@@MOUNTAINMANJJ EOE. They are hiring. My Conductor, just inspected train, in this Midwest blizzard. After 2 hours, he got on the unit with 3 inches of snow & frost on him, head to toe.
I agree, these one man crew's are a Danger to the public. PSR has already had it's problems and dangers but going from two to one and then having a so called expiditer on the ground is a severely dangerous situation just itching to happen.
Class I Railroads have the Attitude that Lives are Expendable and Employees are Replaceable. They Care Less about either of these and that’s Unacceptable. 🤪👎
I'm a software engineer and I don't agree with full automation of anything transportation. You can make an application to a customer's specification but there will always be something that was missed. What I work on if something is missed, it doesn't endanger lives or anything serious. There should always be a human(s) present in case something happens and the human has to take over. Electronics can wear out and software glitches happen. Even in the applications I develop or help design, there's always instances where we have to make a decision like "well the likely hood of this causing major customer impacts is low", or "this only affects a few customer". Again, I'm not working on any software that will endanger lives or cause a major disaster. So you know there are bean counters already doing cost benefit analysis with human lives or property/environmental destruction.
They cant move trains with two man crews so one man or no man isnt going to do anything other than save money which I understand is the point BUT I think they would be in for a shock as every time a train stops someone could close any angle cock and the train wont be able to move which would give people time to rob the trains blind which in turn would wipe our profits as they would be paying companies for there losses. Remember LA with all the packages across the tracks?
Railroad stresses safety and the "double check" is part of that. Conductor checking with engineer of upcoming speed restriction, signal change, or equipment speed restrictions. Remove the CO, remove the double check.
I know it’s just for profits but doing one man crews will just cause more problems, and like this guy said legislation is usually done after tragedies. We already had Lac-Magantic. What else do they need to have happen?
Question: as an engineer and conductor who hired out in 1993 on the Santa Fe, what happens on a train controlled by a single crewmember when that crewmember has a medical emergency, or an issue with relieving themselves that cannot be delayed..?
I was on a train that stalled twice the other week. We made it about 20 miles by the time our time expired. We had to tie down and wait for a relief crew. (And each time we stalled, I had to walk back and tie down / release 25 brakes, control the shove from the rear. No computer could do that, at least not with today's technology. All it took was some light rain, a malfunctioning sander on the front wheels, a RCO stuck in fourth notch. We were crawling. And a weak lead engine that kept getting bumped by the two engines behind it, so there was that too. It took us an hour to get a fourth engine from another train that was tied down a mile up the tracks. (Also, if the engineer "must" stay in the engine, is he supposed to sit there while they get a few men from the yard to drive out there and make the rear of the train right?) Psh. Freaking stock holders. I was on another train that was almost hit by a truck that was stuck on the tracks. We stopped in half the distance we saw him on a "blind" corner. Never mind the train I was on that broke a knuckle a mile back. The separation was 9 cars from the rear and had a DP on the very end. Brakes need to be tied, and quickly, if there is a separation. Often there is no time to wait for a yard crew to drive miles / minutes / hours to your remote location. If they can even reach you.
How about walking for 6 miles in breach protection territory in a ditch inspecting a intermodal train looking for a hot axle or wheel at 230 am. UP sucks!
@@donstarr7261 yep, brakestick as a walking stick. I had to crawl on my hands and knees at several points for two miles in each direction... didn't want to slip 20+ feet down the hill. It was literally my first shift back after knee surgery (unrelated to the job).
Because if an engineer has a health challenge, a train can come to a stop without killing someone. If a pilot is in the same situation, the plane will crash.
If the railroads care so much about safety, then let them explain why crews have such a short turnaround time and are often more than not totally over worked. They don't even have time for their families and that is simply outrageous!. New management in needed within the industry that concerns the individual a bit more than the stock market.
For the RR to say it's more efficient with 1 man crew or a roaming conductor will work well 1 it's not more efficient and 2 there are very very many places you can't drive to so it n would take someone hrs to get there by that point someone would be dead or a town killed because they wouldn't know what car is leaking furthermore 2 help each other Stat awake since most of our time is spent in the middle of the night so let's be real they only wanna cut the conductor for more greed them assclowns couldncare less of anybody dies or gets hurts its all about how can I get more money it's a shame that it's gotten to this point but here we are
If a leak incident occurred where a roaming conductor couldn't drive to, couldn't he or she just walk there like you would have to walk from the locomotive anyway?
