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I bet that job was a hoot. Basically a death sentence. Or at least a good way to lose your hands.
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Sep 4, 2013 04:16
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They have a lot of mishaps on the North Western Railway.
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Sep 4, 2013 04:37
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Aren't the wagons meant to be sentient 
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Sep 4, 2013 09:04
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No Pun Intended posted:Aren't the wagons meant to be sentient Thats ok, they are just Untermenschen
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Sep 4, 2013 12:42
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ijustam posted:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zW9RrPUu6j0 Why the hell isn't there a pedestrian bridge? Of course people will be idiots, people are always idiots. You need to give them an alternative so they don't get themselves killed as they freak out over the idea of having to wait for a minute or two.
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Sep 4, 2013 15:34
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ijustam posted:I bet that job was a hoot. Basically a death sentence. Or at least a good way to lose your hands. I read once that during the day of link and pin couplers, the best way to determine how long a man had been a brakeman was to count how many fingers he was missing.
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Sep 4, 2013 16:21
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Brother Jonathan posted:Speaking of which, here is a compilation of crashes from Thomas the Tank Engine: I guess I should have been expecting "Let the Bodies Hit the Floor," but I wasn't, and it was amazing.
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Sep 4, 2013 18:02
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Brother Jonathan posted:Those people crawling through the train remind me of a Great Northern Railroad safety video from the 1940s: Why Risk Your Life? It is horrifying how dangerous the railyards were back then! It only took six and a half minutes for the video to reference hobos and tramps  I love the 1940's.
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Sep 4, 2013 22:19
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Paul Boz_ posted:It only took six and a half minutes for the video to reference hobos and tramps That reminds me of a great gag in the train scene of Buster Keaton's Our Hospitality. He travels on one of those flimsy 1830s trains with the horse carriages, and they have to stop and throw the hobo off! Here's the part of the film. Movie trivia: Keaton was a bit of foamer himself, and the train is pulled by an actual working replica of Stephenson's Rocket. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGfShmBnMTs
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Sep 5, 2013 00:40
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Brother Jonathan posted:That reminds me of a great gag in the train scene of Buster Keaton's Our Hospitality. He travels on one of those flimsy 1830s trains with the horse carriages, and they have to stop and throw the hobo off! And the hobo holds up the train literally.
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Sep 5, 2013 02:57
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Think you can find it online? Success! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Rx57jVGfso This is a video that old heads will be talking about forever. It is amazing and dangerous. B4Ctom1 fucked around with this message at 04:42 on Sep 5, 2013 |
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Sep 5, 2013 04:29
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I was pretty sure I was going to watch the guy's
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Sep 5, 2013 09:51
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Sep 8, 2013 05:05
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That's union station in chicago isn't it? That's one pretty train.
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Sep 8, 2013 05:09
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Nerobro posted:That's union station in chicago isn't it? That's one pretty train. I don't know the station, but that is one of the Milwaukee Road's Super Dome cars that was built in 1948 for the Olympian Hiawatha. An old commercial for the service is on Youtube. Sadly, much of the route was abandoned in the 1970s—the section through Montana, Idaho, and Washington—and has been converted to National Forest trails.
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Sep 8, 2013 05:48
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Speaking of Thomas the Train...
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Sep 9, 2013 04:41
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This is round the corner from work. I like to think of it as a warning to others.
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Sep 9, 2013 16:11
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It's funny considering that actually did happen to one of the locomotives on that show and it was the most horrifying thing ever.
Stairmaster fucked around with this message at 02:57 on Sep 10, 2013 |
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Sep 10, 2013 02:46
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Stairmaster posted:It's funny considering that actually did happen to one of the locomotives on that show and it was the most horrifying thing ever. There was an episode of Thomas & Friends where an engine got hooked on meth? I don't remember that.
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Sep 10, 2013 04:15
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Stairmaster posted:It's funny considering that actually did happen to one of the locomotives on that show and it was the most horrifying thing ever. Shin-chan posted:There was an episode of Thomas & Friends where an engine got hooked on meth? I don't remember that.  If I remember right, it's a little more horrifying in the book version because the wall goes right up past his face.
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Sep 10, 2013 04:20
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I thought that it was a reference to the one when Henry was walled up in a tunnel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iO6qIM2WO6k (It's an edit!)
