Eastern Railroad Discussion > Norac rules vs others

What are the major differences in the NORAC operating rules (as NS uses them in the ex conrail territory) and the operating rules used on the rest of NS.

r

I believe NORAC roughly stands for NORtheast, Area Communications or NOrtheast Railroad Area Communications or Cooperative. It basically standardized railroad communications and rules in the Northeast, when there used to be a lot of railroads in a confined area, e.g. Lehigh Valley, Delaware Lackawanna, Erie, CNJ, Pennsy, and NYC.

AJ

ajy6b Wrote:
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> I believe NORAC roughly stands for NORtheast, Area
> Communications or NOrtheast Railroad Area
> Communications or Cooperative.

Northeast Operating Rules Advisory Committee.

toledopatch Wrote:
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> ajy6b Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I believe NORAC roughly stands for NORtheast,
> Area
> > Communications or NOrtheast Railroad Area
> > Communications or Cooperative.
>
> Northeast Operating Rules Advisory Committee.


Thanks, I appreciate it. It's tough trying to remember things off the top my head. There must be a correlation with hair loss and memory loss :)

AJ

In NORAC signal aspects and indications are included in the rulebook. I believe they aren't in many other rulebooks? Can't think of anything else off the top of my head since I've never seen or read a non-NORAC rulebook (must be having the hair loss memory loss mentioned earlier!).

Without the rule books in front of me these are what I remember are the biggest differences a fan would notice:

Norac uses speed signals, NS uses route signals.

Norac uses that Form D, NS had been using TWC, but it has now morphed into Track Authority on some districts. Soon to be TA on all districts.

ajy6b Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> toledopatch Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > ajy6b Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > I believe NORAC roughly stands for NORtheast,
> > Area
> > > Communications or NOrtheast Railroad Area
> > > Communications or Cooperative.
> >
> > Northeast Operating Rules Advisory Committee.
>
>
> Thanks, I appreciate it. It's tough trying to
> remember things off the top my head. There must
> be a correlation with hair loss and memory loss
> :)
>

I couldn't exactly remember it off the top of my head, either. I had to look it up! :)

There are gradual rule changes/standardization taking place towards an ECOR (Eastern Code of Operating Rules) that I understand will eventually be common to all major Eastern RR's, similar to GCOR in the Western U.S. I think there's a committee meeting monthly or thereabouts working on this.

A new systemwide NS rulebook is due out Aug 1, replacing both the NS and NORAC books.

I can tell you what it was like when CSX combined the CSX and NORAC rulebooks. Basically, the numbering of the rules, and a significant amount of subtle procedures changed. That's about it. Many rules kept the same number and wording from one of the prior railroads like 261, 89 and 46. Other rules changed to a different number from either road, like 421 (radio use). Some rule numbers, like 103 and 104 (switching), 14-L (horn), etc. were always similar on most railroads for decades, I gather, and did not change.

CSX still uses all three sets of signals (NORAC, Chessie, or SBD). The timetable tells you which to follow. It is not uncommon to use at least two of the three on the same run. Some runs require the use of all three.

The NS book was already more like NORAC and CSX than GCOR, with many rules having the same number but somewhat different wording. It will probably remain that way.

Signal systems rarely change, because that costs big bucks, so I would not expect standardization any time soon. It isn't hard to deal with multiple signal systems anyway. Speed and route signalling aren't all that dissimilar when you get right down to it.

NORAC - Northeast Operating Rules Advisory Committee.

I have gotten into discussions about this previously and I still maintain that the excessive
number of different rulebooks in the industry is ridiculous. There should be one rulebook for all
of the railroads from coast to coast, boarder to boarder. Yes, I know that some people would have
to adapt to changes but they do anyway when they go from one railroad to another.
Just as an example, Amtrak engineers out of Albany have to be qualified on six different rulebooks.
These are CSX, Metro-North, NORAC, Consolidated Code, Vermont Railway and Canadian National.
They have to use three of them just for the trip to New York a distance of only 141 miles.
The subtle difference in different signal indications between some of the various books is in
its self an accident waiting to happen and indeed has contributed to various mishaps over the
years. I believe the railroad unions (UTU and BLE in this case) should be lobbying the feds.
to require the railroads to adapt a universal rulebook and if the railroads won't do it, maybe the
government should do it for them and charge each of them for this.
Doing this can and will save lives and losses due to rule violations, will it end the problems, no
but it will help a whole lot.
Noel Weaver

I believe that there is some speculation that confusion over the meaning of a rstricting signal contributed to the colision of an Amtrak train with a NS intermodal last November near Chicago.

Rathole Wrote:
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> A new systemwide NS rulebook is due out Aug 1,
> replacing both the NS and NORAC books.

It's already out, the effective date was pushed back from 1 Apr to 1 Aug. Recently a memo was sent out saying that the new effective date will be announced by bulletin. The new book too has 3 signal systems in it: Conrail, N&W and NS.