Saw this today and I am wondering why the crew did not just split the train to unblock the crossings?
GOSHEN, Ind. - A mile-long freight train was ticketed by police for blocking a dozen city crossings for almost an hour as it awaited the arrival of a replacement crew.
If you read the full article you are talking about quite a few crossings. Probably not enough time to cut them. Also, it would take even longer if you cut them, then had a new crew come out and have to couple them and air test the train before moving would likely have left the train there longer and cost more than just paying the fine.
LC
Does the crew have to authority to factor in the time to “cut the train to avoid blocking the crossings” into their work shift, or do they need prior permission from management to do that? [Would they even want to do that, given the time delay mentioned above of reassembling and brake testing the train].
The fine may not have cost all that much, but the negative publicity could build up resentment among the locals
In most cases we wont cut the crossings. you never know if they will move us . but if you advise a dispatcher of the crossing that are blocked they can authorize you to work past the hours of service laws and cut the crossings. of to clear the main if nessesarry. this dont mean to work another hour it simply means that if it takes not more than 15 min then you are told to do it. the fine will go to the carrier and not the crew for hours of service violation. and the ticket for blocking the crossing is also the carriers.
Most engine crews I know stop just before they time out so they don’t foul any crossings or anything like that.
We had a problem on the west side with a crossing heading to milford
which was at the head of the CP Rail CAR and now NBSR rail yard.they built
a over pass.the idea of breaking freights as stop in yards for crew or engine
changes is not liked at all.
May God bless us.
David
Can you imagine if a UP train decided it needed a crew change at Rochelle and fouled the diamond; or NS fouling the diamonds at Fostoria. If a crew is about to time out they should not foul any crossings. They is big problem right now with CN in Niagara Falls, Ontario. Train 334 (Buffalo-Toronto) went through and hit a hot box detector. The alarm went off so they had to stop and check it out. The problem was that the train was over 150 cars long and it was fouling about 5 crossings effectively shuting down Niagara Falls. Apparently traffic was backed up all over the place for near miles all around the city because the CN Stamford Subdivision effectively cut the city in half and stupid CIty of Niagara Falls removed alot of the over passes. Not CN fault but still very irritating and kind of dangerous if emergency crews half to go somewhere.
Several years back, the Village of Silver Lake, WI, Fire Department responded to a call. The village is bisected by the Wisconsin Central (now CN). While they were out a fire started at the fire station, and, you guessed it, a train was rolling through town while the fire station burned down. [:(] And this train was moving, not stopped!