Today was a bad day for Westport Terminal RR. A derailment occured at Grant’s Grain, someone had pushed a string of hoppers too far!!!
Inquisitions are to be made. But as usual - I guess - nobody is guilty.
Nobody is a very famous employee !!!
Wolfgang who run trains in his basement [:)]
Nobody is perfect!
P.S. I’m Nobody!
Oh boy, I hope someone can explain this. [:D]
Might wanna get some “pink” slips ready.
And the no good bum that was already paid to install the wheel stops???[swg]What other tasks was he supposed to do?
Arrange to appear in the office of the terminal superintendent at 9:00 AM on Tuesday, May 26 2009 for a formal investigation to determine the facts and your responsibility, if any, concerning a derailment at Grant’s Grain on May 24, 2009. You may bring witnesses and representation of your choice provided their appearance does not entail expense to the company.
the officer ordering this investigation may not conduct it nor may he assess discipline. the officer conducting this investigation may not assess discipline and the officer assessing the discipline, if any, may not conduct nor order the investigation.
in other words, hold a fair and impartial hearing and then fire the poor slob.
in the event of a very serious accident, try to lay the blame on the dead guy.
once blame is affixed, the problem is considered solved.
now you have the benefit of my railroad experience, hope this helps.
grizlump
oh, by the way, Wolfgang, during the course of the hearing, ask the guy how he would do things if he had the chance to do them over. if he says anything other than the same as he did, then you have an admission of wrongdoing. don’t forget to ask him in closing if he feels he has received a fair and impartial hearing, the only smart answer he can give is that he will withhold comment until he sees a transcript of the hearing. that take away any chance of appeal away from the labor board
things i learned from my old boss who was regarded as “the law west of the wabash”
grizlump
Wolfgang needs a pile of dirt at the end of each of those tracks.
Mark
OOOPPS—at least they didn’t fall over—think of the repair costs then----[:-^]
The crew shoulda just pulled it back up…no one would have known. [8D]
Nick - impartial hearing officer
wolfgang:
Do what Paul Schofield did in the movie THE TRAIN:
“GET ME A CRANE FROM PARIS!”
That’s a neat shot, BTW. I love your scenery.
Tom [:D]
now we need the roundhouse foreman to attest that the engine was suitable for service, the general car foreman to assure us that the hand brake, air brakes and all safety appliances were servicable and in compliance with existing regulations, the crew dispatcher to attest to the fact that the crew had not been on duty in violation of any provisions of the hours of service regulation and last but not least the track supervisor to tell us that he can find no condition that would have contributed to the derailment.
have any of theses guys had a blood alcohol test done by the company physician?
bottom line, the engineer was either too lazy to stick his head out the window to see the hand signals or else he is restriclted to yard service only becuase he can’t see over 5 car lengths. in either case, he will claim the fireman was running the engine.
oh hell, give them 5 days on paper and get back to railroading. i know a hostler who got that for putting a passenger engine in the turntable pit and that act cost $200,000 before it was all over.
grizlump
Seems like a good place for a longer spur. Some bumpers and better signaling will help. At least no one got hurt and damage is minimal. Drug tests for everyone and keep the wheels turning.
Pete
Everybody says nobody did it yet we all know somebody did it. How do you find out who did it when anybody could have done it. Nobody is going to say anything about anybody but everybody knows somebody did it.
You should have checked Nobody’s back ground, he was canned from CK Rail Road 2 years a go! Seems Nobody thinks he knows ever thing and likes his brew at the wrong time. Track speed was 35 MPH around the turn, but he knew the new fangled F-7 could take it at 50 MPH?
Destroyed two coal cars and cost $65,000 to save the F-7. Report said it was “Nobody’s fault”.
Never will let Nobody work for me again, Cuda Ken
Seems “Nobody” was up here a few years back. Caused a traction motor fire on an older E7 and so damaged the truck the engine was basically written off. A $125,000 loss to the RR all because of Nobody[|(]
Never let Nobody anywhere NEAR a loke—let alone drive one!![V]
Paint Crew Causes Train Derailment!
I was running a string of boxcars over the Moose Bay Bridge yesterday when one of them derailed. Odd, because these old 40-foot cars are solid and reliable, and the trackwork has been re-done until it will handle even the fussiest steam engine. So, I figured I had a bad truck or something. When I pulled the cars back and re-railed them, the train still wouldn’t roll freely. It was then I discovered Othello DaVinci, pictured here in a company photo on the far right, on the tracks between two cars.
He’d fallen off the bridge while painting. Fortunately, he’s a pretty strong and tough guy. Once I retrieved him from the tracks, he was ready to return to work.
[(-D] nice.
tim
Oh my I see safety violations all over the place here.
1 - the ladders should be tied off at the top to prevent them from falling backwards. They also look like they are too straight, the bottom should b pulled back a bit for stability.
2 - I don’t see anyone wearing saftey harnasses!
3 - It looks like this ladder is too far from the work area that the guy is working on. Look how far he has to reach to paint that girder.
4- I’m not sure but should this guy be on the trackside while a train is operating? Looks pretty unsafe to me.
I would give these guys 3 days off to think about safety.
Good point.
I wonder if the company’s HR department has been making random inspections at various work sites. I would also like to see the OSHA inspector pay a little visi
At DaVinci Painters, the HR Department is Leo’s wife, Mona. The paint crew is their four sons, so it’s a family business. (When asked about Othello, Mona just smiles enigmatically.)
I had to do another accident reconstruction after I had another derailment, with Othello completely out of the picture. Othello insisted that he was firmly “moored” to the bridge, and he was dragged off by a freight car which had already derailed. He was sure his “friend” Iago had something to do with it. The car that derailed has old deep-flange plastic wheels, and they apparantly rode up when they came to the new grade crossing at Clampett Corner. Time for some maintenance on the crossing and a new set of wheels, methinks.
Mona can use those pizza-cutters when the boys come home for lunch.