BNSF Engineer in Hot Water?

 I have found that when you are on the wrong side of the company, everything turns against you. It's like being in quicksand. All the "yes" people get in line to point the finger at you. It can happen to anyone.

 I hope the truth here comes to light for him and everything gets looked over fairly. Some bad things might have to be dug up that were swept under the carpet in haste. What really would be good is for the whole attitude of blame to change. With todays companies, I don't believe that's possible. At least there are workers rights laws still on the books, and hopefully they don't get erased. Right now, that's doubtful. It sounds like he was smart enough to protect himself as best as he could. They will probably get even for that too.

8 carrier's and BNSF is not one?

645 posted:

Engineer-Joe posted:

8 carriers and BNSF is not one?

Did you also notice seven are in the east and the eighth is Chicago's Metra? All eight are passenger carrying properties.

I didn't look at the list until now. I thought they'd be the major players.

Whoops! Sorry. 

Maybe  they could absorb the CSX's spin offs?

Quite a few un- knows here.... 

How far apart are the yards?

Wouldn't the engineman have a feel for the engine whether the independent was working as it should?

22 cars of what? heavy loads? empties?

 Why wasn't there air on the cars and a brake test  before heading down,?

What part did the Yard foreman play?  

Weather??   A foot of fresh light snow can disable the  independent  until the brake shoes get hot... A big surprise for an inexperienced engineman. Yep reverse her!!!! and hang on.

Gregg posted:

Quite a few un- knows here.... 

How far apart are the yards?

Wouldn't the engineman have a feel for the engine whether the independent was working as it should?

22 cars of what? heavy loads? empties?

 Why wasn't there air on the cars and a brake test  before heading down,?

What part did the Yard foreman play?  

All good questions, above.

Weather??   A foot of fresh light snow can disable the  independent  until the brake shoes get hot...

Well, not with composition brake shoes, besides that part of Washington state doesn't get much snow. 

A big surprise for an inexperienced engineman.

He was a 13 year "veteran" Engineer.

Yep reverse her!!!! and hang on.

Except the unit was a GP38-2, and in most cases throwing the reverser into the opposite direction, trips the ground relay, and then nothing happens.

 

 

Except the unit was a GP38-2, and in most cases throwing the reverser into the opposite direction, trips the ground relay, and then nothing happens.

Isn't that how he stopped?  Probably skidded the engines as well

Gregg posted:

Except the unit was a GP38-2, and in most cases throwing the reverser into the opposite direction, trips the ground relay, and then nothing happens.

Isn't that how he stopped?  Probably skidded the engines as well

Lots of information missing from what has been released/posted.

AmeenTrainGuy posted:

Hey HOT WATER, you sure know a lot of stuff about real trains, and after reading your biography, I know why! It must be really cool to have your experience.

As for the BNSF engineer, why do they want to go against him, can't they just fix or replace the engine (which is going to cost quite a bit) and just forget about it? Also if he did that to save lives then arent the lives more important then the engine itself?

if you were at work and smashed a forklift into a wall, would you get fired? Would it be better if you said that you hit the wall to avoid hitting someone?

If you, the worker were related to the CEO, it wouldn't have happened. There I said it. Hopefully the firestorm won't burn me too much! 

I retired from a company that had about 75,000 employees. The attitude was, if you have a wreck in a company vehicle you may as well stop at HR and turn in your badge, as the safety department says there are no unpreventable accidents.

However, I bet this guy wins the lawsuit.

How did the train stop? Flintstone braking?

Dominic Mazoch posted:

How did the train stop? Flintstone braking?

He “plugged” the motors, which means he moved the reversing lever to reverse while the engine was moving forward. This reversed the polarity of the DC current being fed to the traction motors. That causes HUGE surge currents to flow and can seriously damage the traction motors. But it will stop the engine, provided things don’t arc and trip the ground relay. If the ground relay trips, you have zero power in either direction and are just along for the ride.

Cutting through all the drama . . .

The Engineer is protected by the Railway Labor Act, which entitles him to clearly stated written charges*, a fair and impartial hearing to develop facts through oral testimony (examination and cross examination) and the presentation of exhibits such as event recorder charts, representation in line with the union contract (Teamster/BLE), the right to call witnesses on hs behalf, and reasonable -- if any -- discipline.

This must all be done within time constraints specified in the governing union agreement for his craft.  Further, he has the right to appeal the decision to the General Committee of his union, and, if not able to receive a satisfactory resolution from the conference between the General Chairman and the General Manager, he can further appeal directly to the National Railway Labor Board, which has the authority to render a binding decision, including -- if the Board finds that the discipline was arbitrary or excessive or that the proper processes were not followed by the Carrier -- reinstating the employee to his position with seniority unimpaired and full pay of lost wages.

That's all he is entitled to, but it's actually quite a lot and is a powerful process for assuring that any discipline assessed for rules violations is fair and equitable.  Suing the Carrier for wrongful dismissal is not an option, as the Railway Labor Act clearly governs this matter from start to finish.  If he fiddles around with an attorney trying to sue, instead of following the proper process, he might miss the NLRB appeal deadline and lose the right to appeal.  That would be very unfortunate.

I might mention that it is very important to have good union representation at the hearing (Formal Investigation), as all appeals are based on the written transcript of the Formal Investigation hearing.  It needs to "read well."  So, Perry Mason tactics at the investigation are useless.  The written transcript cannot convey voice inflections, finger pointing, facial expressions, etc.  It only contains the words.

* He can't simply be fired for "whistle blowing," regardless of the media report.  Charges must clearly define an incident caused, at least in part by the employee, and the applicable Company rules which the Carrier alleges that he violated in commission of his role in the incident.  It's a fair system and is weighted in favor of the employee if his responsibility cannot be clearly proven to be significant and to warrant the degree of discipline that was assessed.  Rogue officials who have a plantation mentality or have a specific dislike for the employee are exposed.  In my recollection, the employee wins about 2/3 of the cases that are taken to the NLRB level.

Any one remember your Union rep selling" Job insurance" in case of a mishap... I never bought any but  it apparently  would  pay your salary for a year or more,  whatever you purchased....