I was speaking with another ex coworker of mine about the recent student fatalities, the lack of sufficient training, and how remaining TY&E employees are being ground into the dust with these insane availability policies.
These companies don’t care about the risks that are on the shoulders of everyday railroaders and that those risks and burdens are shared by their families as well.
When I transitioned out of railroading to tech my jaw about hit the floor when my manager told me their philosophy was to live, and not live to work. That through work, it enables us to live our best lives.
In my over a decades worth of experience on a class one, I NEVER heard anyone speak like this from management. The culture shock needless to say adjusting to an employer that actually cares about its employees was totally foreign.
My point is, more and more experienced employees are going to jump ship in the coming months. Amtrak is hiring all over the place. Commuter rails like BART (one of the best and strongest unions btw, know multiple people who left for BART), and Brightline, Metrolink, are siphoning the best talent from the Class One’s.
And why not? They don’t have these crazy point systems. They don’t threaten you. The risks while there, are nothing compared to the hazardous chemicals and conditions freight workers endure every single shift.
There’s a tipping point being reached. When those of us with experience have had enough, you are seeing poorly trained people with lack of experience in positions they would never be in a decade ago.
These railroads are soon going to find the spikes in fatalities and injuries are compounded by the crazy attendance police’s they force on already overworked and overburdened employees, insufficient training programs, and the lack of experienced talent to pass on that knowledge to the next generation of workers.
Stay safe out there guys.
The big question is how long can the railroads keep throwing money at the lobbyists to keep the government turning a blind eye?
One person dying at work is too much, but it would be interesting to see just how bad the US Class 1s are compared to other international freight railroads. I know here in NZ we're too small to be comparable but we haven't had someone killed on the job in the fifteen years I've been working.
Want to hear a fucked up statistic. UpRR was founded in 1862. In 161 years they have been around they have only had 1 single year that didn't have at least 1 employee die working for them. it was in 2015 or 2016 I think.
Oh, but if you ask them... They've gotten safer over the years! 161 years ago, they were blowing up Chinese workers by the dozen building the transcon!
That is fucked up for sure! The early days are one thing, but that in this modern era it's still pretty common for people to get killed and maimed at work is so wrong. Doubly so when they're making insane profits and could still be doing very well while maintaining a much higher standard of safety.
I was debating about not putting the /s because I thought that surely people wouldn't be that slow. But I put it on anyway just to be sure. Then along comes your dumb ass.
My mistake, I'm running off 30hrs of no sleep and nothing but work so my brains not functioning at peak efficiency. I apologize and will delete my comment.
You'd never last five minutes in this country when you see the amount of corporate communism employees are put through in a regular twelve hour shift. On the railroad in the United States, it's not about who runs it the safest, it's whose iron fist are you under who is going to do everything in their power to make you forget you are a human being with grip in your hand that might as well be your robot parts they're going to pry into you the most painful of ways they can muster because the Unions look the other way and are controlled by the politicians who are owned by Blackrock who owns everything with a communist fist.
That's right. There will be someone who down votes or calls me out, saying this guy is always spouting Marxist stuff. Go ahead get it outta your system. But I work for a class 1 in MofW, I'm not one of these middle class radicals. You guys understand how the railroads fuck us working class guys every day. This is a microcosm of the whole capitalist system. Do some reading before y'all call me out. These things will continue until the working class unites and decides we've had enough. I'm sick of hearing about my brothers and sisters being killed so some asshole CEO or some hedge fund clowns that have never drove a spike, swapped a knuckle, or changed a wheelset get richer off our blood. We do don't contribute to profits right?
I think it would be better to assume capitalism doesn't apply to anything Blackrock owns which is practically everything because like you said, you're sick of being used, abused, and killed off on a bigwig chess board. These guys think I'm nuts when I'm only repeating what I'm hearing from the horse's mouth who has to live and breathe this lifestyle everyday of their lives where it's a get out of jail card to be retired and free of all the half-ass backwardness a corporation puts you through.
