How wide spread is the removal of remotes?
The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer, any other railroad, company, or person.
oltmannd n012944 oltmannd Norm48327 I have this gut feeling Harrison is going to fail at CSX. Don't ask me why, it's just there in my mind. After closing a few small humps, dead silence. I'll go with "Who knew operating CSX was so complicated?" It hasn't been "dead silence". Lots of changes... Such as???
n012944 oltmannd Norm48327 I have this gut feeling Harrison is going to fail at CSX. Don't ask me why, it's just there in my mind. After closing a few small humps, dead silence. I'll go with "Who knew operating CSX was so complicated?" It hasn't been "dead silence". Lots of changes...
oltmannd Norm48327 I have this gut feeling Harrison is going to fail at CSX. Don't ask me why, it's just there in my mind. After closing a few small humps, dead silence. I'll go with "Who knew operating CSX was so complicated?"
Norm48327 I have this gut feeling Harrison is going to fail at CSX. Don't ask me why, it's just there in my mind.
I have this gut feeling Harrison is going to fail at CSX. Don't ask me why, it's just there in my mind.
After closing a few small humps, dead silence.
I'll go with "Who knew operating CSX was so complicated?"
It hasn't been "dead silence". Lots of changes...
Such as???
Additional locals, and road trains no longer doing line of road work. Changing blocking around to be more efficient. Changing of rules to speed up operations. Getting rid of remotes. Adding U men.
These are all things that have resulted in a better railroad (IMHO). They are also items that you won't read on the railfan boards. It just isn't sexy to the heritage unit/#opendoorpolicy railpictures.net crowd. It also isn't intersting to the people who want to hate EHH, and take closing of humps and running with it. They will say that a hump closing, even though they are still flat switching at the yards, is an example of his slash and burn policy. They will ignore that the car volume doesn't require a hump, and how much a hump yard costs to run.
I agree with taking a wait and see attitude, however as someone involved with the day to day operation, I am impressed so far.
An "expensive model collector"
oltmannd schlimm To read posts here, Harrison is some crazed monster who has destroyed three railroads already and now will do the same at CSX. Of course he's not "some crazed montser". He's a super bright railroader who championed scheduled railroading to maximize asset utilization and got to name it "Precision Scheduled Railroading". He deserves a TON of credit. That was then. Everyone saw him do it and and copied wide swaths of his game plan. This is now. CSX is already operating pretty efficiently and has come a LOOOONG way in the past decade or so. There's just not that much more to get. Wonder why we don't see major terminal closing or a big change in the operating plan? It's because there really isn't a much better one - and improvements to a network as fragile and complex as CSX are difficult and risky.
schlimm To read posts here, Harrison is some crazed monster who has destroyed three railroads already and now will do the same at CSX.
To read posts here, Harrison is some crazed monster who has destroyed three railroads already and now will do the same at CSX.
Of course he's not "some crazed montser". He's a super bright railroader who championed scheduled railroading to maximize asset utilization and got to name it "Precision Scheduled Railroading". He deserves a TON of credit.
That was then. Everyone saw him do it and and copied wide swaths of his game plan.
This is now. CSX is already operating pretty efficiently and has come a LOOOONG way in the past decade or so. There's just not that much more to get.
Wonder why we don't see major terminal closing or a big change in the operating plan? It's because there really isn't a much better one - and improvements to a network as fragile and complex as CSX are difficult and risky.
Which all goes to prove that EHH is not worth his asking price of CSX picking up his CP forefited bonus money. He may be worth a run of the mill railroad CEO's salary - UNTIL he proves he is worth more. As a stockholder I don't want to pay for what was done and forefited elsewhere, only for what you have done for ME.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
-Don (Random stuff, mostly about trains - what else? http://blerfblog.blogspot.com/)
Freight volumes are very strong now, any shipper would be wise to have a backup or five. I've got about five thousands loads I can't move right now.. may have to rail them as trucks are booked solid until about July. I'm guessing the railroads are being swamped with freight too.
Well all I know is my boss is getting calls from customers that CSX serves already that deal in hazmat wanting to know what it will cost them to switch to us if they decide they can not stand the service level they get from CSX anymore gets worse. These are fortune 500 companies that have dealt with EHH from his time at CN and CP and several also when he was at the IC so they know the man his goals and what happens. They are already making their contingency plans.
