Railroaders' Nostalgia > Conversations with the boss - 14

The discussion of fleeting http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?1,3701767 and the comment that it is the most economical way to move trains on a single track with sidings (to which I replied Yup, that's the myth) brought to mind a couple of episodes involving fleeting trains as the best way to solve a traffic problem.

Call me a prima donna (it's been done before, as well as unreasonable, and too hung up on the rules) but I have always refused to take the responsibility without the authority. I used to warn line managers and the power bureau that only one person would run my assigned territory. Either I run it (yes, within the required parameters: type and amount of power assigned to trains, locomotive service dates and where, minimize deadheads, minimize Held Away from Home Terminal, etc.) or I won't be responsible for it. If I'm not responsible for it, I go home. When I started, there was a requirement that one Must accept the Responsibility and use the Authority for the job or leave. Before 1980, there was seldom a problem. An occasional manager who would try to micromanage operation would be told by his boss to not meddle in things he knew nothing about. Part of the introduction of the New Ways concurrent with Staggers was an effort to change anything that the new leadership didn't understand. That included the way operation was managed.

In early 1980, there was a big derailment at Glacier Park MT (BN). I handled two of them there. I think this was the one in which Amtrak 8 turned over the whole train near the Two Medicine bridge. It happened Friday during the day. I came in for 3rd trick (11p) Friday night. The Whitefish and Havre hooks were working the wreck. A division official was in charge out there. I took exception right away when I read the transfer. The main track is not out of service and there are two work trains and a bunch of gandys out there with nothing on each other. Nope I'm not signing until it's right. The guy I was relieving said that the division official out there told him it wasn't necessary and he was in charge. Nope, he's wrong. If he wanted that, there should have been a train order stating that the main track was out of service and he is in charge. Both of the work trains should have had the order. Stick around until I get this fixed.

I compromised by fixing it myself, calling the work trains and somebody who claimed to be in charge of all maintenance of way activity and issuing a joint track and time. To be technically correct, I signed the transfer with a time of a minute before I issued the track and time. OK, go home now.

I promptly heard from the division official, who read me the riot act for issuing track and time contrary to his instructions. I was wasting precious time and being insubordinate. I hung up....er....had a wire failure. After that opening shot, I wasn't about to argue.

A few hours later, he published a figure for having a hole punched through. Like a lot of hero officials, he thought that he'd look good by publishing a really laughingly optimistic figure. That was ok, lots of them do that. There's always the How does it look now? New figure yet? But then he acted on it. He called me and basically instructed me to call a crew for every train anchored on the line and the ones waiting at Havre and Whitefish. He was going to fleet west then fleet east until the trains were gone, then put the hooks back to work. I couldn't imagine that really happening, but I didn't argue. I rang Havre and Whitefish and ordered a lot of crews. When it came time to stick out a lineup to the Spokane Division, I listed the trains coming and figures based on what the division official told me would be happening. As crews arrived at the trains, I let them out of sidings and run to Spotted Robe (first siding east of the wreck) to be ready to fleet, as instructed.

I went home at 7am after a long transfer giving info on the plan, such as it was, to my relief. The time the line was due to open and the west men to be moving was imminent. There had been no new information from out at the wreck.

I had a relief job that worked Saturday 3rd (11p Friday), 1st Sunday and Monday, 2d Tuesday and Wednesday, all on Havre West (Havre-Whitefish MT). That means I next came to work Sunday morning, 24 hours after I left.

When I got there Sunday morning, the Chief was there. That was unusual for a Sunday morning, but not unusual considering what I thought would happen.

What I thought would happen did happen.

The Chief said in a, let's say unpleasant, tone of voice: That was the worst railroading I have ever seen! What the hell is wrong with you? I know you railroad better than that. It's going to take days to dig out of this.

That was for sure. Calling all of the trains used every crew in the Whitefish and Havre pools. Bunching the trains ensured that if it didn't go right, it would go Really Wrong. It did. The Division Official's figure was way off...no it was Way Way off. Every crew that was out there died before he had the line open. They weren't in sidings; they were nose to tail on the main for miles and miles. There were very few dogcatch crews because we had used the entire pool, and they were all dead. The only people left were a few on the Whitefish and Havre extra boards. Spokane, based on the lineup I stuck out, sent a Greyhound bus full of crews to Whitefish. They had planned on getting the westbounds on the lineup in and rested then started running eastbounds. Alas, there were no westbounds...and there were eastbounds at Spokane with no crew in sight.

I related what happened and finished with Not my railroad, not my problem.

I was afraid you'd say that. They've all gone home. Get in there and fix it!

With my first experience in the future in the post-Staggers world behind me, I went in, took the transfer, and went to work.

It was the beginning of a new era. It wasn't going to get better.

TAW

Although I was a low man on the totem pole and had no say so,
I know exactly what you went through.Good story.


Uncle Joe,Seffner,Fl.

Great story but the fact that the "New Way" was concurrent with the implementation of the Staggers Act was pure coincidence. The Staggers Act had nothing to say about railroad operating management. The "New Way" just as easily could have been implemented years before or years later. Why the BN management chose to start practicing its "New Way" at that particular time is a mystery.

Best regards,

Rob L.

With the FRISCO merger?

rob_l Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Great story but the fact that the "New Way" was
> concurrent with the implementation of the Staggers
> Act was pure coincidence. The Staggers Act had
> nothing to say about railroad operating
> management. The "New Way" just as easily could
> have been implemented years before or years later.
> Why the BN management chose to start
> practicing its "New Way" at that particular time
> is a mystery.


My opinion, formed by observation of where I worked and what I saw and heard about in other places, is that deregulation opened the door for a lot of out of industry senior management who didn't really understand what they were managing. To me, the Frisco merger was a coincidence. Of those folks, I can say that I never met one who knew anything about mountains or winter (the Montana type, not the Missouri type).

TAW

TAW Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> rob_l Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Great story but the fact that the "New Way" was
> > concurrent with the implementation of the
> Staggers
> > Act was pure coincidence. The Staggers Act had
> > nothing to say about railroad operating
> > management. The "New Way" just as easily could
> > have been implemented years before or years
> later.
> > Why the BN management chose to start
> > practicing its "New Way" at that particular
> time
> > is a mystery.
>
>
> My opinion, formed by observation of where I
> worked and what I saw and heard about in other
> places, is that deregulation opened the door for a
> lot of out of industry senior management who
> didn't really understand what they were managing.

The door was just as open before. That is what I mean by coincidence. It is just that, before deregulation, the door was much less attractive.

Best regards,

Rob L.

rob_l Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> The door was just as open before. That is what I
> mean by coincidence. It is just that, before
> deregulation, the door was much less attractive.

I'll agree with that observation. I just saw the changes as more of a cause/effect relationship (the door being more attractive as the cause) than coincidence, just as I wouldn't find it to be coincidence that if I'm outside with a glass of wine and a glass of water on the table, the wine has a gathering of insects and the water does not.

TAW

WAF Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> With the FRISCO merger?

No kidding - when Big Nothing really went to hell.

TAW Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> rob_l Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
>
> > The door was just as open before. That is what
> I
> > mean by coincidence. It is just that, before
> > deregulation, the door was much less
> attractive.
>
> I'll agree with that observation. I just saw the
> changes as more of a cause/effect relationship
> (the door being more attractive as the cause) than
> coincidence, just as I wouldn't find it to be
> coincidence that if I'm outside with a glass of
> wine and a glass of water on the table, the wine
> has a gathering of insects and the water does
> not.
>

The door being attractive was a mirage. I would take the industry another 20 years before it learned how to make serious money.

Best regards,

Rob L.