Mechanical Department "No no that's fine shove that 20 pound set all around the yard... those shoes aren't hell and a half to change..."
The Missabe Road: Safety First
Originally posted by railfan619 [ Living nearby to MP 186 of the UPRR Austin TX Sub Reply jchnhtfd Member sinceJanuary 2001 From: US 1,537 posts Posted by jchnhtfd on Wednesday, June 29, 2005 12:40 PM You will still see the odd caboose on some locals. It provides a safe place for a brakeman to ride at the end of the train, and can save a lot of time if there is a lot of switching to be done (remember: if you move a train into a siding, someone has to throw the switch for the move, then line in back, then when you want to come out, you have to throw the switch again for the move, and then line it back -- all of which takes a lot of walking if you don't have a man at both ends of the train!). This type of move tends to have two brakemen, or one brakeman plus the conductor and engineer, rather than just a two man crew. Otherwise, with EOTDs on a through (not swtiching) train, you really don't need a man back there, especially if the EOTD is smart (has a way to report the end of pipe pressure and can dump the air by remote control). The conductor is still part of the two man crew (conductor and engineer). The positions which got lost were the brakemen. Jamie Reply coborn35 Member sinceJanuary 2005 From: Duluth,Minnesota,USA 4,015 posts Posted by coborn35 on Wednesday, June 29, 2005 10:06 AM There was a post a while back that showed some cabooses still in action. Mechanical Department "No no that's fine shove that 20 pound set all around the yard... those shoes aren't hell and a half to change..." The Missabe Road: Safety First Reply chad thomas Member sinceJanuary 2005 From: Ely, Nv. 6,312 posts Posted by chad thomas on Wednesday, June 29, 2005 9:46 AM QUOTE: Originally posted by JBRogers BNSF has a caboose in Corona California, on the Riverside line. I've seen it sitting on a siding in an industrial area just SE of the Interstate 15/91 Freeway interchange. Last Tuesday morning (6/21) it had been moved out on an industrial lead while the local job switched covered hoppers. Has anybody else seen it or know what it's used for? Don't they use a caboose on the San Jacinto branch? Reply Anonymous Member sinceApril 2003 305,205 posts Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, June 29, 2005 7:45 AM EOTD! Reply Edit adrianspeeder Member sinceMarch 2002 From: Harrisburg PA / Dover AFB DE 1,482 posts Posted by adrianspeeder on Wednesday, June 29, 2005 7:09 AM Like said above... Show me the money! Adrianspeeder USAF TSgt C-17 Aircraft Maintenance Flying Crew Chief & Flightline Avionics Craftsman Reply daveklepper Member sinceJune 2002 20,096 posts Posted by daveklepper on Wednesday, June 29, 2005 2:50 AM Cabbooses are stiill used in specialized applications, especially where backup moves are frequent and where crew size is larger than normal. Reply Jack_S Member sinceDecember 2004 339 posts Posted by Jack_S on Wednesday, June 29, 2005 1:12 AM QUOTE: Originally posted by JBRogers BNSF has a caboose in Corona California, on the Riverside line. I've seen it sitting on a siding in an industrial area just SE of the Interstate 15/91 Freeway interchange. Last Tuesday morning (6/21) it had been moved out on an industrial lead while the local job switched covered hoppers. Has anybody else seen it or know what it's used for? I have seen a BNSF caboose in operation on a short mixed freight that, I think, services local industry in the Anaheim/Orange/Santa Ana area. I have seen it go thru the Fullerton station in both directions at different times. The last time the train was backing east thru the station with two men leaning on the rail at the rear of the caboose. Jack Reply Anonymous Member sinceApril 2003 305,205 posts Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, June 29, 2005 1:02 AM BNSF has a caboose in Corona California, on the Riverside line. I've seen it sitting on a siding in an industrial area just SE of the Interstate 15/91 Freeway interchange. Last Tuesday morning (6/21) it had been moved out on an industrial lead while the local job switched covered hoppers. Has anybody else seen it or know what it's used for? Reply Edit Anonymous Member sinceApril 2003 305,205 posts Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, June 28, 2005 9:53 PM ALSO...... A lot of personal injuries from slack action... equates to $$$$$$$$$$$$. Virlon save your ticket.... the P.E. will rise again. Reply Edit csxengineer98 Member sinceOctober 2002 From: US 2,358 posts Posted by csxengineer98 on Tuesday, June 28, 2005 5:40 PM 2 main resons... technology...and cost cutting... csx engineer "I AM the higher source" Keep the wheels on steel Reply selector