NORAC is out in 2008

[Full Service]

NORAC rules will be abolished on the former Conrail lines owned by NS sometime in April of 2008.  NS has been trying for sometime to get this done, and will replace the NORAC book of fun with a combination of  NS and NORAC rules that may develop into a system wide change over the next couple of years.

One of the major changes with the new system will be the establishment of TWC territory's in places that currently use DCS and form D's to operate.

[ssw9662]

I've been hearing rumors about this for the past few days and was actually going to ask about it until I saw the thread here. Does anybody know of what else may be modified (i.e. Line/District names, interlocking terminology, etc.)? CP changed a lot this stuff when they switched the old D&H from NORAC to GCOR this spring.

First it was CP, and now it looks like NS will be abandoning NORAC in favor of other operating rulebooks; I wonder if anybody else will follow? I'm sure I'll have a heck of a time trying to understand the Track Warrants, until today (on CP) I never heard a Track Warrant being given over the radio in my life, I'm used to hearing Form D's.

[esprrfan]

Actually track warrants are going away with the new book effective 1 May. The replacement will be a Track  Authority. Us NORAC guys will still have our same signals such as limited clear, approach med. only now they're Conrail Signals.

[ssw9662]

Alright, thanks for the clarification.

I guess I only have three months left to get that NS Form D recording I always wanted!

[esprrfan]

Its a shame that  NS is dropping the Forms D's.  I should think that this move is rather silly given the density of rail lines in the northeast and the large amount of trackage rights operation.  I thought the whole idea of NORAC was to simplify things by having all northeastern RR's use the same rules.  I can see why the NS would want to standardize their rules across their own system, but the northeast presents its own issues.  Now NS crews will have to be masters of both sets of rules, as they will still be running trains over lines still under NORAC rules.   

It's that way now for us up here on the ex CR lines. As it is now when I go to work I have to have my NORAC rule book and my NS rule book as I'm in a interdivisional pool Dearborn (CR)-Lake (NS). With the new one I now only have to carry one much thinner book. As for the signals there is Conrail, N&W and NS  section.

[TB4JY]

GCOR.