can you hear me now?

[cabforward]

when are earplugs worn? is there a difference between the suggestion and the practice? is it mainly the engineer and whomever's with him? is there enforcement or is it 'whatever you want to risk is your affair'? is it more advisable on long-hauls? are plugs supplied or is there a charge? is there a preference for plugs when using certain makes of locos, or the general condition of the loco? what about longer trains or moving up and down grades, are those factors?

can engineers re-arrange the sequence of engines if they prefer a certain numbered engine in front (a personal favorite); or maybe a brand with a better 'rep'?

[David3]

They usually wear the earplugs when they make long runs with trains and most of the time engineers and who ever is with him wear them. And I don't think they could rearrange the engines because they would use up track or yard/siding space to do so, which the dispatcher would know about.

[Jackflash]

yes you can rearange the engine consist, we do it
regulary usually because of a broken air conditioner or smelly toilet, not because someone
likes one brand over another, back before the days
of wide cab engines, the carrier would build the
consist long hood foward, and as soon as we got out of the yard we would switch the consist to
get a short hood foward. jackflash

[Mookie]

Jackflash: As soon as a consist gets out of a yard here, they are on the main line. Can you explain how you can rearrange your engines?

Jen

[Anonymous]

My RR requires that earplugs be worn on all engines (with the exception of whisper cabs, and GE's newer -9s) long or short runs and in the yard unless you are wearing a headset.

[csxengineer98]

wrong wrong and wrong... for earplugs... it dont matter what train your on...long haul..yard job...local switcher..it makes no differnce...but what dose is the kind of loco your in.. the RR i work for..the rule is... any locomotive that is not a wide body..aka -8w -9w 70mac 80mac or any locomtive where the horn is placed on the long hood..you need ear plugs or some kind of ear protection.. also..if your within 100 feet of a locomtive that is in other then idel... and as for the rearranging of power to get a # you want... hahahahaah...try telling that to a train master..or road forman... it will never happen... you can switch power around if thier is a defect that will make it unsafe for you to opporate from the lead locomotive in your consiste...or if the bathroom realy stinks..but if your near anyplace what has someone that can come out to you with a can of air freshener...your takeing the power in the order it was given to you... to switch power around for a GE or an EMD will eat up to much time.. and the yard master will never late it happen...its not a space issue so much as it is a time issue...
sorry for any spelling errors..its way late here...and im getting tired
csx engineer

[Anonymous]

Hey, CSX engineer. That's what I said..........

[csxengineer98]

oh my bad....sorry...

[Anonymous]

No problem, buddy. I'm fried too. Just got in from a remote job.........I hate them! More effecient my butt. Heard that the CSX bought a few more (75), sorry to hear that.
Ken

[Jackflash]

Jenny, The location I was thinking about is
about three miles beyond the yard board, a wye
leading off the main track, we would stop, and either run the wye or split the consist to get
a short hood locomotive in the lead, I'm sure if
we went around telling everybody what we were
doing or going to do it would have been stopped,
it was common practice, for all I know the company
did know all about it, nothing was ever said.
jackflash

[Mookie]

Thank you - I always have a mental picture and that one wasn't coming in too clear. I won't tell a soul!

:)

Jen

[Mookie]

and does the railroad supply those ear plugs or do you have to buy them?

[Anonymous]

BNSF provides just about every shape and color that you would want. They are made readily accessable at most every on duty point.
Ken

[cabforward]

if people in the cab wear plugs, how do they hear radio calls? unless there were a visual signal (i.e, a light for the deaf that tells them when the doorbell is ringing)?

[Anonymous]

Hey, Cab. Changing the subject. You posted that the Choo Choo U wants their students to sigh up with a RR upon grad....I had ran into an instructor from JCCC in OP Kansas at my terminal. He said that they do get some foamers there and they do not have to sign on with any particular RR. They don't care what you do after grad. as long as your check don't bounce. Just thought you would like to know. It is basically the same materials that I had when I hired out (I didn't go to choo choo u, thank God. It was boring enough getting paid for it, much less having to pay for it).
Ken

[cabforward]

thanks for the update.. i wish i afford the r&b& tuition for a term.. i cant remember what i say more than a few days after saying it, but i did visit univ n. florida, jacksonville, where i took a screening exam.. maybe the info. from them included the oath of allegiance at grad.. the oath may also be due to the proximity of csx and the grads they take from there..

[Anonymous]

"Earplugs", forget it! I knew an engineer that would wear a headset from his pocket radio and listen to either the ball game, or news. If the volume was set just right, he could still pick up radio calls, and monitor the sounds of his engine.