Don't get me wrong, I'm not a COVID denier by any means. I'm just saying that no one can point to COVID as being the one issue that's ruining the railroad.

On the whole, BN treated me very well, even though there was one stretch when I was out on my rest for seven months straight without a single day off. 13 years without a good night's sleep, and a persistent cough that brought up chunks of goo that tasted like diesel exhaust convinced me to get out while I was young. I'm damned glad I did, and that was 30 years ago.

Back then, the hobby shop train magazines had the slant that choo choos are so much fun that we should be paying the companies for letting us play Casey Jones. That's when I quit reading them, but I have noticed lately that they seem to have finally gotten a clue about what the Class I lifestyle is actually like.

Yes, the referenced article begins by characterizing us as complainers, but we used to have a saying: "A bitching railroader is a happy railroader".

CDC concedes Covid is "here to stay" despite politicians boasting they would defeat it:

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2022-08- ... c-concedes

PC

I agree with you Zach. If we were talking about a giant ice cream sundae, the last decade of PSR would be the ice cream while Covid is just the cherry on top of it all.

It is only "here to stay" in the US because our leaders -- public health officials, medical doctor pundits and politicians -- refuse to acknowledge that Covid is an airborne virus.

There are Professional Engineers and Scientists who know how to stop airborne virus transmission, but they're not part of the decision making. Instead they have a website: Covid is Airborne dot Org

As for running trains with No Person Crews, is Positive Train Control supposed to remove human decision making from running a train?

In its current form, no. It only advises the crew of what route they'll be taking (crossing over, staying on the same main, etc.), how far they've got authority, and the gradient and curvature of the track ahead. It will prevent you from speeding or running past a red. The engineer still has a LOT of control over the train.

It might be. But I sure as hell don't want an automated device driving 10,000 tons of hazmat through my zip code. And I don't think anyone else does either.

If anything goes wrong, a crew is still needed to piss in the bottle.

I am just a guy on main street maybe it's different in your part of the country but where I am it seems like every industry is struggling with staffing. If railroads were trimming staff before this, I don't see why they would be any different when it comes to staff shortages. Like you I too don't really understand the cause of the problem but it is real and seems to be everywhere.

An interesting thing about the original video posted here is that it doesn't even sound like the RRs are the biggest issue in the supply chain so much as it is the warehouse capacity at the end of the lines to accept and process the goods.

If/when the strike comes I would stand with workers in solidarity. I don't think it will take long for stock holders and managers to realize the workers have the power once the stock price takes a nose dive. I don't want to get into others political beliefs. I am a railroad historian there were more class 1s 50+ years ago and now 4 or is it still 5? I still say that the government should just break them up that can help improve operations I'm sure of it

I have been against inward facing cameras and microphones in locomotive cabs ever since I first heard the idea, and I've been out of the industry going on 14 years. I can tell you from personal experience that two or more crewmen (or women) out on the road on a locomotive is a union meeting, and supervision's competence - or lack thereof - is usually the main topic, which is an excellent reason to oppose management evesdropping.

A large portion of the former EMD plant real estate in La Grange, a site where up to 14,000 UAW employees once worked, is slated to be redeveloped as warehouse space to store and deliver goods now made in China. I hope I kept a picture of the Local 719 ("The Locomotive Builders") union building off East Avenue.

PC

With all due respect to Brother Woodring, I have been cleared plenty of times by cameras, event recorders, recorded radio transmissions, and most notably, recorded conversations with the crew callers or trainmasters. Do I watch what I say ??? You get three guesses...

Having gotten to know Sammy a little bit by way of virtual beers via email, I’ll go way out on a limb and venture to guess the answer may be… possibly be… wait for it… NO!

Well, if you're near the UP, an automated device IS running that train containing chlorine gas and nitric acid right through there while you sleep.

PTC keeps the trains from running into each other and other assorted things, but a function called EMS IS running the train while the engineer watches.

Energy Management System does everything but start and stop the train.

If it's having difficulty with a 2 mile long train running through some particularly difficult terrain, it will in effect tell the engineer "here, it's beyond my capability at this time" and force him to take over.

I, personally, haven't been forced to run a train on the main line with it, because a yard job doesn't need it, lol. I don't have to use PTC, either, but I have.

Anyhow, our unions were clamoring for this PEB because we want to make hay while the sun shines. In other words, we've got to make our move before the republicans possibly take the government back over and arbitrarily and summarily screw us.

The company(s) have been stalling in the negotiations, trying to run out the clock in hopes of getting the trump types back in office, so they could walk all over us.
I've heard that the Biden created PEB members are labor friendly. You know that wouldn't have been anywhere near the case if the "keeper of the nuclear secrets'" coup had been successful.

As for the current state of affairs in the world of railroaders on the class ones: At least on my portion of the railroad, they're running big, long trains (12,000+ feet) and fewer of them. Basically, two trains in one...one crew.
They've pared down the number of regular pool turns to match the fewer trains, which automatically lowers the number of men needed on the "extra boards" , which exist solely to give the regular men a chance to lay off as desired. They've arbitrarily created a drastic attendance policy... which is not negotiated. They just made up their minds and put it in practice.
So, unable to lay off at will, the men have gotten creative and, from what I've seen, they've turned to using FMLA as a method of laying off. According to federal law, the company cannot refuse your request to lay off FMLA. That was true at first, now... they're trying to close off that loophole and make it nearly impossible to get FMLA. You have to fill out so many forms and thread the needle to even qualify... it's pitiful.

A coworker was diagnosed with prostate cancer. I don't know how it came to pass, but they say he did not qualify for FMLA. He's had surgery and chemo and all that shit, but they were emphatic that he did not qualify. He's got two law suits pending against them over this... I don't see how he can lose.

But, I digress. The morale of the workforce is low, I think. Nobody gives a shit anymore. Engines come in daily with filthy, stinking toilets that are full and sloshing out on the floor. You ever have to set and smell steaming toilet chemical for hours on end? I don't think engines get much more than fueled anymore.. .definitely no cleaning.
I'd say more than half of the units that I get on.. .the AC doesn't work. It's boiling hot in those cabs in this season.

Local management, if they're great like mine, is between a rock and a hard place. Trying to fit 10 pounds of $hit in a 5 pound sack, and having to participate on multiple conference calls with the Kremlin daily to explain why these cars didn't make it, or why this train died on the HOS and killed 3 behind it, causing a cascading effect for everything coming our way. It takes days to sort this stuff out.... and it's not done right.... we can't absorb multiple 100+ car setouts of stuff to be switched...we don't have the room, and there's lots more trains coming, so we just shotgun the $hit on to the poor, unsuspecting yards on down the system from us.

The administration doesn't want to strike, and I really don't want to either... so I think they'll find for the union and just throw the carriers a little bone.