Western Railroad Discussion > Are the Home Shop Repair Do Not Load stickers being ingnored?

I have noticed quite a few freight cars being loaded with those bright neon stickers advising that the car has been tagged for repairs. Some were boxcars and centerbeams that were loaded with lumber. Others were empty tankers that were loaded with crude. I have seen 10-12 cars with those stickers within the last 30 days. These were revenue moves and not cars set aside for storage.

I'm just wondering if there's a new procedure that allows cars to be in service despite being flagged for repairs.

If you're in a generous mood, then maybe they're to be home shopped when empty.
Or the railroad/shop forgot to remove the sticker when it got repaired.

Or, the railroads just don't care.

My understanding is that the defect was found AFTER loading and therefore the car will proceed to the destination to be unloaded and then NOT RELOADED.

3 times in my truck driving career I have seen cars marked like that that arrived at our location full, and that is what I was told by the crew.

Having been a rail shipper for 40 years; I’d say even if the car arrived empty for loading with these “Home Shop” stickers affixed, there is at least a 50% chance the goobers in shipping would load it anyhow. Their assumption would be the car was repaired and someone forgot to remove the stickers.

I saw enough of this that when I joined a chemical company at the midpoint of my career, I had Procor and UTLX mobile repair units inspect every inbound empty car at each of our sites and personally advise each plant shipping agent whether a car could be loaded. That solved the problem.

CW

Posted from iPhone

When we get Home Shop cars, our customers are so starved for cars because of the horrible car supply from the Class 1 that they load them anyway.

irhoghead Wrote:
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> When we get Home Shop cars, our customers are so
> starved for cars because of the horrible car
> supply from the Class 1 that they load them
> anyway.

Are these railroad-owned cars supplied to customers, or private cars?  And is it because of an actual shortage of cars (e.g. busy shipping season), or is it because railroad transit time time is so bad that it creates the shortage?

All were privately owned cars and some from the TTX group. I suppose the stickers were never removed.

Believe it or not.... the mechanical folks do sometimes fail (or forget) to pull the tags or stickers. And most folks in the RR industry don't like to do anything they're not precisely instructed or directed to do... so when other RRers see a potentially old tag, they just ignore it and assume it is no longer valid.

Along with that, freight car status and mechanical information is all logged and tracked digitally anymore. So a quick check on the computer or iPad will indicate whether there are still any valid mechanical issues with the equipment.

Personally, if I come across a questionable car with a B/O tag... I'll often contact the Trainmaster who can turn his chair to confirm with the lead carman next to him whether the car in question is indeed bad order or good order. If it's good, the tag magically disappears.

~ Mr. MRL

As MrMRL said, the stickers on the car means less than the digital record that follows the car through the system. Whether it get loaded or not depends heavily on what is wrong with it. If it's not a critical defect that would be exacerbated by being loaded, it may get used on the way to its home shop.

             Loading a 'stickered' car that states quite clearly to DO NOT LOAD - ******** FOR REPAIRS would be foolish at best and beg huge lawsuits if anything happens.

dcfbalcoS1 Wrote:
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>              Loading a 'stickered' car that
> states quite clearly to DO NOT LOAD - ******** FOR
> REPAIRS would be foolish at best and beg huge
> lawsuits if anything happens.

This brought back a memory of my Kerr-McGee days at Trona, California. I was on the graveyard crew, and earlier in the day, the in-plant switcher (I think) spotted a standard 50' flatcar loaded with one of those 10-wheel quarry type dump trucks, The car was "prepped" for unloading by building a dirt dike for the truck to be backed off the car, Everything went A-OK and after truck was off loaded, the car was left where it was spotted. When our crew came on that night, one of our tasks was to push this flatcar to the switch where it could be picked up for return to its shipping point.  As I was a "wanna be" railroader, I climbed onto the car and manned the staff-type brake wheel as the loader got into position for a push. When he nudged the car, it wouldn't move, so I (in one of my more brilliant moments) pulled the air lever and released the air brakes. The loader began to shove the car, and  away we went. I began to turn the brake wheel, and realized we weren't stopping. Believing a derail switch was coming up, I jumped off the car (at about 10 MPH or so) and the car went on its merry way running through the derail and smushing itself into a dirt embankment. When the dust settled, there, in the defect card holder, was a bright green card reading "Bad Hand Brake."  Wow. Caterpillar shipped this $50,000 truck on a flatcar with a bad hand brake?  Somebody sure goofed.

