Well,
I am sure the Omaha Herald knows mind of a Federal court judge…
Guess the Federal Judge who is deciding if it is even legal for the carriers to attempt to negotiate crew consist changes must have called and tipped them off to his decision.
Can’t wait to hear what the Herald says about the Judges decision on FELA.
Please keep us up to date on all of this…
Ed
…That’s one change and “improvement” to allow the RR to be competitive…I hope we never see…! That sounds too crazy…a profit margin that thin that such drastic measures would be necessary to be competitive…
Too bad you have to be a member to read the whole article, I only got to read the first 3 sentences.
yeah i would like to get to read the entire article
Just sign up with your Name and your E-mail addresse.
Allan.
Is that death and chaos i smell in the oven? [:0]
Won’t believe it, until I see it.
I can’t just see Trains going down the Main line with only just the Engineer only. What would happen if the Engineer where to fall asleep at the Throttle?
Exactly ! ! !
I am not sure how many railroads are actually pushing this. But you can bet that if UP were given the green light to reduce train crews to only one person, EVERY railroad would jump on that bandwagon.
Given the past stories about crew fatigue I think one person crews is a hugh diaster waiting to happen.
Us railroaders belive nothing what we hear and half of what we see (lol).
Rodney
No problem. You just pull off at the rest area and take a nap, right FM??
LC
I heard that every once in awhile, the engineer has to push a button or something like that just to make sure everything is o.k. Failure to do it with in a certain time frame and the train automatically goes into emergency and alerts dispatch of the alarm.
Sure, as long as you got a sleeper cab.
Yeah, sure the UP needs one man crews to be competitive, with whom? The trucker who handles two 40 foot trailers or three 28 foot pups at best? Isn’t UP the company who has been turning away business from long term customers? So lower crew costs will allow them to reduce rates to attract more business?
It is all smoke and mirrors, they only want to reduce employment levels and perhaps improve the bottom line for stock holders. We all know how well remote switch engines have lived up to their predictions in that regard.
Sure…Now that the Caboose has been gone for a long time,So will the Conductors and then the Engineers…Then someday Trains will going from coast to coast with NO crews at all. Hmmm,Makes you wounder doesn’t it? Some where I heard UP’s John Bromely say that awhile back. Allan.
I still don’t get how this would work… The train has to be walked from defects all the time. So then they have to contract a third party to patrol the whole line in trucks acting as U men? Of course those would be nonunion, but it seems kind of ridiculous to go through all that.
Dave
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They (UP) say they’re ready for one man crews, but they’re still hiring trainmen.
If they believed they were close to going engineer only, they wouldn’t keep on hiring like they are. Not because they have any qualms about furloughing employees when business slows, but because of the cost involved in training new employees only to cut them off permanently.
Even if they aren’t realistically ready for one man crews, they can benefit by forcing the UTU to renegotiate crew consists. Just imagine what give backs the company could get to keep the conductor. At the very least, they could get rid of the few remaining brakemen assignments.
And yes, if one man crews came to pass, they would have U (utility) men with trucks to help with break in twos or to check problems. Some areas already have them to help out with minor mechanical problems. At Fremont, NE there is one. The job is called Foreman General.
Jeff
A certain shortline railroad in North Carolina uses one man crews regularly. There is a conductor on every crew, but he is usually in a company vehicle down the line getting switches lined for the approaching train and what not, rarely actually riding on the train… [:(]
I read the article in the paper - Driver and I discussed it - article did say a two man crew caught a hotbox that the detector missed. They caught it looking back going around a curve about 10 miles past the detector.
And there was an interview with a female engineer (15 years) that wasn’t too hep on the idea.
I got the feeling that they were thinking of running this in an area that would be equivalent to using a remote engine. It would be for a short distance between two towns where only the coyotes roam and no major switches or divergents. Still…
Is it really that expensive to have two people on an engine? And what if someone has a major medical problem and can’t function well enough to get on the radio for help. Are they going to install cameras to watch them 24/7?
I’m confused!
Mook