Bad train pictures

[Anonymous]

When you have a starlite Lamp, and have the signaling light on, do you hold the lamp by the handle pointing down or actually point the lamp at the engineer?

[Anonymous]

When you have a starlite Lamp, and have the signaling light on, do you hold the lamp by the handle pointing down or actually point the lamp at the engineer?

[edblysard]

Depends on whether you want him to blast you with the headlight and ditch lights on full...

Seriously, if you have the exposed bulb on, it makes no difference, he(or she) can see the light from a long distance.

From the engine, after you are a few cars away, all the engineer really sees is a point of light, wether you point it directly at them or not.


The "flashlight" portion is just that, a flashlight for the switchman to use to read his list, or inspect a car, or just light where he is walking.

Ed

[edblysard]

Depends on whether you want him to blast you with the headlight and ditch lights on full...

Seriously, if you have the exposed bulb on, it makes no difference, he(or she) can see the light from a long distance.

From the engine, after you are a few cars away, all the engineer really sees is a point of light, wether you point it directly at them or not.


The "flashlight" portion is just that, a flashlight for the switchman to use to read his list, or inspect a car, or just light where he is walking.

Ed

[edblysard]

At the PTRA, we are issued a Scotchlite reflective belt and holster for our radio, and of course, the switchmans lantren, and are required to use both, from one hour before sunset, to one hour after sunrise.

The vest is a option, the belt is required by our safety rules.

Rookies, (new hires) are required to wear a safety yellow ball cap, until they are over their derail, or probation period.

This identifies them to all other employees as a newbie, and make it easy to keep tabs on them.

Keeping tabs on new guys in a switching yard is really important, statisticly, a switching yard is the most dangerous place to work on any railroad, more accidents and injuries happen there than all other places on the railroad combined, and last year, most injuries have occured while riding a shoving movement...

Personally, I have used both the vest and the belt, and found both work quite well.
From the cost angle, the vest appears to be the least expensive product, yet offers more visiability at night.

The only drawback I could find for the vest was, even though it is made from a lightweight plastic net or mesh, in Houston's heat and high humidity, it was uncomfortable and caused me to perspire more.

All of our operating officers wear the vest whenever they are out in the yard,
and it makes it quite easy to see them from a distance, day or night.

Which, depending on your work habits, can be a plus!

Down here, both UP and BNSF require their employees in yard service to wear the vest at night.

The few times I have been in the cab at night(whiskers count at small railroads)
did convince me that the vest is a safer product.

While both the belt and vest are highly reflective, you dont have to think about what you are looking at when you see someone wearing the vest.

I bet you see the vest as standard issue industry wide in the next few years.

Anyone here work for a class one who can let us in on wether the vest is a required tool at night one your road?


Ed

[edblysard]

At the PTRA, we are issued a Scotchlite reflective belt and holster for our radio, and of course, the switchmans lantren, and are required to use both, from one hour before sunset, to one hour after sunrise.

The vest is a option, the belt is required by our safety rules.

Rookies, (new hires) are required to wear a safety yellow ball cap, until they are over their derail, or probation period.

This identifies them to all other employees as a newbie, and make it easy to keep tabs on them.

Keeping tabs on new guys in a switching yard is really important, statisticly, a switching yard is the most dangerous place to work on any railroad, more accidents and injuries happen there than all other places on the railroad combined, and last year, most injuries have occured while riding a shoving movement...

Personally, I have used both the vest and the belt, and found both work quite well.
From the cost angle, the vest appears to be the least expensive product, yet offers more visiability at night.

The only drawback I could find for the vest was, even though it is made from a lightweight plastic net or mesh, in Houston's heat and high humidity, it was uncomfortable and caused me to perspire more.

All of our operating officers wear the vest whenever they are out in the yard,
and it makes it quite easy to see them from a distance, day or night.

Which, depending on your work habits, can be a plus!

Down here, both UP and BNSF require their employees in yard service to wear the vest at night.

The few times I have been in the cab at night(whiskers count at small railroads)
did convince me that the vest is a safer product.

While both the belt and vest are highly reflective, you dont have to think about what you are looking at when you see someone wearing the vest.

I bet you see the vest as standard issue industry wide in the next few years.

Anyone here work for a class one who can let us in on wether the vest is a required tool at night one your road?


Ed

[CShaveRR]

Up here, vests are required at all times for RCOs; they're orange, with yellow visibility stripes. Newbies wear reflectorized leg bands (orange for under six months, green for under four years).

