Railroaders' Nostalgia > How many times have you railroaders heard this?

"When I retire I'm going to stop the train and go home". I heard it tons of times.Well it happend today,07/13/16 at 00:30. On the UP Yuma Sub the engineer of the West bound ZAiLC 11 rolled to a stop in Beaumont, California climbed off the engine and went home. He is an old head Southern Pacific Engineer and I'm not going to mention his name but you SP Brothers will know who he is. I hope the UP doesn't make the early days of his retirement hell as to keep other employees from doing this but I can't see them just saying, "Happy Retirement".



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/13/16 20:02 by Fredo.

He must have seen or heard about an SP Engr doing this at Lodi, Ca in the late 70s.  He said he had engine trouble while making a pickup, and his whole consist died.  Coincidentally he lived close to the tracks, and this was on his trip home, so the old guy just walked off.  When the roundhouse foreman arrived a couple of hours later, all of the units started right up, and the replacement engineer finished the trip with no incident.
G

Bad business on the UP Fred.


V

SLOONDR

I did the same thing in 2000 on my final trip from Yuma to Los Angeles although it was with the dispatchers knowledge.  We were headed West and pulled just far enough on the downgrade at Beaumont to clear  the crossings and at that point I was dead on the law.  U.P. was trying to run trains on a long pool between L.A. and Yuma in 12 hours or less.  We seldom made it without being patched.  I doubt that the DS even knew it was my last trip or cared for that matter but retirement is still just as sweet.

CRS

Man of Steel is my hero !

They did not have me work my last day. They called an extra engineer and I got to go home. Of course they screwed me one last time and did not pay the off assignment the job got that day and apparently threw about $ 2000 in time claims out the window !

Been gone from that place for over a year and don't miss it one bit .
Tom



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/13/16 19:37 by switchlamp.

Over forty plus years as a conductor heard several stories like above.

I was two days away from retirement and working as a utility switchman in the yard in Everett, Wa. Went to work at 1430 and just finished bleeding the air out of a couple of tracks. It was a nice day and my knees were hurting. So I walked back to the yard office about 1530 sat down on the picnic bench took off my boots and threw them along with my gloves and on the roof of the yard office and said "I QUIT" got in my car and drove home. That was amost 11 years ago. Have been back to the yard once several years ago when a good friend retired.

DHF

I didn't do it on the road but I did refuse the last move the manager wanted us to make (related the whole story in this forum last year). Basically we finished, tied the power down, and after I was in the van the manager called and wanted the power moved. Nobody knew it was my last day, not even the crew, and I just told the clerk I wasn't doing it and to take me to the office. The manager met me and started ranting about us moving the power. I simply told him "no way" as I finished my tie-up because I just retired and I told him to get the form I needed - it really felt good telling them what they could do with their power.
 

Two more stories:
The first one is mine.. .  I tied up and looked at the lineup, we were good for 3-4 days off in the long pool, so I decided to wait and see what I was going to catch.  3 days later it looked like a 3am deadhead to Elko with Loose Nuts.  Conductors got 10 hours undisturbed rest in Elko, so going to work in Sparks at 3am would have meant tieing up in Elko about 830 am, and a call at 630pm for 8pm on duty, for an all nighter with the aforementioned.  So I called the crew dispatcher and retired!

The second one was an old head switchman in LA who really disliked a certain yardmaster because the ydm wouldn't let the yard crews stop for coffee.  This swman always worked the extra board, this yard had 5 jobs, 2 of them had 3 switchmen on them, the other 3 had four switchmen.  Rules were that a crew had to have 3 men present.  The day Ralph T was going to retire, he took a call for one of the 3 man jobs, and after about 3 hours on duty, asked the ydm to stop for a cup of coffee.  Earl the ydm answered with "you know I don't give coffee!!"  So Ralph said "OK if that's the way you want to be, I retire!"  He got in his car and drove off, and that tied the crew up for an hour and a half until they could call another swmn.
G

Fred,
  Someone I worked with told me that they were at the RR retirement board, getting the necessary paperwork ready to retire, and they were braging to the clerk there that they were going to do just that, stop the train mid trip and get a taxi home. The clerk said, "I strongly suggest you dont' do that". He asked why and she said, "I can't start your retirment checks comming until the UP notifies me that you're officially retired and, if you piss them off, it's going to take a long time for them to notify me."