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Sep 10, 2013 04:27
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Just spent a truly horrifying amount of money for Amtrak Coast Starlight to California Zephyr (LA to Chicago) tickets. Sprung for the roomette sleeper because when the hell else am I going to do this type of trip again. I guarantee you the lady will hate trains within 5 hours of the journey.
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Sep 12, 2013 04:38
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My wife was a bit grumpy the first morning on our Minneapolis to Portland trip on the Empire builder, but some lunch and a wine tasting cheered her up. We also got a Bedroom, which is nice because the bottom bunk can actually sleep 2 if you don't mind being close 
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Sep 12, 2013 05:26
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I was surprised to learn that the original Pullman sleepers of the 19th century were open racks that weren't divided by sex. As uptight as the Victorians were, it is hard to imagine how they endured it.
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Sep 12, 2013 05:35
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How does pay work for yard jobs? They get a day rate regardless of how many hours they're there for, right? edit: If someone wants to do me a solid and explain pay for train crews and yardmasters I'd appreciate it.
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Sep 12, 2013 18:11
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I'm not sure how popular this would be here (I don't think anyone here is too foamy) but the Mass Bay Railroad Enthusiasts is offering up some excursion trains from Worcester to the Rhode Island shore and Worcester to the middle of nowhere, Connecticut http://www.massbayrre.org/Trips/Fall2013P&Wtrips.html
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Sep 12, 2013 18:56
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Veins McGee posted:How does pay work for yard jobs? They get a day rate regardless of how many hours they're there for, right? Umm right now, depends on your territory, etc but here is a basic idea with the current rates of pay- Yard Foreman only, 8 hours pay: 240ish for a basic day (no ot, no box pay, foreman only rate) Road Conductor Only 130 mile day (8 hours): 240 Yardmaster: the current agreement did away with some things IE overtime but only on certain days, etc, but they are making 85k a year. Engineers: The last contract I know as a yard foreman, I was making more than an engineer, like 235 ish for a yard engineer. But lets turn back to arbitrates and claims: A job I worked in Saint Paul paid me: 238.00 - Foreman pay 10.75 - Conductor only (foreman only) 22.35 - Footboard Yardmaster (FBY - your in control of a small yard, doing both the functions of foreman and yardmaster, but its extremely low traffic) 25.00 - automatic late meal claim 25.00 - belt-pack (remote control) pay = 320sh a day. Luckily it was almost an automatic 1 or 2 of over time each day, so it was easy to make close to 375-400 a day with out much effort. Just if any one cares, this is all public info for the basic rates, you can find all of the info on the UTU's website. Road jobs pay the best. One of the higher mileage runs is around 450 for a one way trip. It was great, worked about 3.5-4 round trips a half (every 15 days) and get about 2 days off between runs. It was all hot shot Z trains, so it was easy to cover around 350 miles in 8 hours.
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Sep 12, 2013 21:35
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BrokenKnucklez posted:25.00 - automatic late meal claim OK....can you explain those two to someone who doesn't know poo poo about trains?
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Sep 12, 2013 22:55
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Motronic posted:OK....can you explain those two to someone who doesn't know poo poo about trains? Belt Pack: 46 minutes of strait time pay for running a remote control locomotive. According to the Vernon award, the UTU got a small victory over the BLE's proposal of 45 minutes of strait time. (dont loving ask) Late Meals: We are supposed to be afforded a 20 minute paid meal period with in 4 - 6.5 hours of going on duty. If we don't get it, its a 4 hour penalty claim - which basically works out to be 140 bucks. This is a claim that is automatically denied and usually has to get submitted to an arbitrator and blah blah blah. Basically its money you will get but you gotta wait about a year or two before the money shows up. St Paul yard is a poo poo fest, so your never getting meals. Instead of trying to get the claim paid, it was easier for them to negotiate to just get 25.00 in lieu of your meal period. But theres always time where your waiting around to do nothing, and I carried a medium sized cooler to pack a lunch. I bought a bunch of those MRE heaters cheap, so I always had a way to heat my food up if I wanted something hot, and the company provides us with bottled water. (again the bottled water written into the 1985 crew consist agreement) Anyways, if your bored, I can furnish you with some very interesting reading that will put you to sleep. Also has lots of legalese in it. Edit: Railroading revolves around documentation. Cars placed at industries, what your carrying, train make up, and yes, even keeping track of your own pay. Around 1/3 of this job revolves around documentation, 1/3 is actual job functions, and 1/3 revolving around knowing the rules. Physically - Its lots and lots of walking around, climbing on cars, spinning a hand brake or two. Its great, you get paid to work out, shoot the poo poo with your friends in the down time, and trying to come up with bad jokes. I also come from one of the highest paid territories next to the CN guys. They get paid around 350 for 10 hours then over time after 10. So the monies will adjust accordingly. BrokenKnucklez fucked around with this message at 23:10 on Sep 12, 2013 |
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Sep 12, 2013 23:04
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BrokenKnucklez posted:running a remote control locomotive. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remote_control_locomotive What the hell? That is awesome.
