Fantastic video Tim! It is great to see the prototype paperwork you use everyday. Following the prototype rules and procedures adds time, and fun, to an ops session.
good vid... and tim you already know this for sure but for those who don't know, reviewing your track bulletins carefully is *VERY VERY IMPORTANT* there can be life and limb and job saving details contained within like *FORM B* locations or maybe a *FORM A SPEED RESTRICTION* if you blow through those limits your job is in great jeopardy (depending on what your company discipline policy is)... not to mention you can hurt or even KILL someone else or yourself... but fortunately that type of pressure does not exist on a model railroad
Thanks! This is true. First thing I look for is anything that pertains to the section of the railroad I will be operating over. Especially slow orders or form Y stop boards.
hey tim i gotta add this in to... @ 13:00... when i worked for the railroad back in the early 90s, i worked in the yard a LOT, did a lot of flat switching... we NEVER got any track bulletins as a yard engine crew... with ONE exception, if i was marked up on one of our yard industry jobs because those jobs went out on the mainline... but our regular old flat switchers stayed in the yard and NEVER got track bulletins... i mention this because we had a switchman get injured in a very similar scenario with rail in the overgrown weeds along the mainline next to the yard (he injured his elbow in a fall... at first they brought him up on charges, standard railroad nazi procedure, then later settled with him for $20K)...as a yard engine where i worked at, it was impossible to have prior knowledge of any hazards like that if you didn't get any track bulletins or unless a safety notice was posted... that's a really GREY area of safety IMO... same thing with haz-mat paperwork... again on a flat switcher never got any but on a road job and the yard industry jobs we did get haz-mat paperwork... we had a guy come in contact with a MTY sodium chlorate car during his switching duties, he got sick after that and he couldn't figure out why... later he traced his ailment back to the POSSIBLE exposure to the sodium chlorate car... but again on a flat switcher, our lists didn't come with haz-mat paperwork... again a big grey area safety wise
You’re right. Yard jobs only get the dispatcher bulletins if they have to go out on the main. But there are other ways that the railroads can use to reduce exposure to safely hazards. Things like Superintendent Notices and good safety briefings from a Yardmaster or Trainmaster. We actually have a safety committee made up of our peers where we can take up items that needs attention to help make things safer. There’s only so much you can do though. If it is a leaking hazmat car that is a much bigger problem! In my line of duty I try keep good situational awareness at all times. If something is not right, I figure it’s best to notify someone rather than let it go. You never know if it could prevent one of your colleagues from getting hurt like the scenarios you mentioned above. Thanks for the comment!
Really enjoyed the video! I live right next to the CSX CHI-Nash line and always try and listen to the scanner when I can. Thanks for explaining some things. Looking forward to part 2! Maybe you could do a video about dispatcher initials. They had one here JMG and he was known as Jammim’up Good. LOL!
Wow! It looks like if I ever get lucky enough to be a guest operator on the SC I'm gonna have to go to engineer school to learn all those rules. Reminds me of the Ferengi 285 Rules of Acquisition!
This was SO fun!!! Only a real engineer with the experience like you have can explain and work this out right! Great knowledge love it sir, can't wait till the next part!!! -Gary
Great stuff! I worked for the C&NW in the early '70s (train orders and clearance form A) and now volunteer for a museum railroad that runs on a Class 1's track so we need track authority, bulletins, etc... It's fun to see you tie model railroading into the 12" to the foot scale operations!
That’s great. It is going to be later on down the road before I start on the Newnan section. Probably three or four years but I hope to have some kind of representation of the area. It will definitely feature a downtown area with a lot of shops along the backdrop and I hope to include a park. Thanks for watching! Tim
