rdamurphy Wrote:
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> I'm just curious about something, now that I've
> ridden both the C&TS and D&SNG RR's... I'm not a
> railroader, not by any stretch of the imagination.
> I am, however, an Operation Lifesaver volunteer,
> and I've done a couple of Safety Trains on the
> Union Pacific (They have excellent support for
> OLI, as does the BNSF), and have worked as a
> volunteer on-board those trains. I've also worked
> with both BNSF and UP train service employees and
> safety people who also participate in OLI.
>
> So. I do know the rules, no where near the
> knowledge of the average railroader, but I'm
> definitely familiar with them. And I've been
> through the pre-operation safety and rules re
> familiarization briefings on the UP trains.
>
> Last week, on the train rides, and I'm not going
> to "point fingers" at a particular RR, I observed
> a number of clear violations of rules in place on
> the Class I's... For instance, riding a moving
> locomotive, walking between a moving locomotive
> and uncoupled cars, staying on the same side of
> the track as the switchstand during train
> movements through the switch, coupling to occupied
> cars, and some other relatively minor
> violations...
>
> Is this just a lack of awareness/oversight, or are
> the rules simply different on the narrow gauge
> lines? A lot of these are common sense rules the
> Class I's use to cut their injury/fatality rate to
> near 0%, and I was actually surprised by some of
> the "nonchalance" regarding basic railroading
> safety rules on one particular railroad (again,
> I'm not going to point fingers...) By contrast, a
> recent ride on the Georgetown Loop RR impressed me
> on how the train service people followed the rules
> to the letter, and I've also observed that at the
> CRRM, where safety procedures are also followed.
>
>
> Has anyone else noticed this, or is it an "early
> in the season" thing, or am I completely off-base?
> Especially interested in hearing from
> professional railroaders that have ridden/worked
> on the two railroads... Again, I'm not interested
> in starting a riot, I'm actually just a little
> bewildered that simple, easy to follow, safety
> rules were being ignored...
>
> Thanks,
>
> Robert
Last sentence says ignored.
