Some changes in my Life
Posted by Lou on Feb 22, 2010
Hello followers of my blog. I must apologize that I didn’t post anything in the last few weeks. There are some big changes in my work life. A few month’s I applied for an Utility Clerk Position in Oregon. Knowing that my Railroad Unemployment money will run out soon – even with the extension. Something had to happen since there was no movement on the furlough boards and it seems that there will be nothing going on for at last a few month’s. So I went to Eugene in Oregon for the hiring session. Over 50 people were invited but only 38 showed up. I was the only Railroader there. The posting for this position was for public and for Railroaders. So I expected nothing happen due to the high amount of applications. But I was proven wrong. After the Interview – the shortest of my life – I got the call from HR a few days later if I am still interested in the position – which I was. But I had to move from California to Oregon. My wife and me were thinking to move to Oregon for a while but the plans were very far in the future (retirement maybe). So we drove up the weekend before I supposed to start and we were driving around to find a new place to life. Can you imagine how hard it is to not know the area and find a decent place to stay ?
The GCOR, as Amended, again
Posted by Lou on Dec 29, 2009
Due to the recent changes in Rules and the GCOR I would like to provide some additional Information which can be useful.
(This from the UP’s operational confusion center in Flamefart, Iowa.)
RESTRICTED SPEED RULE REVISED… AGAIN
A speed that will permit stopping within one-half the range of vision, short of train, engine, railroad car, stop signal, derail or switch not properly lined, looking out for broken rails, shunts, and bushes with radar guns attached, not exceeding 10 mph, except when using foreign line engines (because they stop faster than UPRR engines), not to exceed 20 mph unless there is a fog or descending grade within 30 miles, in which case 2 mph cannot be exceeded unless, of course, the conductor wishes to walk ahead of the move then not exceeding 4 mph, except if the conductor is a former switchman, then a speed of 3 mph must not be exceeded, or if you have less than 375 cars, 5 mph may not be exceeded because the train length permits (see Special Instructions for exceptions – should be somewhere in the first 15 pages of rules changes, as amended by General Order and supplemented by specific instructions on certain subdivisions as put into effect by Superintendent Notice), except if in signaled territory and track is seen to be clear to the next signal and crew is short on time, then 40 mph must not be exceeded.
Everyone got that?
Source: Snakebite (old Roseville Switchman/Trainman Magazin)
What happened ?
Posted by Lou on Nov 17, 2009
Hello loyal Visitors. You may wonder why there is nothing new on my Website since several weeks. The reason is simple – but also a bad reason. My frustration level being furlough is very high and for some time I really lost some interest in Railroading. I will try to make up for that and post more.
The last few weeks were pretty tied for my family and me since there is no income and no future light at the horizon getting back to work soon. This year (2009) I worked only 2 trips as a conductor so far. A few days here and there helped to keep the Health Insurance rolling. That is a big relief and I am very thankful for that.
The future didn’t look very bright to us this year and in the near future there is no relief. Since this ’stupid’ seniority stuff is not going away there will be never a chance for us lower seniority guys get a regular work. Just thinking about it makes me mad. Several guys are working on positions they don’t like. Therefore the motivation is not always the best. I can understand that old Rails have the right to get better positions. But this whole system is not right. You bid on a job and if you ‘win’ you keep the job – and you like the job and will do the best and get motivated to work because it was your decision to work this job. And don’t forget the safety aspect: Getting every day on a new job in territory you are not so familiar with is a dangerous thing. If I work the same job every day I know where the derails are located, where a slow order is in effect and how things are rolling.
Make long things short : I don’t like how stuff works. And since there is no chance – and there will never be one – …. you get the point.
Promise : I will start posting more.
Yours Lou
Operation Lifesaver Wins $1 Million Federal Grant
Posted by Lou on Aug 12, 2009
Operation Lifesaver, Inc., which launched the Common Sense campaign with the U.S. Department of Transportation and major railroad companies one month ago to reduce the number of pedestrian trespassers killed and injured by trains, will receive a $1,015,000 grant from the Federal Railroad Administration to continue its work, Federal Rail Administrator Joseph Szabo announced Aug. 6. There were 2,395 grade-crossing incidents last year that resulted in 287 deaths and another 453 deaths from rail trespassing, slightly fewer than in 2007, according to the agency.
