How is it now with everything being non smoking? Way back when i worked more than half the guys smoked or chewed or both. Do people get written up now for smoking or do the guys just accept smoking railroaders?
Despite non-smoking rules in Cabs, trhere is still a lot of smoking going on.
I believe if crew members are sensable and open window that smoking on a moving locomotive should not be a problem, and I am a reformed smoker, but I can feel the need for some to smoke, they respect my space , I respect their need.
If train is sitting in siding go outside and puff away, if its moving open the window and do the best you can to keep smoke out of the cab.
most generally there is signs stating no smoking but it still happens and i dont have any problems with the smokers as long as they are neat with it. flicking ashes on the window sill or on the floor and smoling with out window open so i haft to smell that is disgusting, also the guys who think spitting in bottle then leaving it for me to clean up is just as bad and my last problem is sunflour seeds spitting them on the floor so i haft to clean that mess up before i can go on my run. the time wasted for me cleaning is put on the crew i relieve.
To answer if you can be written up, Yes. If the company has a no smoking policy and rule, and a crew member is caught smoking you can be written up. Even if no one on the crew objects to the smoker using the remedies stated by others, the rule is being broken.
Jeff
I’m going to have to back up the previous posts. Even though there are No Smoking signs posted in the cabs people that smoke still do it; esp over the road crews. I know some guys that will do nothing but operate the train and smoke the whole trip, and sometimes that trip could be 12 hours.
Many guys that smoke that I work with will either open the widow and keep the cigeratte or pipe outside, or they will go outside or step away from me. To me it seems as though they are being very respectful.
There is one guy who works in the yard that I have worked with that smokes in the crew room. His attitude is that he doesn’t care he wants to smoke. I’m just thinking to myself that it’s a good thing none of the Trainmasters or the Terminal Superintendent have caught him doing that. I do know that he would be repermaded.
NS rules prohibit smoking in cabs, vehicles, and buildings. I suppose it prohibits smoking while operating MofW equipment, too, but I’d have to look it up. I believe CSX rules permit smoking in engine cabs when both (all) crewmembers agree to it. Can’t speak for the rest.
Thanx for the responses. We had guys that smoked like chimneys it just seemed to go with the job.
In years gone by, the railroads operated on 3 commodities…nicotine, caffeine and alcohol…
For the most part those days are gone
Like a lot of society today, the smokers are fewer and farther between. You’ve still got them but nothing like back when. Very few of the younger folks smoke but those who do seem to be among the heaviest smokers. In fact, I’d say smoking is more prevalent among the younger crowd than those who remain of the older workers. But maybe that’s because, from my perspective, there’s now more of them than us. (ValleyX, putting divisions between the young and old[:-^])
The smoking ban is one of the most frequently ignored and laxly enforced rules I see. Generally, if all crew members aren’t bothered by smoking, it’s overlooked. And if someone objects, most people are courteous enough to step outside the cab. For some reason, I find many more smokers working for the RR, then in the general public.
Maybe it’s to mask the smell of the locomotive toilets. [:P]
Nick
Yeah, it’s nowhere as fun as it used to be…
I have been a lifelong non smoker. Cig, cigar or pipe smoke doesn’t bother me though. Most guys, in the cab, will asked first if its okay to light up. I have a hoghead on my job currently that is going cold turkey. His defensive line is chewing sunflower seeds. Everyday he brings a big bag of seeds and just about everytime I look over, a large handful of seeds is going in his mouth. What ever works I guess.
My father quit cold turkey when he had his first heart attack. He never lost the oral habit, however, going through lemon drops, gum, Life Savers, and I forget what else.
The UP rule is that smoking is prohibited anywhere on the property–indoors or out. Tough to enforce; I know that in my particular location others are influenced by habit or the pressures of the job to light up. Most of the time, they clean up and air out after themselves. (But you have to be careful when compressing the contents of the wastebasket!)
I don’t know how many people availed themselves of the cessation programs offered by the railroad before enactment of the rule–not enough, apparently.
While Rule G is rather well known - Rule H has been around almost as long.
dd