I know this may sound blase, but it is true. Work smart, not fast. The best switchmen I worked with got done way before most, because they had a plan before they walked out the door, (We don’t have yardmasters to pester us). Even if things did not go as planned, they could think on the fly.
The young switchmen I work with today, walk too much (they must own a boot factory), make unnecessary moves (they must like being out in the cold and rain longer than they need be), never verify their lists, and do not pay attention to what is going on around them (three binders can roll by them and not even hear it). I like to call them one dimensional. And, they do NOT listen to the old heads on how things are done (nor do they watch).
And the absolute most important thing about working a yard, leave it in the condition you want others to leave it for you. Hang air, no gaps in tracks, only two hand brakes at the end of a track, not scattered all over it, tag defects, and don’t set up some other crew with a dangerous situation (clearance, housekeeping, ect.).
They do care however that they get the big Footboard pay check!
There is a real philosophical life lesson hidden in this post. Take it from an old retired fart. My father used to have a saying " You can’t put an old head on young shoulders!" I heard it growing up many times, I never undestood until I started sproutng grey hairs.
To paraphrase what RR Ken (Band Leader) says; " The Young…do not pay attention to what is going on around them…And they do not listen to the old heads on how things are done(nor do they watch)."
These old farts love to sit around and complain about how the newer RRers don’t know anything, but you just know when they were new, they were also accused of not knowing their butt from a hole in the ground.
Yeah, and for some of us switchmen who really wanted to learn something, some of those old heads didn’t want to tell you anything because they didn’t want to show you how ignorant they are.
Thanks much, Nick, for starting this thread. [tup] It provides a logical and relevant place to post the following, which I coincidentially heard this / Sunday morning at 7:00 AM on the Philadelphia National Public Radio station, WHYY-FM 90.9. I was thinking of all you guys as I was listening to this, and wondering how I could work it into a thread and keep it ‘on topic’ - you’ve neatly solved that problem for me. For what it’s worth, I’ve heard/ read several of your points elsewhere, and they seem to be a ‘common wisdom’ that maybe isn’t so common. Thanks again.
“I grew up a witness to the intelligence of the waitress in motion, the reflective welder, the strategy of the guy on the assembly line. This, then is something I know: the thought it takes to do physical work. Such work put food on our table, gave shape to stories of affliction and ability, framed how I saw the world … I’ve been thinking about this business of intelligence for a long time: the way we decide who’s smart and who isn’t, the way the work someone does feeds into that judgment, and the effect such judgment has on our sense of who we are and what we can do.”
Yes, Nick, you, and the others have given good advice. I like Zug’s comment about the lazy switchman–he will work out the best way to accomplish the needed with the least motion, which will move more cars than the man who does not look ahead will move.
Paul, thank you for pointing out the fact every blue-collar vocation calls for thoughtful planning, so that more work can be accomplished in less time. I think of the time that I was in Production in a semiconductor plant. There were two of us who more or less oversaw the two sections of production. I would come in early and check on the location of all the lots of wafers in process. I than could tell the other man when to expect certain lots to move to his side, and he was able to tell me when certain lots would move from his side to my side–and both sides would be prepared to handle the wafers. As a result, we moved more wafers than either of the other shifts–and the other shifts accused us of cheating (such as claiming to move lots that were not quite through a particular step).
A new conductor wont do the smart short cuts or do things that save time everything they do takes twice as long and they wont listen to suggestions. Now some New conductors are very smart but most haft to do things the hard way til they learn.and the some never learn
There was one guy who tried to suggest that the ole head conductors can make both money, well some know how to do the work and how to drag the time out for pay but the others are the ones who never learn.
I was not trying to start anything with the conductors, most know what im talking about, some can switch a yard and have fun doing it, take 300 cars and switch them out in about 3-4 hours and be done for the day, others can only switch 1 car at a time, and take 10 hrs to go 150 cars. and a few can only do the napping right. And in fairness there is engineers who cant get across the road with out screwing trains up and some cant switch and some scare you to know your going to meet them,
okay this was from trains magazine years back.The conductor had a trainee on the DT&I at campbells soup in napoleon.it was freezing rain.The rods,grab irons and switches were lined with ice.So how did the old head get around so well? He wore golf shoes to work.gave him extra traction.Just a story i enjoyed reading.
Oh good. I thought maybe it was in reference to a new conductor letting you get in on the ground floor of some multi-level marketing opportunity! [:-,]
Actually, I find the problem with many a new man is that they don’t or won’t take an interest in their job. They don’t know where they are. They don’t know what to do. They don’t know how to do it. Why? Because they don’t take enough interest in their job to ask questions. All they want to do is ride.
As for “Carhartt”, I have a nice looking heavy Carhartt jacket with a hood. But, that is all it is, nice looking. Coldest darn jacket I’ve ever bought. Have to wear a fleece vest underneath to keep warm. Never again.
More like,
“They don’t make 'em like they used to!”
You just got the wrong one! You need the Arctic coat (the expensive one), made for real workin’ men. Not that other (cheap) coat for people who just want to look like they’re working. [swg] [:P]