I have come upon many Union Pacific (UP is all that’s near me) trains sitting in sidings that are just left idling for hours without a crew with the front cab door wide open on the lead locomotive. Am I missing something or could just anybody walk right up into the loco and (assuming they knew how to run it) take off down the tracks? This seems kinda scary.
The crew would have removed the reverser lever which locks the control stand.
That crew needs to be talked to.If we was caught here on the NS doing that we would get in trouble big time.And with all these hidden laws in the Patriot Act if something did happen,they could be fined,or face prison tiime.Heck the new FRA law on switches in dark territory or as far as I know signaled districts,is a $27,000.00 personal fine,if caught leaving a switch lined wrong,and it is found that way by proper authority.So what could they do if something happened in a situation like you mentioned.I would say they would never work in any type of transportation job the rest of their lives.
By all alone do you mean you saw the crew picked up and they left or just you could not see them??? Here the UP local is ideling but locked down while crew goes to lunch. I do not beleive they can lock the door as in a key. Ideling does not mean opperable. Maybe one of our engineers can explain this better.ENJOY
not only the reverser lever but certain switches and controls as well to keep near do wells from taking off with the train. Last I knew you cant lock the door from the outside but you can from the inside. So one door was flapping in the wind? who knows maybe the guy getting off didnt latch it right big whoop.
Someone once said that Microsofts Train SIm should be banned cause it teaches terrorists how to run trains. Wll if they can get on a motor I have just done my magic to and get it going then they went and got qualified just like I did cause Train Sim shows you nothing of how to get a locomotive moving when properly isolated against movement.Not to mention the fact getting the thing moving without tearing the train all up and figuring out then how to get it out of emergency and rolling.
I remember a big fear about firetrucks being used by terrorists as well. we were told to remove the keys when at a job. First off the engine has to be running to pump water, second off most fire trucks dont have keys. What to do what to do when the government gets involved!
First, if they do manage to figure out how to move it, where exactly are they going to go, that you can’t follow them or get out ahead of them?
It’s not like the trainmaster of road master couldn’t drop a portable derail in their way, or the dispatcher run them into a stub siding…
You can’t sneak off with one and no one knows, even in dark territory, your still limited to where you go, its not like you can steer it into a building.
They (bad guys)know this, (so does your government) and about the only thing they could do is rear end another train, and then they would have to have the luck of having the proper hazmat car on the tail end of the other train to cause any type of public danger.
If they are in CTC, they can’t even get out of the siding without the dispatcher letting them, and if they managed to get the switch lined, the DS would know instantly.
This is one of those non problems, like the keyless fire trucks, a lot to do about nothing.
Ed
Where was this occurring[?] Also. are here “many” sidings where you saw this to accomodate all the “many” trains you saw[?]
[quote]
Originally posted by kfleeman1
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I’ve seen this happen on any railroad I’ve looked at. The reveser’s out, the hand brakes on at least one locomotive are on. As far as door open, I knew of a person here at my last school who had never been on a train and got on one in a siding. I don’t know what he was trying to do, but he didn’t look up to see the new crew coming up the track, they saw him and called the police, he spent a night in jail, charged with criminal trespass, and was/is on probation. Like I said, he’s not my friend, but I know of him. I told him he couldn’t move it, I said trains were password protected, LOL! If he wanted to get on a train…he should have talked to me, I can do it a little bit more legally, lol.
Just because you did not see the crew does not mean they are not there. As I’m sure many of our working crew will tell you, there’s alot more to these jobs than keeping the seat warm. While much of there day is spent with what I call getting " big window time" there is also ground time as well. They see alot of the interior of these “loco’s” so maybe they took a walk.? Who knows just one of a hundred reasons why you don’t see them but it does not mean they don’t see you.
For train sitting, I charge $10 an hour for the train and up to two locos, and $2 for each extra loco.
And remember Dan,
No partys and no loud music after 9:00 pm…
and they have to be idleing by ten oclock at the latest!
Ed[:D]
First of all, I’m not saying that someone could jump in and take a train, I’m asking if it is possible. Second, I know it’s not like they can really go anywhere with it, but they could derail it if they ever got it moving. By “many” I mean I have noticed 4 of these open door situations in the last three months that I can recall. I am 100% sure that there was no crew on at least 3 of the 4 because I was around them for 3-4 hours each. This is on a friend’s farm where I ride 4-wheelers and you can see the whole train as well as get up close to it. No crew in the cab or anywhere along the train.
Ok,
Here is part of it.
Most, if not all railroad’s operating rules require the engineer to center and remove the reverser handle…which is like removing the shifter on your car…no shifter, no go anywhere!
They also have to set the train brake, independent brake (locomotive brake) tie a hand brake on each locomotive, isolate the unit(s), and turn off the generator switch, which is basically shutting off the electrical portion of the control surfaces from the diesel engine and cutting the output of the alternator off from the traction motors.
Most rules books require the crew to tie sufficient hand brakes on a sufficient number of cars to prevent movement of the train if the air brakes fail…
Now, there is no way to seriously lock the cab up, imagine having to get keys for each locomotive you use…either you need a key ring about the size of a hula hoop, or someone has to bring each engineer a key for that specific locomotive…cant be done.
UP does have, on some of their locomotives, a dead bolt and lock, but it is for the service people and round house crews, so they can lock the cab when someone is working under the locomotive.
Yes, you can get in the cabs of most locomotives…and do silly things like ring the bell, blow the horn, or dumb things like turn on the sanders, knock of the air brakes, but odds are you don’t have a reverser, or the knowledge to un-do all the steps taken to prevent you from moving the thing in the first place.
And, as was mentioned, if you get caught, you will get in trouble…if the gumshoes catch you, you go to jail, if the crew catches you, and you’re lucky, you go to jail…
Is the potential there to cause harm?
Sure, but you could cause more harm in a fire truck…or a farm tractor or forklift, all of which have no real way to be secured.
Most people are smart enough, or afraid enough to look at a locomotive, wonder about it for a while, then decide they would p
Ed:
When you remove the reverser what do you do with it? Is it a portable piece that all engineers carry with them? Dont laugh I dont have a clue.
So, if you remove it are you supposed to hide it, or is there a standard location for it. If so, wouldnt a “terrorist” be able to determine that location.
ed
Depends on the railroad, but most engineers have one…and most railroads require you to check one out or have on issued by the engine house…my railroad does, and if you lose it, you have to buy another one.
And most of the engineers I know have a spare.
Some roads let you leave it on the locomotive, there is a holder for it.
It is a handle, about 5" long, with a set of notches and lands, just like a car key.
The handle is called a reverser handle, (cute, huh) and the control it fits into is called the reverser…( I know, but we already have enough fancy names for other stuff)
You insert it into the reverser control, and it allows the reverser to be moved from center, (off or netural) to forward or reverse.
No reverser, you go no where…
Its not a big deal anyway…as was pointed out, you cant really go anywhere with a train in the first place, and even in dark territory, all you could do is run into another train…
Lets say you were going to “borrow” just the locomotive(s), and you pulled the pin and un coupled it or them from the train…as soon as you pulled away from the cut, the air would bust and the emergency brakes would apply…do you know how to reset them?
Bet not, and if you dont recover the air, you are not going to move again…like I said, its a no problem “problem”…
If you have seen a photo of a standard control stand, you have seen a reverser handle.
Ed
Tie them down and on the railroad in the east without an X in its name, the cabs had better be locked, if in a remote location, and if you have home road power.
Anybody give any consideration to the customers who are waiting for all that freight sitting behind the locomotives… going nowhere…?
Every Engineer carries at least one. They come in metal and some sort of plastic: the metal ones are prized since they won’t break.
In most of the standard cabs, you can remove all the handles.You can also lock the locomotive brake on in some loco’s.
Try going into the cab to see if people are there, if you get caught say you work for the BNSF as a railfan which was hired to make sure everyone was safe!
JUST KIDDING of course.
You would not be able to steal a loco. MSTS is a kids game compared to a real loco.
Also, ever considered the crew was fixing a prob further down the trainon the other side out of view?
As they say on freerepublic.com, “There’s nothing to see here, move along.” [:)]
Although the mention of the T-word on Bush-loving FR would proabably be grounds for their mods to pull the thread without the possibility of reading it, on the grounds of, “Let’s not give the terrorists any ideas”.
motor