Carl
Railroader Emeritus (practiced railroading for 46 years--and in 2010 I finally got it right!)
CAACSCOCOM--I don't want to behave improperly, so I just won't behave at all. (SM)
CShaveRR On a brighter note, someone's photo of the perishable train in Wyoming is one of the selections for UP's 2010 calendar.
Question for the rails...do all EOTs/FREDs 'flash'? Lately it seems about every other (or so) train on CN at night I can see the device/hear it, but can't see the flash. Yes...my eyes are open, but why wouldn't one flash? I would think that's some kind of rules issue.
Back to the grindstone...for now!
Dan
CShaveRR Dan, I'm sure the EOTs are supposed to flash, but the rule doesn't specify that. It just states when the marker should be lit (darkness or bad visibility). If your markers are glowing steadily, that may not be construed as a violation. If they're dark, it probably is a violation, unless CN is having a 50-percent en-route failure rate. If your train has a DP unit at the rear, a dim headlight can replace the EOT.
Dan, I'm sure the EOTs are supposed to flash, but the rule doesn't specify that. It just states when the marker should be lit (darkness or bad visibility). If your markers are glowing steadily, that may not be construed as a violation. If they're dark, it probably is a violation, unless CN is having a 50-percent en-route failure rate. If your train has a DP unit at the rear, a dim headlight can replace the EOT.
That's what I thought. There was no DPU and no steady glow...and it was definately dark. The auto-headlight feature on my truck was triggered by the darkness (8:00 PM and later). I hope nothing bad happens to one of these trains.
On a slightly happier note: a friend of mine who is an Conductor at CPR was called back and reports in a couple days. He's glad to be going back. IIRC he was near the bottom of the list to be called so hopefully that's a good sign of traffic. Personally, I'm keeping my eyes peeled on two websites with a resume waiting....
Can a railroad run trains on a line listed as o/s any time it wants?
James
The Butler Can a railroad run trains on a line listed as o/s any time it wants?
A railroad can run trains on any line it owns any time it wants. Subject to any restrictions like slow orders, etc., and normal operating practices (warrants, Form D's, etc).
We occasionally take a perfectly good stretch of track out of service so we can effectively locally dispatch it - usually in cases where we both need to be on the same track in a relatively short period which would make working with the dispatcher a hindrance. The employee who's name is on the OOS can grant verbal permission to occupy.
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...
tree68The Butler Can a railroad run trains on a line listed as o/s any time it wants? A railroad can run trains on any line it owns any time it wants. Subject to any restrictions like slow orders, etc., and normal operating practices (warrants, Form D's, etc). We occasionally take a perfectly good stretch of track out of service so we can effectively locally dispatch it - usually in cases where we both need to be on the same track in a relatively short period which would make working with the dispatcher a hindrance. The employee who's name is on the OOS can grant verbal permission to occupy.
It's an exception, not the norm, and isn't really intended to let trains run closer to each other as such.
Our local trips normally use a run-around track at the distant (south) end of the trip to move the loco to the other end of the consist. Under normal circumstances, we have authority to a point beyond said siding, since no one else is going to use the track. We get a "both directions" Form D from the dispatcher (in Scranton) for that. It's a regular occurance - we usually run two round trips under the same form.
On occasion, another train will come north on a trip to a local restaurant some miles south of the above siding. After dropping their passengers at the trackside restaurant, they then run up to the same siding and run their locomotive around their consist for the return trip south.
Rather than issue both of us one-way Form D's as well as coordinate who gets the siding first, one of us will get the block including the siding as "out-of-service." If I get the Form D, it's my track and even my own engineer has to get my permission to enter it.
In the meantime, both trains get "both directions" Form D's to the block station just before the siding in their respective directions.
If we get there first, we do our thing. Usually, by the time we finish the other train is waiting at the limit of their authority. Once we clear, we can give them permission to enter our out-of-service. If they happen to get there first, we can give them permission to enter and we'll hold out until they clear.
Bottom line - the DS issues three Form D's instead of five or six, and we don't spend as much time on the cell phone (very poor radio coverage there).
We also only do it because of the coincidental timing of our arrival. If they were going to arrive at the siding between our regular trips, we'd simply cancel our Form D after the first trip, which would allow the DS to give them the track up to and including the siding. Once they cleared and were again headed south, we'd go back to the DS and get another "both directions" for our second trip.
Sounds complicated, but it's not.
Creative dispatching at it's best.
Larry -
If you could enlighten us a little further on that: For such an 'Out of Service' track, what is the applicable maximum speed and stopping sight distance requirement, etc. ?
I expect they are a whole lot more 'Restricted' than would otherwise be in effect, so that such an operation is really much safer than it may seem to the uninitiated.
- Paul North.