While I applaud Mr Regan's enthusiasm to upholding the two man crew's, let's face it the industry is truly moving to a no man crew. That way they won't have to depend on a human at all. Hell it won't be long until the full time signal maintainer will be obsolete. The union track worker is clearly expendable. Contractors, contractors, more contractors.
I see where you’re coming from and i respect your opinion. I will say this, we all know the carriers want automated trains. But like Regan said in the video, the country’s that use automation are typically not in super dense populated city and towns. Every major city in America typically has a railroad close by or not far from it. If they don’t a track passes through it. This has always been my argument for 2 man crews. The publics safety should be the main priority. Railroad tracks pass through all types of communities. Not just low income, multi million dollar neighborhoods, the middle class. The perfect example would be the AGS north and AGS south right here in Alabama. If you want to get more dense, California, Atlanta, Texas, etc, etc. I agree, we know what they want but carriers are willing to gamble with the safety of United States citizens is not right no matter how you slice it. Technology will never be able to detect which car has derailed and if it is leaking and who to call and how many miles should be evacuated based on wind speed. That’s the number 1 priority for a conductor. Know what you’re hauling, have the number listed so you know who to call incase shit hits the fan. I believe this will be passed based on how the FRA handled this meeting. No questions were asked to a conductor who testified as if their minds have been made up already. The only questions I herd ask was to the carriers and they stumbled hard. I’ll have the video up soon.
But I could see 4 person crews, two taking turns, and a crew car, like in AUS. This might work on the old SP Sunset Route West of San Antonio Texas and the old ATSF route West of ABQ.
I'll admit, PTC is an amazing piece of technology, but it's NOT perfect. For example, PTC will start blowing the horn sequence for a crossing, but will stop once the Engineer takes over - that's fine. But if the engineer takes over, then instantly nods his head, PTC will not pick back up. I myself as the Conductor have pushed the horn button on my side to continue blowing the horn properly over the crossings. I'd say this happens at least once a trip. I had a trip a month ago where the engineer had been up all day long (because he was 1st out, but they just never called him to work) and we got called to be on duty at midnight. Towards the end of our trip coming into Chicago (where there are a lot of road crossings), he kept nodding his head and falling asleep. I noticed this and started blowing the horn for multiple crossings as the Engineer fought his fatigue. I couldn't imagine only 1 person being up there. Even as simple as the Conductor getting a water for the engineer or watching the train as the engineer takes a pee (because sometimes they never stop us on the long pool I work and he can't hold it for 10+ hours), the conductor will be the eyes and ears until the engineer sits back down. If that was a one man crew, what if the engineer wet to take a pee on a moving train, and hit something while he was doing that? He wouldn't even know he hit something possibly.
Yeah still be conductors in the cab they ain't going ground aint no technology going replace them because screws up to much ptc does ain't going go nowhere
QUESTION, CONDUCTOR has a stroke or heart attack and flops to the the floor what happens? Will the computer over time sense there is something missing and slowly come to a stop? Even 2 people on a 5 mile train sounds reasonable and realistic, scary to me.
U.P. has killed 5 people that I know of this year. Keep cutting back on safety issues and this number will climb. There has also been at least a 100%+ increase in derailments do to them returning to poor training habits! Having a trained person in the seat is better than just putting someone there!
They need to mandate 2 man crews and put this argument to rest.
They need the 4-man crews back!
I swear people who buy into the computerized trains and one man crews are crazy.
I think requiring only men to work on the railroad is crazy.
@@MOUNTAINMANJJ That also.
Not just crazy but greedy as well
@@MOUNTAINMANJJ EOE. They are hiring. My Conductor, just inspected train, in this Midwest blizzard. After 2 hours, he got on the unit with 3 inches of snow & frost on him, head to toe.
Ignorant, or idiotic.
2 person crews AND the expediter!
I agree, these one man crew's are a Danger to the public. PSR has already had it's problems and dangers but going from two to one and then having a so called expiditer on the ground is a severely dangerous situation just itching to happen.
Class I Railroads have the Attitude that Lives are Expendable and Employees are Replaceable. They Care Less about either of these and that’s Unacceptable. 🤪👎
Isn’t it ironic that right after we get a raise the railroad in order to negate the costs want to cut the crew size this is not rocket science
I'm a software engineer and I don't agree with full automation of anything transportation. You can make an application to a customer's specification but there will always be something that was missed. What I work on if something is missed, it doesn't endanger lives or anything serious. There should always be a human(s) present in case something happens and the human has to take over. Electronics can wear out and software glitches happen. Even in the applications I develop or help design, there's always instances where we have to make a decision like "well the likely hood of this causing major customer impacts is low", or "this only affects a few customer". Again, I'm not working on any software that will endanger lives or cause a major disaster. So you know there are bean counters already doing cost benefit analysis with human lives or property/environmental destruction.
