q 509 has just reported thier cab heater isn’t working properly and they have only 1 unit.hope they don’t get frostbite on the way to garrett.
stay safe
Joe
Just a thought, but could the crew open the door between the cab and the engine compartment and let the heat into the cab? This would not be a the best condition because of the noise but at least they would keep warm(er) until they reach their destination.
Door to the engine room ? I thought the electrical cabinet is in between (Cowls aside).
well the engine sounded like it was maybe 5444?(a widecab??) so at least it was a newer engine.
stay safe
joe
So can they refuse the engine and get a replacement? Or is it not that far to their destination?
Not that I don’t think they need a heater (they do), but if they’re out of the wind and dressed for the weather anyhow, it’s just gonna be a long, uncomfortable trip.
Another on hit wonder on the T ! Maybe the crew can build a fire in the trash can.
If you’re at the originating terminal - then you refuse and shop the power. If they do order you out with it, then you make sure you get the name of the person doing the ordering. But there is no excuse to send a locomotive out on a train that has a broken heater. The engineer has to sit still most of the trip - its not like he can get up and do jumping jacks to stay warm the whole trip.
And there are no doors on a modern engine that lead to the engine compartment (unless its a Canadian cowl unit) . On the back wall of an engine, you just have access doors ot the electrical compartment. (where all the breakers and knife switches are)
I believe if there isn’t a union rule then there is an FRA or other safety rule that would prevent the use of the locomotive and refusal by the crew would be upheld without punshment.
If it fails “on the road” your stuck with it till you get to the next terminal or to your crew change point…the relief crew can refuse it.
At an originating terminal, you can refuse it if your engineer or conductor does a inspection and finds it before you accept the train.
This varies somewhat by local union contract…
The heater on the lead locomotive must work at the origanating terminal, if it does not that is a cob condition claime the service track has 30 minutes to get the problem corrected or put on a different engine or use a engine faceing the same direction. Now if it happens on the road you are stuck fore a while and hope that their is a engine faceing the same way so it can be switched out ounc that happens pull down arm and test the marker and get a backup move from the ds. A heater not working causes a big pain in the backside for the crew and the ds tring to get traffic around the problem train.
Rodney
While there is a GM factory at Defiance, there is no engine store to get a fresh engine. It is about 50 miles to the crews final terminal.
You gotta love those engine stores! [^]
Good lord! What prima donnas.[(-D] Good thing we don’t operate this way in the engineering department because our 10-12 hour days don’t come with heaters unless we happen to be standing close to the engine on a machine. We’d never get any work done if we had to have heat like our brothers and sisters over in operations.
.
The FRA regulations may provide the answer. 49 CFR Part 229 (Railroad Locomotive Safety Standards), Subpart 119 (Cabs, floors, and passageways), as revised on October 1, 2004, states: “The cab shall be provided with proper ventilation and with a heating arrangement that maintains a temperature of at least 50 degrees Fahrenheit 6 inches above the center of each seat in the cab.” The civil penalty for non-compliance is $2,500 for each occurrence, up to $10,000 per day. If willful, it’s $5,000 per occurrence. These penalties are charged against the railroad.
BUT - If the crew is ordered out and the cab temperature is not at least 50 F. as stated above, the person doing the ordering is subjecting himself to the risk of an “Individual Liability” violation, which can cost his wallet up to $10,000.
So, yes, depending on the weather and the temperature in the cab, the incoming crew can refuse the locomotive, citing 49 CFR 229.119.
It read as if the heater failed enroute, however the posting about the minimum requirements per the FRA are correct. I’ve always thought they were ridiculous but they are correct.
As for the MofW employee and his posting, all I can say is, you got in the wrong line when you hired out. At least, you’re moving around, it’s a miserable experience to sit on an engine with no heat on a sub-zero day and run across the road and maybe not be dressed as warmly as you would have been, had you known you were going to have heater failure. Many engineers I know don’t really dress for the weather the way a conductor or brakeman would because they’re not going to spend a lot of time out in it.
Saw one in a golf shirt one winter day. His conductor was about to alight in the wind and snow to make a pickup…
I must be a backwards engineer I put on long johns, sweat shirt, tee shirt over the top of the sweat and a long sleeved shirt I do not trust the heaters. I have had the heater go to pot when I was 5 miles from home terminal when it went I got the power on the pit and was cold.
Rodney
Just out of curiosity, is there any source of 110 volt electrictiy in the cab?