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News Wire: SMART labor union says unsafe conditions at CSX led to severe injury

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RME
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Posted by RME on Monday, August 28, 2017 3:02 PM

Euclid
I answered the question in his terms, saying I have participated in the practice. That is a true statement.

Good.  Where did you participate, and when?  That will get the true statement's truth rolling. 

You refer to what I said as a “statement of competence” as though it were some type of legal claim that requires full proof that the claim is not fraudulent. 

"Statement of competence" means you were competent to participate in the activity of kicking cars.  Since you say that your participating in kicking cars is a true statement you can't have an argument with that.  Can you?  (It was not intended to mean well-trained or professional, so we can stay off that particular red herring, let alone get into pseudodefinitions of a 'legalism' I can clearly state I did not intend.)

I think this reaction is a little silly.


Just as I think crawfishing after having made a definitive statement is a lot silly.  This is America and you're entitled to think what you want.  But don't go pretending you can claim to have done something which some of your other statements frankly shout you haven't and not expect to be asked to substantiate your claim.

In the interests of fair disclosure: I have never kicked cars in a yard, uphill or otherwise, and this despite having done some very serious analysis of what is required for hybrid locomotives to kick cars effectively, and how to determine the right use of throttle and brake regardless of terrain to kick a known car effectively in a known yard.  Yes, I regard that lack of practical experience as a shortcoming.  And no, I won't pretend to having firsthand knowledge despite understanding the physics and kinesiology involved very well.

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Posted by Randy Stahl on Monday, August 28, 2017 3:08 PM

tree68

 

 
Euclid
I answered the question in his terms, saying I have participated in the practice.  That is a true statement. 

 

Yeah - And I saw a nuclear explosion first-hand once - so I'm qualified to speak with authority on nuclear physics.

Just once, Bucky, answer the danged question.

Otherwise you're just a poser who wants people to think they're an expert.

 

 

I watched a porno once....

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Posted by BaltACD on Monday, August 28, 2017 3:25 PM

When I was a kid, our next door neighbor was EE & Nuclear Engineer for Westinghouse and had participated in the Bikini Atoll A-Bomb tests.

He called my father over to install a light switch - the man was a theoretical genius but a practical idiot.

Never too old to have a happy childhood!

              

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Posted by wanswheel on Monday, August 28, 2017 4:02 PM
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Posted by edblysard on Monday, August 28, 2017 4:08 PM

CShaveRR

I kicked cars in the really old days, pre RP-25 trucks, when they wouldn't roll worth anything.  Wink

However, I also pulled pins on hundreds of kicks, and know of those hills of which Zardoz speaks.  Pulled thousands of pins on those, too, before I went downhill.

(For the record, Larry, I've participated in a Dutch Drop from all three positions:  pulling the pin, throwing the switch, and tying 'em down...but not too quickly!)

Now, I have a question:  If the railroad is now allowing the getting on and off moving equipment after an absence of, say, ten or twelve years (I think that's about right), are they training all of the employees that didn't receive such training when they hired out?  I know that I spent a good half day doing nothing but during my training, and that I learned plenty, even though I had "participated" in such things for years beforehand.

 

The very first day, the very first thing taught to us was getting on and off moving equipment.

Once you learn how,it is so much more easy than standing equipment....we were told if we couldn't manage it, we couldn't work here.

23 17 46 11

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Posted by tree68 on Monday, August 28, 2017 8:37 PM

edblysard
The very first day, the very first thing taught to us was getting on and off moving equipment.

May not have been the first day, but it was early on, when I learned how to do so, along with the admonition, "don't do this..."  Our rules still prohibit the practice.

LarryWhistling
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Posted by schlimm on Monday, August 28, 2017 9:13 PM

RME
Just as I think crawfishing after having made a definitive statement is a lot silly.  This is America and you're entitled to think what you want.  But don't go pretending you can claim to have done something which some of your other statements frankly shout you haven't and not expect to be asked to substantiate your claim.