Member sinceFebruary 2005 From: Vancouver Island, BC 23,330 posts Posted by selector on Tuesday, June 28, 2005 4:44 PM In order to make a decent profit, and to keep SOME people working, they looked for any excuse to cut either non-paying tonnage or labour. Diesels don't have tenders, so they were not an issue. Crew whose contributions to efficiency were dubious were an item of attention, mainly due to increased wages and safety concerns, as suggested above. An elegant, if cold-hearted, solution could be achieved by relieving the train of one item; the caboose. Poof: no more wages, no more paid benefits, no more pension liability (have we come across that recently, say in the auto industry?), no more fuel waste hauling 14 tons at the rear of lenghtening trains, and no more maintenance/replacement costs for the cabooses. Remember, there was one at the end of EACH train, so their costs were not negligible. Reply Anonymous Member sinceApril 2003 305,205 posts Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, June 28, 2005 4:31 PM I seem to recall seeing a figure some years back that a standard over-the-road crummy cost in the neighborhood of $100,000 - and that was probably 1980s dollars - a lot of investment for a specialized piece of rolling stock. Also sited by the the railroads was the number of extra moves that cutting a caboose on and off of locals during switching required... Reply Edit coborn35 Member sinceJanuary 2005 From: Duluth,Minnesota,USA 4,015 posts Posted by coborn35 on Tuesday, June 28, 2005 4:27 PM uhhh................. They still have conductors, its just that they do all the switching instead of the fireman/brakeman. Mechanical Department "No no that's fine shove that 20 pound set all around the yard... those shoes aren't hell and a half to change..." The Missabe Road: Safety First Reply BaltACD Member sinceMay 2003 From: US 25,275 posts Posted by BaltACD on Tuesday, June 28, 2005 4:02 PM Simple reason...Cost and 2 man crews. The cost of maintaining Cabs, both as a rail car and as a car used for human occupancy were very high. Operationally cabs had to be switched into and out of trains that used yard engine hours and manpower. With today's 9000 foot and longer trains I can only imagine the effects of slack action are at the rear of a 'whip' that long. The down side of not having a cab presents itself every time a train has and undesired emergency application of the brakes....without personnel on the cab, the train can only be inspected from one direction....by the time the conductor walks 18000 feet on main track ballast, in the middle of the night, with a brakemans lantern in pouring rain or wind driven snow storm 2 or 3 hours or more can elapse....all the while that track, be it single main or one of multiple tracks is totally idled. Train inspection from both ends minimized the length of time trains were stopped by minor mechanical malfunction. Never too old to have a happy childhood! Reply arbfbe Member sinceFebruary 2002 910 posts Posted by arbfbe on Tuesday, June 28, 2005 3:11 PM The official line from the railroad companies is they cost money that could be better spent elsewhere, they did not measurabley add to the safety of the train operations and they increased the likelihood of injuries to employees riding in them. Their thoughts, not mine. Since they are gone, I am relieved there are no live persons at the rear of some of these 8,000'-9,000' trains we are given to handle these days. The slack action must be brutal back there sometimes. Reply railfan619 Member sinceMarch 2004 From: Somewhere near the tracks 927 posts What is the offical reason why railroads dont use cabooses any more Posted by railfan619 on Tuesday, June 28, 2005 3:05 PM I know some of the reasons why but I kinda figure there are more reasons why they. Dont one reason might be because it got to much for the railroads to operate them which may or may not be ture. Another reason I think because they wanted to elminante the postion of the conductor. Reply Join our Community! Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account. 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Living nearby to MP 186 of the UPRR Austin TX Sub
QUOTE: Originally posted by JBRogers BNSF has a caboose in Corona California, on the Riverside line. I've seen it sitting on a siding in an industrial area just SE of the Interstate 15/91 Freeway interchange. Last Tuesday morning (6/21) it had been moved out on an industrial lead while the local job switched covered hoppers. Has anybody else seen it or know what it's used for?
USAF TSgt C-17 Aircraft Maintenance Flying Crew Chief & Flightline Avionics Craftsman
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
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