Re: Loose dunnage

John West Wrote:
=======================================================
> Consignees were supposed to remove everything from
> the cars, but often did not. Rules like that were
> rarely enforced. But because of them the
> railroads could cut costs by closing cleaning
> tracks. So loose dunnage was against the rules
> but happened all the time. The really dangerous
> part was metal straps hanging from the cars that
> could slice a body part off very easily. We
> discussed the loose dunnage before the trip and
> decided to leave it there because it would be
> prototypical (and there were no metal straps to
> decapitate photographers too close to the track).

I can remember walking through the yard in the early 1980's when some of the flats had yet to be used for anything. There were still steel bands lashed through the stake pockets and laying on the decks from the last load of lumber that came from Chama, Juanita or wherever ready to fall off and take someone out........
>
> JBWX