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The thread is interesting, but I think it represents extremes in thinking. The railroad industry hasn't figured out-yet- that you stand to make the most money by moving the most freight farthest, fastest, and intact. Shipping lines (both trucks and ships) figured this out long ago. Any trucker will tell you that he gets paid by the amount of mileage he drives, not how many hours he's worked to get there. Cargo ship skippers make bonusses for bringing in cargo intact, ahead of schedule, and efficiently; nothing makes a ship owner happier than having to spend less on fuel because the skipper sailed the ship well. Rail employees aren't dumb- they figured out long ago that it really didn't matter what you did, because you were going to stop doing it after eight hours. You might end up in a siding in the middle of nowhere, but don't worry- someone will come out and pick you up. And if the lead unit's busted or the head is backed up- who cares? You won't see it again for a while. What would happen if a locomotive engineer had a unit "assigned" to him? It wasn't so long ago that railroads did just that. They also assigned cabooses to conductors. I doubt an experienced guy like CSX engineer is going to complain about the head when he knows he's the miscreant that made the run 8 diarhea deposit in the nose. He's probably going to clean it up himself, if it's "his" engine. He's also going to know, by experience, when that ol' machine is going to break down. Rather than spend a night in a no-tell motel, imagine how much better off he will be if he spends the night in a decently air conditioned (or heated), sound proofed caboose. No, that's not possible? Tell that to Grandpa and Granny who are driving around the country right now, living in their Winnebago, spending your inheritance. And if your relief is only four units and a doorway back from you, you won't spend "down time" stuck in a siding waiting on a cab. You won't end up cluttering up the cab with your grip, your duffel, your backpack and whatever garbage bag you stuffed your dirty clothes in. You might not even have to stop- just make sure the relief is awake and that the coffee is on. What about knowing routes, rules and procedures? Why can't everyone be Mark Twain on the Mississippi? There's no doubt that Mark Twain was a good riverboat pilot and that he was smarter than the average bear. Imagine how much better he would have been if he had had some of the tools a modern push boat skipper has... like GPS, radar, computer assisted (and updated) maps... all tools that allow fewer people to do the jobs a bunch of people did once. If the railroads took some time out to invest in some similar aids to locomotive engineers and conductors, they would find more efficient, smarter and safer crews. Something as simple as a heads up display for an engineer, with the ability to do on board diagnostics for that odd rumble he's been hearing for the past thirty miles. It doesn't take an airline pilot a trip to the wing in mid air to figure out a problem with an engine- his instruments and his Mark I eyeball tell him that. Why do conductors need to carry sheafs of paper with every car listed? It is not beyond our technology to replace all that paper with simple discs that not only can hold manifests, but things like train orders, maintenance problems, and the like. E-mail off a wireless computer makes misunderstanding less possible when it comes to train orders. And if CSX engineer has a relief four units and a doorway back, so does his conductor- who would be able to do a lot of administration at a workstation in the caboose. It's also easier to walk a train down with four or six people on board, as well as replace the ever present broken knuckle or air line... which was once (and could be again) carried in the caboose. Which would be spotted right behind the locomotives. Just a thought- but not everything the trucking industry does is stupid or worthless. The solutions are there- now- and have been for a while. It's up to someone to figure out how to do them. Erik
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