Re: C&TS Ballast and cinders, ES&I

Hmm...
How about the UP and BNSF for starters?
Perhaps you SHOULD have qualified it.
I find your flip comments about the knowledge of the train crews to be right in lockstep with current management thinking, but I'll not go there and comment about their poor training programs.
I feel that if the railroad is going to trust the train and passengers to the crew, then they should carry out that trust in them. When the train goes into emergency a walking inspection by the crew, looking for tie, rail and equipment damage should be sufficient.
Calling for a track inspector is usually nothing but a waste of time and resources. In the case of the C&TS, any unnecessary use of their all ready limited resources should be avoided at all costs. Putting a 10 mph slow order on the track would only be redundant as most of the track is all ready 10 mph.
There are caveats in the special instructions stating that if a train sports a certain symbol (indicative of the type of train), has under a certain tonnage and length, and no severe slack action is present, that they are OK to release the brakes and go without a walking inspection.
But of course, I have only been working for Union Pacific for 28 years, so what the hell would I know?
Rick