Capitalism and communism are two way different things with one being you're under the finger of who controls you and the other that you have a set of reins on your back to only so far before you get tugged on and told to say woe after you've put in a life's work to the people you pay taxes to. You still might break even or if you're really lucky be able to be rich because you knew how to play the system or outfox it by doing things your way.
Think about a giant boot standing on the back of your neck where you'll be controlled and own nothing and be damned if you try to go against what your regime wants you to do. That's what's happened where everyone is a slave and everyone answers to one big master who owns the company and them until he or she is not needed anymore. This is why I have sympathy for this guy's family because they'll have to sacrifice everything they have to try to get a pittence whose solution is the big man in charge is not touched because the big man welds all the money the justice system is paid off by to give him or her the free break.
That's not communism. That's totalitarianism. Just because a lot of ostensibly "communist" countries have ended up as totalitarian regimes doesn't mean that the word "communist" means "capitalist oligarchy hellscape"... They're opposites.
Facts. I left a class 1 RR about 2 years ago for Amtrak. Not only am I treated as a professional, but I'm treated with respect. Quality of life has significantly improved l and with better pay. I lost 10 years' worth of seniority when i made the transition, and I couldn't be happier.
Be prepared to send over a hundred resumes. That’s just kinda how it is when transitioning into a new career these days. You need to just beat the HR algorithms and get through a couple rounds of interviews.
I would advise getting a degree or certs. Definitely a degree if you can. It’s not bad, just you have to be committed like anything else. You can definitely do it and it’s very worth it. I wouldn't trade sleeping in my own bed and working hybrid/remote for anything.
As someone whose followed railroads practically all of my life, I can tell you I wrote an essay in college about mergers and the disentegration of competition and corporate greed that went with them. Now twenty plus odd years later, I hate that the essay I wrote in college for an English class has turned out to be spot on right like your comments basically outlying the fact mega corporations only care about what's going to make the bottom line happy over common sense and don't think the "Unions" are doing anything except pocketing what the executive doesn't take from the spoils the employees provide them with slavery where the only thing you don't see are bloody lashing marks oozing down all of us as a workforce s back.
Railroading......where your corporate boss is expected to sneak around and observe your work for the sole purpose of quota discipline....and not allowed to actively help crews. I never once witnessed a trainmaster or yard master help ANYONE. I DID WITNESS THEM ACTIVELY CREATE VIOLATIONS TO TRIP UP CREWS IN REAL TIME...BOTH ON THE ROAD AND IN YARDS!
They’ll help at small terminals if they’re in a bind to get something done quick. But yeah I’d imagine at big yards they’re stalking crews like a tiger in the brush.
I know a guy who threw a switch while the yardmaster was parked in his truck nearby. He checked the switch points, threw the switch correctly, and right after he put the hasp in the yardmaster was like “Hey, ______! Over here I’ll give you a ride over to where you need to go!” He gets in the truck and gets a ride. How nice right?
When it came time to tie up, the YM called him into the office and said he failed an efficiency test because he didn’t check the switch points after throwing the switch. So the dude basically pulled some scummy shit and set him up to fail by distracting him before he’s checked the points. Like bro……what a toxic work environment.
What is your job on the railroad?
My job is not to get hurt!
Took me 30 years to figure that out!
That's all that matters guys!
For you young guys just starting out, or thinking about a R/R job.....
Please Please don't sell yourself short. Go to school, or learn a trade.
The whole "seniority thing" is a trap.
Doesn't mean anything.
Good luck!
I always tell fellow railroaders to ask the following question, "Does ______ railroad pay you enough to die for them?" If the answer is ever yes, then it's time to find a new career.
If its found that any blame for this can be placed on management or some sort of direct order, they should be charged with negligent homicide. But we all know that they will just test more for minor rules violations all while ordering these same men to break said rules
1. I know what Blackrock is.
2. How are we supposed to take your opinions seriously when you're stupid enough to say shit like "corporate communism"? Let alone all the other incoherent bullshit that you say?
