Belt-Pack Feedback!

[Anonymous]

As an employee of the B.N.S.F., I would sincerly like to get some feedback from folks who have been using, or are training to use these new Canac Pack's or something similar. Especially our Canadian 'brothers' who are experienced in this area. It seems the only thing I've read from various employees is how wonderful they are. I reserve judgement. It's hard to see a Co. push safety to the extreme and then on all switch jobs abolish all engineers. I realise technology must come to the fore, but these 8 lb. contraptions seem unreasonable to me...thanks one and all...Hommie (P.S...our little part of the world here in Seattle will start training for 'yard' personnel during the first week of May.)

[Anonymous]

There is a group right here called 'remote control', here are some more:

http://www.upsasu.org/
http://www.reformnow.net/
http://www.network54.com/Hide/Forum/41973
http://www.laborspeaks.com/Discussion24/

[Anonymous]

Hommie,
we've had these beltpaks at CN for almost 10 years. For some operations they aren't bad, but if you are flat yard switching they suck. In a hump yard where you just double over tracks they work okay. When making a joint they can be a little jumpy, they tend to surge in couple speed. The beltpaks you are getting are probably like our new ones and only weigh 3.5 lbs. What the company is saving in dollars is costing us in wear and tear on our bodies, because we work by ourself while our mate watches the point.

Safety is not what the companies are interested in it's getting rid of a job!! At CN there are still mishaps with the beltpak but they seem to get brushed under the carpet or blamed on the crew, never the technology, it's fool proof.(so they say). CN wants to pu***his technology because they own Canac and want a return on their investment.

You are from Seattle, just wait for the rainy nights with your handlamp, radio, and your lists while controlling the engine and trying to hang onto the car. What fun that is!!!!!

Now we have people who never worked with hoggers and prefer the beltpak, so there are two sides of the coin here. You have to make your own judgement on this issue. Good luck and be safe!

[Anonymous]

sure would like to see someone explain how you don't have to have an FRA license to operate these things. Heard some garbage about the "computer" is actually running the engine, that's like saying when you get pulled over for speeding or DUI, it wasn't me driving, it was the computer controlling the fuel injectors! Also, who gets in trouble when one of these things runs a red signal? the computer? Is that an FRA violation? Like one of the replies said, this is just a way to get rid of jobs and they are surely sweeping accidents under the rug..heard a rumor on the BNSF about an accident almost immediately after they started toying with these things, but it was all hushed up right after that. Also, the way that I have seen that they set up a "remote zone" it looks like it'd take forever to get started every shift and forever to take the "zone" down too.

[Anonymous]

It sounds crazy to ask someone to ride a car and control an engine(especialy in bad weather). Please elaborate on how this works.

[BRAKIE]

Queston: Maybe I missed something here.But,I will ask any way.
If a crew is flat switching the yard,how does he see conflicting moves on the other side of the train from another yard crew (like coming up to the switch for the yard throat)? Was that the cause of the accidents you talk about?
Sounds to me like safety just went out the widow!

[Anonymous]

Actually they are given a license. After 40 hours classroom and 40 hours on job training they are insued a Remote Control Operators (RCO) license. This is a new class of engineers license and they fall under the same federal laws as a Train Service Engineer.

[Anonymous]

At CN we do it all the time, snow,rain, but it goes okay. Usually the yardman running the box is on the engine, just like the engineer. The other yardman is switching giving instructions. The guy on the ground will have control when coupling cars. This type of application works fine in class yard with a hump operation, but with a flat switching type of yard it doesn't work well.

The railways are only interested in getting rid of employees and improving the bottom line!

[Anonymous]

I read a story about one of these packs being used at a Navy shipyard.The man on the ground was using engine to switch a long string of munition cars.A war protestor laid on tracks in front of engine. The guy has a new nickname Stumpy.Sounds like a way to do away with jobs and cause more accidents.

[Anonymous]

Belt-pac control of yard engines is technology designed to do away with jobs! Simple as that.Where we use to have two switchmen and a engineer we now have just the two switchmen.What the RR's are not telling the public is that accidents are occuring on almost a daily basis.Luckely no one has been killed yet!But as more and more jobs are going this way the enevitable is bound to happen!