He'll never admit to chronic prevarication.  Perhaps his screen name should be Odysseus, who was always stretching the truth. Or even better, Munchausen (with one 'h' the fictional character) who made up absurd stories.

C&NW, CA&E, MILW, CGW and IC fan

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Posted by Euclid on Monday, August 28, 2017 9:41 PM

schlimm

"Participating" in something means (not just suggests) first hand experience in the something, not observing it. If I say I participated in a football game, it means I played in it, not just watched as a spectator in the stands or on TV.

Euclid, you are the one who said "My familiarity with kicking cars came from participating in it."

Unless you can give specifics as to where, when and in what capacity you participated, it will be apparent to all that you tripped yourself up finally in your little word games and exposed yourself as a fraud.

 

I know what participating means.  I used the word to mean actually doing it and not just watching it.  I did not trip myself up.  I meant exactly what I said.  Why such bitter incredulity? 

If it becomes apparent to you or anyone else that my failing to prove this claim to your satisfaction proves it is untrue, well then you will have been deluded my friend. 

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Posted by Murphy Siding on Monday, August 28, 2017 10:08 PM

Euclid

 

 
schlimm

"Participating" in something means (not just suggests) first hand experience in the something, not observing it. If I say I participated in a football game, it means I played in it, not just watched as a spectator in the stands or on TV.

Euclid, you are the one who said "My familiarity with kicking cars came from participating in it."

Unless you can give specifics as to where, when and in what capacity you participated, it will be apparent to all that you tripped yourself up finally in your little word games and exposed yourself as a fraud.

 

 

 

I know what participating means.  I used the word to mean actually doing it and not just watching it.  I did not trip myself up.  I meant exactly what I said.  Why such bitter incredulity? 

If it becomes apparent to you or anyone else that my failing to prove this claim to your satisfaction proves it is untrue, well then you will have been deluded my friend. 

 

Nonsense. You got caught talking out of your rear end again and your only defence is to throw up a cloud of words. You've done this so many times that I doubt if even you believe your lies anymore.

Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.

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Posted by Deggesty on Monday, August 28, 2017 10:20 PM

Euclid, why are you so reluctant to tell the rest of us where your hands-on experience was?

Johnny

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Posted by schlimm on Monday, August 28, 2017 10:23 PM

Euclid

 

 
schlimm

"Participating" in something means (not just suggests) first hand experience in the something, not observing it. If I say I participated in a football game, it means I played in it, not just watched as a spectator in the stands or on TV.

Euclid, you are the one who said "My familiarity with kicking cars came from participating in it."

Unless you can give specifics as to where, when and in what capacity you participated, it will be apparent to all that you tripped yourself up finally in your little word games and exposed yourself as a fraud.

 

 

 

I know what participating means.  I used the word to mean actually doing it and not just watching it.  I did not trip myself up.  I meant exactly what I said.  Why such bitter incredulity? 

If it becomes apparent to you or anyone else that my failing to prove this claim to your satisfaction proves it is untrue, well then you will have been deluded my friend. 

 

When?  Where?  For whom?  Under what circumstances?  All are reasonable questions, any one or two of which could easily be answered if you weren't hiding something.

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Posted by tree68 on Tuesday, August 29, 2017 7:36 AM

And you know, Bucky, that every time you deflect, delay, or otherwise not answer the question, your credibility goes just that much further into the toilet.

LarryWhistling
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Posted by Norm48327 on Tuesday, August 29, 2017 9:29 AM

tree68

And you know, Bucky, that every time you deflect, delay, or otherwise not answer the question, your credibility goes just that much further into the toilet.

Crickets. Hmm

Norm


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Posted by Deggesty on Tuesday, August 29, 2017 10:42 AM

Norm48327

 

 
tree68

And you know, Bucky, that every time you deflect, delay, or otherwise not answer the question, your credibility goes just that much further into the toilet.

