Spring 2001
Volume 108 - No. 1
Spring 2001
Volume 108 - No. 1
Communications
Engineer reminded of accident that ended his career
Dear Editor:
I read recently in the January 2001 edition of the Locomotive Engineer Newsletter, the report of the derailment and subsequent injuries received by locomotive engineer Baum and death of conductor Davis in Brookings, S.D.
This accident is virtually identical to one that I experienced as an engineer for the Illinois Central Railroad. My accident occurred July 24, 1985, at Boothby Siding, just east of Benton, Ill. I was delivering a 100 car coal train from the Burlington Northern yard in Centralia, Ill. to Paducah, Ky. The broken bones I received, and other injuries, ended my railroad career at age 58. I am now 73 years old and still suffering pain from this accident. The vandals were four 13-year-old boys. One of the boys received one year of probation. The other three received nothing.
The parallel between the Brookings accident and mine was the lock was broken and the switch was thrown in order to direct my train into parked cars in a siding. The switch semaphore was not covered, as in the Brookings case, but it was bent to give a green indication. There were no block signals.
I believe these cases clearly show just how much jeopardy engine crews are placed in while performing their jobs.
In the Brookings case, I strongly disagree with Janet Reno's decision not to seek the death penalty.
BNSF Availability Policy a bad joke
Dear Editor:
The BNSF "availability policy" is a bad joke. At Minot, N.D., we have 39 pool jobs without scheduled days off, one assigned local, six switch engines and roughly 10 people on the engineers' extra board with an 11 & 4 work/rest cycle. The figures BNSF gives us is that you may layoff 25% of the month, but those with regular days off that are assigned are only able to layoff one day per month.
With this number of jobs, we should have many more people on the engineers' extra board for just layoffs. This does not even account for vacations, personal leave, and setups for dogcatches, extra pool turns or extra switches. The extraboard is cut or added to once each week without regard to our contract. We are refused the ability to layoff because the crew office will come up with a fictitious number like only two engineers will be allowed to layoff on these particular days.
It seems we can sign any number of agreements with the carrier but what we lack is the teeth to force them into honoring what they have signed their names to. I forgot to mention that this policy covers a three month period so those numbers are cumulative. In other words, you should have the ability to take all your days off in one month and then work the preceding or following two months and not be disciplined.
The joke is that whenever you request off the callers refuse because of one lame excuse or another.
This policy was designed to enable us to have time to get away from the stress and wonderful hours we put in for the carrier. If our union can't seem to force the carrier into honoring their agreements, then maybe it's time to let Congress step into the circle and make it a law.
Comfortable workers are happy workers
Dear Editor:
While I look forward to every issue of the Locomotive Engineers Journal, I am tired of hearing about Positive Train Control (PTC) as mentioned in the Summer 2000 issue. There are much more serious problems facing Locomotive Engineers today than worrying about unproven technology.
Those of us on the CSX and Norfolk Southern railroads are in desperate need of new seats. As a CSX employee for six years and a Locomotive Engineer for almost five years, we have the worst seats of any Class 1 railroad.
Our current seats have no back support and the armrests have been chopped in half so that they jab you in your ribs.
I really hope that the BLE can help us get better seats such as the ones Union Pacific and BNSF have.
A comfortable worker is a safe worker.
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© 2001 Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers