I was somewhat amused by the statement in the training film that brake sticks no longer expire; they now have eternal life?.
Johnny
Also, I note that the film mentions 3 point protection. Something else that EHH has (as I understand it, has or wants to do away with) Back to the dark ages.
Electroliner 1935 Also, I note that the film mentions 3 point protection. Something else that EHH has (as I understand it, has or wants to do away with) Back to the dark ages.
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
tree68 Electroliner 1935 Also, I note that the film mentions 3 point protection. Something else that EHH has (as I understand it, has or wants to do away with) Back to the dark ages. Safety takes time and costs money. Both things that take away from the bottom line...
Safety takes time and costs money. Both things that take away from the bottom line...
DeggestyBut they can add to the life of the employees involved.
Employees cost money, too.... [/sarcasm]
DeggestyI was somewhat amused by the statement in the training film that brake sticks no longer expire; they now have eternal life?.
Brakesticks used to be good for (I think) 2 years. When I'm on the ground in the yard, I used mine heavily, so you usually were lucky to get 2 years out of them. Usually the locking mechanism wore out.
And yeah, they are not cheap, but having a RRer slip off a car and getting FELA involved isn't cheap, either. But they are no Bed and Bath toy, I can assure you.
The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer, any other railroad, company, or person.
UlrichSo why not mount the wheel further down and closer to the edge of the car? The brake wheel on gondolas, flatcars, and well cars is necessarily closer to the ground... what's the reason for mounting them so high on hoppers and boxcars?
I'm guessing part of it has to do with leverage of hte bell crank and stuff... other reason may be to keep the casual person from walking by and playing with the handbrake wheel if it's in easy reach? People do have a bad habit of touching things.
zugmann Ulrich So why not mount the wheel further down and closer to the edge of the car? The brake wheel on gondolas, flatcars, and well cars is necessarily closer to the ground... what's the reason for mounting them so high on hoppers and boxcars? I'm guessing part of it has to do with leverage of hte bell crank and stuff... other reason may be to keep the casual person from walking by and playing with the handbrake wheel if it's in easy reach? People do have a bad habit of touching things.
Ulrich So why not mount the wheel further down and closer to the edge of the car? The brake wheel on gondolas, flatcars, and well cars is necessarily closer to the ground... what's the reason for mounting them so high on hoppers and boxcars?
Not to mention that it's against the rules to operate a brake wheel on the end of the car from the ground.
Jeff
jeffhergertNot to mention that it's against the rules to operate a brake wheel on the end of the car from the ground. Jeff
Of course if they were lower...
zugmann jeffhergert Not to mention that it's against the rules to operate a brake wheel on the end of the car from the ground. Jeff Of course if they were lower...
jeffhergert Not to mention that it's against the rules to operate a brake wheel on the end of the car from the ground. Jeff
It would probably still be against the rules.
jeffhergert zugmann jeffhergert Not to mention that it's against the rules to operate a brake wheel on the end of the car from the ground. Jeff Of course if they were lower... It would probably still be against the rules. Jeff
Well since EHH is closing all hump yards lets move the hand brakes back to the top of the cars so the brakeman can control the roll in flat switching as they see either the end of the track or cars approaching.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
jeffhergertIt would probably still be against the rules. Jeff
Isn't for most side-mounted ones (our rules).
According to the Chief Clerk (actually the only one left, but still Chief) who acts like each and every brake stick comes out of her pocket, they cost on the order of $900. Just another thing to carry if you ask me, but I've never had to tie 40 brakes on the side of a mountain.
How can one of those brake sticks cost $900? From what I can see any good machine shop could produce a workable substitute for a heckuva lot less. Reminds me of those legendary $500 hammers the Air Force purchased years ago.
If anyone knows I'd love to hear the reason why.
Firelock76 How can one of those brake sticks cost $900? From what I can see any good machine shop could produce a workable substitute for a heckuva lot less. Reminds me of those legendary $500 hammers the Air Force purchased years ago. If anyone knows I'd love to hear the reason why.
Capitalism. I've heard the price being around $350, give or take. Maybe they receive a discount for large purchases.
SD70M-2Dude zugmann jeffhergert I've read that CSX has also banned the use of brake sticks Just shows how out of touch this guy is. Unreal. He does know this isn't 1960 anymore? No one goes for that "tough guy" railroading BS anymore. I'd heard of the old classic brake club, but CN doesn't use these so I had to look up what the newer version was. For those who are unfamiliar they allow you to reach in and apply/release a handbrake without climbing onto the car (our standard method) or stepping between cars. How long have these things been around? In 6 years of work I've never seen or heard of them.
zugmann jeffhergert I've read that CSX has also banned the use of brake sticks Just shows how out of touch this guy is. Unreal. He does know this isn't 1960 anymore? No one goes for that "tough guy" railroading BS anymore.
jeffhergert I've read that CSX has also banned the use of brake sticks
Just shows how out of touch this guy is. Unreal. He does know this isn't 1960 anymore? No one goes for that "tough guy" railroading BS anymore.
I'd heard of the old classic brake club, but CN doesn't use these so I had to look up what the newer version was. For those who are unfamiliar they allow you to reach in and apply/release a handbrake without climbing onto the car (our standard method) or stepping between cars.
How long have these things been around? In 6 years of work I've never seen or heard of them.
Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.
Firelock76How can one of those brake sticks cost $900? From what I can see any good machine shop could produce a workable substitute for a heckuva lot less. Reminds me of those legendary $500 hammers the Air Force purchased years ago. If anyone knows I'd love to hear the reason why.
There are no 'cheap' metal prices any longer. Brake Sticks have to be made of high grade aluminium or they would be much too heavy to carry around. Machineing time no longer comes cheap either. They aren't exactly 'high tech'; but they can't be failure prone or the injuries caused by them would be more expensive to users than the injuries from not using them. Don't forget, the manufacturer deserves a level of profit over and above the cost of materials and the cost of manufacture.
I know, but really. Jeffhergert's $350 price seems a lot more realistic.
Substituting some actual FBR for speculation:
Here is an actual supply page describing one design ('Tomahawk')
The item pictured (apparently copied from the Aldon Web site without attribution) is of a special 'long' model (extends from 67" to 104" to reach those higher wheel locations from outside the 'red zone') and is a bit over $150 more expensive, list price ($662). Of course, shipping will be on top of this and I did not 'fake an order' to determine what this would be to a particular location.
Here is a revised NS video from 2015 on how to use the brake stick (courtesy of the company that made the video for them):
(Interesting potential pickup line: "Now let's go inspect my brake stick..." )
The circular thing may be a neodymium magnet to hold the stick on a car side. Applicable patents for features of the new version of the stick are 8434802, 8469425, and 8469426.
At first I thought this was a spoof...but it's not.
Dang it...I'm afraid I'm just a wee bit over the hill as they say to use that pickup line, but it's pretty good!
Very similiar rules as to the use of a scaling bar underground, used on the back to bring down loose. We call it "scaling", some mines in the USA refer to it as "bar down" but we both call it a "scaling bar".
Also... it reminds me of a training video we show at the Mine School for 1st year students. It's about your first visit to a fly inn minesite and an orientation of what to expect. Over the years, here and there I pause the video to talk about some feature or explain something. Well our hero is in his assigned room for the night, reading over the rules, which of course he thinks is dumb and wasting his time, and I paused it, starting talking, and my students started laughing. Looking around puzzled I turn to the frozen image and lo and behold there is a huge glass candy/cookie jar next to his bed full of condoms. Goes by real quick in the film, likely never catch it, just happened to pause it at the right place this time.
Those sneaky producers. Having some fun I suppose.
I note that this evening Ebay is showing 2 brake sticks of the type we've been talking about for $200 or $229 (used); scabbard (or quiver) not included.
"Rule 1100 (f)[13]" !!! How many rules do you guys have to know?!?!
_____________
"A stranger's just a friend you ain't met yet." --- Dave Gardner
Paul of Covington "Rule 1100 (f)[13]" !!! How many rules do you guys have to know?!?!
Too many . But seriously though, the rulebook is just a start. Then there's the railroad's own operating and special instructions, summary bulletins and of course the timetable. Enough to completely fill a thick and heavy binder that is kept in your grip.
More rules are added every time there is an accident or injury. Gonna need another binder soon.
Greetings from Alberta
-an Articulate Malcontent
I don't know about GCOR, but NORAC 10th edition is available on-line, if you want to get an idea of what we deal with.
Of course, my grip also carries our timetable, the timetable of the shortline we run over, air brake and train handling rules, safety rules, and the various adenda to the rulebooks and timetables.
overallThose of you who are interested in this subject should read William Vantuono's column on the Railway Age website called "What's Going On At CSX?". It is very well written and timely. I apologize for not knowing how to post a link to it, but you can use goggle. Fred Frailey should probably read it also.
http://www.railwayage.com/index.php/blogs/william-vantuono/whats-going-on-at-csx.html?channel=00
Frailey is a fan of Harrison. Need I say more? I consider his opinon worthless.
Norm
I showed this article to my boss and asked him what he thought of those cuts and plans. He went got rid of 900 locomotives that would be like us getting rid of our entire drop and hook fleet of trailers. We have close to 550 total trailers in our fleet we offer drop and hook at most outbound shipment points plus on dedicated runs saves time for our drivers.
Now as for those 2300 employees. When the weather gets bad or if we take a hurricane into the southeast USA how many of them could have been used to get the tracks up and running faster. Let alone his killing helper districts. The first time a train fails to hold on Sandpatch someone's going to be rich. Let alone the clogging of the mainline from having to double that grade. If possible the board of directors needs to order a full mental workup on Harrison before allowing him to implement his plans anymore.
Shadow the Cats ownerIf possible the board of directors needs to order a full mental workup on Harrison before allowing him to implement his plans anymore.
The people controlling EHH, if you will, are only looking at one thing - the return on their investment. And the sooner, the better. Minutiea like efficiency, safety, what-have-you, are of little concern to them. Only the bottom line.
Note also in the article that EHH has also done some other financial sleight of hand tricks at CSX, changing the accounting classification of several items in such a way that they enhance the bottom line, while not actually changing anything.
As for getting rid of your boss's entire drop and hook operation - all you need to account for is the reduction of costs it would engender - no more maintenance, no manpower or fuel costs to do the drops and pickups, etc. We won't worry about the loss of income until it happens... By then the in-it-for-the-money investors will have cashed out.
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