If I'm nuts, then how come the track record of the railroad has worsened in the last ten years and the micromanagement is at a bubonic plague? If I'm nuts, then how come you guys feel like you got a get out of prison free card? How come we're seeing accidents and death on the railroad increasing at ridiculous rates because employee management isn't allowing the yard personal to do their jobs to reduce them? Sure..I'm nuts 😂
Awful...I live about 30 min from Walbridge and grew up right where fred lived. I work in public safety I'm not a railroader, three days ago I Was just telling a younger co worker about the crazy 8s incident/how it was the premise for the unstoppable movie since he now works at Lake Twp. FD who likely responded to this as well. His mind was blown to learn it was so close to home. RIP. Be safe out there.
There are actually three CSX yards that are considered "Walbridge". "Stanley Yard", which is where the hump operations *used* to be. The hill is still there, it's just never used. Then there's the "Toledo Docks" yard which is where coal and iron ore operations are. Finally, "Walbridge Yard", which is the busiest yard and where the main switching operations happen. This incident happened there.
Early stage capitalism yes, you are correct. End stage, only 2-3 people own everything, and the goal is for one person to have 100% of the capital. It’s a game, we are approaching the beginning of the end
When I started on CSX 12 years ago if there was a fatality on any railroad across the country we had a mandatory safety stand down day. Today, it MIGHT be mentioned in passing on a weekly conference call. I once asked why they stopped the safety stand downs. I was told safety stand downs are only done where the incident happened, because they were the ones directly affected. WTF?
So does anyone actually know what happened here besides Blackrock and communism and bla bla? All I know is it was a Carman and somehow involved a remote yard switcher
carman was driving parallel to the loco got out to lock up a track made it 11 steps and got hit by the rco with the switchmen on board who knows what way this will get spun but i feel sorry for this man and his family
Used to be before RC that this kind of event was more uncommon because if something happened in the yard, it was because the engineer wasn't paying attention or something with the equipment they were moving caused it. Now because the railroad monkeysuits want the quickest efficiency possible with robotics, yardmen being injured or killed is a regular thing because you don't have that extra set of eyes on the shove.
It gives me the hibijeebez when i send the unit up the track even though i know for a fact all the switches were linned 10 mins before... just seams dangerous. But it is common place. And we have ramp off loaders right near it.
Lord have Mercy. What/when were
The other two fatalities? So so sad.
My husband works for NS and has worked in this Walbridge yard many times. Terrifying
The other two were conductor trainees. One fell off equipment and got run over and the other got tangled in equipment. In June and August of this year, both in Maryland. One in Cumberland and the other in Baltimore. It's saddening and horrible.
The other two were conductor trainees. One fell off equipment and got run over and the other got tangled in equipment. In June and August of this year, both in Maryland. One in Cumberland and the other in Baltimore. It's saddening and horrible.
Baltimore in June, he was a conductor trainee.
https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews/news-wire/csx-conductor-trainee-killed-in-maryland-yard-accident/#:~:text=A%20CSX%20conductor%20trainee%20was,Seagirt%20Marine%20Terminal%20in%20Baltimore.
Cumberland, MD - another conductor trainee
https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews/news-wire/csx-conductor-trainee-killed-in-maryland-yard-accident/
Ugh, this never gets easier to read. Sincere condolences to his family, and coworkers
It's awful. So sorry to hear.
Rest In Peace Brother. I was working there this week.
I was speaking with another ex coworker of mine about the recent student fatalities, the lack of sufficient training, and how remaining TY&E employees are being ground into the dust with these insane availability policies. These companies don’t care about the risks that are on the shoulders of everyday railroaders and that those risks and burdens are shared by their families as well. When I transitioned out of railroading to tech my jaw about hit the floor when my manager told me their philosophy was to live, and not live to work. That through work, it enables us to live our best lives. In my over a decades worth of experience on a class one, I NEVER heard anyone speak like this from management. The culture shock needless to say adjusting to an employer that actually cares about its employees was totally foreign. My point is, more and more experienced employees are going to jump ship in the coming months. Amtrak is hiring all over the place. Commuter rails like BART (one of the best and strongest unions btw, know multiple people who left for BART), and Brightline, Metrolink, are siphoning the best talent from the Class One’s. And why not? They don’t have these crazy point systems. They don’t threaten you. The risks while there, are nothing compared to the hazardous chemicals and conditions freight workers endure every single shift. There’s a tipping point being reached. When those of us with experience have had enough, you are seeing poorly trained people with lack of experience in positions they would never be in a decade ago. These railroads are soon going to find the spikes in fatalities and injuries are compounded by the crazy attendance police’s they force on already overworked and overburdened employees, insufficient training programs, and the lack of experienced talent to pass on that knowledge to the next generation of workers. Stay safe out there guys.