Actually, we ran at track speed where appropriate, especially on the way out. It's really no different than if a track foreman has a track OOS that is otherwise hale and hearty. Seems as though I've heard CSX foremen permit trains through their OOS area at speed, or at least at a speed above 'restricted'.
At no time did both trains occupy the same block at the same time.
Track speed in that block is 40 mph, although in both cases the trains would be slowing for a stop adjacent to the siding. The timetable speed for our locals is 25 mph, with faster allowed for making up time.
Certainly not making excuses for whoever was to blame for the incident, but if you do something enough times (regardless of what it is) it's all to easy to get complacent. Doubly so if it's something that makes your job easier.
CShaveRR The little episode down by the Chicago River has livened things up lately, both here on the Forum and on the railroad. This is the second day in a row that our "rules of the day" dealt with hand brakes and securing cars and engines. We also were informed that there is now a hand-operated derail at the north end of Canal Street Yard.
notice how that doesn't seem quite as newsworthy as the "whoops, we missed the twin cities landing"?
Guess people are getting too poor to pay attention any more.
She who has no signature! cinscocom-tmw
I'd bet that if a loaded train had run 150 miles past it's mark at speed it'd be in the news, though, especially if it was Amtrak or contained a bunch of hazmat...
They'd have had cops out shooting at the emergency fuel cut-off (and hitting the fuel filler instead....
CNW 6000 CShaveRR The little episode down by the Chicago River has livened things up lately, both here on the Forum and on the railroad. This is the second day in a row that our "rules of the day" dealt with hand brakes and securing cars and engines. We also were informed that there is now a hand-operated derail at the north end of Canal Street Yard. Kind of a "Cows are gone, lock the barn door" thing, maybe? If it helps to prevent that kind of thing again...good.
Kind of a "Cows are gone, lock the barn door" thing, maybe? If it helps to prevent that kind of thing again...good.
Others have written here many times before that all of the rules in the book - and safety measures, too - are ''written in someone's blood''. Fortunately, this incident didn't become that tragic, but it - and the 'subsequent corrective action' - illustrates that the principle still applies.
- PDN.
If you get a covered hopper full of Advil (or a 55 gallon drum even), send to me at North Yard. After shovelling out my house and the neighbor 4 times, new muscles and a sore back have been discovered.
The storm here is finally moving east. Up's transcon in western NE and North Platte are about to catch it. Moisture pushing north from the Pacific is the culprit. (What we call an "Albuquerque Low")
Have had rain the entire day. It has been a very dark day, but the rain has been nice. We will go into winter with good ground moisture. And a lot full of teeny-tiny locust leaves. My rug at the back door changed colors from yellow to now brown. Guess I might have to do a little sweeping - in a futile attempt to get them out of the house.
No snow is good snow!
MookieNo snow is good snow!
Snowblower is tuned, 4x4 is serviced, snow tires ready & waiting...bring it on!
Dan - good to see you off the farm!
Snowblower tuned up - but the gas is still just a figment in the Driver's mind. Guess he enjoys walking 8 blocks one way to get some gas. Did that in about a foot of snow a few years ago. You would think that would have cured that problem!
LOL you'd think so...
That game is so addicting. It was the perfect distraction for all the midnight feedings with Aedan. Something animated, yet quiet, and fun for him to watch. He likes watching the stuff move and sometimes (during the day) I'll turn on the sound and he'll grove to the music. You gotta plow more land lol...
CN sure is busy today. 533, 529, 346, and 447 all OS'ing around Neenah. I am going back out to digitally steal their souls. I figured that expression was safe around Halloween weekend.
Hopefully I'll be at Anton Siding for a little this afternoon. It's a long siding where many meets happen between Stevens Point and Neenah on the main from Canada to Chicago. I need to see some widecab power.....
I am going to Oklahoma next week (11/9) to visit Ft. Sill, and watch my oldest son graduate from Basic Training, I'll be out there for a couple of days, and was wondering if there is any rail activity down that way.... Looking forward to getting some photographs from somewhere other than the Chicago area, and being west of the Mississippi for the first time in my life...and my first vacation if you will, in nearly 10 years.
Does anyone recommend anything?
My son did tell me that that there is a local that does some work on, or near Ft. Sill....
Oh, and greetings to everyone in the Lounge, (Chris, Carl, and everyone else..) I've been absent for awhile, so I thought I would poke my head in and say "hi".....
WGN has some really good "Raw" fly-by video of the accident, along with a story:
http://www.wgntv.com/news/wgntv-freight-train-derailment-nov1,0,6102117.story
Looks to be quite a mess!
Based upon the plethora of DME hoppers and the fact that it's supposed to be a CP train, I wonder if this was CP train 486 or 487 that runs to and from the DME at Winona? Just speculation on my part, as no engines can be seen in the footage (at least not that I saw).
Noah
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