Subj : Re: Trains
To   : Mike Powell
From : Daryl Stout
Date : Wed Feb 22 2023 00:51:00

Mike,

 MP> Part of the recent labor dispute involved the railroads' desire to cut
 MP> the crew requirements from 2 (engineer and conductor) to 1 (engineer).
 MP> I hope this will teach them (or the government) that this is not a good
 MP> idea.

  I've wondered about the remote controlled locomotives. They are supposed to
just use these in the yards, but there is likely no one in the cab at the
controls...and I think that's done by a single crew member on the ground.
From a video I saw, he had a rather large electronic control panel with him.

 MP> For large trains, I believe they probably need to bring back 3-person
 MP> crews.  Back in the mid-1990's, I almost went to CSX conductor's school
 MP> but decided against it when I realized how many responsibilities a
 MP> modern day conductor has on a 2-person crew.  An extra set of eyes and
 MP> ears would be a good thing.

  I watched a video again from Danny Harmon on Distributed Power Units 
(DPU's). while it lessens the slack action on longer trains, the size 
of them means that they are too big to fit into most sidings. If they 
get stopped along the way, numerous grade crossings end up getting blocked.

  First, there was the derailment near the Ohio-Pennsylvania line (East 
Palestine). A few days later, a derailment west of Detroit (the first 2
were Norfolk Southern). Then, there was one at Santa Fe Junction in 
Kansas City...caught live by the Virtual Railfan Live Cameras...that
was the second such derailment there I'm aware of. Then, there was a
coal train derailment in Nebraska (the latter 2 were Union Pacific). I
guess CSX and BNSF are due to be next (sigh!).

  I saw a post where the engineer has to inspect the wheels of every car,
if the conductor isn't there to do it. With the length of the trains, the
train likely would be greatly delayed in leaving the yard. With the first
incident, apparently there was a failed defect detector, and the dispatchers
failed to warn the crew. Add the potentially haphazard inspection by a
conductor, the lawyers are like sharks with the pending lawsuits...they
smell blood in the water, as it were. 

  Apparently, the smoke, etc. from the burn-off they did of the hazmat 
chemicals, is now contributing to "acid snow" further east. There is a 
"chemical rainbow" in area bodies of water, people's pets and marine
life are dying, and I'm sure a bunch of folks will have health issues as
a result of this. Apparently, if Norfolk Southern fails on its part, the
fines they could face would be at least triple the cost of cleanup.

Daryl

.... Mason-Dixon Line n. Separates y'all from you's guys
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