They cant move trains with two man crews so one man or no man isnt going to do anything other than save money which I understand is the point BUT I think they would be in for a shock as every time a train stops someone could close any angle cock and the train wont be able to move which would give people time to rob the trains blind which in turn would wipe our profits as they would be paying companies for there losses. Remember LA with all the packages across the tracks?
Whoooooooo. That's a great 💡 idea. I wish they would
Railroad stresses safety and the "double check" is part of that. Conductor checking with engineer of upcoming speed restriction, signal change, or equipment speed restrictions. Remove the CO, remove the double check.
I know it’s just for profits but doing one man crews will just cause more problems, and like this guy said legislation is usually done after tragedies. We already had Lac-Magantic. What else do they need to have happen?
What to we need next? a Lac Magantic 2x?
How about another 1989 SP run away at Slover outside of West Colton?
Long live the memory of the train crew that perished along with Ries
Question: as an engineer and conductor who hired out in 1993 on the Santa Fe, what happens on a train controlled by a single crewmember when that crewmember has a medical emergency, or an issue with relieving themselves that cannot be delayed..?
Valid Question cause it happens that's for sure.
Excellent Thanks!
Preach it Greg! Preach it!!!!!!!!!!!
I was on a train that stalled twice the other week. We made it about 20 miles by the time our time expired. We had to tie down and wait for a relief crew. (And each time we stalled, I had to walk back and tie down / release 25 brakes, control the shove from the rear. No computer could do that, at least not with today's technology. All it took was some light rain, a malfunctioning sander on the front wheels, a RCO stuck in fourth notch. We were crawling. And a weak lead engine that kept getting bumped by the two engines behind it, so there was that too. It took us an hour to get a fourth engine from another train that was tied down a mile up the tracks. (Also, if the engineer "must" stay in the engine, is he supposed to sit there while they get a few men from the yard to drive out there and make the rear of the train right?) Psh. Freaking stock holders. I was on another train that was almost hit by a truck that was stuck on the tracks. We stopped in half the distance we saw him on a "blind" corner. Never mind the train I was on that broke a knuckle a mile back. The separation was 9 cars from the rear and had a DP on the very end. Brakes need to be tied, and quickly, if there is a separation. Often there is no time to wait for a yard crew to drive miles / minutes / hours to your remote location. If they can even reach you.
This says it all!
How about walking for 6 miles in breach protection territory in a ditch inspecting a intermodal train looking for a hot axle or wheel at 230 am. UP sucks!
@@donstarr7261 yep, brakestick as a walking stick. I had to crawl on my hands and knees at several points for two miles in each direction... didn't want to slip 20+ feet down the hill. It was literally my first shift back after knee surgery (unrelated to the job).
No crews, no union, no union dues! Can't have that now.
So why do airlines need 2 pilots who do the same job but trains don’t need 2 people who do different jobs???
Because if an engineer has a health challenge, a train can come to a stop without killing someone. If a pilot is in the same situation, the plane will crash.
@@MOUNTAINMANJJ how nice of you to tell a railroader what would happen
If the railroads care so much about safety, then let them explain why crews have such a short turnaround time and are often more than not totally over worked. They don't even have time for
their families and that is simply outrageous!. New management in needed within the industry that concerns the individual a bit more than the stock market.
Fingers crossed
For the RR to say it's more efficient with 1 man crew or a roaming conductor will work well 1 it's not more efficient and 2 there are very very many places you can't drive to so it n would take someone hrs to get there by that point someone would be dead or a town killed because they wouldn't know what car is leaking furthermore 2 help each other Stat awake since most of our time is spent in the middle of the night so let's be real they only wanna cut the conductor for more greed them assclowns couldncare less of anybody dies or gets hurts its all about how can I get more money it's a shame that it's gotten to this point but here we are
Just wait till you hear Up talk about this.. it’s ridiculous lol. I’ll have the video up today.
If a leak incident occurred where a roaming conductor couldn't drive to, couldn't he or she just walk there like you would have to walk from the locomotive anyway?
