Limited view to inner yards at Lincoln. SW15 shoving a long line of tankers toward the hump. Crew hauler type vehicle right beside the last tanker, moving at same speed with it, until they were out of sight.
Have no clue as to why - but wondering if there is ever a time they won’t let a human on the end of a line of possible hazardous materials cars?
With today’s radios and technology, could it be that they could actually not ride the last car. Maybe just an ATV? And, if they are going to hump, there would be no connection at the rear. The SW15 was NOT a remote unit and there was no human on the last tanker.
Would the weather have anything to do with it? (around 40-45, cold and very wet - finally!) Thinking when it gets to be icy on the rungs - it would be safer in a vehicle of some kind?
dehusman’s got it…we just have to protect the shove,which means basically we have to be able to see the end and where it’s going…so if it’s raining we’ll ride in the crew hauler…
I’d have to ask, but I don’t think remote locomotives are supposed to be operated from a motor vehicle, for whatever reason. Our RCOs were still riding the shoves yesterday in the light rain.
Kind of off topic, but in a severe ice storm does the railroad or its employees take any precautions to protect those riding the moves? It has been so icy in Kansas City before that anything ice could stick to it would. I would think it would be extremely dangerous to ride a car that is covered in a 1/2 inch or more of ice. I know that Mookie’s area has much the same weather.
My guess would be that you have an engineer on the hump engine. You have a hump conductor up in the hump tower and a switchman pulling pins at the top of the hump (partially protected from the weather by the tower building). The conductor in the tower and the pin puller are both in radio contact with the engineer and can watch the rear of the shove as it proceeds up the hump. No need to ride the shove as long as it can be continuously observed.
I have seen the conductor/switchman ride into and in the yard, which would make sense if you are going to couple up some cars to some more cars.
And I am like Chris - does the railroad or union actually provide some protection to the workers that have to ride those cars in really stinky weather? (read snow/ice)
Sounds like a conductor didnt want to be out in the rain…we use our crew vans the same way, if they are not out droping off or picking up crew…if ya got it, use it.
Quite right, remote control engines are not to be operated from inside a motor vehicle. When I was working with them, sometimes when putting a completed train to the departure tracks, the RCO (usually the foreman) riding on the engines pulling out would then continue to operate while shoving into the departure track. The other RCO (helper) would get a van to protect the shove. Most of the time, you wouldn’t fill the departure tracks, but you still had to protect against tresspassers, red flags (tests) etc.
In pre-RCO days, and I believe one end of this yard went back to engrs on the engines, when putting trains to the departure track we always used a van to protect the shoves. At night, put a fusee on the point and off we went. I only recall a couple of times when a yard van wasn’t available when someone actually rode the point. If they still do it this way I couldn’t say. My seniority now allows me to work elsewhere.
If we were really lucky, we could have the Utility man who drove a company vehicle watch the shove.
I have observed that out here when a train terminating in the yard backs in, usually the conductor gets off the locomotive at the switch, stands around until the last car is clear, then line the switch for the train to back into the yard. It seems like I usually see a crew hauler meet the conductor, who will usually ride in it along side, or just ahead of, the last (or now first) car. The local trains usually do not have a crew hauler meet them until they have tied down the power. They ride car or walk ahead of the train as it is shoved into the yard.
By the way, it is a stormy night out here tonight (although not very dark, espicially with all of the lightning). Hopefully some of the photographs of the lightning will come out.