Trains.com

What is a Track Warrant?

7569 views
41 replies
1 rating 2 rating 3 rating 4 rating 5 rating
  • Member since
    March 2013
  • 711 posts
Posted by SD70M-2Dude on Thursday, October 19, 2017 9:10 PM

dehusman

Not all railroads use track warrants, the NORAC (north east US) use "Form D" and Canadian roads use OCS.  All are very similar, but not exactly the same.

In Canada the term "track warrant" refers to a written authority in CTC-signalled territory, when the RTC needs to give a train further intructions the signals alone cannot.

Some examples would be authority to pass a Stop Signal, permission to manually operate a power (dual-control) switch, or "work" (move in both directions as required) within specified limits.

We simply call a Occupancy Control System (dark territory) authority a Clearance. 

Greetings from Alberta

-an Articulate Malcontent

  • Member since
    May 2003
  • From: US
  • 24,959 posts
Posted by BaltACD on Thursday, October 19, 2017 9:04 PM

tree68
 
dehusman
Not all railroads use track warrants, the NORAC (north east US) use "Form D" and Canadian roads use OCS.  All are very similar, but not exactly the same. 

Living near some dark territory on CSX, I hear a lot of their "EC-1," and I've copied a lot of NORAC Form D's.  As noted, the information is basically the same, only the lines are changed.  

EC-1 is the CSX form that is used to copy a variety of 'Mandatory Directives' from the Train Dispatcher which also includes Track Warrant information when necessary.

EC-1's are used to communicate Slow Orders, Change of Status of Defect Detectors, Crossings that need 'manual' protection, Do No Pass orders and virtually any other happening that restricts the operation of a train.

Never too old to have a happy childhood!

              

  • Member since
    December 2001
  • From: Northern New York
  • 24,877 posts
Posted by tree68 on Thursday, October 19, 2017 8:49 PM

dehusman
Not all railroads use track warrants, the NORAC (north east US) use "Form D" and Canadian roads use OCS.  All are very similar, but not exactly the same.

Living near some dark territory on CSX, I hear a lot of their "EC-1," and I've copied a lot of NORAC Form D's.  As noted, the information is basically the same, only the lines are changed.  

LarryWhistling
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...

  • Member since
    September 2003
  • From: Omaha, NE
  • 10,616 posts
Posted by dehusman on Thursday, October 19, 2017 7:07 PM

I like Jeff's description of track warrants.  Its used to grant authority on the main track where authorized by the timetable.

Engineers have a nationwide license, but they have to be qualified on the rules of the railroad on which they operate.  Not all railroads use the same rule book and even those using the same rule book have very different sets of special instructions that modify the rules based on the the policies of that railroad.

Not all railroads use track warrants, the NORAC (north east US) use "Form D" and Canadian roads use OCS.  All are very similar, but not exactly the same.

Not all railroads use the same track warrant form.  The UP has changed its track warrant several times since 1985, the latest a couple years ago, where the items on the warrant were rearranged in their order on the page, to put the most restrictive stuff first.

Dave H. Painted side goes up. My website : wnbranch.com

  • Member since
    March 2003
  • From: Central Iowa
  • 6,829 posts
Posted by jeffhergert on Thursday, October 19, 2017 11:22 AM

Track Warrant Control is a method to authorize train movements or protect men or machines on a main track within specified limits in a territory designated in the timetable.  Where TWC is in effect, there may or may not be automatic block signals in effect.  

Track warrants are also used to deliver track bulletins to trains, even where TWC is not in effect.  This type of warrant lists all track bulletins in effect on the subdivisions the train might operate on.  This warrant also has the "other specific instructions" box marked and instructs that the warrant only delivers the bulletins and does not authorize use of the main track.   

Jeff

  • Member since
    March 2016
  • From: Burbank IL (near Clearing)
  • 13,485 posts
Posted by CSSHEGEWISCH on Thursday, October 19, 2017 7:17 AM

I'm not a railroader but I'll venture a guess.  Track Warrants are an operating system using a standardized form authorizing track occupancy which is completed in accordance with instructions from the dispatcher.  Automatic block signals are a safety overlay that indicate track occupancy but do not authorize it.  Directional travel involves a general assignment of train movement over two roughly parallel lines and does not assign occupancy.

