July 4th RR catch up time ?

Trains Magazine General Discussion
1

The long July 4th holiday is moving into full swing already. Due to its timing this year many more persons appear to be going out on trips. Amtrak for one has nearly sold out many trains as well. This may mean -

  1. Many shippers may shut down starting today or tomorrow ?

  2. The possible shut down may allow some local RR jobs to be shortened or cancelled ?.

  3. These jobs can be used to clear some of the main line crew less trains ?

  4. Fewer train starts this weekend as compared to other weekend rush times ?

  5. If fewer trains then remaining trains more possibility of reaching destinations sooner ?

  6. Yards may have less classifications allowing to clear them up ?

  7. RR MOW and construction crews may have a stand down there by reducing delays to main line service ?

Since each RR division is different observations from our posters may give us a picture of what is happening. if anything

2

My job’s annulled for July 4th.

Yay for 3 day weekend!

3

I certainly can’t predict what’s going to happen. Those factors you state may indeed help the situation, but they need to be balanced against the railroads’ reluctance to pay holiday rates to employees.

4

Employees necessary to move the backlog think it is a Holiday and in one way or another are not available to work and move the backlog during the Holiday period.

5

Well NS’ derailment near Toledo will not help reduce backlog. NS has had a bad week. Guess those CSX fellows can get a few snickers after their bad week ?

http://www.toledoblade.com/local/2014/07/03/Train-derailment-blocks-crossing-in-western-Lucas-Co.html

6

BaltACD is right. The constraint will be how many crewmen answer their phones.

Mac

7

Slow orders become bigger, more numerous and stay in effect longer. Signal maintainers get rich. Train crews get lonely and bored - create big headaches at the most inopportune times.

8

Last Memorial Day some MOW (specific task, not regular section maintenance) gangs where working. Seemed strange to have to call a Form B on a holiday.

Jeff

9

Sometimes that’s what it takes to get a project done with the appropriate track window. (love it when town fathers demand that an outage has to meet their criteria on a crossing project and then swallow hard when the bill comes due)…On a holiday weekend with doubletime and tripletime rules in effect plus extra contractor costs, there has to be a really good reason and somebody willing to absorb the extra cost.

10

The major holidays, Thanksgiving, Christmas and to a lesser extent, New Year’s Eve/Day you can usually expect not many calls being answered. (Actually, most calls DO get answered. Those that intend to be off have already laid off and are won’t get called.) Other holidays you can never tell. Sometimes there are a lot of people marked off, other times hardly anyone has.

Thru-freight crews don’t get extra pay for working holidays.

Jeff

11

Then they wonder why crews mark off.