I have some questions for the forum railroaders. Is it a usual practice for a crew that is going out of service between terminals to leave the train before the relief crew arrives? If so, do trains usually sit for several hours before the relief crew arrives? I have never understood why a railroad would leave a train unattended with the engines running. This happened with the Quebec accident.
How does the off-going crew communicate the train's status to the relief crew - by radio, log left in the cab, leave information about the train with the dispatcher, etc.? I think the relief crew would want to know about any mechanical or electrical problems with the train, whether or not the hand brakes have been set and on how many cars, fuel status, are there any quirks with running the train, train weight, number of cars in the train, etc.?
NH Joe