I doubt that I got a passing grade.Whistling

The daily commute is part of everyday life but I get two rides a day out of it. Paul
  • Member since
    December 2001
  • From: Denver / La Junta
  • 10,786 posts
Posted by mudchicken on Thursday, October 19, 2017 1:15 AM

geomodelrailroader

A track warrent is written instructions or orders over the radio allowing a train to occupy that section of track. This has since been replaced by Directional Travel, Automatic Block Signaling, CTC, and PTC signaling but it is still used in dark territory and on branch lines. 

 

Besides being 15 years late, you just failed a rules exam with that poor grasp of what a track warrant is. Go back and study some more to see what makes that statement wrong.

Mudchicken Nothing is worth taking the risk of losing a life over. Come home tonight in the same condition that you left home this morning in. Safety begins with ME.... cinscocom-west
  • Member since
    October 2011
  • 67 posts
Posted by geomodelrailroader on Wednesday, October 18, 2017 11:24 PM

A track warrent is written instructions or orders over the radio allowing a train to occupy that section of track. This has since been replaced by Directional Travel, Automatic Block Signaling, CTC, and PTC signaling but it is still used in dark territory and on branch lines. 

Tags: signaling.
  • Member since
    March 2002
  • 9,265 posts
Posted by edblysard on Monday, December 16, 2002 4:29 PM
Go right ahead, its renaissance-man@sbcglobal.net.

23 17 46 11

  • Member since
    April 2003
  • 305,205 posts
Posted by Anonymous on Monday, December 16, 2002 1:39 PM
Ed, we all had our share! It started in the first week as a cub fireman and ended on my last day. On the two days prior to my last, I was out of town and got a weather reroute home. Got home a little after midnight. On the last day, I got to work at 7:15 am for the regular morning conference call and didn't leave until 6:15 that evening. So much for half days on your last day, but I wouldn't have had it any other way! Ed, somewhere in these posts, you gave Tim your e-mail. Would you mind if I contacted you there?
  • Member since
    March 2002
  • 9,265 posts
Posted by edblysard on Monday, December 16, 2002 12:31 AM
Sounds like youv'e have your share of it too!
What positon did you retire at? Sounds like you went pretty far, or were above average intelligence. Keep it coming,
Ed

23 17 46 11

  • Member since
    March 2002
  • 9,265 posts
Posted by edblysard on Monday, December 16, 2002 12:28 AM
Just bang em till their ears bleed...

23 17 46 11

  • Member since
    April 2003
  • 305,205 posts
Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, December 15, 2002 7:51 PM
irritate was in a sarcastic tone!!!!!
You'r right though, it's best not to try to help those kind. No good deed goes unpunished. It's a shame! gdc
  • Member since
    April 2001
  • From: US
  • 2,849 posts
Posted by wabash1 on Sunday, December 15, 2002 4:48 AM
with or with out fore play
  • Member since
    March 2002
  • 9,265 posts
Posted by edblysard on Sunday, December 15, 2002 1:42 AM
Yeah, but at least when your married the sex is for both parties pleasure.

23 17 46 11

  • Member since
    April 2003
  • 305,205 posts
Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, December 14, 2002 6:22 PM
I agree with that statement it is a whole lot like being married. Rodney Beck switchman/foreman BNSF Chicago Division Galesburg Terminal
  • Member since
    April 2001
  • From: US
  • 2,849 posts
Posted by wabash1 on Saturday, December 14, 2002 12:10 PM
a train master hates it when the rank and file try to and also shows them when they are wrong. kind of like being married.
  • Member since
    March 2002
  • 9,265 posts
Posted by edblysard on Saturday, December 14, 2002 12:17 AM
Hi Tim
What I was referring to was a new FRA safty rule here on the port. Due to a switchman taking a risk he shouldnt have,(shoving 34 cars into a track he knew holds only 36 cars) and losing count of how many cars he had shoved into a industry track, well, lets say its was a while before we got the cars back out of the ship channel and the catfish out of the cars.
What I meant by protection was the requirement that any shoving move in a yard or industry tracks covering more that 1/2 the distance of the track requires that a member of the crew be on the point, (leading car of the shove)watching the movement, or a member of the crew be in such a position that he or she may see the entire length of the track and the entire distance of the movement. In other word, you have to have someone riding the cut in, or watching from the other end to make sure you dont shove out, or over or into something. Also, I was referring to yard work and industry tracks, and most switchmen have worked the industries around their yards, and know how many cars fit where, shoot I walked the tracks and counted enought cars I should know, but, another one of those GCOR rules, "if in doubt, take the safest route", and thats true. Use common sense, and if your not sure they fit, ride it in. Thats protecting your shove.
Talk to j about the version used on mainline roads, he works for one and would have more info on their version of protection.
Ed

