New Haven Joe posted: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?
Yes, when properly secured.
If so, do trains usually sit for several hours before the relief crew arrives?
It can indeed happen, maybe even more than "several hours" for a coal or grain train, since their commodity is not considered perishable.
I have never understood why a railroad would leave a train unattended with the engines running. This happened with the Quebec accident.
Not all that uncommon, but then once the train is PROPERLY tied down, many times the units are shut down if long sit times are anticipated.
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.?
That may well be the sixty four thousand dollar question in this mess!
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.?
One would certainly think so!
NH Joe
