Re: Yet more C&TS pics, 6/23-6/24

Greg Coit wrote:
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> I may be mistaken Chris, but I thought you are or were a professional NZ railroader?
>

Indeed I was, and very, very well acquainted with the Rules & Regs. and applicable Staff Operating Instructions as well as all applicable Local Instructions for the district regarding the passage and movement of Hazardous Goods and Oversize loads, of the time. My district was just over 1000km's of track, both single and double and operated under no less than 5 different Signaling systems with complete knowledge of a 6th(for Examination purposes) under which I never operated. Quite unlike a 64 mile line without any Signals either.

Something I saved from way back




However:
I wasn't aware that IanLK was a "professional Railroader" and as a member of the Public, just where are those "rules" posted?



Greg Coit wrote:
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> Is it common for professional railroader in your country to disregard the rules?
>

Yes, we all do/did to some extent, maybe like leaving the cab while in motion without my Assistant having his E.D.'s cert. so as to pilot the locomotive. (tut,tut).
However I certainly sounded the Horn as required before starting my train, after receiving permission to start said train, in whatever form that applied, and with the proper use of the Headlamp as described in Rule 16.b (i) and 16d.
No Bells fitted down here, thank God.



Greg Coit wrote:
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> and encouraging people to ignore safety is disappointing at best.
>

Given that only under some rare occasions would members of the public and/or rail enthusiasts be on the railway property so it wasn't something I had to worry about generally, BUT that said, we weren't operating no two wrist railway. So I guess we, the Loco operating Staff would have been way more attuned to the Sheep milling about.
I tended to avoid any NZR&LS Specials mainly because none were run out of my first Depot, and at the second, I was unimpressed with the idea of working for free on a Sunday, simply because at that time I had a huge mortgage.
The only one time I got involved with a Special was pushing on the rear of a train with a failed Smoker, and made the Guard of the train have all the passengers inside and sitting down, ostensibly because well, as I never ran any Pushers, pushing a Passenger train with 8000hp and dragging my 1500 tons trailing made me a little nervous. That would have been made worse with a pack of photogs on the rear platform staring straight at my every move.


I wasn't aware I was encouraging any to be broken, if I was able to chat with IanLK around my Train then I would have impressed upon him the need for awareness of his immediate surroundings at all times, just like my Instructors did with us(me included) in our classroom way back on Day one of the Loco Trainee course, way back in 1977.

I certainly wouldn't have obfuscated any Safety message with illusions of locomotives walking off by themselves. I'm sure Earl can relate to the expression; Set & Centred.



Greg Coit wrote:
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> As others have said many times before, RR safety rules are written in blood
>
Not always: The latest here is "all Locomotives, when stabled must be chocked against movement: No less than two Wheelchocks must be applied". All because some lazy B'stard didn't put the bloody Handbrake on. No one hurt though.


And in the vein of Gregs sentence about disregarding Rules.....my own pictures, not altered in any way.







Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/07/2021 03:36AM by Chris Walker.