I'm important, and I have the letter (generic-to whom it may concern type) to prove it.
As of March 17, all employees are to print out and keep with them a letter that exempts them from travel restrictions. As employees involved in transportation we are "performing services that are essential to the health, safety, and security of the nation,..."
The letter states the continued operation of the railroad is necessary for delivery of food, fuel, medicine, and other supplies that are vital to the nation's ability to respond to the current pandemic emergency. It doesn't say if any or all of that is "appropriate business" as defined in the PSR plan.
I may be important now, but just wait. I'm sure once the emergency is over and things are back to normal, I'll go back to being one of the many who are only viewed as deadwood, "train trash" dragging the company down that needs to be eliminated to get the operating ration down to nothing.
Jeff
P.S. Hey Zug, has your company deemed you essential yet?
Use to get similar letters from CSX during Hurricane Season.
The worst thing is that when the wind gets above 40 MPH they close the main bridges around Jacksonville - and there a lot of high bridges over navigable waters that get closed.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
jeffhergertAs of March 17, all employees are to print out and keep with them a letter that exempts them from travel restrictions.
i find this highly ominous for two reasons. First, because it implies strictly-enforced travel bans, perhaps in the immediate future, and second, because it implies that much of that enforcement will be ad hoc without knowledge of a given employee's importance. Shades of being pulled over repeatedly for driving on 'officially discouraged' trips during WWII... only with much more 'socilly sanctioned' pseudojustification.
Very likely, also, that this will be enforced the way New Jersey tried with drivers' licenses at traffic stops. Failure to produce the valid document was what the summons was for, the judgment based on, and the copious fines assessed on. Didn't matter if you had a valid license, never mind if checking the computer verified the validity -- "failure to produce" was the offense in the motor-vehicle code.
What'll be interesting is what happens if a called railroader is detained or turned back due to failure to carry his little propusk in its appropriate wear-proof case. Oh wait, I know already -- discipline because you were instructed to carry your letter at all times.
Meanwhile ... how many days, or hours, or milliseconds from this decree becoming known will it take for 'believable' copies to be produced and perhaps peddled for 'the rest of us' ... and the result being excuse letters on special banknote paper with embedded magnetic information, smart chips, and dancing holograms... different each week.
My gold chief's badge will be in residence in my vehicle, unless I'm driving a fire truck, in which case I don't care what they think.
Besides, I know most of the LE folks around here...
If things are stil shut down, our tourist railroad won't be running anyhow...
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...
Back during WWII if the GIs were suspicious of someone they encountered (i.e., Nazi spy or soldier in disguise), supposedly they'd ask a question about something only a true American would know, such as "Who plays shortstop for the Yankees?"
What would be an appropriate question for modern day railroaders?
- PDN.
Paul_D_North_JrWhat would be an appropriate question for modern day railroaders?
First you'd have to find someone (besides railroaders and railfans) that even knows that railroads still exist...
And I have no idea who plays shortstop for anybody any more...
Paul_D_North_Jr Back during WWII if the GIs were suspicious of someone they encountered (i.e., Nazi spy or soldier in disguise), supposedly they'd ask a question about something only a true American would know, such as "Who plays shortstop for the Yankees?" What would be an appropriate question for modern day railroaders? - PDN.
Who invented PSR?
Lithonia Operator Paul_D_North_Jr Back during WWII if the GIs were suspicious of someone they encountered (i.e., Nazi spy or soldier in disguise), supposedly they'd ask a question about something only a true American would know, such as "Who plays shortstop for the Yankees?" What would be an appropriate question for modern day railroaders? - PDN. Who invented PSR?
There'll be a name given, then a profanity-laced tirade.
And the questioner will say, "Yeah, he's a railroader. Let him pass!"
And I'm sorry folks, I truly am, but I can't resist this one...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiQL71kV4t8
Ask them if they have a microwave available in the caboose?
Just in, California governor just ordered the entire state to self confine....40 million people.
except for those mentioned in this list of businesses permitted to remain open in Los Angeles, I'd asume that similar exemptions are available throughout the state.
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-03-19/coronavirus-garcetti-how-safer-at-home-order-works
Yankees or PSR question will get you a whuppin' most places.
jeffhergertP.S. Hey Zug, has your company deemed you essential yet?
We get those papers every time they call for a snowstorm over 2". So yeah, we got the latest ones.
It's been fun. But it isn't much fun anymore. Signing off for now.
The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer, any other railroad, company, or person.t fun any
CN seems to be taking this seriously. They claim they are actually going to clean the locomotive cabs!
Greetings from Alberta
-an Articulate Malcontent
Too bad they make you feel unimportant in normal times. Most probably know crews are important, but "the system" is setup to not show it..i.e., no positive feedback.. only negative. Good article in the most recent Trains issue that sums it up..
[quote user="Ulrich"]
The REAL ID Act was passed by Congress in 2005 with the goal to “set minimum security standards for license issuance and production.” The Act established identical requirements for state-issued licenses and ID cards nationwide. While it is not a "national ID," per se, it does provide federal authorities with the assurance that the holder of a REAL ID-compliant license or identification card has met the level of security it deems appropriate for access to certain types of federally overseen locations..."