I just wonder what is going through the minds of this board as they listen to this extremely important conference
One man crews for the shareholders! Now!
What if the lone cab driver suffers an injury, or a heart attack? Who renders him aid? What happens to him even if the train stops automatically?
Everything will be automated eventually regardless of what they do now
That is a sad truth, corporations always win, I just hope they realize when no one works, no more big profits as we can't buy anything anymore.
Still be two men crews because one are to dangerous never going
Good timing as Union Pacific is trying to do 1 man crew tests as we speak…
Garbage...
really!?!??!... where at?
@@25mfd talking about tests on the South Morrill Subdivision coal hauling route in western Nebraska, there’s a trains magazine article out about it
@@25mfd starting in South Morrill,Ne
@@25mfdStarting in Nebraska on the coal trains, then to Colorado and the Pacific Northwest. It's despicable.
While I applaud Mr Regan's enthusiasm to upholding the two man crew's, let's face it the industry is truly moving to a no man crew. That way they won't have to depend on a human at all. Hell it won't be long until the full time signal maintainer will be obsolete. The union track worker is clearly expendable. Contractors, contractors, more contractors.
Unfortunately I think you’re correct. Unless the government steps in now… next they will be coming for engineers.
That's a defeatist attitude if I ever heard one, Either that or you are a mole for the carriers!
I see where you’re coming from and i respect your opinion.
I will say this, we all know the carriers want automated trains. But like Regan said in the video, the country’s that use automation are typically not in super dense populated city and towns. Every major city in America typically has a railroad close by or not far from it. If they don’t a track passes through it. This has always been my argument for 2 man crews.
The publics safety should be the main priority. Railroad tracks pass through all types of communities. Not just low income, multi million dollar neighborhoods, the middle class. The perfect example would be the AGS north and AGS south right here in Alabama. If you want to get more dense, California, Atlanta, Texas, etc, etc.
I agree, we know what they want but carriers are willing to gamble with the safety of United States citizens is not right no matter how you slice it.
Technology will never be able to detect which car has derailed and if it is leaking and who to call and how many miles should be evacuated based on wind speed. That’s the number 1 priority for a conductor. Know what you’re hauling, have the number listed so you know who to call incase shit hits the fan.
I believe this will be passed based on how the FRA handled this meeting. No questions were asked to a conductor who testified as if their minds have been made up already. The only questions I herd ask was to the carriers and they stumbled hard. I’ll have the video up soon.
But I could see 4 person crews, two taking turns, and a crew car, like in AUS. This might work on the old SP Sunset Route West of San Antonio Texas and the old ATSF route West of ABQ.
I'll admit, PTC is an amazing piece of technology, but it's NOT perfect. For example, PTC will start blowing the horn sequence for a crossing, but will stop once the Engineer takes over - that's fine. But if the engineer takes over, then instantly nods his head, PTC will not pick back up. I myself as the Conductor have pushed the horn button on my side to continue blowing the horn properly over the crossings. I'd say this happens at least once a trip.
I had a trip a month ago where the engineer had been up all day long (because he was 1st out, but they just never called him to work) and we got called to be on duty at midnight. Towards the end of our trip coming into Chicago (where there are a lot of road crossings), he kept nodding his head and falling asleep. I noticed this and started blowing the horn for multiple crossings as the Engineer fought his fatigue.
I couldn't imagine only 1 person being up there. Even as simple as the Conductor getting a water for the engineer or watching the train as the engineer takes a pee (because sometimes they never stop us on the long pool I work and he can't hold it for 10+ hours), the conductor will be the eyes and ears until the engineer sits back down.
If that was a one man crew, what if the engineer wet to take a pee on a moving train, and hit something while he was doing that? He wouldn't even know he hit something possibly.
How much of a role does a conductor play in the management of the computer that runs the train?
All the railroad companies I so greedy about Prophets then safety cutting down the work force
Yeah still be conductors in the cab they ain't going ground aint no technology going replace them because screws up to much ptc does ain't going go nowhere
QUESTION, CONDUCTOR has a stroke or heart attack and flops to the the floor what happens? Will the computer over time sense there is something missing and slowly come to a stop? Even 2 people on a 5 mile train sounds reasonable and realistic, scary to me.
U.P. has killed 5 people that I know of this year. Keep cutting back on safety issues and this number will climb.
There has also been at least a 100%+ increase in derailments do to them returning to poor training habits!
Having a trained person in the seat is better than just putting someone there!