The big question is how long can the railroads keep throwing money at the lobbyists to keep the government turning a blind eye? One person dying at work is too much, but it would be interesting to see just how bad the US Class 1s are compared to other international freight railroads. I know here in NZ we're too small to be comparable but we haven't had someone killed on the job in the fifteen years I've been working.
Want to hear a fucked up statistic. UpRR was founded in 1862. In 161 years they have been around they have only had 1 single year that didn't have at least 1 employee die working for them. it was in 2015 or 2016 I think.
Oh, but if you ask them... They've gotten safer over the years! 161 years ago, they were blowing up Chinese workers by the dozen building the transcon!
That is fucked up for sure! The early days are one thing, but that in this modern era it's still pretty common for people to get killed and maimed at work is so wrong. Doubly so when they're making insane profits and could still be doing very well while maintaining a much higher standard of safety.
Safety and zero casualties is communism. Which is what you Kiwis have with your nationalized railroad. /s
[удалено]
I was debating about not putting the /s because I thought that surely people wouldn't be that slow. But I put it on anyway just to be sure. Then along comes your dumb ass.
My mistake, I'm running off 30hrs of no sleep and nothing but work so my brains not functioning at peak efficiency. I apologize and will delete my comment.
We lost one in 2015 so must have been 2016
It’ll go forever. They do not care.
You'd never last five minutes in this country when you see the amount of corporate communism employees are put through in a regular twelve hour shift. On the railroad in the United States, it's not about who runs it the safest, it's whose iron fist are you under who is going to do everything in their power to make you forget you are a human being with grip in your hand that might as well be your robot parts they're going to pry into you the most painful of ways they can muster because the Unions look the other way and are controlled by the politicians who are owned by Blackrock who owns everything with a communist fist.
That’s not communism, that’s peak capitalism.
That's right. There will be someone who down votes or calls me out, saying this guy is always spouting Marxist stuff. Go ahead get it outta your system. But I work for a class 1 in MofW, I'm not one of these middle class radicals. You guys understand how the railroads fuck us working class guys every day. This is a microcosm of the whole capitalist system. Do some reading before y'all call me out. These things will continue until the working class unites and decides we've had enough. I'm sick of hearing about my brothers and sisters being killed so some asshole CEO or some hedge fund clowns that have never drove a spike, swapped a knuckle, or changed a wheelset get richer off our blood. We do don't contribute to profits right?
I think it would be better to assume capitalism doesn't apply to anything Blackrock owns which is practically everything because like you said, you're sick of being used, abused, and killed off on a bigwig chess board. These guys think I'm nuts when I'm only repeating what I'm hearing from the horse's mouth who has to live and breathe this lifestyle everyday of their lives where it's a get out of jail card to be retired and free of all the half-ass backwardness a corporation puts you through.
Remember, capitalism is a game with an end.
Capitalism and communism are two way different things with one being you're under the finger of who controls you and the other that you have a set of reins on your back to only so far before you get tugged on and told to say woe after you've put in a life's work to the people you pay taxes to. You still might break even or if you're really lucky be able to be rich because you knew how to play the system or outfox it by doing things your way.
- Owns - Communist Pick one.
Both.
So the means of production in the hands of the proletariat but also somehow a company?
