Eastern Railroad Discussion > CSX restructuring.......again.....

From the interwebs today:

The operation divisions will consolidated to the following four. Northern Region, based in Indianapolis, stretches from Chicago to Albany, NY. The Eastern Region, based in Florence, will stretch from Albany south to Jacksonville and beyond. The Western Region, based in Atlanta or Nashville, will stretch from Chicago to New Orleans. The fourth and final region will be a "Shortline" Region based in Jacksonville and will encompass all subdivisions not on the "Core" routes. Examples are the the lines in the coal fields, and lines that don't have much through traffic. 

The Boston line would go into the shortline group? (It's east of Albany NY)

If Selkirk is shut down, the CSX may lose a lot of talented dispatchers with an enormous amount of local knowledge.  In the centralization, where the bunker at Jacksonville dispatched everything, I believe Selkirk was the only outlier.

Selkirk yard isn't shutting down. 

chess Wrote:
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> Selkirk yard isn't shutting down. 

Didn't the original post say that dispatching is being consolidated, and Selirk isn't one of the places where DS will take place?

What is the source on this?

Selkirk and Indy were the only places (I think) after CSX got their 42% piece of CR in 1999 that were not in the consolidated Jacksonville dispatching center that covered (I think) all of CSX before Conrail takeover. Do not know why; maybe it got crowded, but some dispatching was moved back to Baltimore and maybe Indy. This was only about 10 years ago. Having our dispatchers near their districts improved operations IMHO. some have even ridden their territory, something I do not think CSX requires but CR required with pay. If they want to consolidate divisions into regions OK, but why move the dispatchers from Hi-tech centers already established. At the Baltimore center crews actually get to meet their dispatchers which is a good thing.......

altoonafn Wrote:
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> What is the source on this?


Sounds like a company wide e mail.

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JLinDE Wrote:
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> At the
> Baltimore center crews actually get to meet their
> dispatchers which is a good thing.......

As a public safety dispatcher, I completely agree with this. The better the people behind the microphone & the people in the field know each other, the better.

Now, not to side-track or hijack the thread, but, listening to the live feeds for the West Slope on NS, I get the impression that the crews & dispatchers know each other pretty well there as well; does NS follow that kind of protocol as well?

Chicago dispatchers were always in ChicagoLand and never did relocate to Jacksonville.

Lackawanna484 Wrote:
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> chess Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Selkirk yard isn't shutting down. 
>
> Didn't the original post say that dispatching is
> being consolidated, and Selirk isn't one of the
> places where DS will take place?

The original post said nothing about dispatching. It said the operating divisions are being realigned.
 

toledopatch Wrote:
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> Lackawanna484 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > chess Wro


> >
> -------------------------------------------------

>
> > -----
> > > Selkirk yard isn't shutting down.

> >
> > Didn't the original post say that dispatching
> is

> > being consolidated, and Selirk isn't one of the
> > places where DS will take place?

>
> The original post said nothing about dispatching.
> It said the operating divisions are
being
> realigned.
>  


Supposedly dispatching changes will also take place. Dispatchers will be located at Indy Atlanta Baltimore and Jacksonville once all the dust settles.

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Spoke with Albany dispatcher yesterday, they have been told of the move.  I for one will be happy to be away from senior albany mgmt,  hope I end up in a diff division then the current AY head.

I have not seen any email, this is all hearsay from Low-level managers that I am repeating.  This all boils down to eliminating people...make no mistake.  Taking 7 division and boiling down to 3 or 4 Regions means there are many many division level managers and assistant managers that will be going away.  Middle and upper management cuts...I guess it's their turn.  Some will come back to the craft, but that's also a lot of talent that just gets dumped by the wayside...which nobody in Jacksonville seems to care about...Brain Drain is real, people.  WHen nobody knows what to do, and nobody has the experience or someone to teach them...things out here get UGLY.   
As far as Indy, as someone who works here, I can give some details I know:   
Albany has a Dispatcher office and Division headquarters. This will be consolidated into Indianapolis.  Chicago will  probably have *some* DSPR jobs moved to Indy, but they just moved several dispatchers into a new office at Barr Yard-along with the BRC dispatchers in the same office, I doubt they go anywhere...Chicago is it's own world--and should be left alone. Both the Albany and Indy dispatcher offices were  on their own separate dispatcher contracts with CSX, and had some quirky positions that the other offices don't have (like a Chief dispatcher that is from the ranks--a bid job--not assigned as a manager.  It's the old "Wire Chief" job that was in charge of dispatching cabs, crews, and making sure the telegraphs and pbx's didn't have any issues).  I don't know if those will be attritioned off or they get one common DSPR agreement, or how they will handle the roster..but I suspect some NY Dock payments will be coming to some people...   

Indianapolis, for those that do not know, is also the backup "bunker" for all of the other dispatching centers Systemwide on CSX.  Atlanta, Florence, Jacksonville, CIncinnati.  They all have duplicate backup desks there. Also, if you look at CSX's PTC radio license requests with the FCC, they all have two addresses, a "Primary" in Jacksonville and a "Secondary" in Indianapolis...SO we all felt Indy was a pretty secure place for the headquarters to end up when these rumours first started flying.   
The Indianapolis Dispatcher office is a designated fallout shelter, and pretty sturdy.  It used to be the INdianapolis Fruit warehouse, and took reefers delivered to a second story loading dock (elevated tracks downtown). It also has lots and lots of available vacant space to accomodate these new dispatchers in the building. IT's only lacking area is parking. That lot is full now, I'm guessing they will have to sublet parking from somewhere else or us the unsecured IU Tower parking lot again.   