[CShaveRR]

Up here, vests are required at all times for RCOs; they're orange, with yellow visibility stripes. Newbies wear reflectorized leg bands (orange for under six months, green for under four years).

[jeffhergert]

QUOTE: Originally posted by CShaveRR

Up here, vests are required at all times for RCOs; they're orange, with yellow visibility stripes. Newbies wear reflectorized leg bands (orange for under six months, green for under four years).

The RCO vest is needed because the control box hangs on it. It is heavier than the normal Orange/Green vests used by new-hires and maintenance of way crews.
Also on the UP the wearing of vests or the leg bands varies between service units (divisions). At Clinton I see the Chicago crews just like described above. Usually the newest ones have a full vest. At Fremont it seems all the North Platte crews have a leg band. Have also seen reflectorized shoe laces.
On the Council Bluffs service unit when I hired out we wore the orange vest for six months. I kept mine and have used it when called for single track switch tending jobs or work trains where I might be walking on the ground close to MOW equipment like cranes, etc. Now it seems like the CoBluffs new hires only wear the vests the first 12 weeks or so. The student's last two weeks of road training, at least the ones I had, didn't wear a vest.
Jeff

[jeffhergert]

QUOTE: Originally posted by CShaveRR

Up here, vests are required at all times for RCOs; they're orange, with yellow visibility stripes. Newbies wear reflectorized leg bands (orange for under six months, green for under four years).

The RCO vest is needed because the control box hangs on it. It is heavier than the normal Orange/Green vests used by new-hires and maintenance of way crews.
Also on the UP the wearing of vests or the leg bands varies between service units (divisions). At Clinton I see the Chicago crews just like described above. Usually the newest ones have a full vest. At Fremont it seems all the North Platte crews have a leg band. Have also seen reflectorized shoe laces.
On the Council Bluffs service unit when I hired out we wore the orange vest for six months. I kept mine and have used it when called for single track switch tending jobs or work trains where I might be walking on the ground close to MOW equipment like cranes, etc. Now it seems like the CoBluffs new hires only wear the vests the first 12 weeks or so. The student's last two weeks of road training, at least the ones I had, didn't wear a vest.
Jeff

[Junctionfan]

Can there me mixed roadrailer trains and does the trailers have to be Wabash National?

[Junctionfan]

Can there me mixed roadrailer trains and does the trailers have to be Wabash National?

[CSSHEGEWISCH]

Wabash National may be the only manufacturer that has been licensed to build Roadrailers. I don't know who actually holds the patent.

[CSSHEGEWISCH]

Wabash National may be the only manufacturer that has been licensed to build Roadrailers. I don't know who actually holds the patent.

[Mikeygaw]

what is a 'rollout'?

[Mikeygaw]

what is a 'rollout'?

[Anonymous]

Testing...

LC

[Anonymous]

Testing...

LC

[Anonymous]

I'm looking for the company that manufactures the passenger trainman's lanterns. You remember the little tin ones that'd fit in your back pocket and took two "C" cells. Any ideas?

LC

[Anonymous]

I'm looking for the company that manufactures the passenger trainman's lanterns. You remember the little tin ones that'd fit in your back pocket and took two "C" cells. Any ideas?

LC

[Junctionfan]

Eveready?

[Junctionfan]

Eveready?

[Junctionfan]

Hey LC, have you been(or are you) a trainmaster? I know you were a conductor and you probably have been an engineer but have you done other cool stuff?

[Junctionfan]

Hey LC, have you been(or are you) a trainmaster? I know you were a conductor and you probably have been an engineer but have you done other cool stuff?

[Overmod]

Nobody seems to have answered the question half above about 'mixed RoadRailer trains". The answer is YES -- if you mean ordinary freight cars and RoadRailer vans in the same train -- but ONLY if the ordinary cars are ahead of the RoadRailers. (For what I consider entirely self-evident reasons!!!) The answer is also YES if you mean 'mixed' in the sense of passenger and freight cars on the same train: does the name "Three Rivers" ring a bell in this context? (Here the same observations as above apply, with the added fillip that at least one HEP locomotive has to stay connected to the passenger cars at all times, whether or not there's any switching or change in train consist.

Now, if you mean "mixed" in the sense of one of those plans to put passenger modules on the rails using RoadRailer/RailRunner/BladeRunner technology, there's an even more qualified YES -- you start to get into very uncharted territory regarding how the passenger modules will be handled, suspended, etc., where in the train they are best handled (considering that slack action, braking, stringlining, etc. are very different on RoadRailer -- or other extremely low-tare-weight system -- trains).

