Over a year ago I make NGDG message of my visit to the D&S RR with a friend who rode the train. I refused to ride because large flags were posted above the engine pilots and they were in the line of site of the engineer, and I listed some other suggestion that would benefit the D&SNG, if implemented. I was chewed over like dead meat in the Amazon River. I also suggested that the FRA should look into the flags on the engine and that brought violent exceptions and ridicule of me.
Here is the history of where I was coming from. I remember seeing Bob Richardson’s Iron Horse News #32 Oct, 1963, which told the story of Extra #493 East’s long freight train on October 6, 1963 crashing into a 27’ x 15’ rock on the track ¼ east of Navajo Bridge, NM on the San Juan line. The shape of the rock destroyed the headlight and top nose of the engine and cars were derailed, one destroyed, in the emergency stop. I later learned the REST of the story: The engineer related the fact that as he was watching the right of way (sightseeing) he felt something was very wrong with the way he remember the country above and made a reduction to apply the brakes even before he ever saw the rock around the curve and then had to dump it into emergency. The life long experience of running his territory formed an image that his mind reacted to when it was not the same that day. Remember that word sightseeing, for later in this story.
Now lets go to the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, which runs into some of the roughest canyon country in this nation, and pictures that tight canyon from Elk Park to Silverton. Above the track is a giant slop where rocks are just hanging up there, thousands on the edge of coming down at any moment of earthquake or weather change. If I were riding, I would hope my engineer was an EAGLE eye sightseeing that entire mountainside above him looking for any slightest sign of movement. Now that would take a clever trained eye to see a land slide in process, and even a more cleaver mind to see any change in its regular image. With this in mind, now put a large flapping flag up there in front of this engineer’s or fireman’s eye, which in some cases blocks part of that country hillside he wants to sightsee. The flags were an implement to a safer operation.
Now I need to relate my past experience when I was a new Assistance TrainMaster at Maybrook, NY in 1970 and in an arrangement for a historical celebration, I attached some American Flags on the front handrails of the diesel locomotive. At a very surprising moment, my engineer came up to me and flatly said; “I will not move that locomotive!!!” Surprised, I asked what is wrong? “The flags are in my line of sight”. Not fully knowing all the ICC rules at the time I guessed there was a rule for it, and I knew he was a long time experience worker that I highly respected, so I immediately agreed with him and said I will remove the flags. I will never forget that learning lesson as it was from the best of teachers -the men who worked it every day. I did know that if there was a steam leak from a locomotive that could block the line of sight of the engineer, a ICC inspector would take the locomotive out of service.
So now back to Durango, after being chewed up and spit out by the replies on the Narrow Gauge Discussion Group, I learn that the owner of the railroad, Mr. Harper is very patriot and had ordered the American flags to fly on all passenger trip locomotives, and then sell those flags in the gift shop at the end of the trip. I then talks to a few employees around the enginehouse and realized that the crews were not in much favor of the flags or the flag posts as built, but they were a happy team of employees that felt loyal and would not go against their boss’ strong likes. They would endure and do their best.
I then review the FRA books, but this is such a common sense thing, there is no real rule identified about engineer line of sight. But Read $229.45 “General conditions: All system and components on a locomotive shall be free of conditions that endanger the safety of the crew, locomotive or train.” The rules continues with many conditions after the word “including”. I feel the flagpoles fall in here.
So not to make a Federal Case of this with a official letter of complaint to the FRA, I talk to some of my inside friends who are engineers on the D&SNGRR and find they all agree with me. They did not like the flags fluttering in front of their eyes, and one even used the words “the flapping DETONED his eyes”. Thereafter, there were some engineers who sat and had coffee with some of the visiting FRA men and the issue was reviewed for their feelings in the matter.
The flag posts are now removed from the engines, having smaller American flags installed in the normal flag pockets of the locomotive. My opinion, this still improperly dates a train photo for a railfan like me, but is a proper and quiet correction of an unsafe operation up into that very narrow canyon between Elk Park and Silverton. And when the snow flanger Work Extra North operated, the true historic image of un-dated history was captured by many luck fans who have Calendar material for years to come, of the way it way Mr. Richardson’s or Trainmaster Norwood knew the railroad.
Everyone is happy, except my naysayer, who reply ‘’he’s all wet, a troll, verbal diarrhea, don’t listen to him”. Sorry, I disagree- I get things done!!!. And the joke about keeping names is because I have the confidence that when I get done telling all who I am, with my experience, they will recognize their errors in questioning me. A few will show up to be the ignoramus they are, such as that fellow who claimed he explored with me and I jumped to wrong conclusions. He Never explored with me and has little knowledge of my experiences. We will not go into his encounter with the Jicarilla Apache Indians where he used my name, without permission, to try to gain reservation access but got refused, and nearly destroyed years of our access for exploring. It was not a nice story. Enough said. PRSL
