Norfolk Southern - Protect The Line

Ed Fury · May 11, 2012, 04:14:52 PM

http://www.protecttheline.com/

They want you to sign up to alert them for potential problems. They are also making an app for iPhones and Android phones.

Has/is anyone going to do this (sign up)?

Ptrainman · May 11, 2012, 04:35:09 PM

Seems interesting and probably worth doing.

Paul

chipallen16 · May 11, 2012, 05:11:24 PM

I'm in. Card is in my wallet now. It still won't make much of a difference for me. I'd do the same thing whether or not I had the card.

-Chip

Crescent · May 11, 2012, 09:08:57 PM

I'm in.........

dschlegel · May 11, 2012, 09:50:45 PM

Just joined

dragonoz · May 12, 2012, 04:15:40 AM

Joined, will print the card in the morning.

maersksealand3329 · May 12, 2012, 09:09:59 AM

Signed up yesterday. This will come in handy when I am back in Toledo, Ohio doing some railroad photography on the Chicago Line.

Badhorse79 · May 12, 2012, 09:26:17 AM

Yeah I did it to...

nsrlink · May 12, 2012, 09:39:25 AM

I think overall this is a good idea & most of you guys seem level-headed & would enjoy this program responsibly. Some of "The Rails," have concerns that every little thing may get reported or as some mentioned, it is the "dime the crew out" rule violation tip line. This would not be a good idea or use of the number / app.

I hope most people will stick to serious safety concerns such as sliding wheels, enough brake shoe smoke to be mistaken for a volcano, etc. Do call in suspicious people (use your best judgement.) A good rule of thumb (I think) to consider is...
is it something that is really serious & can jeopardize life or cause a derailment?
They mainly want you, the railfan, to be on the lookout for Osama Bin Laden's replacement, NOT a stand in car inspector doing a roll by or the trainmaster's best rule check buddy.

Don't call in every little thing you see or think you're an expert car detector / train observer. Most lines do have detectors that go a good job of monitoring things. Don't call in to report I blew the crossing 9 seconds, you think the horn is weak, you think there's too much smoke from an engine, that I have a headlight / ditch light out, the EOT isn't flashing, you THINK you heard something funny, or the box car door is open.

Again, I think 90% of the railfans will act responsibly. My message is targeted at the 10% & serves as a friendly, cautionary suggestion before calling something in. Just stop & think about it.

For me personally, please don't call my train in unless the cars are on fire or on the ground. But hey, that's just me. ;D

I realize I may catch some flack for posting this, but just consider it.

Ed Fury · May 12, 2012, 02:10:30 PM

What "signal" should, or can, I give to the crew when they forget to turn on their headlights. As a weed weasel would they even notice me?

blacksheep · May 12, 2012, 07:23:16 PM

flick your thumb like your lighting a lighter.

lwjabo · May 12, 2012, 08:12:36 PM

Some hand signals vary from place to place. A way to tell and engineer he does not have his head lights on would be to point to your eyes. A hot box is rolling your fist in your other hand. Sticking brakes is to hold your nose. You have to remember no caboose so will have to chase down the engines. Some railroaders plain detest rail buffs. Refusing to even look at them. I have no reason why but that is the facts. If you have never seen a hot box roller bearing it the end bearing turns glowing red. I've seen a train go over the detector and not record it and being on the ground I did. Most would soon realise there head light was off. Going under bridges and such are a give away. some don't blow field crossing like they do other crossing so please don't get into that. There is a always suspicious of rail buffs as many think they are trainmaster want to be's.

E.M. Bell · May 13, 2012, 02:49:02 PM

I have mixed feelings about this new "program" myself, and I think Rlink hit the nail on the head about a million times...

While I am not directly pointing out anyone here on Jreb (I like to think we have a pretty responsible group here for the most part), I can see some people feeling "Empowered" by having a little card with NS on it, and going to extremes with this stuff. NS PCC does not need a Thousand phone calls from folks with "good intentions" that don't know what they are talking about, which in turn will have the SA's out chasing ghost, when they could be taking care of a real problem instead.

There is nothing wrong at all with calling in stuff that is a safety hazard, either to NS crews or the general public, but what some people might think is a problem could just be a normal everyday thing.

I hope "protect the line" works out to be a good thing, and will help to save some lives. I also hope that it is used in a responsible manner by all that choose to participate. It would be a dam shame to see a crew get into trouble over "good intentions" of someone with a card they printed themselves that makes them feel like superman.

chipallen16 · May 13, 2012, 03:31:33 PM

Ain't that the truth. I've heard too many stories of railfans being run off by people with "newfound arms of justice" while doing nothing illegal. I'll only report stuff on the tracks that looks dangerous, broken rail, open doors on intermodal containers, or crossings. Heck, only northbound containers. The southbound ones are almost in Atlanta anyway.

Sadly, like everyone else, I can see the bad side of where this may go, and I'm not looking forward to that. Let's just hope that doesn't happen.

-Chip

maersksealand3329 · November 06, 2014, 08:31:14 PM

I will differ on the non blinking EOT thing. I had that happen to 34N years ago on the Chicago Line and there was a coal train above on the Toledo Line waiting to come down the connector led by a Conrail Blue unit. This was at night and to me that was a safety hazard, so I did call that one in. Id rather be safe than hear about a derailment because a crew didn't see the rear of the train in front of them because of a non working EOT. Thats just how I feel about that.