Who collects bad orders and where do they go?
The other day an autorack was set out here on a siding in town. The next day it was gone. If it set off a hotbox detector does it go to the nearest shop or just wait for the next train to it’s destination? If something broke on it does a MOW pick it up?
Sometimes the railroad sends out a repair crew to fix it where it was set out. I have seen a crew changing out a wheelset/traction motor on a locomotive in an old spur.
Back in the “Good ol’ days '59-65” the bad orders, If simple such as a brake shoe, or hose they wer handled on the spot, if minor such as bent/broken handrails, wheel change, brake rigging, or air system, were collected by a local, if movable, and taken to a division point yard with a RIP (Repair In Place) Track for repairs. If it was major work (mangled carbody, end or underframe) it would be unloaded, put on a flat with the wrecker crane, and taken to a car shop to rebuild the damage…
from an old SP Car Knocker, John