Western Railroad Discussion > Question: What do crews carry with them especially in winter?

I'm curious what the crews carry with them when on the road.  I've seen many crew changes in Green River, WY and was wondering what kind of clothing, tools, special equipment, etc they take with them. How does it change from, winter to summer, or by location (North Dakota, versus Arizona, etc).  How do you prepare for getting stuck/stalled in the middle of Wyoming in winter or the Mojave Desert in summer?  What precautions do to take?

Just some general comments would be nice or maybe a "survival story" or two?

Joe in Castle Rock, CO on the Joint Line 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/12/19 15:07 by jsnoy.

Duct tape. Turns a drafty locomotive into a not so drafty locomotive

Lotsa food

Posted from iPhone

Extra gloves and socks

Ted Curphey
Ontario, OR

The list is long but the essentials are a spare set of dry clothes, long johns, insulated gloves, a MaxxDry Traveler portable boot dryer, food, and hot coffee. Lots and lots of hot coffee.

Also, since the days are shorter in winter, I carry a few different kinds of lights that I don't normally carry in the summer. The one I use the most is a a Panther Power Cap, which is basically a "ball cap" with built-in LED lights. Helps me read my lists while I'm on the ground, fill out forms in the cab without flipping on the cab lights and disturbing my engineer, and helps with hands-free lighting for other tasks, such as opening switch locks and lacing air hoses. Also keeps my bald head warm.

https://www.panthervision.com/product-category/powercap/

snow cleet overshoes
JC

Very informative post. Always nice to hear from the people who work on the RR's.
 

JasonCNW Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> snow cleet overshoes
> JC

i was on an e/b coal load into freemont,ne during a huge sleet storm.  as we were leaving the cab, i saw the outbound crew climbing up the ballast toward us wearing what appeared to be those "snow cleet overshoes."  they had no trouble negotiating the sleet covered ballast...........

66

Thankfully not a participant, but the Winter stories from people I've known about patches where the van couldn't
get close in heavy snow and other assorted disasters made Winter railroading seem not for the faint of heart.

Out

goneon66 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> JasonCNW Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > snow cleet overshoes
> > JC
>
> i was on an e/b coal load into freemont,ne during
> a huge sleet storm.  as we were leaving the cab,
> i saw the outbound crew climbing up the ballast
> toward us wearing what appeared to be those "snow
> cleet overshoes."  they had no trouble
> negotiating the sleet covered ballast...........
>
> 66

On CSX it's mandatory that we wear either the overcleets or spiked boots while snow and ice is on the ground. Also surprisingly they provide us with them!

In almost 21 years of railroading I've learned to pack lots and lots of food regardless of weather! I can never eat it all in one setting, so what I don't eat I'll bring on the next trip.
I've been stranded on the train over 20 hours on several occasions! Plus, all it takes is one time to stuck without enough food and water!

Posted from Android

If you know a storm is coming, you check your app to see what the weathers like at the coldest station.  Conductors might bring their winter carharrt bibs.  Definitely layers and layers!  Plan for the worst hope for the best.  If you're going to have to tie down a train on the hill (palmer lake), you better bring enough to keep you warm (yet not sweat too much) when you tie down 50 cars.  After working the RR for a while, you become a good weatherman/clothes bringer.  40 degrees requires this much clothing.  -20 this much.  I just did 17hrs on duty in the last snow storm.  You bring extra food that's easy to consume.  Maybe you stopped at subway/jimmy johns and grabbed the long sandwich in case.  Or pack canned soups.  You just try to prepare a little more than you hope to be on a train.    

I knew one conductor up here working the Oregon Cascades who carried a small pair of snow-shoes in case he had to walk a train in the snow; they worked really good.