 

Crickets. Hmm

 

Yes, it is just like an August night with the windows open.

Johnny

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Posted by BaltACD on Tuesday, August 29, 2017 10:59 AM

Deggesty
 
Norm48327
 
tree68

And you know, Bucky, that every time you deflect, delay, or otherwise not answer the question, your credibility goes just that much further into the toilet. 

  Crickets. Hmm

Yes, it is just like an August night with the windows open.

Never too old to have a happy childhood!

              

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Posted by cx500 on Tuesday, August 29, 2017 12:02 PM

I'm probably dreaming, but maybe he finally comprehended the meaning of the adage "It is better to stay quiet and be thought to be a fool, than to open your mouth and prove it". 

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Posted by BaltACD on Wednesday, August 30, 2017 9:20 AM

I am thinking Euc may have a non-speaking part in this video

Never too old to have a happy childhood!

              

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Posted by jeffhergert on Wednesday, August 30, 2017 10:11 AM

We watched the "Archie Bunker" safety film in new-hire class.  I wonder if they still show it (doubtful) since so much of the once normal practices are now prohibited. 

Youtube has many of these, and older, safety and promotional films.  (On the Model Railroader Prototype Information for the modeler section there is a link to a 1940s era GN safety film.  It shows kicking and dropping cars.) I like watching the old films.  My how things, just the practices alone, have changed.

Jeff

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Posted by Deggesty on Wednesday, August 30, 2017 10:34 AM

Was that our friend sitting on top of the boxcar near the beginning and in the door at the end, saying nothing?

Johnny

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Posted by BaltACD on Wednesday, August 30, 2017 11:12 AM

Deggesty
Was that our friend sitting on top of the boxcar near the beginning and in the door at the end, saying nothing?

Whistling

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Posted by Euclid on Wednesday, August 30, 2017 11:18 AM

Archie must be a professional stunt man judging by the way he dodges trouble.

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Posted by SD70M-2Dude on Wednesday, August 30, 2017 11:25 AM

jeffhergert

We watched the "Archie Bunker" safety film in new-hire class.  I wonder if they still show it (doubtful) since so much of the once normal practices are now prohibited.

I watched it, and am told that it is still shown to new hires around here.  Not sure if this is company-sanctioned, or if the instructors are just having a bit of fun.

Greetings from Alberta

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Posted by Euclid on Thursday, August 31, 2017 12:34 PM

Where the letter says, “It has been nearly impossible to pull the pins at a walking speed per the rules due to the terrain,” I interpreted that to mean that rough terrain presented a poor walking surface.

But now I suspect he is using the word “terrain” to again refer to the uphill grade of the lead and the resulting need to kick faster to get the cars to their destination.  This would match the description given earlier where he actually referred to the uphill problem.  With this explanation, the difficulty in pulling pins (or holding them up) at walking speed, as he said, was due the fact that much of the kick was above walking speed. 

So there were three problems with the work procedure as explained in the letter.  One was the need for extra kick speed, another the other was working side by side with another job kicking cars, and the third was the darkness caused by the eclipse.  I have not found any reference as to how these conditions caused the accident. 

If it was due to tripping and falling while to needing to run while holding the pin up, then it raises the question of why the employees were allowed to engage in this obviously unsafe practice as a working routine.  What would have happened if the employee refused to do that because it is a rules violation?  I guess we will learn the cause of the accident in about two months after the federal investigation is complete.  I cannot think of another incident like this where blame is formally alleged and published prior to the investigation. 

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Posted by tree68 on Thursday, August 31, 2017 3:29 PM

Still waiting for an answer to our question...

LarryWhistling
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Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you
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Come ride the rails with me!
There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...

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Posted by Norm48327 on Thursday, August 31, 2017 4:24 PM

tree68

Still waiting for an answer to our question...

I hope you brought a large supply of groceries. Wink

Norm


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