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Sep 12, 2013 23:13
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You think that's cool, check this out: Remote controlled 150 ton bulldozer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxxyII9ko9c Edit: Incidentally, is there a topic for stuff like this? I love me some trains, but I'm kind of a fan of heavy construction/mining machinery as well and I think we need a topic for it. Disgruntled Bovine fucked around with this message at 23:28 on Sep 12, 2013 |
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Sep 12, 2013 23:20
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then you start seeing these signs right before you're run over by a giant unforgiving locomotive
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Sep 12, 2013 23:21
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Motronic posted:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remote_control_locomotive Its cool in theory, but they really suck at flat switching. It puts quite a bit of work on the foreman, because not only are you trying to switch out a track, throw a switch, reading paperwork, but your playing the engineer as well. I know it doesn't sound hard, but trust me, its more work than what it looks like at times. But they are pretty great for a hump yard. All it is just pulling pins and letting em roll down the hill.
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Sep 12, 2013 23:24
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BrokenKnucklez posted:Umm right now, depends on your territory, etc but here is a basic idea with the current rates of pay- What do you mean by foreman? At my yard we have a yardmaster, conductor and engineer for every shift. It's probably just a term we don't use. In either case, working a yard job guarantees a 8 hours paid regardless of how many hours you work? Railroad pay is confusing.
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Sep 13, 2013 04:45
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Yep. Foreman is a yard conductor. But yea, you get paid 8 hours for showing up. If your done in 4 hours go home and still get 8. Its not confusing if you read the local agreement.
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Sep 13, 2013 15:35
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Veins McGee posted:In either case, working a yard job guarantees a 8 hours paid regardless of how many hours you work? Railroad pay is confusing. Not only yard jobs, works this way for union clerks and dispatchers at corporate too. Obviously they can't finish an actual physical task up and go home early, but if they're called in late to fill a hole they'll get their 8 hours no matter how many they actually worked. Edit: To clarify, the union guys get overtime if they work over 8 hours. I think there were more managers putting "volunteer" hours in after the 8 now that Hunter Harrison runs the show seal it with a kiss fucked around with this message at 05:14 on Sep 14, 2013 |
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Sep 14, 2013 05:05
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seal it with a kiss posted:Edit: To clarify, the union guys get overtime if they work over 8 hours. I think there were more managers putting "volunteer" hours in after the 8 now that Hunter Harrison runs the show Different company but I don't keep track of my hours because it would depress me to calculate what my hourly rate actually is from week to week. BrokenKnucklez posted:Yep. Foreman is a yard conductor. The TCU agreement is so confusing that I hadn't even considered trying to read the conductor/engineer agreements.
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Sep 14, 2013 05:31
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Veins McGee posted:Different company but I don't keep track of my hours because it would depress me to calculate what my hourly rate actually is from week to week. You don't know your agreement? Do you not have a copy or just don't understand it?
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Sep 14, 2013 05:47
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BrokenKnucklez posted:You don't know your agreement? Do you not have a copy or just don't understand it? I know the parts of the agreement that I ever have to deal with. I come across a fair amount of poorly worded or ambiguous passages that I end up having to clarify with my boss or the labor relations department. edit: There is a ton of stuff I'm not expressly familiar with. Its a 200 page agreement.
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Sep 14, 2013 06:17
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gently caress Hunter Harrison.
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Sep 14, 2013 18:46
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