See link @ https://www.dmv.org/drivers-license/real-id
My guess ,is that this is not going too far with many employers, OR the railroads...But it sure adds anorther level of the gobernment bureaucrats getting into/ or onto our citizenry....
I have been, and continue to be, a firm and enthusiastic proponent of the RealID program for licenses. And for its use in certain forms of preferential access to Federally-overseen things, particularly flight security (or the likely-impending extension of "TSA" functions to Amdreck.)
It is as ridiculous for RealIDs to become acceptable 'alternate ID' to private government facilities as it would be -- as was seriously proposed here a few years ago -- to make your library card an acceptable form of voter registration. I had my absolute and total fill of any state-issued form of ID 'counting' on a Federal level long ago, in part with experience in New Jersey with fraud, and in Tennessee with attempted outright terrorism. Any system that does not involve dynamic realtime verification of personal identity backed up with private identifiers -- in other words anything that requires you to tote some piece of paper that keeps you from arrest or worse -- is not an answer to the fundamental things a "RealID" should enable.
And no, it shouldn't display your SSN directly or allow someone to hack a chip or inadequately-dereferenced database to harvest it...
The governor of Illinois just impossed a "Shelter in Place" order for the entire state starting at 5:00 PM tomorrow. So, that letter from the UP could be necessary.
I have no medical training. So I can't really judge the propriety of this drastic measure. But I know I don't like it. Taken literally it means "Don't leave home."
There are exceptions. We're allowed to go get groceries for example. If only toilet paper and cooking oil were available. I'd guess going out to watch trains by yourself or going fishing alone are forbidden.
I'm 69 years old and I already was taking measures to limit personal contact. At some point the government is going to have to trust us to take care of ourselves.
I'm guessing, and it's just a guess, that a "tipping point's" going to come sooner or later. What I mean by that is people are going to say "Enough already! Yes we know some are in danger, yes we have to slow or stop the spread, yes we have to take precautions, but STOP treating us like children! And can the 'All coronavirus all the time' news reporting! You're not helping matters, you're inciting panic! Especially in those prone to panic anyway!"
But I could be guessing wrong. I'm not infallable.
Too late Wayne, the panic already happened. The empty store shelves are proof of that.
Nothing like a good old-fashioned mass-hysteria!
SD70Dude Too late Wayne, the panic already happened. The empty store shelves are proof of that. Nothing like a good old-fashioned mass-hysteria!
Yeah 'Dude, I know. Captain Eddie Rickenbacker said it a long time ago, "Never underestimate the power of hysteria!"
All those empty TP shelves, among others. Just unbelieveable!
greyhounds There are exceptions. We're allowed to go get groceries for example. If only toilet paper and cooking oil were available. I'd guess going out to watch trains by yourself or going fishing alone are forbidden. I'm 69 years old and I already was taking measures to limit personal contact. At some point the government is going to have to trust us to take care of ourselves.
Now that many of my normal activities have been curtailed or limited, I drive to my favorite train watch spot, which is about 35 miles from home. It is isolated, so I rarely see anyone there, and I go by myself. I have tried to get the cat interested in train watching, but she is having none of it.
If the Governor of Texas, who appears to have retained some sanity in this situation, locks down Texas, I can tell whoever tries to enforce it that I am going to the grocery store, which is just up the road from my train watching spot.
These lockdowns, which are an overreaction, will ultimately lead to a societal breakdown, if indeed it has not happened already. Widespread hoarding and cheating are occurring now Texas.
Rio Grande Valley, CFI,CFII
There is a retirement community near my house. Today they had a 'Closed to Visitors' sign prominately displayed.
PJS1These lockdowns, which are an overreaction, will ultimately lead to a societal breakdown, if indeed it has not happened already. Widespread hoarding and cheating are occurring now Texas.
NY's governor is locking down the state starting Sunday. I've been saying right along that this is a test. The threat of the virus is real. The restrictions, I feel, are a test on how much they can pull off before people push back.
Flintlock76Yes we know some are in danger, yes we have to slow or stop the spread, yes we have to take precautions, but STOP treating us like children!
I assume that you mean the CiC. Saying the situation is under control is an outrageous lie. The virus is here and insulting redirections like about the virus origin need to stop. When testing catches up and reveals the true scope, you skeptics will need to revisit your comments. Our health care professionals are way under equipped to deal with new cases - stay well away from hospitals!
Flintlock76And can the 'All coronavirus all the time' news reporting! You're not helping matters, you're inciting panic! Especially in those prone to panic anyway!"
Agree. Most news video is like a VCR that cannot be replayed. Gov't health related web sites and a few tech oriented ones like this are my first source for information.
BTW our shelter-in-place measures show how extremely fragile our supply chains are; toilet paper production hasn't been redirected from inactive businesses to retail outlets yet.
Part of the fragility and shortsidedness is online sites locked to instant gratification (two day delivery or less) - back and repeat schedule ordering capability is very hard to find.
