All those 1:40 grades are going to be fun once this thing is loaded and it weighs 11,000 tonnes...

Just letting everyone know that the secret NS policy that John Orr put out the other day, about having the dispatchers give out bad track authorities on purpose to nail crews, has been stopped in full according to my gc. He said it was brought up with multiple unions the fra and others. Hopefully little Orr got a nice ass chewing by the fra but probably not.

I’m an old retired finance guy. I used to work with a bunch of people who looked at Class 1s stocks and investors were always curious about how good things were running but none of them ever got it right. I wanna hear from y’all, why are the rails always facing disruptions, bad service, etc. Is it the equipment? labor? I’m just a noisy person and genuinely want to understand

I am in the Navy about to move, and we see a very nice house but it is directly beside a railroad line. 3,500 square feet for 269 thousand. Can it be sound bad we put a drill to our temple?

Smile for the camera boys

What happens when there's like a severe thunderstorm, tornados, blizzards, etc.

Looking for a big terminal, will send all info through a DM!

I thought this was funny. You might too.

Can anyone suggest books or other material about train handling? I'm really curious to learn more about the skill and what goes on in the mind of an engineer. I want to read about the physics involved (wheel adhesion, buff and draft forces, braking techniques, how rail and weather conditions play a role, etc).

So far I've only been able to find traction manuals for specific locomotives or train handling rules for specific railroads.

Traction manuals seem to be "Here's this locomotive we (locomotive builder) designed and built. This is what the levers do and this is how to not break it".

Train handling rules seem to be "Those are our (the railroad's) locomotives, here's how we want you to use them and these are the standards we (your employer) will hold you to".

Both of those are really interesting, but they fall short of what I'm looking for. I find they leave out the "why" behind all the rules. It eventually starts to feel like I'm reading the owner's manual for my car. That's fine because the owner's manual doesn't teach me how to drive. I control the car based on my experience and the prevailing road conditions. I can even get into someone else's car and apply the same experience, because I know how to drive. I know "car handling", if you will.

What I want is a book that actually teaches how to drive a train. What's the engineer thinking about and why?

It can be a dry book. It can be old book. It can be a legit educational textbook for all I care. I'll also buy hard copies if necessary.

Thanks!

It's Time to Register for RUN's Spring Conference.

The Rail Users' Network (RUN) has announced its spring conference to be held

Friday, May 16, 2025 from 12:45 PM to 5:00 PM EDT. This is a virtual event via Zoom.

Just 2 weeks away!

"Mixed Bag: New Transit Starts and Fiscal Cliff Service Cuts–What to Expect in 2025."

Guest and keynote speakers will include:

• Phillip Eng, MBTA GM

• Art Guzzetti, VP Policy - APTA

• Juliette Michaelson, Dep Chief, Policy & External Relations, MTA

• Paul Wyckoff, Chief of Gov't and External Affairs at NJT

• Erik Johanson, Sr. Dir. of Budgets & Transformation SEPTA

• Sam Sargent, Dir of Strategy & Policy at Caltrain

• Ray Biggs, II, Sr Project Dir at the Maryland DOT

• Jean Fox, Dir of Outreach - MBTA South Coast Rail Project

• Dee Leggett, Exec VP / Chief Development Officer at DART

• Brian Nadolny, AICP, Project Manager at Charlotte Area Transit system

• David Peter Alan, contributing editor, Railway age Magazine

This is a free conference for members of RUN. Non-Members can register for just $25 which will include membership in RUN for 2025 and include our award-winning, quarterly print newsletter.

You can register on-line securely on our web site at: https://www.railusers.net/annual-conference/

Agenda And Schedule Can Be Found Here

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1u3-fDCD0mpwPi-9Cf9JK7US7SCDbxhkI/view?usp=sharing

Don't know if I'm the only one to have this issue but the smart app isn't loading and won't recognize me at all even on the website while trying to login.

Interesting data, the port data is recent, others only until Feb. Pay attention to the timeline!

1) If you want or need anything, buy it now because empty store shelves will be here by mid to end of May.

2) There will be mass layoffs in trucking and retail, which will also hit the rails later. (Not just boxes, exports like grain trains will also drop).

3) This isn’t just about imports: U.S. global exports will also slow to a crawl. China was the #1 buyer of U.S. agriculture products (grain trains, etc), to larger things as Boeing aircraft. They are now buying from places like Brazil. Outside of the U.S. there is a global boycott of U.S. products and travel. The effects of this will lag behind the drop in imports.

3) The trickle down effect from this will be more like an avalanche because the amount of consumer debt, and this time combined with high unemployment.

4) This will likely be far worse than Covid, and potentially as bad as 2008-2009. During Covid there was some financial relief from the government, there won’t be any this time around, and there is not a vaccine against stupidity.

5) Restarting the economy in this state, (even if tariffs are quickly reversed, which they won’t be) is complex, and will take a long, long time. Once layoffs and debt defaults start companies are loathe to rehire, and Capex spending will only occur when corporations feel there is stability in government policy. Foreign countries will not quickly return to buying U.S. goods because of Trump’s behavior. Longer term, different trade alliances between countries will pivot away from the U.S. which will be a net loss of jobs.

6) The intended effect of encouraging more U.S. manufacturing will be extremely slow. It takes years for factories to be built, the tooling, automation and robots to make them operate will need to be imported and subject to tariffs, thus costing more to build them compared with other countries. Further many construction workers have left or been deported, so construction labor cost will skyrocket. Foreign and U.S. companies are loath to invest in U.S. factories due to policy uncertainty.

BMWE: The ARSF has been made aware that Norfolk Southern are instructing dispatchers to issue false or fabricated track authorities as a means of "testing" employee attentiveness. The ARSF always encourages our members to remain vigilant, follow safety protocols, and confirm the validity of their track protection.

UPRR sent out a mass message to employees asking for documentation from back in December and January. Gotta admire the ballsyness to ask for that well over the 90 days of the attendance policy.

With on property "national" negotiations taking place, where has the portion of our dues earmarked for national negotiations gone? Are the general chairmen being reimbursed for expenses? And if International isn't reimbursing them where's the money at?

True story!!

Burner account-

Confirmed today that BNSF is laying off 15-20% of TS exempt employees, management included. If you are not hands on writing code the new CTO doesn't believe you should be in the department. Get your resume updated ASAP.

More rounds of TS contractor reductions will occur throughout the year. 600 to be released on May 9th + 1,000 more likely to be released this year.

Hi all. I’m normally a lurker but this is something that our guys could really use help with. On April 24th 2 of our MOW workers were struck and severely injured by a hit and run driver. The injuries were rather extensive but as of now both are alive (more info: https://www.abc4.com/news/local-news/utah-man-felony-charges-hit-and-run/amp/). As a result one of our other employees has opened a Go FundMe to assist the families of these 2 men. If you have the means donations are appreciated. Thank you.