tronarail Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> dcfbalcoS1 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> >              Loading a 'stickered' car
> that
> > states quite clearly to DO NOT LOAD - ********
> FOR
> > REPAIRS would be foolish at best and beg huge
> > lawsuits if anything happens.
>
> This brought back a memory of my Kerr-McGee days
> at Trona, California. I was on the graveyard crew,
> and earlier in the day, the in-plant switcher (I
> think) spotted a standard 50' flatcar loaded with
> one of those 10-wheel quarry type dump trucks, The
> car was "prepped" for unloading by building a dirt
> dike for the truck to be backed off the car,
> Everything went A-OK and after truck was off
> loaded, the car was left where it was spotted.
> When our crew came on that night, one of our tasks
> was to push this flatcar to the switch where it
> could be picked up for return to its shipping
> point.  As I was a "wanna be" railroader, I
> climbed onto the car and manned the staff-type
> brake wheel as the loader got into position for a
> push. When he nudged the car, it wouldn't move, so
> I (in one of my more brilliant moments) pulled the
> air lever and released the air brakes. The loader
> began to shove the car, and  away we went. I
> began to turn the brake wheel, and realized we
> weren't stopping. Believing a derail switch was
> coming up, I jumped off the car (at about 10 MPH
> or so) and the car went on its merry way running
> through the derail and smushing itself into a dirt
> embankment. When the dust settled, there, in the
> defect card holder, was a bright green card
> reading "Bad Hand Brake."  Wow. Caterpillar
> shipped this $50,000 truck on a flatcar with a bad
> hand brake?  Somebody sure goofed.

The "Bad Hand Brake" may have been discovered after the car had been loaded.

49 CFR § 215.9 Movement of defective cars for repair.
(a) A railroad freight car which has any component described as defective in this part may be moved to another location for repair only after the railroad has complied with the following:
(1) A person designated under § 215.11 shall determine:
(i) That it is safe to move the car; and
(ii) The maximum speed and other restrictions necessary for safely conducting the movement;
(2)
(i) The person in charge of the train in which the car is to be moved shall be notified in writing and inform all other crew members of the presence of the defective car and the maximum speed and other restrictions determined under paragraph (a)(1)(ii) of this section.
(ii) A copy of the tag or card described in paragraph (a)(3) of this section may be used to provide the notification required by paragraph (a)(2)(i) of this section.
(3) A tag or card bearing the words “bad order” or “home shop for repairs” and containing the following information, shall be securely attached to each side of the car -
(i) The reporting mark and car number;
(ii) The name of the inspecting railroad;
(iii) The inspection location and date;
(iv) The nature of each defect;
(v) Movement restrictions;
(vi) The destination for shopping or repair; and
(vii) The signature of a person designated under § 215.11.
(b)
(1) The tag or card required by paragraph (a)(3) of this section may only be removed from the car by a person designated under § 215.11 of this part.
(2) A record or copy of each tag or card attached to or removed from a car shall be retained for 90 days and, upon request, shall be made available within 15 calendar days for inspection by FRA or State inspectors.
(3) Each tag or card removed from a car shall contain a notification stating the date, location, reason for its removal, and the signature of the person who removed it from the car. These recordkeeping requirements have been approved by the Office of Management and Budget in accordance with the Federal Reports Act of 1942.
(c) Movement of a freight car under paragraph (a) of this section may be made only for the purpose of effecting repairs. If the car is empty, it may not be placed for loading. If the car is loaded, it may not be placed for unloading unless unloading is consistent with determinations made and restrictions imposed under paragraph (a)(1) of this section and -
(1) The car is consigned for a destination on the line of haul between the point where the car was found defective and the point where repairs are made; or
(2) Unloading is necessary for the safe repair of the car.
 

> The "Bad Hand Brake" may have been discovered
> after the car had been loaded.

Then UNLOAD the damn thing before something tragic happens !!!!
Duh..