My personal preference would be to put the pax up front, behind the motive power, unless you have automobiles in some form of COFC or AutoMax, which contrary to Auto-Train standards would have to lead due to their construction. If you have containers or pods for the automobiles that can ride on RailRunners and still meet loading-gauge restrictions (e.g. through tunnels with catenary) you decide on convenience whether they go before or after some or all of the trailing vans. If the passenger 'containers' have their own self-contained power, you can have some of them at the rear of the consist (e.g. a 'special' or privileged part of a train, with an observation car that has a view) but I suspect the ride will suffer somewhat. My suspicion is that any BladeRunner would have to be at the trailing end of a RoadRailer or RailRunner consist, whether or not it were running using autonomous power; that Colorado Railcar-style "DMU" units would have to run ahead of any lightweight articulated stuff in a consist; and that private-car handling would involve some frankly interesting compromises, since even with waivers they'd only be safe if coupled directly to the power and ahead of anything else in trail...

[Overmod]

Nobody seems to have answered the question half above about 'mixed RoadRailer trains". The answer is YES -- if you mean ordinary freight cars and RoadRailer vans in the same train -- but ONLY if the ordinary cars are ahead of the RoadRailers. (For what I consider entirely self-evident reasons!!!) The answer is also YES if you mean 'mixed' in the sense of passenger and freight cars on the same train: does the name "Three Rivers" ring a bell in this context? (Here the same observations as above apply, with the added fillip that at least one HEP locomotive has to stay connected to the passenger cars at all times, whether or not there's any switching or change in train consist.

Now, if you mean "mixed" in the sense of one of those plans to put passenger modules on the rails using RoadRailer/RailRunner/BladeRunner technology, there's an even more qualified YES -- you start to get into very uncharted territory regarding how the passenger modules will be handled, suspended, etc., where in the train they are best handled (considering that slack action, braking, stringlining, etc. are very different on RoadRailer -- or other extremely low-tare-weight system -- trains).

My personal preference would be to put the pax up front, behind the motive power, unless you have automobiles in some form of COFC or AutoMax, which contrary to Auto-Train standards would have to lead due to their construction. If you have containers or pods for the automobiles that can ride on RailRunners and still meet loading-gauge restrictions (e.g. through tunnels with catenary) you decide on convenience whether they go before or after some or all of the trailing vans. If the passenger 'containers' have their own self-contained power, you can have some of them at the rear of the consist (e.g. a 'special' or privileged part of a train, with an observation car that has a view) but I suspect the ride will suffer somewhat. My suspicion is that any BladeRunner would have to be at the trailing end of a RoadRailer or RailRunner consist, whether or not it were running using autonomous power; that Colorado Railcar-style "DMU" units would have to run ahead of any lightweight articulated stuff in a consist; and that private-car handling would involve some frankly interesting compromises, since even with waivers they'd only be safe if coupled directly to the power and ahead of anything else in trail...

[Junctionfan]

I was talking about say some Triple Crowns, CN, Clipper, Schneider and some Swift trailers all in one consist instead of just one company. That way several large trucking companies might add to the roadrailer trains. In a roadrailer train you might see not only Triple Crown but some BNSF, Landstar, Yanke, J.B Hunt, Schneider, etc.

I was also wondering if any kind of trailer can be made into a roadrailer or it just a Wabash National thing?

[Junctionfan]

I was talking about say some Triple Crowns, CN, Clipper, Schneider and some Swift trailers all in one consist instead of just one company. That way several large trucking companies might add to the roadrailer trains. In a roadrailer train you might see not only Triple Crown but some BNSF, Landstar, Yanke, J.B Hunt, Schneider, etc.

I was also wondering if any kind of trailer can be made into a roadrailer or it just a Wabash National thing?

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Junctionfan

Eveready?

No, not the battery company. I'm looking for the lantern manufacturer. I used to have one but it broke and I got rid of it.

I think it was Streamline or something like that?? And I think it was in the midwest. This was maybe 8 to 10 years ago.

LC

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Junctionfan

Eveready?

No, not the battery company. I'm looking for the lantern manufacturer. I used to have one but it broke and I got rid of it.

I think it was Streamline or something like that?? And I think it was in the midwest. This was maybe 8 to 10 years ago.

LC