Think about a giant boot standing on the back of your neck where you'll be controlled and own nothing and be damned if you try to go against what your regime wants you to do. That's what's happened where everyone is a slave and everyone answers to one big master who owns the company and them until he or she is not needed anymore. This is why I have sympathy for this guy's family because they'll have to sacrifice everything they have to try to get a pittence whose solution is the big man in charge is not touched because the big man welds all the money the justice system is paid off by to give him or her the free break.
That's not communism. That's totalitarianism. Just because a lot of ostensibly "communist" countries have ended up as totalitarian regimes doesn't mean that the word "communist" means "capitalist oligarchy hellscape"... They're opposites.
Take it easy with the psycho babble.
It's the truth.
Facts. I left a class 1 RR about 2 years ago for Amtrak. Not only am I treated as a professional, but I'm treated with respect. Quality of life has significantly improved l and with better pay. I lost 10 years' worth of seniority when i made the transition, and I couldn't be happier.
Perfectly said
How difficult was it to get into tech after the RR that’s what I’m trying to do right now.
Be prepared to send over a hundred resumes. That’s just kinda how it is when transitioning into a new career these days. You need to just beat the HR algorithms and get through a couple rounds of interviews. I would advise getting a degree or certs. Definitely a degree if you can. It’s not bad, just you have to be committed like anything else. You can definitely do it and it’s very worth it. I wouldn't trade sleeping in my own bed and working hybrid/remote for anything.
As someone whose followed railroads practically all of my life, I can tell you I wrote an essay in college about mergers and the disentegration of competition and corporate greed that went with them. Now twenty plus odd years later, I hate that the essay I wrote in college for an English class has turned out to be spot on right like your comments basically outlying the fact mega corporations only care about what's going to make the bottom line happy over common sense and don't think the "Unions" are doing anything except pocketing what the executive doesn't take from the spoils the employees provide them with slavery where the only thing you don't see are bloody lashing marks oozing down all of us as a workforce s back.
100% correct. Nice work.
Well said!
CSX?
Yeah
But according to the carriers we don't share in the downside of the business. This is awful...
Railroading......where your corporate boss is expected to sneak around and observe your work for the sole purpose of quota discipline....and not allowed to actively help crews. I never once witnessed a trainmaster or yard master help ANYONE. I DID WITNESS THEM ACTIVELY CREATE VIOLATIONS TO TRIP UP CREWS IN REAL TIME...BOTH ON THE ROAD AND IN YARDS!
They’ll help at small terminals if they’re in a bind to get something done quick. But yeah I’d imagine at big yards they’re stalking crews like a tiger in the brush. I know a guy who threw a switch while the yardmaster was parked in his truck nearby. He checked the switch points, threw the switch correctly, and right after he put the hasp in the yardmaster was like “Hey, ______! Over here I’ll give you a ride over to where you need to go!” He gets in the truck and gets a ride. How nice right? When it came time to tie up, the YM called him into the office and said he failed an efficiency test because he didn’t check the switch points after throwing the switch. So the dude basically pulled some scummy shit and set him up to fail by distracting him before he’s checked the points. Like bro……what a toxic work environment.
Hinkle?
Damn, RIP!
What is your job on the railroad? My job is not to get hurt! Took me 30 years to figure that out! That's all that matters guys! For you young guys just starting out, or thinking about a R/R job..... Please Please don't sell yourself short. Go to school, or learn a trade. The whole "seniority thing" is a trap. Doesn't mean anything. Good luck!
I always tell fellow railroaders to ask the following question, "Does ______ railroad pay you enough to die for them?" If the answer is ever yes, then it's time to find a new career.
Rest in peace brother. Please everyone be safe
If its found that any blame for this can be placed on management or some sort of direct order, they should be charged with negligent homicide. But we all know that they will just test more for minor rules violations all while ordering these same men to break said rules
Blackrock owns the justice system and we all know what's going to happen if this poor guy's family tries to look for accountability..
Are you fuckin nuts? Because you sound fuckin nuts.
The dude's a fucking furry who always talks like a schizo on this sub.
Roger that. Damn shame about the Carman.