Knowing UP, I wouldn't be surprised if they take some sort of legal action against him. I do admire this one last act of defiance!!

Posted from iPhone

Well like I said I am sure UP will make the begining of his retirement miserable. Jeff , how many times have you watched the railroad do rotten things to people? Like when the clerks union got rid of Renzenberber drivers driving us in the yard and the UP pulled a bunch of elderly woman off of the clerks reserve board in St Louis and forced them to work in East Los Angeles. Tearing them away from thier homes and grandchildren and having to deal with high apartment rental and car insurance rates in LA. One woman was such a mess when she would hand me my paperwork there would be wet spots from her tears, I'm not lying. They all retired within a month or so and UP hired new clerks off of the street.Now UP had a half dozen clerks that they didn't have to pay on the St Louis reserve board. And how about the engineer classs that they bullitened in Las Vegas and they sent all of them to LA for thier fireman training. Again high rent in LA and families and house payments in Las Vegas while making peanuts for Engineer training pay. That whole thing just seemed mean to me as there was no shortage of engineers in Los Angeles or Yermo.That one came back to bite them a bit as after they qualified they all bid back to Vegas and were qualified no where and had to make many student trips to Milford and Yermo before they were of any use.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/14/16 09:48 by Fredo.

I've heard those stories and I doubt they're true based on my experience. You know, with the hugely varied member base, which still surprises me, I'm surprised there are no RRRB employees here.

​Anyway, when I did my retirement I got everything done with the RRRB about a year in advance just so my ​correct​ information would be in their system. The guy I talked to was a very sharp guy from the Portland, Oregon, office. At the time they wanted a projected retirement date but I explained I was on the "month to month plan" as I didn't have a specific date - basically I could retire anytime based on if some miserable lowlife UP manager pissed me off. His response was very specific, although I would suggest others verify this before they do anything, that as far as the Railroad Retirement Board is concerned an employee is retired on the day they say they are retired and the railroad has nothing to do with it. He did warn me that once I give a final date that I could NOT​ have have any railroad earnings after that date, including delayed wages as from a buyout, because it would mess up my retirement. My 2015 vacation, 2016 vacation, were all paid as part of my 1st period June 2015 wages so there were no "future earnings" involved. So from what he said I could have done anything I wanted and as far as the RRRB was concerned my last day was June 12, 2015 and my retirement annuity began at 0001 on June 13, 2015 and the railroad has/had nothing to do with that. In fact he told me the RRRB and railroad don't even talk about individual retirements. As a note, because I had everything done ahead of time I did my "official" retirement via phone on the Tuesday of my final week by simply advising the RRB people in Portland that Friday, June 12th, 2015, would be my final trip; I didn't have to go to their office for anything after that. I even got a prorated retirement check on July 1, 2015 for the portion of June I was retired (18 days) even though UP evidently didn't recognize me as retired as I was still able to log into their system in early July.

​Now he did tell me that UP can be really chicken-"poop" with retiring employees with respect to final pay and he has heard of bad stories involving trying to get final pay. The working wages didn't seem to be the issue according to him because they can't screw with those too much but with claims or other unusual payments UP would sometimes get really petty.



Edited 6 time(s). Last edit at 07/15/16 05:28 by Railbaron.

Personally I don't blame them for being ticked off if an employee does that, it can tie up the railroad big time as well as delay commuters and unknowing passengers. Sure the railroad expects a lot from us but how many times have you been paid for things you didn't do? I admit I probably didn't earn half the money I made in my career. A guy at my terminal was talking about doing the same thing at Fullerton, CA on BNSF but thought better of it. As stated, the railroad can make early retirement miserable for you or even have legal ramifications? I don't think it is worth the possible problems. Of course in MY case working conditions as well as management could not have been better during MY last ten years with BNSF in Southern California. For MY last day I actually requested a run out of the security and hassles of the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles so family and friends could get photos and even a ride, when I reported for work on MY last day I was told to get three locomotives run lite seven miles from Watson yard to Torrance (ALCOA siding) tie the power on cars there, van back to Watson and tie up. I have no complaints.
JB



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/15/16 06:24 by 3rdswitch.

