Western Railroad Discussion > UP power shortage starting to eclipse crew shortage?

Here in the Pacific Northwest, UP lately seems to be parking more trains for power rather than crews. At the heart of the problem is the lack of DPU equipment for the I-5 corridor and the Blues. I also read a recent article where coal producers in the Power River Basin are upset with the railroads for the slow turnarounds on the coal train. Those train are also in need of DPU power, as are the grain trains heading for the west coast.
I'm not going to go so far as to say UP made a mistake by not equipping it's SD70M's with DPU "Harris Boxes". But what does seem like a waste, is running DPU's on manifest trains on the I-5 corridor in Oregon. Once a train is pushed from Eugene to Cascade Summit, they don't require any help again until Bakersfield, and many don't go that far. The Blues is a different matter, as there are three summits between Hinkle and Nampa to get over.

Ted Curphey
funnelfan@icehouse.net

Geez, not 30 seconds after I wrote the above, I read that UP has indeed started using at least one manned helper out of Eugene. UP brass must've seen my earlier note on the subject ;^)

This will go a long ways to making the southern end of the Willamette Valley fluid again!

Ted Curphey
funnelfan@icehouse.net

over a thousand dash 9s +1000 70 macs and
they still don't have enough engines.
maybe they should stop worrying about the
model rr industry and start worrying about
running a railroad

highhood Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> over a thousand dash 9s +1000 70 macs and
> they still don't have enough engines.
> maybe they should stop worrying about the
> model rr industry and start worrying about
> running a railroad


I think you have UP confused with BNSF. UP Dash 9s all fit comfortable in the 9000 series above the Dash 8s and below the SD40-2s and other roster rejects. Also, UP owns no SD70MACs. It seems stupid that the SD70Ms are not equipped for DPU service, I believe most of the BNSF bought C44-9Ws above the 960-1123 class and SD70MACs are DPU capable, so BNSF shouldnt be having too much DPU troubles. UP on the otherhand is limited to AC4400CTEs and C40-8(W)s on manifest runs. It seems like UP has shunned from using their Dash 8s on DPU, I remember when the colton-roseville train had a steady set of 2 SD90MACs on the point and 2 C40-8s on the rear.

Cya Down the Line!
-Dash

they are leasing some more power...

Its called incompetence! Total mismanagement! Nothing new. These railroads are too big and should be broken up in certain areas to allow competition and open access. Nobody is ready for more mergers, especially the customers!!


Rail1

UP has the Blues in knots too. Swapping out DP power at Nampa and Hinkle has track capacity filled. La Grande is usually a single track railroad as many manifest trains wait for crews.
Could a few manned helpers over Kamela help the situation? IMO, is sure could! But wait, there are no crews to run them... Geez, not tracks and no crews. Some pretty high paid people in Omaha..ha..ha..ha, ought to be out training/looking for work at engineers and conductors.
Bluesman

Trains need more than power for help. They may need dynamic braking to get down a hill. You can't put it all on the point either.

Nudge

No power may be a problem but it kinda surprises me to hear that it is. I see five and six units going by on low priority trains. It might be said that they are repositioning for something up north but then I see five and six going south on the next train. And power is tied down on siding without crews. I don't see crews with a train waiting for power.

I don't think the current "managers" at UP have ever had to face the problems they have now and the only solution they have is to yell and turn red in the face. I think they assumed that when they needed employees that canidates would just come running and jump through all the hoops. No problem with getting new people. Oregon is one of the states with the highest unemployment in the nation and why can't they get people to work at Hinkle? Did they ever consider that more than a third of the people they recruit can't pass the drug test? Did they ever think that people don't want to go to work at 2:00AM on alternate Thursdays?

The present managers have no concern about getting a crew back on duty after their hours of service are up. Let them sit at West Armpit for hours, pay them overtime, and then complain that there aren't any crews ready to go.

jb

jdb Wrote:

> Did they ever think that people don't
> want to go to work at 2:00AM on alternate
> Thursdays?



Obviously, railroading should be an 8-5 occupation from this point forward. That would solve everything.

BobE

Your sarcasm isn't funny at all. These railroads can do many things to improve quality of life (I should say lack thereof) and the way they treat their employees. But they choose not to and just act lazy about it or ignore the issue altogether. We need to have a Hours of Service like truckers, 10 on with 12 off, at a minumum. Everyone knows it. It is very difficult day after day to remain focused, vigilant and concentrate on the task at hand when your basically punch drunk with fatigue. Its hard to stay awake sometimes, especially at night when everyone else is sleeping and yer climbing a hill at 10mph or cruising down the main at 50 or 60 mph you have been down a million times and know every inch of it when your working 12+ hrs a day...Railroads have used modern technology and other convenences athand to eliminate employees and jobs whenever they can, DPUs and RCOs are a few examples. But they bury there heads in the sand when it comes to changing the 24/7 365 day availability mentality they still have from 125 years ago! On CN where I work we have 3 hour call windows/spead times on ALL road jobs and regular assigned jobs that maynot have a "show" time. Its a much better qaulity of life for the guys, they go on the clock and get paid for every minute/hr they get called outside the window at straight time. CMS cant call guys ahead of their window either, so they are not on call until their window starts! Thats only one example of what can be done in the rail industry...Don't tell me it can't be done, because it can!

Rail1

Hahaha! I love that shift at my PD, and to think I put an app in with the UP!


> Obviously, railroading should be an 8-5 occupation
> from this point forward. That would solve
> everything.
>
> BobE

Rail 1
Would it be possible for you to describe how cn's crew calling policy differs from other roads?
Thanks

Why do you think railroads like CP and UP in particular are having one hell of a hard time finding, hiring and RETAINING new hire Trainmen? The younger generation doesn't want to settle for a job as a wellpaid slave or bum to the railroad when they don't have to and when other options are out there. I'm saying to attract qaulity people and retain them for long epriods, the railroads will have to change their methods. And they should, after all, the unions have learned to "adapt" over the years with all the changes, employee buyouts, job abolishments, etchnological advancements like EOTs, RCOs, and DPU to name a few. Time for the railroads to buck up, play fair, level the playing field and give us something that 95% of people take for granted every day (the 40 hour work week)! A more normal work/rest cycle.

Does anyone know what the additional locos they are getting will be? Thanks in advance for any info.

Rail1,
I'm not trying to argue with your points, which you're much more familiar with than I am because I'm a "regular" working stiff. But the 40 hour work week is almost a thing of the past for most private sector business. I heard the results of a study on the radio just a few weeks ago that said the average is now about 52 hours per week for a majority of those polled. It's not just the railroads that are trying to squeeze their workers to maximize profitability but I also realize it's not quite as dangerous sitting at a desk or waiting on customers while you're fighting sleep. For years I was a warehouse supervisor working all three shifts periodically. Third shift, six days per week was the worst for me. One time I fell asleep while walking! Woke up on the way down in time to break my fall and not my nose........

At least on the department that I work in at the phone company, six day work weeks and some overtime is manditory. That day off also is a rotating day. 50 hr weeks at least.

Really, my brother works for the phone company and always gets 2 days off a week (not always weekends), and rarely or never gets OT. He even took a voluntary furlough the company gave him starting Jan 1st until now! Must be nice! Still, most people in the "real" world who fall under the 40 hr federal work week law have it better than railroaders and are generally home every night. There is no comparisn to the gypsy life of a rail!

Rail1

Rail1, it depends on the department and the city and which company. I work in 411 and the turnover rate is horrible and we can forget about weekends with the family, holidays and other little things.