine idling for more than a minute, regardless of weather. Have a nice day.

Some people think it's pretty cool to leave their diesel engine running, like it causes excessive wear and tear or might warp the block with frequent starts/stops. That may have been true 40+ years ago, but I doubt that with today's engines. I once stopped at Denair to eat at a small park. The local water district rednecks rolled up in their 1-ton rig, and left their engine idling the whole time while they ate their lunch, too. Really annoying, wasteful and idiotic.

Flame on.