The Common Sense campaign aims at 18- to 34-year-olds, who accounted for nearly 36 percent of all railroad pedestrian casualties in 2008. States with the highest number of pedestrian rail trespass deaths in 2008 included California, Illinois, Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Tennessee, North Carolina, New York, Ohio, Massachusetts, and Georgia, Operation Lifesaver reports.
Operation Lifesaver (OLI) is an Alexandria, Va.-based nonprofit safety education group trying to eliminate casualties at railroad crossings and on rail rights of way. It has programs in every state and the District of Columbia. Railroad companies taking part in the Common Sense campaign include CSX, Union Pacific, Amtrak, BNSF, Norfolk Southern, and Kansas City Southern.
“Many Americans have no idea that walking or playing around train tracks, fishing from a railroad bridge, or riding their all-terrain vehicle on railroad tracks is potentially deadly and always illegal,” said Helen M. Sramek, president of OLI.
“Young adults also may be distracted by cell phones, texting, or listening to MP3 players if they’re near the tracks. This new public awareness campaign has a simple message: Staying away from the tracks is common sense, and it can save your life,” said Cliff Stayton, a former locomotive engineer who is director of community affairs and safety for CSX.
“Pedestrian injuries and fatalities on railroad tracks are preventable,” said CSX Corp. Chairman, President and CEO Michael Ward. “People don’t often understand the impact of these incidents on train crews. We are pleased to work with Operation Lifesaver, the FRA, and our industry colleagues in this important effort.”
Free presentations are available for anyone who lives or travels near train tracks by calling 800-537-6224, and anyone interested in volunteering with Operation Lifesaver can sign up by calling that number.
More Downturns in Freight Volume Cast Doubt on Economic Optimism
Posted by Lou on Aug 7, 2009
No evidence could be found in the latest rail volume reports of the federal government’s recent predictions that the economy would improve soon.
Freight rail traffic was down 23 percent in April from a year earlier and down 24.5 percent for the week ending May 2, the Association of American Railroads reported.
The grim news about rail volumes follows by days a congressional hearing during which Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said he saw “green shoots” indicating the economy is on the upswing.
“We continue to expect economic activity to bottom out, then to turn up later this year,” Bernanke told the congressional Joint Economic Committee.
Freight shipments have been dropping by double-digits every month since December. Carload freight was down 18.2 percent in the first four months of this year. Intermodal volume fell 17.9 percent in April compared with one year earlier.
“Unfortunately, it’s hard to find much in rail traffic data in April to support the idea that the economy is starting to see green shoots,” said AAR Senior Vice President John T. Gray. “It may still just be weeds.”
Good, worse, better …. I don’t know
Posted by Lou on Aug 3, 2009
The boards are really confusing this days. First I got called back to work for one day, got bumped but with hope to find another spot. It looked really good – lot’s of vacations to fill in and new Law about the Hours of Service gave me even more hope. Unfortunately, 4 days after my last work I got back on the furlough (cut-off board). Back, where I was most of my time.
The Seniority Rooster showed a lot of people working under me – just at places far away. But today I checked and all of them are now furlough again. Only sporadic people on Training Boards are working. This ups and downs are really confusing and I can’t understand them.
If you watched UP’s President’s Interviews on MSNBC, CNN or Bloomberg you perhaps started to share his ‘the future is with us’ ideas. Container Trains and Chicken Products (Chicken Products ? I didn’t know that that can make a difference or that we have that many) are going to raise and steel and lumber carloads are not going down. Fine, I thought, I jump on that train because it really sounds good and kept my moods swinging. Yeah, swinging up and down, mostly down.
I have some new statistics that shows less furlough employees – better than 6-8 months ago. I am not going to share them because in the last few days were so many cut-off’s that you would get the wrong idea.