23 17 46 11

  • Member since
    March 2002
  • 9,265 posts
Posted by edblysard on Friday, December 13, 2002 11:55 PM
No consolation at all. Shame that the opportunity to teach employees, instead of puni***hem regardless of their rank, is so often missed. One of the jobs I had before railroading was as a manager of several retail auto parts stores, and as a manager, I always found it is more efficent, safer, and much more profitable to have your employees work with you, instead of for you. And irritate is such a soft word for his feelings for me. I think pissed off is a little closer. And all I did was point out his "flashey move" put two crews on deadhead, and left two trains out in the boonies, waiting for new crews to be cabbed to them. I did learn something though, dont help that type of person out, just stand still and let them shoot themselves in the foot, its safer that way. Kinda funny too!
Keep you posts coming, great info with really good style...
Ed

23 17 46 11

  • Member since
    April 2001
  • From: US
  • 2,849 posts
Posted by wabash1 on Friday, December 13, 2002 7:25 PM
what he is talking about is when you are making a shove move there has to be somebody riding the rear of the cut of cars. if you know that the track is clear and that it would hold 15 cars and you are putting 5 cars in this track it should fit and with no worry of hitting anything. but the way the railroad officials think that somebody could walk out on to the rail back there in the way. the building could fall in and we not here it and derail those cars. the dispatcher may know where you are but that is not his responsibility to keep you from hitting another train. the dispatcher can run train after train in the same direction it is each crews responsibility to keep from running over each other. in other words the only real responsibility the dispatche has is move freight, and not have head light meets.
  • Member since
    April 2003
  • 305,205 posts
Posted by Anonymous on Friday, December 13, 2002 7:10 PM
What do you mean by "Being Protected"? How do you protect your self? Is that not the job of the dispatcher who should know were you are at?








  • Member since
    April 2003
  • 305,205 posts
Posted by Anonymous on Friday, December 13, 2002 4:02 PM
Ed,
I can't believe it. Did you really irritate a trainmaster? Imagine that, as kind, courteous, considerate and tolerant as they all are (Nyuk, Nyuk, Nyuk)!
If it's any consolation, when line supervisors screw up, the discipline they receive can be much more severe, especially when compared side by side with that assessed to those represented by a collective bargaining agreement.
Have a safe day...gdc
  • Member since
    March 2002
  • 9,265 posts
Posted by edblysard on Friday, December 13, 2002 12:24 PM
We have a good one too, how about you being the hogger, your crew is shoving a track, you ask the crew if the point is protected, they say yes, you get down there and both the crew are standing by the air spot, along with the trainmaster, who fires all of you for shoving blind, with out protection. Better, your putting 10 cars in a track that holds 30, you know they fit, you have not shoved half the length of the track, you have shoved this track for years, and you can see the point anyway. Trainmaster says its dark, you can't see the point, broken rails etch...by the way, your engins is facing away from the move, and the crew is on the off side where you cant see them. How do they justify firing the engineer, he did what he was suppost to, he asked, and was told yes. Is he suppost to get down, walk back, make sure someone is ridding the point, and then walk back, remount the motor and start shoving?
Yee Ha....
Ed