C&NW, CA&E, MILW, CGW and IC fan
I'll take the "wait and see" attitude.
Norm
Being held accountable to Wall St can be a pain for CEO's who have the vision to look ahead and foresee changes in the economy. That's not saying the stockholders shouldn't have input. They, too, have an interest, but unless they are well informed regarding economic trends their opinions and demands may be wrong. Of course, so could the decisions of the CEO. Only time will tell who was right.
Not having to answer to anyone but Berkshire Hathaway gives the CEO of BNSF an advantage. He doesn't have to answer to anyone but the Buffett crew. As long as they are happy he's covered. The door can swing both ways.
My husband remembers about 20 years ago a CEO being run out for spending to much in double track improvements. IIRC he said his name was Robert Krebs or something like that and was the head of the BNSF at the time. The BOD told him he was spending way to much money double tracking the ATSF transcon all over the system they said the traffic levels did not justify the spending. They kept telling him be more like EHH in fact cut back on capital spending. He refused and was fired. However 2 years after he was released the traffic he had been building for showed up and the BOD had egg on its face as all that so called excess capacity was gone and they needed more of it fast. I guess the Boards of these get it now companies need to realize is play the long game not what the Street wants. These days it is I want results now not in 5 years. So people that can see thru the fog and see what is needed in the future are cast aside for people that promise to get you ahead right now regardless if they crash the plane.
Canadian Tire purposely diversifies its vendor base, hence containers on both CN and CP. Both railroads enjoy better routing in different markets.. i.e. makes more sense to use CN to Edmonton and northern AB markets and CP to Calgary and southern AB markets. Canadian Tire has been using both railroads for years.
In 20 years time, MBA students will analyze Harrison's strategies and realize that "short term gain" does not equal "long term growth". I've seen hundreds of Canadian Tire containers moving on CN. CP drove Canadian Tire to CN and have lost the business. Cutting costs = cutting service. Cutting staff = losing experience. Firing staff without cause = destroyed morale. Harrison did all 3 at CP. Three strikes and Hunter strikes out. It will take CP a decade to recover.
First quarter earnings are released April 19.
https://www.csx.com/index.cfm/investors/news-releases/?rptyr=2012&article=2256136
Hubris ?
CPRcst,
From information I gather on line CN is eating CP's lunch and taking customers Harrison said were not worthhy of keeping and profiting from that. Chasing them away made no sense other than to get the OR down to 60. That indicates he was only looking out for the stockholders. It will take the Beaver a lot of time to rebuild the dam and raise new kits. Hopefully, Beavers are resilient crittes.
Hunter and his minions achieved their goals by letting a lot of "unprofitable" business slip away. During my 30+ year career at CP, Canadian Tire was one of the top two or three customers, evolving from trailers to containers. Only rarely did you see Canadian Tire containers on a CN train. CP even loaded lumber in eastbound Canadian Tire containers, which would have otherwise returned empty to the distrbution centre.
This morning, Easter Sunday, at a crossing on the CN Main,I watched a train which consisted mainly of Canadian Tire containers, reminded me of CP intermodal hotshots in the pre-Hunter days. When you tell your biggest customers you don't want their business, what's left?
Harrison is wearing the black hat and ishwick is wearing the white hat. I hope that the good guy wins. Harrison is nothing but a carpet bagger.
Paul_D_North_Jr I can't quickly find the thread that's mainly about about E. Hunter Harrison being hired by CSX, so I'll post this here as being closer than the other 2 current ones: John Fishwick Takes on Railroad Mogul in “CSX Train Robbery” http://baconsrebellion.com/john-fishwick-csx-train-robbery/ Short version: It's about lawyer John P. Fishwick, Jr. (yes, a son of former N&W President John Fishwick) objecting to EHH"s pay package, calling it "repulsive" and "exhorbitant", having a Facebook page on it, etc.: "He has taken up a new cause, blocking the out-sized compensation package of Hunter Harrison, a 72-year-old executive hired by CSX Corp. As a CSX shareholder, Fishwick objects to the company reimbursing Harrison $84 million in compensation he forfeited by leaving Canadian Pacific." - PDN.