Links to my Google Maps ---> Sunset Route overview, SoCal metro, Yuma sub, Gila sub, SR east of Tucson, BNSF Northern Transcon and Southern Transcon *** Why you should support Ukraine! ***
I won't say who I mean Mike, people can draw their own conclusions.
What I will say is the lockdowns, business closings, "shelter-in-place," banning of gatherings, and other things are going to have to stop before we have an economic collapse and / or a societal breakdown. Maybe the virus crisis will be over by the time we get to that point but if it isn't, there's going to have to be some hard choices made about acceptable levels of personal risk, some by government, and some by individuals.
As far as saving lives, we all want to save lives, that's a given. Who knows how many lives we could save if we set a national speed limit of 25mph? Would all the disruption that would cause be worth it? I leave it to you all to answer that.
Risk is inherant in life. We are all at risk from the moment we're born until the moment we die, from something, either a car crash or plain old age. So we have a choice, we can hide from death, but that can also mean hiding from life itself.
Ah, enough. Next thing you know the Forum's going to be "All coronavirus, all the time!" What do I know anyway?
MikeF90BTW our shelter-in-place measures show how extremely fragile our supply chains are; toilet paper production hasn't been redirected from inactive businesses to retail outlets yet.
Horse Feathers! Our supply chains (plural) aren't fragile at all. They're stong, robust and reslient. Unless the various governments mess them up by doing such things as shutting down rest stops for truckers.
You have absolutely no substantiation that TP manufacturers are continuing to ship toilet paper to shut down businesses. You've just made that up. And I'm tired of people doing that. One of the first things a business that is forced to shut down will do is preserve cash. That means they don't order what they don't need and at least try to cancel existing orders for what they don't need.
To maintain that TP manufacturers are mindlessly shipping product to businesses that don't want or need it while Walmart, Kroger, et. al. are screaming for the stuff is absurd.
The "Shortage" is due to hoarding by consumers. That's it. This "Shortage" could be mitigated if the retail outlets would significantly increase the price. That would reduce hoarding. However, the outlets would be vilified for "Gouging" (whatever that is). So they prefer bare shelves to being vilified.
BTW, I was able to buy four rolls today at a gas station convenience store. $1.99/roll, but I got some. They had more, but I declined to hoard.
MikeF90 Flintlock76 Yes we know some are in danger, yes we have to slow or stop the spread, yes we have to take precautions, but STOP treating us like children! I assume that you mean the CiC. Saying the situation is under control is an outrageous lie. The virus is here and insulting redirections like about the virus origin need to stop. When testing catches up and reveals the true scope, you skeptics will need to revisit your comments. Our health care professionals are way under equipped to deal with new cases - stay well away from hospitals! ~SNIP!~
Flintlock76 Yes we know some are in danger, yes we have to slow or stop the spread, yes we have to take precautions, but STOP treating us like children!
Correction, they're under equipped to handle all the cases including the ones they don't need to handle, like the 80% of people that will exhibit mild to no symptoms. If you fall in that 80% category you don't need to do anything, I myself wouldn't bother going to the Dr. with mild symptoms, why waste their time and mine. By the time I've recovered my body will have made it's anti-bodies and I'll have nothing to worry about a re-occurence. Let them handle the ones that need it, the elderly and those with underlying medical conditions that make them more susceptible. I'm actually not even concerned about getting the virus, just like all the spring breakers, I want to get it, just so my body can do it's job.
"Social distancing" is an oxymoron, you can't be social and distance yourself at the same time...it doesn't work, just like shelter-in-place, this isn't some gas leak or chlorine spill, it's a virus, heck it's not even Ebola, MERS, or SARS, each of which are considerably more deadly.
BaltACD There is a retirement community near my house. Today they had a 'Closed to Visitors' sign prominately displayed.
Johnny
The stay-at-home orders and social distancing is necessary to flatten the curve of the transmission rate. If the curve continues on its current trajectory, the health care system will be overwhelmed, and the death rate will skyrocket.
Personal freedom is all fine and good. But this is a national emergency, and everyone should do their part. It's great to be young and feeling invincible and partying on the beach during spring break. But when they go home and pass the virus on to Mom, and Mom passes it on to Grandpa ...
Yes, solo fishing and train-watching are harmless; and if you can sneak out, heck yeah, do it. But if you are a cop, are you going to know who's really going to the grocery? Some other guy could be going to a poker game or a pickup basketball game or something else risky. The more people staying home the better. I'm figuring that other than one scheduled doc appt and the grocery, I'm not going anywhere for at least a month. I accept that. It sucks, but that's my own plan.
Since this thread's title is about paper, I think this is on-topic:
Lithonia Operator {Snip}... I'm figuring that other than one scheduled doc appt and the grocery, I'm not going anywhere for at least a month. I accept that. It sucks, but that's my own plan.
{Snip}...
I'm figuring that other than one scheduled doc appt and the grocery, I'm not going anywhere for at least a month. I accept that. It sucks, but that's my own plan.
Semper Vaporo
Pkgs.
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