Thanks for the response!
I know it takes longer for the Y101 here in defiance to get the maw done with a 2 man crew.
stay safe
joe
Deshler Ohio-crossroads of the B&O Matt eats your fries.YUM! Clinton st viaduct undefeated against too tall trucks!!!(voted to be called the "Clinton St. can opener").
For a yard crew, two people on the ground is sufficient for me. Riding a cut of cars and having to watch out not only for myself but for two more people is just bleh. One extra person is manageable, and usually isn't too bad provided that they're competant and not a total idiot.
Having one person to throw switches in anticipation of the next move while the other starts tieing up brakewheels makes the work go quicker. Having that person be able to make a cut for you while you ride the end on a long shove makes it even better. At that point, you're just hopping on the ends of cuts, tieing up their handbrakes, and repeating the process over and over while the other person sends the train back to you.
Three people on the ground is beneficial during winter. The third person gets to keep the pick and broom handy to keep my switches clean.
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Here on the CVR, we only use 2 man crews. Very seldom, do we get 3 man crews. If we have a busy day, we can get alot done with just one man on the ground. We have a general order stating that with a 2 man crew, we cannot kick cars, but with a 3 man crew we can kick. That saves us tremendous amounts of time when we have alot to do. But with the 2 man crews, we go out kick a**, and get our stuff done, because like everybody that works in yards or any short lines that have alot of switching to do, we want to get it done and go home.
Later, Dru CVR Engineer/Conductor/Brakeman
Today we had a five person crew on our local job. Doesn't happen often and rare if at all. This was due to some lower whisker condrs moving around the system so they can keep workin. TM is trying to get these guys all the student runs knocked out asap, so today we were given two students at a time. The full crew era was before my time but man when you have more folks to work w/it really makes a positive difference if you ask me.
Not only is it the number of members of the crew it is the quality of the members. I have observed that a wealty of information was not passed down through the generations or the lessons were not learned. I know I tried but ended up with too much seniority to make a real difference.
It really was a ballet in the yards 30+ years ago. All without radios. Members who spread themselves out in the yard instead of hanging together like they were afraid to leave each other. Now the foreman is all alone or running the box with the other crew member down the lead somewhere.
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