Western Railroad Discussion > Riders in Distributed Power

Caught a nice stack train EB through Auburn CA this morning. Nothing better to do in the rain than park and watch at one of my spots. As the rear end power units came and went, it appeared that someone was inside the last loco on the train (if my eyes weren't deceiving me). Since I am sort of new at this, can I get an answer: Are crew allowed to be in the distributed power units? If not why not (is there a safety/operational reason for this?). Thanks for any help on this.

I don't think it would be crew. I have heard of people riding in DPUs illegally. One time last year a guy riding illegally in one of the DPUs threw on the emergency brake in Winnemucca. By the time the crew got down to check it out, the guy had left. But then police found the guy walking through town a few hours later. Usually the DPUs are locked up, but I guess in some cases, people can find ways to get inside.

Jake Miille
Chico, CA
Jake Miille Photography

Several times I've seen doors flapping open or windows at a crack on DP units.

I heard DS86 (Denver) tell an inbound crew on a coal load they had a rider in their mid train DPU and they had the special agent on the way to meet and greet him this morning...

I was training an engineer on DP out of KC when we first started running them on the H-KCKBAR. At Ridgeton on the Emporia Sub, we had an alarm on one of the remotes, so I offered to go back to the rear end to figure it out. We had trains backed up behind us, so after I got it re-set, I just stayed on the remote for the rest of the trip to Wellington, rather than walk 6'000 feet back to the head end. The guys told the Amarillo crew I was back there, so they hit their foot counter leaving the yard office, and had it slowed down enough for me to drop off. And my grip was sitting there waiting for me.

Overheard on 160.320 this morning (10am ish) that one of the E/B trains on the Roseville Sub was having power problems, UP 8xxx. It stalled out at MP 155 and was preparing to back into the siding at Gold Run to offload a portion of it's consist to make it to Sparks. One of the crew members may have been in the DPU babysitting the power if it had problems farther down the hill. Underpowered trains and wet rails are not a good combo.

Riders in the DPU's are a common problem here in the Portland (OR) area. Only problem is the illegal trespasser can hear the head end, dispatcher and special agent talking about the problem over the radio on the same channel the DPU's radio is set on.

Once the train about comes to a stop, he merely drops off and disappears into the neighborhood!

And, no, I don't believe the DPU's are ever locked or otherwise secured...at least not up here in Oregon.

Dick Samuels

To Dick's comment, I don't think when we were doing DPU training in Sparks that it was even
in the setup procedure ie you finish and lock the door behind you. Funny that it's normally
done on unattended power, guess you don't think of people jumping on the rear of a moving
train.

I don't know what I'd do if I ever found a locked locomotive. They don't issue us any kind of key for opening a locked locomotive door. I've seen NS locomotives with switch lock padlocks. It also seems that all locomotives are equipped with a lock but I don't know anyone who has a key.

i have a old emd key to lock up motors but ill be dammed if i bring it to work with all these theives around here, half the time you cant even work the lock on the door from inside anyways

Posted from Android

Afbombers Wrote:
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> i have a old emd key to lock up motors but ill be
> dammed if i bring it to work with all these
> theives around here, half the time you cant even
> work the lock on the door from inside anyways
>
> Posted from Android

I never knew any one that had a key for those locks. If some one did have one of those keys and lock the locomotives, it would probably create a huge problem.

There ought to be a AAR cab lock and Key for locomotives.

Virtually all new units that have been ordered/delivered since the "SP merger" have come with deadbolt locks on the nose door. What I always found interesting is that those locks were keyed for the old SP switch key (American key). Since I always check my own DP units out I check for riders and usually either turn the radio off or change it to some off-the-wall frequency so if somebody does get on back there they hopefully won't hear anybody talking about them.

As far as locking the units: I did that until I discovered the ones I locked headed for Roseville often came back with the locks beaten off. As the older SP guys retired those SP keys disappeared as other than the locomotive doors almost all other SP locks had been replaced with the newer large S&G locks and thus the old SP keys became almost impossible to find. Of interest is that up here the managers have been issuing the "new" UP key for engine cab doors, which is nothing more than a new version of the old SP key (the managers are adamant this is NOT an SP key but is a real UP key - we all know better). Supposedly, according to the managers here, all cab doors not in use are supposed to be locked effective January 1st.

EMDSW-1 Wrote:
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> Riders in the DPU's are a common problem here in
> the Portland (OR) area. Only problem is the
> illegal trespasser can hear the head end,
> dispatcher and special agent talking about the
> problem over the radio on the same channel the
> DPU's radio is set on.
>
> Once the train about comes to a stop, he merely
> drops off and disappears into the neighborhood!
>
> And, no, I don't believe the DPU's are ever locked
> or otherwise secured...at least not up here in
> Oregon.
>
> Dick Samuels


That would be a very smart illegal rider to be able to know which road channel to be on, and to be able to change channels on the radio. Wow!

My thoughts exactly on the radio channels, 9/10 times the 2nd motor doesn't even have the right channel punched in , let alone the rear.

I've seen brakeman ride on the DP after putting trains together . Just kinda hard to tell what the situation was

Posted from iPhone

There aren't really any rules against riding in a DP motor, there just usually isn't ever a reason for any employee to be riding in a DP motor other than a rare instance they are monitoring the locomotive due to mechanical issues.

I think it was a couple years ago when UP 844 was coming to Marysville, KS from Cheyenne. I was up on Hanover hill taking pics of trains and waiting for the steam engine. A EB coal train went by and the DPU was coming up, so I took a front shot and then I realized somebody was on the unit. He turned toward the side of the engine and lowered his pants and took a dump over the side. Yep, got it in a pic. He was not a UP employe as he had on a fannel shirt. upkpfan

Since the locks are on the outside of the doors you cannot unlock them from the inside. So you cannot walk through the power without going down on the ground between the units.

Then I have seen units where riders had crapped on the walls, trashed the floors and seats and left enough bo to make the cab uninhabitable. I also did not want to have to answer trainmaster and special agent questions about some baggie of a controlled substance or a roach in the sidewall left by a rider
after I had been the engineer on some unit.

Who wants to open the door on a DPU at O dark 30 and come face to face with an angry pit bull?

So secure the cabs, keep unauthorized riders out.

Posted from Windows Phone OS 7



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/17/12 19:42 by fbe.

Follow up, esp for donner_dude1: locos were in order, front to back 8781, 4293, 5252 (middle), 8596, 8680. 8680 was the one I thought I saw the rider in. Gold Run is east of my sighting. Caught them at 0950, could have made Gold Run in about an hour.

Posted from iPhone

upkpfan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>He was not a UP employe as he had on
> a fannel shirt. upkpfan


Just curious as this probably doesn't involve the thread. Why does this mean he wasnt a UP Employee ?

Posted from iPhone