Back again with more! :D
Monday night train G09 was southbound when they came upon a burning fusee that was a dark territory banner check. This was not acknowledged in any way. The trainmaster and road foreman became concerned for the "health" of their banner sign and shouted on the radio for the train to stop. This was not acknowledged either.
Turns out the entire crew was asleep. They were relieved on the spot and taken out of service pending investigation.
...what is a "Hairy" Man anyway...? ::)
Wow.
Sleeping crews are fun!
This must have been some older power,or they had just fallen asleep, since the safety reset would have stopped the train after the idle period if it was equipped. Maybe they shouldn't have spent that last 8 hours of rest at Christie's Cabaret! At least no one was hurt.
I wonder if the training is up to snuff with what it was previously. I know there is a great shortage of manpower since a lot of the old heads are reaching retirement age. There's a massive turn around going on right now with all those retirements.
Quote from: TB4JY on January 18, 2008, 05:14:53 AM
Quote from: jcmark4501 on January 18, 2008, 04:17:32 AM
Sleeping crews are fun!
How do you figure?
Just a sarcastic remark to the OP. The few times I feel asleep on a train always scared me. Once I woke up and looked over and the engineer was asleep. We both miss an intermediate signal so, we came up to the next signal ready to stop. I didn't fall asleep the rest of the night.
Quote from: jbcagle7073 on January 18, 2008, 05:13:45 PM
This must have been some older power,or they had just fallen asleep, since the safety reset would have stopped the train after the idle period if it was equipped.
It's easy to flip the alerter switch-- even with one's eyes closed.
I know the engineer on that crew. Kinda surprises me he would do something like that, but then, it kinda doesn't....................
Quote from: GAandFLA-RR on January 21, 2008, 12:25:20 PM
I know the engineer on that crew. Kinda surprises me he would do something like that, but then, it kinda doesn't....................
33 years behind the throttle. Seeing the same territory for that number of years. I'm sure he could run a train in his sleep. Not miss one road crossing. Just like that Mail9 train. Everything is good until something new or unusual happens. Then you could end up dead or even worse, killing one of your co-workers.
It's pretty easy to go to sleep on a train in the cab. Combine the typical fatigue, a little fog, the gentle swaying of the locomotive and the hum of the engine. Turn on the sidewall heaters and its like being rocked to sleep by your mom.
Best story I have heard was that an engineer used to light a cigarette at the bottom of a hill and place it between his fingers. By the time the cig would burn his fingers he would be at the top of the hill. One night he did this and woke up to find they had only gone 1 mile. The engines were in Run 8 and just sitting there burning several holes into the rails. They later took the rail out and put it on display in the L&N HQ.
Joel is correct, its pretty darn easy to drift off, I have done it myself. We had a hill on the LXOH (Two Mile hill between Pisgah and Paynes Mill) that was a hard pull Westbound. The days we used just 0ne engine and had a 9 or 10 cars (thats about all you could handle with one engine on a DRY day) it was #8 and Sand at 2 or 3 MPH for the grade. No alerters on the old stuff we had, so if you had a good running train you just kicked back, put you feet on the heater and let her grind. Sunshine coming in, the drone of the engine would put you right out. There was a rather Nasty rail burn at the top of the hill that would jar your teeth out when you hit it, and Several times that was what brought me back to "reality" after drifting off for a nap. I am not proud of it, but it happens. Even worse was that we almost always ran with a one man crew on the road, so there was rarely anyone to keep you occupied.
Quote from: TB4JY on January 21, 2008, 03:53:56 PM
33 years behind the throttle. Seeing the same territory for that number of years. I'm sure he could run a train in his sleep. Not miss one road crossing. Just like that Mail9 train. Everything is good until something new or unusual happens. Then you could end up dead or even worse, killing one of your co-workers.
Oh yeah, don't I know it. Even driving down the same road to work and back over the years can wear on ya, day or night. This guy is one of the best engineers around, but as the saying goes, it happens to the best of us. Back when I worked in CYO (phew!) he would always answer immediately after calling him on the radio..................."09 ovah!"
I've ridden many trains, ran some, even in 10 mph territory in the middle of the night for a looooong way. I would count the bark on those Georgia pines to keep my butt awake ;)
Quote from: GAandFLA-RR on January 23, 2008, 02:06:41 PM
I've ridden many trains, ran some, even in 10 mph territory in the middle of the night for a looooong way. I would count the bark on those Georgia pines to keep my butt awake ;)
That's a lot of counting in South GA!
Heh, heh, yeah, everything seems to stand still at 10mph, as some of you engineers can relate.
So is something like this a sure thing to get him fired, or is there some kind of prescribed penalties for different classes of violations? First time a week without pay, second time trial board, that kind of thing?
Passing a red or a banner is automatic termination on the spot. There are stories of engineers trying to reverse back into the block before the road foreman shows up. Even if they do get reversed the block will not reclear, so there is no hiding it in signaled territory.
8) No, there is no excuse, for sleeping, overrunning a signal...
You would think, that circumstances would awake you...as driving down the highway, at night, sleepy...anyone would think you would awaken, however what's actually happening, is like has been stated, Mom's taken care of it, go to sleep.
Your brain, has actually accommodated all movements, to allow you to go to sleep, literally "rocked to sleep."
Your body has said, "OK, we have been up ump-teen hours, it's time to rest me..."
This is an unfortunate, yet warned danger, in the field of transportation, any mode.
You must get your rest, rest your body, and prepare yourself, against the desire to sleep, when all your abilities are needed to do your job.
A trucker told me once, that he would stop, and buy a small coffee, and set it on his leg, whilst driving, so that when he fell asleep, the coffee would spill on his leg, and give him something to "change his mind" about sleeping....
And yes, there are always ways, to override any alerter...another good reason, to get rid of a deadbeat.
Quote from: Backyard on January 24, 2008, 05:00:20 AM
8) No, there is no excuse, for sleeping, overrunning a signal...
You would think, that circumstances would awake you...as driving down the highway, at night, sleepy...anyone would think you would awaken, however what's actually happening, is like has been stated, Mom's taken care of it, go to sleep.
Your brain, has actually accommodated all movements, to allow you to go to sleep, literally "rocked to sleep."
Your body has said, "OK, we have been up ump-teen hours, it's time to rest me..."
This is an unfortunate, yet warned danger, in the field of transportation, any mode.
You must get your rest, rest your body, and prepare yourself, against the desire to sleep, when all your abilities are needed to do your job.
A trucker told me once, that he would stop, and buy a small coffee, and set it on his leg, whilst driving, so that when he fell asleep, the coffee would spill on his leg, and give him something to "change his mind" about sleeping....
And yes, there are always ways, to override any alerter...another good reason, to get rid of a deadbeat.
Your joking right?