NS Camp car "propaganda" revisited

[E.M. Bell]

Some of you may remember the controversy awhile back about the living conditions of NS camp cars the the MofW gangs use. Someone had even posted a rather unflattering piece about that on Youtube.  NS seems to have gotten into the act with an official response...who would have thunk it  

"also a good excuse to test the new video posting feature"

http://youtube.com/watch?v=H5eUA9vummA

[peachfuzz]

Very interesting indeed!

Unexplained is why NS felt the need to introduce the new  "floor plan" for camp cars just now...?  Reducing from 8 to 4 the number of car occupants?   Nothing like the stick of government intervention to get one's attention.   

Also unexplained is why every OTHER Class 1 no longer houses their employees in this manner.  Certainly BNSF and UP have far more  remote territory to deal with than NS could ever have, and yet they have none of the same objections NS seems to.   

Edited to add:

I posted remarks in the comment section.  Interestingly enough, the comments have to "approved" before they will be  posted.  Not taking bets on my remarks appearing anytime soon since they are similar to what was written above.

:-\

[bobr349]

I believe the most critical question you raise is why NS continues  as the only user of camp cars among Class 1 railroads, an issue not addressed by the company's video program on the subject.

[peachfuzz]

I believe the most critical question you raise is why NS continues  as the only user of camp cars among Class 1 railroads, an issue not addressed by the company's video program on the subject.

Yes, this has long been a point of contention for those who examine Norfolk Southern's "style".  They seem to think that "daring to be different" is something to proud of.  This same attitude was present with the persistence in using plastic bags for toilets, for another example.

Much as NS would like to think otherwise, the calendar does not say it is still the 1960's and Brosnan is dead.  Autocratic management styles have gone the way of the dinosaur.   As can be seen with this camp car issue, "my way or the highway" only gets you unwanted government involvement and/or paying out large sums of money in legal settlements or awards.

[bobr349]

You are on to something pivotal in NS's corporate culture. They were also, I believe, the last Class 1 to adopt the "North American" wide-cab, i.e., they ordered the only Dash-9's ever built with standard "Spartan" cabs. I'm not sure  when they made cab A/C  standard, but I'm fairly certain they are the only Class 1 that still specifies non-desktop control stands on new locomotive orders. They have refused to buy AC-drive locomotives, but they are not unique in that respect and their rationale makes sense. Talk about legacies, we know Southern was the first major railroad to completely dieselize, but NS was perhaps the last major railroad to discontinue specifying bi-directional or dual control stands on engines ordered with their long hoods designated as  the "F" end. Finally, as recently as 1980 they ordered new GP50's with high short hoods, a feature that most if not all Class 1's had abandoned by that time.

[Michael Knight]

They [NS] were also, I believe, the last Class 1 to adopt the "North American" wide-cab, i.e., they ordered the only Dash-9's ever built with standard "Spartan" cabs. I

Actually, Illinois Central was the last railroad to receive new units with standard cabs: 20 SD70s in 1999.

I'm fairly certain they are the only Class 1 that still specifies non-desktop control stands on new locomotive orders.

This was a good thing.     I say was, because desktop controls are no longer standard equipment from the builders. A slightly revised version of the AAR Clean Cab control stand is now being installed in new units. Desk-top control arrangements on locomotives provide the engineer with an uncomfortable operating environment. In fact, some engineers describe the desktop controls as being knee-knockers.