As far as familiarity, Knowing your coworkers and what they are (and are not) capable of is Critical in a dispatcher/train crew/anyone else, really/ situation.  TAW can comment more to this than I ever could...   

I consider myself extremely lucky that I live close enough to the Dispatch office to be invited down to sit in on several occasions with lots of different dispatchers. It was a real eye opener, and also created a solid working bond with the dispatchers that I still enjoy.  Knowing most of them on a first name basis (and myself having a pretty unique radio voice) helps our working relationship. They know I am not going to hang my train on the main, that I'll "Get it in or get it off the main" whenever I can. They know when I tell them the engine is broken, I'm not BS'ing them.  I know that they won't drop a signal on me or hold me at a siding for 2 hours when they know I can run up the next siding and won't fiddle-fart around to delay the mail train.  I'm sure that it helped that back when I hired out the standard christmas present (that we mailed directly to the office) was a bottle of good whiskey. THe old head railroaders taught me to always be nice to the dispatcher-they make or break your day on the railroad...  I got a lot of clear signals out of that! Probably the whiskey more than being nice, but whatever!  :)   
Those days  of sending hooch are over, but I still make a point to pop in to the office whenever I can--I recommend everyone that can visit them should...you'll be amazed at how stressful that job is at times, and learn to cut a little slack for them taking 5 minutes to answer your tone on the radio!  There are a lot of guys that will never know that kind of trust between employees...they'll just know some guy's initials from some far off radio base who seems like he *kinda* knows the territory he's working on...That sucks.   
The dispatchers still ride trains--one a year.  IN my 20 year career I've had 3 ride with me.  They get to choose, most of them opt for an easy mail train, some come out to ride with friends out here...One great one (the one I traded Hooch for clear signals for) rode on a local with me for 12 hours, and then we drove 2 hours back home.  He said He'd never do that again, but you know what? After that trip with us, he understood why we hated being hung up waiting for drag freights for no reason, when our local would maintain track speed.  After that nightwe got better handling...because he could see our side of the fence...   

In the end, this all looks like rearranging deckchairs on the Titanic to me. As long as the check's dont bounce, I'll lay low, take the call to work and do my job to the best of my ability...that's all an old head can do. 



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 01/11/17 18:41 by DrLoco.

What I heard here was the BE dispatcher saying 'they' were all moving to Florence. I did not post it  here on TO right away because it was just one comment, and I wanted to see it posted here from a better source. . But I see now there may be some truth to it. But I do not know why Florence would be considered as strategic for a Region or dispatchers. Conrail and NS so far like their dispatchers near the rail lines they handle. Technically I suppose the railroads could locate their dispatchers in the Phillipines or Mumbai like Verizon and Comcast do with their customer support. I hope it does not come to that. I agree with close crew / dispatcher working relationships, even tho I have never been either. (a crew a few time in extraordinary situations). But I am a railroader; retired.  

I should have included in above post moving from Baltimore to Florence. And that the Baltimore Division dispatching office at Halethorpe has only been there about a decade. The BE dispatcher (Philly Sub ...controls all of Baltimore terminal; the line the Philly, and all Philly congested track has enuf trouble now co-ordinating with the NI dispatcher in Albany, and SEPTA in Philly which controls a few critical miles of freight routes. I just cant imagine that being controlled from Indianapolis; might as well be Mumbai, etc....

.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/19/17 00:20 by darkcloud.

DrLoco's text above mentioned that some dispatchers were moved to the Barr Yard as were some from the BRC
(last I knew they had just two.)  Does anyone have details on this?  Would love to know.  Thanks.

No CSX dispatchers have moved anywhere - including Chicago.  The Chicago dispatchers are in a building with the IHB dispatchers in Calumet City, Illinois - an off railroad location.  I suspect that whatever happens (there have been no official announcements so every single bit of all of this is rumor and hearsay) - but again my guess is CSX will retain an office in Chicago.

Playing with the dispatchers is always a short sighted move that will bite you in the long run.
The result is a bunch of disgruntled workers that will no longer go the extra mile for the company.
Why should they when the reward for previous hard work is to have your family uprooted?

Same goes for all the other crafts.
A return to the 1980's / 90's when train dispatchers became migrant workers moving from (railroad) plantation
to plantation. 

Englewood Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Playing with the dispatchers is always a short
> sighted move that will bite you in the long run.
> The result is a bunch of

disgruntled workers that
> will no longer go the extra mile for the company.
> Why should they when the reward
for previous hard
> work is to have your family uprooted?
>
> Same goes for all the other crafts.

> A return to the 1980's / 90's when train
> dispatchers became migrant workers moving from

> (railroad) plantation
> to plantation. 


Company website is telling how they have improved moving policy for employees at January 1 2017.
Figured something like this was in the works. Company thinks it's no big deal for employees to change lifestyles to suit them.

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