I learned an interesting factoid this week, Cryo-Trans reefers all carry individual names much as passenger cars of old did. Pretty cool. Here Cryo-Trans “Big Lost River” sits on The Big Hole Lead on the East Rail 2 layout. The combination of an old iPhone6 and Helicon Focus creates a sense of size and mass. Capturing this image took an entire evening of trial and error. Take a shot, see what you’ve got, re-position the lights, test, try again.
The following is a guest blog, generously written by Tom Holley, a retired NS conductor. Thanks Tom!
I thought I might, if you don’t mind, walk you through a typical pick up of a car. I worked for Norfolk Southern, so the rules I use are the rules in effect when I worked. Other railroads’ rules may vary.
Let’s look at a switch engine with one car and a locomotive, going to an industry to pick up one car. We’re operating in the modern era, with an engineer and conductor only crew.
First, after arriving at the switch, the conductor will dismount and pull the engine and car by. If you cut the car off and leave it while you go get the MTY, you’ll have to tie it down and do a securement test. The conductor lines the switch and derail, and ensures the industry blue flag is down. He then tell the engineer that the switch is lined and the derail is off. The engineer will ask for a double check, and the conductor will reply “Double checked.”
The job will then shove down and stop one car length from the coupling. On NS, a conductor can’t ride to a coupling except on a locomotive.This allows the conductor to get down, and perform an inspection on the car. Before you couple to a car, you want to inspect the car for a number of things: are all hoses disconnected, are all ramps out of boxcar doors, are all wheel chocks removed, and are all people clear. Is the car on the rail? The car did not hit and damage a bumping post, did it? You check these things first, before coupling to the car, for two reasons: First of all, safety; are the car and surrounding area clear to enable moving the car? Secondly, to protect your job. It the car is derailed, damaged, shoved off the end of a track, or still hooked up, and you couple to it, it becomes your responsibility, whether you did the damage or not. Also, if you need to adjust a drawhead to ensure the coupling lines up, you have the required fifty feet between cars to do so.
If it’s safe to couple, couple up. Then stretch the car; do not release the handbrake until you’re sure it’s a good couple. (note from Lance. I was incorrect in my video explanation of this earlier) The point of a stretch is make sure the car is coupled. If it’s not, and you release the hand brake, the car might roll off. If it’s a good couple, get three step (or red zone) protection, and cut the air in and knock off the brake. Then pull the car out, and line the switch and derail back. Tell the engineer they are lined, and give him his double check.
Now that everything is together and locked up, if you do an air test do it now. After that, get on the engine and leave. Now, there are as many ways to switch as there are railroaders. But when you are a conductor, and on the ground by yourself, the little things add up. Every switch lined, every hand brake tied, and all the walking done is up to you. So make it easy on yourself. My father, with 48 years of engineer experience gave me some of the best advice I ever got, “When you get tired of walking, then you’ll start thinking.”
Just some observations from an old retiree.
Regards,
Tom Holley
Yesterday, I uploaded Episode 7 in my Switching Operations 101 YouTube series. Among other things, I focus on the importance and procedures related to ensuring you have a functional “couple” prior to doing a shove move. I also cover the procedure for dicey moves across heavily-traveled streets. Thanks to all of the professional railroaders and experienced modelers who have contributed the prototype information necessary for us to all learn how things are done.
In my recent book, 8 Modern Era Track Plans, I actually have a full chapter and design for a layout focused on the switchback in my video.
This summer’s focus for The Downtown Spur is working on the structures along the 1400 block of 22nd Street (which parallels the railroad). The latest project is El Tigre Meat and Provisions as it looked around 2007. It was necessary to selectively compress the length. The main goal was to capture the hand-painted logo.
Here’s the actual structure facing west down 22nd Street.
….and here it is on the layout.
For the next installment of my Switching Operations 101 YouTube series, Tom Klimoski was generous enough to go out into the field on a hot day and shoot some video of the process of setting and releasing hand brakes.
As a re-cap on this whole “playing with your trains” theme:
-Running your layout is a solo endeavor. Nobody really cares how you do it. The FRA or the model railroad rules police won’t be showing up at your door. That being the case, be selfish in your approach. Do what is fun for you not because you read this blog and think you have to do it a certain way.
-As Tom said, look on procedures as a menu. Gain a basic understanding of rail switching operations and pick and choose which steps you want to implement and how you want to do so. Obviously, skip the ones you want to skip.
-Having this understanding not only enhances your enjoyment of the hobby but also “stretches” your layout since it takes longer to go through things.
-For me, personally, I rely primarily on the “pause and visualize” approach and rely less on props. Slow down, take a breath and pause, and visualize what would be actually happening in the field. It’s a hobby. It’s supposed to be relaxing. There isn’t any point in racing through everything as quickly as you can.
Here are a few of the switching operations basics. Let’s look at the simple act of picking up an empty from an industry.
-Loco running speeds are slow, often 10mph max but usually closer to a fast walking pace.
-Upon reaching the industry, the switch/turnout must be unlocked. The conductor must then make a quick visual inspection of the points to make sure there is no debris mucking up the works. He then aligns the switch. Tom Holly sent me this excellent video illustrating this step at the 2:35 mark. As you watch the video make note of the overall pace of things in general.
-The loco. approaches the car with the conductor calling out distances. Some roads require that the loco. stop a half car length short and then creep in. Others just allow the loco. to slowly approach. As the loco. approaches the car he is truly at a very slow creep.
-Once the couple is made, the conductor radios the engineer for three step protection.
-After the engineer acknowledges that Three Step is in place, the conductor moves between the cars.
-The conductor releases the car’s hand brake only AFTER the loco has coupled onto it.
-The conductor then radios “I’m clear” or “clear the three” and the loco. pulls away with the car.
-After clearing the turnout, the conductor aligns it for the “main” and locks it.
-Off they go.
Here’s a CSX video on hand brake procedures.
Here’s a video of them actually setting hand brakes in the field (1:17 mark).