What does b/o mean?

Model Railroader Prototype information for the modeler
1

I saw a correspondance between the rr office and the crew and it said something like this…

Car has been placed in b/o for doors. Please assist the shipper in closing the doors"

Any ideas?

2

I believe “Bad Order” is the correct term.

3

Yup, it means they have to write up an order to have something fixed on the car. Normally it means whatever is wrong has to be fixed before the car can be delivered to it’s next destination. If it’s something fairly simple, it could be repaired at the RIP track (Repair In Place).

4

Thanks, guys.

Scott

5

Of course, maybe the railroaders were saying the car needed a bath with Lifebuoy soap…

!(http://www.old-time.com/commercials/1940’s/Ad Lifebuoy Lightens Up 2.jpg)

http://www.old-time.com/commercials/1940’s/Lifebuoy%20Lightens%20Up.htm

6

I doubt if the shipper would load a car with bad doors-he has the right to refuse the car for mechanical reasons and demand a car in good serviceable condition.

Helping close doors may have caused Union problems between the railroad and the BRT and the shipper and its union since its not the trainman’s job to closed doors in fact if a car was loaded with faulty doors we would not pick it up since the railroad would become liable for the load during repair which could take a week or more…

You see the shipper must close and lock the door then seal the door with a shipping seal before the car can be legally moved…

7

Larry, you’re right about the shipper’s option to refuse a bad order car, but from the original poster’s quotation, perhaps the shipper had no problem opening the door, but was unable to close it after loading was completed. I’ve seen a few rolling doors come partially off their tracks, unable to be moved in either direction.
You’re also correct about union regulations on who does (or doesn’t do) what. [swg] If the scenario which I described was the situation, would the railroad send someone from car repair to fix the problem or would the onus be on the shipper to unload the car so that it could be taken for repair?

Repairing it where it sits seems the most logical and most cost effective solution, so I’m assuming that the shipper would instead be required to unload the ca

8

Repairing it where it sits seems the most logical and most cost effective solution, so I’m assuming that the shipper would instead be required to unload the car so that it could be taken away for repair, and, eventually, a new car would be spotted. We are, after all, talking about railroads.

Wayne

Here’s the rub.

If the door was just hard to close a forklift would be used to shove the door closed.I’ve used a forklift to open and closed doors-beats manually closing or opening a tough door.

If the door was off the track that comes under the shop union agreements and not under the operation union agreements.Plainly put trainmen are not shop men nor are shop men a train crew and therefore we would not touch that car since it needed repairs.

Of course that was back when the Brotherhoods was strong…Not sure how that might work today.

Now if the car needs a new door or door track(guide) the car would indeed be unloaded and returned to the car shop or nearest contract freight car repair company for the needed repairs which again could take a week or longer…

Now light repairs like a air hose,minor uncoupling bar repair or coupler knuckle can be done on site by the train crew or a carman could be sent to do the required repair.

A just for fun fact:

Now if the shipper did the damage with a forklift then the shipper will get billed for the repairs or replacement door.

Here’s a interesting scenario for operation.

Pick up a freight car with a “broken coupler” and place this car behind the caboose for its return to the nearest shop or RIP track.

I’ve done that 2 or 3 times while working on the Chessie.

We couldn’t fix th

9

The prohibition for trainmen closing boxcar doors, especially plug door types, I think is more of a safety issue than a union issue. If a door has been sliding around while the car has been moving, it could have become damaged so that someone trying to close it could over exert himself enough to be injured, or the door could even fall off the car.

It wasn’t too long ago where there was a fatality on a short line because a door came off and crushed a trainmen trying to close it at a customer’s facility. It was discussed over on the Trains forum.

Jeff

10

I think is more of a safety issue than a union issue.

As I mention back in the days when railroad workers had strong Brotherhoods it would become a union issue in a hurry .

Again,I’m not sure about todays union agreements with the railroads.

We can’t overlook today’s Federally mandated safety rules either that may forbid such actions and we need to remember a lot of these newer safety rules was not around when I was railroading for a living.

11

A sub issue was that not all sidings or consignees could effect repairs. Thus a rejection might be offered. Depending on how bad a consignee might want a delivery… they may crowd a local freight agent to deliver the load and sort out who’s responsibility a repair may be later.

There was a lot of finger pointing going on at that time.

No idea how it might be resolved today.

see ya

Bob

12

Of course the OP notes that he is paraphrasing what he read. It may be the car was delivered and the shipper refused it because the doors didn’t open or close properly before it was loaded, and the empty car was being sent back to the railroad to repair.