Since we’ve had a thread about hazmat and another about exploding oreos/goats etc, I thought I’d post a few questions from an old test. Just for fun mind you.
The questions are taken from a questionaire at the end of the test booklet used by the Rock Island for promotion to engineer or conductor. The entire thing is 25 questions, but I’m only going to post a few. It’s not that they pertain to anything being discussed, I just found them amusing. I think you’ll see why. I also don’t have the answer sheet, so I can’t tell you that you’re wrong on any question. (I can think it though) The wording is just as it appears in the book. Enjoy.
Choose only one answer.
When a derailment occurs to your train and a car containing hazardous materials is involved, train crew should:
A. Tie up for rest.
B. Immediately notify Dispatcher, local police, Fire Department of car number, type of hazardous material indicated on shipping papers, type of placard, name and location of shipper, condition of load (on fire, leaking, etc.), location of problem.
C. Relax and wait for a relief train.
If a car containing hazardous materials is found leaking in a train yard, you should:
A. Run as fast as possible in the opposite direction.
B. Light up a cigar of good quality and climb on the car to see just what the problem is.
C. Notify your supervising officer and clear the immediate area.
Cars containing hazardous materials may be accepted by the Rock Island without proper shipping papers:
Even though I never had to learn shipping hazardous materials by rail (by highway and air were my subjects), I tend to agree with Brian, considering how much residue could be in such a car. Just as there is no such thing as an “empty” gas cylinder since they usually are not exhausted in use, there can be sufficient material in an “empty” tank car to cause great problems. When I returned “empty” chlorine cylinders, I always stated that there was a reportable amount (10 pounds for chlorine) in each cylinder, even though I did not know just how much was present.
That’s why you’ll virtually never see a railcar (or truck) placarded as “empty,” which I believe used to be the practice. Now, unless it’s been thoroughly cleaned, it remains placarded for the material it carries.
I agree with all about the wording. I have a few other booklets for reexamination of the different crafts. I’ve noticed a few revisions made in pen of similiar type mistakes. I just copied them as they appeared. Other parts of this same booklet have parts that probably were also revised when they were actually used.
We’re supposed to be getting a new edition of GCOR soon. One of the first things issued afterwards will be general orders to correct mistakes in it.
Where are your proofreaders when you need them–before going to press?[:)]
Back when National Semiconductor was making and selling watches, I always asked to see the negatives for the new instruction books–and I usually made corrections: spelling, sentence structure, description as to how to work the controls. My corrections were accepted, and then I read the new negatives before sending them to the printer. Did you ever read two point type on a negative? I do not miss that part of the work at all.
Tugboat Tony–please, warn readers to swallow any coffee in their mouths before reading further when posting such as this.I had not gotten to my coffee, so my screen and keyboard were safe.[:)]
I think Wabash1, and Zug covered that when they got all fogged up last week…
You train them with Oreo’s and MIlk![(-D][(-D][(-D]
I thought the choice in #25 was priceless! (to train an M/T tank car next to the Business Car[:-,]
Hazardous Materials are really no laughing matter, but somehow levity seems to be able to mitigate the seriousness and create a more memorable lesson!
Some time back I made regular deliveries to Mallinkrodt Chemical in SLMO, and in Paris, Ky. After having been doing it for some time; I was informed I needed “Safety School” because of the areas of the plants I delivered in. ( containers for hydroflouric acid): a very ‘hot’ acid and nothing to be fooled with.
My instructor took me around and showed me all the safety stations, and available water points, and then after about an hour he told me,"the most important lesson to remember was; If I saw an employee in a company coverall running, I was to fall in with that person, and run with the employee until he stopped ( or one of us fell out). At which point you were to address the questi
At one time our CNW rule tests were a lot like this.
They really wanted you to pass them!
But that part about the “good cigar” outdid anything I ever saw!
Jeff is right about the GCOR–I think it’s due next month. It will have to be accompanied by a new set of System Special Instructions, and I suspect that the System and Subdivision General Orders will all have to be reissued. And, as Jeff says, corrections will probably ensue–maybe not the first order, but probably within the week.
And if I see anything about “distance” signals or “advanced” approach, I think I’ll puke!
As a former 19E3 Tank Commander, may I suggest “Milk Bones” (they come in three sizes) or “Dog Yummies” (do they make them anymore?)? They always worked for my crewmen.
A long-standing joke among some of my colleagues relates to the wording in Pennsylvania’s Recycling Law (Act 101 of 1988), which to this day technically still states to the effect that ‘ordinance material’ is not to be considered as ‘household hazardous waste’.
[:-,] I don’t know why the enactments of local municipal governments need such special treatment - they’re not that dangerous, are they ? But feel free to throw all the bombs and bullets you want into those recycling bins, thank you very much !
Since I dealt with various hazardous substances in my work, I had to be certified in the disposal of hazardous waste. We were told that there are some things that industries must dispose of properly, but householders could simply throw into the trash because the usage was so low–batteries, aerosol cans, etc. We handled no munitions, so we were not given any instruction of their disposal.
By the way, I presume that the Pennsylvania ordinance concerning ordnance is meant to apply to guns, as well as munitions?