Re: [CBQ] This is news???

[STEVEN HOLDING <sholding@sbcglobal.net>]

IF you do not do the maintenance you will have problems.
This use to be done with carman jobs who did the inspections and maintenance and could fix minor problems before they got out of hand.  Course people knew there job and did it with out fear they would be second guessed.
In the mid-70's working the C&I Desk I had a train pull a lung out of a flat car.  It was of course out of the wrong end and it dropped between the rails and the flat ran over it raising the car into the air and punching a hole in the deck.  It happened between the switches of a center siding up along the Mississippi River.  The train crew (we had them on both ends at the time) pulled down to the next crossover and left a flag went back to the rear and pulled it back and then shoved thru the center siding leaving the center siding locked for the siding. And put the train together.  The only order I had to put out was the (Center siding XXXX will be used as main track).
Another time same desk there was an ice storm thru Eola and brought down a high tension wire which burned thru the signal cable result no CTC.   I only had four trains to run in each direction and luckily the radios were crystal clear that nite so we just started running trains using the signals that would light up and 275A (Hand lining) the control switches(this would flip the current so better signals would come up).  To make a meet I just followed the progress on the train sheet and would tell the train to clear to line them selves into the siding meet Xtra 5432 East and they had to do the work themselves.  By keeping each other informed they would make running meets and with crews on both ends of the trains(Way Car still in use) would line the switches back ready for the next trains thru.  When my relief came in at 7:30 he about had an attack but the trains were all run with minimum delays.
Team work works but you have to have enough members on the team and they have to know how to work to make Teamwork Work
Steve in SC

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From: dr strangelove <kaiserwillieii0815@yahoo.com>
To: CBQ@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Fri, July 20, 2012 7:12:50 AM
Subject: [CBQ] This is news???

 

I caught the Facebook news feed of the local station, WSIL,from back home in southern Illinois and saw this ...
"Witnesses say train cars come apart on tracks in Zeigler"
There was also a picture of a coal hopper (I guess they are gondolas nowadays??)
They actually sent a news team to investigate the "incident".
I don't know if this is more a reflection of modern social media or the lack of people's general knowledge about trains. It seems like when i was a kid this happened quite often and nobody would have paid attention to this. It would be sort of like "Semi has flat tire on back road".
How often did this happen back in the old days? I seem to remember the Mopac working on a busted draw bar and/or coupler in Scheller when I was a kid, interesting but not newsworthy.

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