Let’s hope for the best (yeah, doing that for how many years now ?) and press your thumbs for all cut-off’s and eat more chicken. It’s good for us and for the car loads.
Bless you all.
I love Pork, but it’s not the Swine Flu
Posted by Lou on Jul 15, 2009
The Last week was a very tough one for my and my wife. We both were down and got the flu. Me a different than my wifes, but we both felt pretty bad and were in bed most of the time – just to get up to take some medicine. Glad I had not to work – due to furlough – I am sure a drug test would come out pretty funny. The Combination of Vick’s, Antibiotics and other stuff would make me aware of everything, but not of Signals and Bulletins.
Lot of stuff happened the last few weeks. The new law for rest days will be in effect (see previous Post). Also we have to wear now reflecting Shirts and shiny underwear to make us look different than before. Sure, it’s a good thing and will keep us safety, but my wife will get mad once I am starting to use her Text Markers to paint my T-Shirts.
Work wise it seems to look much better. People will get recalled more and more often and the Rules Classes will be full. UTU makes the Carrier more aware of the fact there are many furlough people out there and that’s a good thing. Hopefully it will fall into the right ears.
If you are eligible for Railroad Unemployment, this is a good month for you, also. There should be some amount in your Postbox / Account to make your family happy and keep the fridge full.
So, if you are not down by some kind of flu or whatever, a good month for most of us. Getting back to work is only a matter of time (isn’t that for almost a year ?). Just be sure to get in shape for the things are coming and remember to keep always an extra bottle of water with you for the heat.
More to follow since I am starting to feel better.
Rail Traffic Trends Down Again
Posted by Lou on Jun 29, 2009
U.S. railroads reported originating 261,717 cars, down 17.7 percent from the same week in 2008. Regionally, carloadings were down 11.9 percent in the West and 25.2 percent in the East.
Intermodal volume of 187,759 trailers or containers was down 17.8 percent from the same week last year. Container volume fell 12 percent and trailer volume dropped 39.0 percent. Total volume on U.S. railroads for the week ending June 20 was estimated at 27.7 billion ton-miles, off 16.6 percent from the same week last year.
Eighteen of 19 carload freight commodity groups were down from last year, with declines ranging from 1.8 percent for farm products other than grain to 65.4 percent for metallic ores. The lone group showing an increase was the catch-all category labeled “all other carloads” which was up 11.9 percent.
For the first 24 weeks of 2009, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 6,323,360 carloads, down 19.4 percent from 2008; 4,458,136 trailers or containers, down 16.9 percent; and total volume of an estimated 671.0 billion ton-miles, down 18.3 percent.
Combined North American rail volume for the first 24 weeks of 2009 on 14 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 8,012,475 carloads, down 20.1 percent from last year, and 5,539,883 trailers and containers, down 16.8 percent from last year.
Source: Union Pacific / Railfax
Updated
Posted by Lou on Jun 13, 2009
I’ve installed a new Software for “Lou’s Point” Website. There might be some glitches here and there but I expect that everything will work fine. If you find something, please let me know so that I can fix it. So far I noticed that, instead of showing a picture on it’s own window flow-ding over the others, Pictures are opened in a new Window. I don’t like that at all and I am working on that. Perhaps that feature will only affect old posts. Will see how that will work on the new posts.
Update 2: Glad to report that pictures are shown correctly. Everything bach to normal. Lou out.
Wondering
Posted by Lou on Jun 6, 2009
Hello Folks,
I am doing this Website since December 2008 and I am wondering if the Content I am providing here is interesting or not. What do you like, what do you not ? Finding ways to improve my Page is very hard. Now I am collecting Informations and News that I found while surfing the World. Mixed with some stories of my old Railroad life and handling the furlough situation is not an easy job. And I know my English needs a big improvement – sometimes you have to read twice to find out what I want to tell. Working on that – when English is not your native – its even harder. Most of the time I am still thinking German and put my thoughts down in another Language.
Just give me some feedback, how you are, how you found my page and what you like or dislike will help me a lot.
Thanks for your help and comments,
me, the Lou