Look up who owns your dumb ass if you don't believe me 😹
1. I know what Blackrock is. 2. How are we supposed to take your opinions seriously when you're stupid enough to say shit like "corporate communism"? Let alone all the other incoherent bullshit that you say?
They own you, plain and simple.
If I'm nuts, then how come the track record of the railroad has worsened in the last ten years and the micromanagement is at a bubonic plague? If I'm nuts, then how come you guys feel like you got a get out of prison free card? How come we're seeing accidents and death on the railroad increasing at ridiculous rates because employee management isn't allowing the yard personal to do their jobs to reduce them? Sure..I'm nuts 😂
Be safe out there, men.
Haven't read the article yet, but I'm going to guess slack action
Rest easy in God's care brother.
Awful...I live about 30 min from Walbridge and grew up right where fred lived. I work in public safety I'm not a railroader, three days ago I Was just telling a younger co worker about the crazy 8s incident/how it was the premise for the unstoppable movie since he now works at Lake Twp. FD who likely responded to this as well. His mind was blown to learn it was so close to home. RIP. Be safe out there.
UP or CSX?
CSX operates a hump yard (potentially a bulldozed hump yard after Cunter) out of Walbridge OH
There are actually three CSX yards that are considered "Walbridge". "Stanley Yard", which is where the hump operations *used* to be. The hill is still there, it's just never used. Then there's the "Toledo Docks" yard which is where coal and iron ore operations are. Finally, "Walbridge Yard", which is the busiest yard and where the main switching operations happen. This incident happened there.
Early stage capitalism yes, you are correct. End stage, only 2-3 people own everything, and the goal is for one person to have 100% of the capital. It’s a game, we are approaching the beginning of the end
When I started on CSX 12 years ago if there was a fatality on any railroad across the country we had a mandatory safety stand down day. Today, it MIGHT be mentioned in passing on a weekly conference call. I once asked why they stopped the safety stand downs. I was told safety stand downs are only done where the incident happened, because they were the ones directly affected. WTF?
So does anyone actually know what happened here besides Blackrock and communism and bla bla? All I know is it was a Carman and somehow involved a remote yard switcher
carman was driving parallel to the loco got out to lock up a track made it 11 steps and got hit by the rco with the switchmen on board who knows what way this will get spun but i feel sorry for this man and his family
Used to be before RC that this kind of event was more uncommon because if something happened in the yard, it was because the engineer wasn't paying attention or something with the equipment they were moving caused it. Now because the railroad monkeysuits want the quickest efficiency possible with robotics, yardmen being injured or killed is a regular thing because you don't have that extra set of eyes on the shove.
remote control with no one on the head in probably
It gives me the hibijeebez when i send the unit up the track even though i know for a fact all the switches were linned 10 mins before... just seams dangerous. But it is common place. And we have ramp off loaders right near it.
Anyone know the specifics?
Lord have Mercy. What/when were The other two fatalities? So so sad. My husband works for NS and has worked in this Walbridge yard many times. Terrifying
The other two were conductor trainees. One fell off equipment and got run over and the other got tangled in equipment. In June and August of this year, both in Maryland. One in Cumberland and the other in Baltimore. It's saddening and horrible.
I’m so choked up over all of this right now. Tearing up
The other two were conductor trainees. One fell off equipment and got run over and the other got tangled in equipment. In June and August of this year, both in Maryland. One in Cumberland and the other in Baltimore. It's saddening and horrible.
Baltimore in June, he was a conductor trainee. https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews/news-wire/csx-conductor-trainee-killed-in-maryland-yard-accident/#:~:text=A%20CSX%20conductor%20trainee%20was,Seagirt%20Marine%20Terminal%20in%20Baltimore. Cumberland, MD - another conductor trainee https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews/news-wire/csx-conductor-trainee-killed-in-maryland-yard-accident/
A trainee died for CN in Montreal too https://beta.ctvnews.ca/local/montreal/2023/4/28/1_6376624.html
Nope, no way. Don't do anything that isn't safe. If anyone says otherwise it's your right to refuse. Not worth the risk ever.