I can't quickly find the thread that's mainly about about E. Hunter Harrison being hired by CSX, so I'll post this here as being closer than the other 2 current ones:
http://baconsrebellion.com/john-fishwick-csx-train-robbery/
Short version: It's about lawyer John P. Fishwick, Jr. (yes, a son of former N&W President John Fishwick) objecting to EHH"s pay package, calling it "repulsive" and "exhorbitant", having a Facebook page on it, etc.:
"He has taken up a new cause, blocking the out-sized compensation package of Hunter Harrison, a 72-year-old executive hired by CSX Corp. As a CSX shareholder, Fishwick objects to the company reimbursing Harrison $84 million in compensation he forfeited by leaving Canadian Pacific."
- PDN.
The "blocking other crossings" scenario would apply to a couple of the approaches to sidings between Sandpoint and Bonners Ferry, but not all. And out there on the Columbia River Sub between Wenatchee and Spokane, coming to a complete stop short of the siding will, in most instances, mean nothing more than leaving the train standing in the middle of some coulee or wheat field or patch of forest until the dispatcher tells them, "that other guy's getting close...start pulling in."
Holding back to avoid blocking crossings is usually done by slowing down enough so the meet happens promptly. Stopping and waiting before reaching the siding frequently means blocking other crossings.
Grade crossings, including farmer or private crossings, aren't always closed when they're in the way of sidings. Take a look at just one sliver of BNSF's Northern Corridor, the ex-GN main line segments between Wenatchee and Spokane, WA, and between Sandpoint and Bonners Ferry, ID, and you'll find the majority of passing sidings have one, two, and in some cases three road crossings through them. And yes, these create considerable headaches for operations. First train to arrive for a meet typically holds back until the other train is close, but if the clearing train has a fleet coming against it or something hot coming from way behind (like Amtrak or a Z9), it may have to pull into the clear and cut crossings. Much time lost doing that and patching things back together, especially when a ride isn't available to help. In the case of EHH's roads (he also pulled up sidings in order to extend others at CP), I can't tell you whether they forced the closure or rerouting of some crossings, or forced CN or CP to engineer their siding extensions to avoid blocking crossings.
Bruce Kelly "CN had a solid infrastructure with 6500’ sidings every 8-10 miles, makes it easier to rip one up and relay it to create 12000’ sidings every 15-20 miles."
"CN had a solid infrastructure with 6500’ sidings every 8-10 miles, makes it easier to rip one up and relay it to create 12000’ sidings every 15-20 miles."
Paid for by the Canadian taxpayer I might add. And the 15-20 mile spacing of sidings turned out to be a royal headache after business spiked and the "half-as-frequent" longer trains mentioned by Mr. North became just as frequent as the old ~6,000' ones, only with half the sidings to put them in...
Goes back to believing in the future of your business, and your ability to attract more of it.
Greetings from Alberta
-an Articulate Malcontent
Creating 12,000' sidings is rarely as simple as using the rail from the 6,000' siding 7 miles away. Geography in the form of rivers, hills and such can make creating a wider grade prohibitively expensive before achieving that length. In easier terrain, usually extensively farmed, grade crossings every mile or so are typical. At least one, maybe two, will have to be closed so a train waiting for a meet won't have road traffic blocked. Getting permission for the closure from the local authorities despite protesting locals takes much time and effort.
..at a lower cost
That would be consistent with a philosophy of trains twice as long and half as frequent ~= same volume.
Goes hand-in-hand with what one industry official told me last week regarding EHH's time at CN:
Back around 2008, the EJ&E was acquired by CN. Some pretty stringent monitoring of grade crossing signals and traffic impacts of the additional trains were required, as a result of either the environmental studies and/ or STB conditions imposed as a result of local community opposition (Barrington comes to mind, IIRC).
After a while (2010 or so) it was discovered that CN was either not doing that properly, or was not correctly reporting or altering the data/ results. The STB got pretty upset at that, to the point that it imposed a (nominal) fine and a consulting firm (HDR, IIRC) was appointed to audit and validate those results. Again, as I recall, the corporate culture was implicated as one cause or factor in that happening.
EHH was the CEO of CN at the time.
Here's the link to the thread here on this at the time -
"CN Fined for under reporting delays to auto traffic on EJE":
http://cs.trains.com/trn/f/111/p/184327/2016253.aspx#2016253
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