3rdswitch Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Personally I don't blame them for being ticked off
> if an employee does that, it can tie up the
> railroad big time as well as delay commuters and
> unknowing passengers. Sure the railroad expects a
> lot from us but how many times have you been paid
> for things you didn't do? I admit I probably
> didn't earn half the money I made in my career. A
> guy at my terminal was talking about doing the
> same thing at Fullerton, CA on BNSF but thought
> better of it. As stated, the railroad can make
> early retirement miserable for you. I don't think
> it is worth the possible problems. Of course in MY
> case working conditions as well as management
> could not have been better during MY last ten
> years with BNSF in Southern California. For MY
> last day I actually requested a run out of the
> security and hassles of the ports of Long Beach
> and Los Angeles so family and friends could get
> photos and even a ride, when I reported for work
> on MY last day I was told to get three locomotives
> run lite seven miles from Watson yard to Torrance
> (ALCOA siding) tie the power on cars there, van
> back to Watson and tie up. I have no complaints.
> JB

What do you mean you probably didn't earn half the money you made in your career?  I had trouble getting paid money I worked for unless I remained very persistent at all times.  Even then, about every six months, the railroad would go back and do a money grab for wages paid if they felt they were paid in error.  Then you had to drag the union into it to get that money back and sometimes that didn't even work.  It could be years before you would see that money.  I still feel they owe me a couple grand but apparently the union doesn't because since retirement my payroll issues don't seem to matter.  I consider that money gone.

Idiot!

Glad I didn't work for your railroad  ;-)
JB

I've also heard of instances where the newly retired employee is awakened in the middle of the night " you are called for the...."  Now that would be fun!  

Sphogger 

sphogger Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I've also heard of instances where the newly
> retired employee is awakened in the middle of the
> night " you are called for the...."  Now that
> would be fun!  
>
> Sphogger 

"Okay, I'll be right there"....click! Roll over and go back to sleep.-BMT

In a way that happened to me Brian. On May 5th 1992 I was working the LAYR3-05 and we were pulling into the highline at Miraloma Yard. That was before the UP made it into a real nice yard. TO member Miralomarail will remember that old yard. Large live and dead trees,junk all over the place, and thousands of Squirrel holes. I was working with Malcom Vest and General Patton. I got off to line a switch and my right foot found a squrriel hole that you could drop a knuckle into. It was under a bunch dried twigs and leaves. I ended up with a class three sprain. Bob Jones, the Train Master took me for medical attention then drove me home. The doctor told me I would have been better off breaking it as it would take 6 months to get better. About a month later the phone rang at 3 AM. It was CMS calling me to work. I told her to look at her computer and notice that I was laid off hurt but she said I have no one rested and your going to work. I told her she would have to send over medical transportation as my right leg had a cast on it from just below my knee and I would need to stop and buy one work boot that would fit over my cast.Also I wouldn't be able to make the 5AM start time as the Red Wing store didn't open until 10AM. Also I would need someone to carry my grip and help me one the engine as it wouldn't be safe to do that while using two crutches. She said," Fine. I'm transfering you to the shift supervisor".After repeating all that he said go back to sleep.

That happened to me also, Fred. When I blew out my knee (on duty) in 1986, I was off for about 4-5  months. I could get around but with a cane and my Dr. specifically told me not to walk up or down any stairs. One night MYO Barry Watkins called me and said they needed a CRO operator (of which I was qualified) and told me to come in to work. I told him I wouldn't be able to get up the stairs to the Crest office and he begged me to come in as they had no one to work it and he was going to have to work it if he didn't find some one. He even offered to send me a Renzberger van to pick me up at my house and then he would carry me up the stairs! Needless to say, that never happened.-BMT