23 17 46 11

  • Member since
    April 2001
  • From: US
  • 2,849 posts
Posted by wabash1 on Friday, December 13, 2002 10:45 AM
Ed if that was me fired for 90 days i would have sent the case to a nuetral and got my 90 days of pay back . if i am not anywhere near the actual infraction they wont burn me just becouse i am part of the crew. believe me i have been there already. fired couse the brakeman didnt tie hande brakes on a cut of cars. how about the new infration they are comming up with here on the ns if the engineet is tod the cut is made to take them ahead and the conductor never tied hand brakes that the engineer is fired becouse the ground people are not doing their job. its like this if i have doubt that the conductor secured the train i must ask or go look for myself, i must tie all engines down Fra requires 100% hand brakes on engines when nobody is on them.(how the remote control is exempt is beyond me) get down and see that he has done this. then go back to the engines knock off the brakes and do my job then.
  • Member since
    March 2002
  • 9,265 posts
Posted by edblysard on Friday, December 13, 2002 2:10 AM
Hi Tim,
GCOR stands for General Code of Operating Rules.
And your right, it is the standard "rule book" you hear about. It is a standard set of opperating practices and rules adopted by most railroads, Class 1s, Short lines, most terminal roads like mine and any railroads that fall under the jurisduction of the FRA. It is in it's fourth edition, effective april 2, 2000. It was written by a committee made up of saftey officers, FRA employees, and the AAR.
It covers everything from how close you can stop the train from a switch lined against you, down to the conduct of employees. It is used in conjunction with the timetable of your railroad, which is itself a set of rules and practices for your particular railroad, and differ from railroad to railroad.
Most of the rules make sense, but there are a few which are so ambiguous as to make you wonder if the carriers didn't put them in so they could fire you if they needed to. Case in point, rule 1.6
(this is a exact word for word copy)
1.6 Conduct
Employees must not be:
1. Careless of the safety of themselves or others.
2. Negligent.
3. Insubordinate.
4. Dishonest.
5. Immoral.
6. Quarrelsome.
or
7. Discourteous.
Now keep in mind if you are charged with a rules violation, the investigation is held by the officers of the railroad which charged you. No other parites are involved, and there is no governing practices or guidelines at all. Thats right, the officers who charge you, also decide at your investigation if your guilty of the rule violation they charged you with, and then they decide your punishment, from firing for a period, 30, 60, 90 or 180 days off without pay, up to a year in some cases. Totaly arbitrary decision are made at these kangroo courts. Disicpline is not what is excerisied, but punishment. If you have made a trainmaster mad at you, belive me the first time you screw up you will get as many days off as he can manage. There is not set amoung of "days fired" for any given infraction. I have seen guys get 30 days on paper, (probation) for fouling a switching lead, and another person get 90 real days off for the exact same thing, at the exact same spot. I know, that was me. I wasn't even there, I was at the rear of the train, letting off handbrakes, but I had POed the trainmaster the day before, so I got fired for 90 days, the engineer got 30 days on paper, and the helper/switchman who was on the front of the engine got dismissed outright. That means fired for real, no coming back. So in order to comply with GCOR rule 1.6, you need to keep your halo polished up and in your back pocket, just in case...if you think about it, anytime anything goes wrong, minor or otherwise, you can be charged with rule 1.6, lines 1 or 2.
On the other hand, the rule about blue flags makes perfect sense. Blue flags protect men while working in, under and around equipment, such as in a roundhouse, enginehouse lead or fule rack, or in a yard where carmen are working air on a track. You are not permited to enter a track with a blue flag displayed. Only the person who placed the blue flag, or a person of the craft who placed the blue flag may remone it from the track or engine. This of course prevents you from running over someone repairing a engine, laceing air hose, you get the picture.
So some of the rules make sense, some dont.
Of course, most of us railroaders blow it on rule 1.6 lines 5, 6, and 7 anyway.
At least our trainmasters always say so,
Take care.
Ed

23 17 46 11

  • Member since
    April 2001
  • From: US
  • 2,849 posts
Posted by wabash1 on Friday, December 13, 2002 12:09 AM
No the roadforman nor the trainmaster can overide the rules. these rules is what they twist to the favor of the carrier to fire the employee. the rules are written by the goverment and are from injuries substain in the past. and rules tried and true in operating trains. you can bet there will be a rule writen for all carriers to abide by after the mess in baltimore from the csx train and the fire in the tunnel this year. and the mess from the ns train in the derailment in knoxville also. just another way to slow traffic down more.
  • Member since
    April 2003
  • 305,205 posts
Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, December 12, 2002 9:40 PM
What does GCOR stand for? Is that a standard rule book? Do railroads get together and have a sit down to decide these rules? Are you required to keep a copy with you when operating a train? Can the railroad or Foremen overide any rules?
TIM A
  • Member since
    March 2002
  • 9,265 posts
Posted by edblysard on Thursday, December 12, 2002 12:31 AM
If hes printing all this, he ought to end up with a really weird copy of the GCOR...

23 17 46 11

  • Member since
    April 2001
  • From: US
  • 2,849 posts
Posted by wabash1 on Wednesday, December 11, 2002 10:45 PM
Hey jack, you forgot to give him the information overload of rule 99 flag protection not required and all the details.... and i agree when this is over he will be as good as any new hire out here... but there is one thing that never made sense to me in dark teritory the max speed was 49mph for a regular freight train and 50mph if it was abs teritory. then again when us railroader figure out the rules of the game they change the rules.

Join our Community!

Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.

Search the Community

Newsletter Sign-Up

By signing up you may also receive occasional reader surveys and special offers from Trains magazine.Please view our privacy policy