via E-Mail
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I wouldn't want to work on a railroad where we weren't tested at all. But, it sure would be nice if all our efficiency test were designed to actually insure that we do our jobs safely, instead of for pure harassment.
I was tested recently entering the yard with a train of more than 6,000-feet in length. The testing manager placed a red flag in the center of the track. It was at a location with somewhat obstructed visibility, but it was not a "trap". It was raining, and the manager had to get out in the rain to both place and remove the flag. When the test was completed, he seemed pleased, and came and personally told me I did a great job.
What a change in attitude.
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Some time ago, I was chastised for talking on the radio to a crew we were meeting out on the road way after midnight. Everyone who knows me, understand that I probably do talk too much.
When ask what it was all about, I told the officer, "If I had been on one of the two trains involved in the head-on collision at Marathon a couple of years ago, both of those crews would probably still be alive.
"I'd have been talking to the crew on that other train. I'd have been wanting to know what going on in their heads -- out there at two o'clock in the morning.
"If I have to BS to know, then a little BS is in order. I want to go home safe and sound.
Dan is an engineer working out of Miller - Broadway - Ney Yard.
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