Model Railroading > Now what do you do?

You're night switch forman on the industry job at Wabasha.  You just spotted C&S 8402 at this dock, then glance over your shoulder and this is what you see.

Now What?

-LD

 

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All the stuff is on the other side of that door, so all good!

Just rip the sign off. "Did'nt see a thing"....
Doug

A friend of mine worked for a local short line part time as an engineer (he was an engineer with the Union Pacific too) and invited me to come down and ride around with him quite often. I got to be friends with all of the crew and was invited to come over and ride around whenever I wanted, even when my direct friend wasn't working. Of course I did! I also started helping them out with throwing switches and unlocking gates. It was a heck of a lot of fun and I learned a lot.

Anyway, one time we got a boxcar with this exact label going to a lumber company dock. The wye was literally off the tail of their spur so it would be very easy to turn a car going to their dock. Nope! I asked about the note to unload the other side and was told that the cars are spotted how they arrive and that they aren't paid enough nor have the time to bother turning cars around. We spotted the car with the wrong side to the dock (as per the note) and left. I was basically told, "not our problem" by the crew. 

There were some other similar things where "not our problem" came up. It was pretty surprising but I quickly learned that it was "just railroading".

I think what you have in this photo is pretty darn accurate for the prototype!

Lee Ryan - Rio Grande Fan
Denver, CO

 

Move the sign to the other door! Problem solved!

Rick Bacon
Windsor, CO

Switch to trucks.

My Wabash conductor friend said that they would turn these cars on a wye even if the wye was some distance from the customer. It was documented well and planned ahead of the customer drop off point.  I suppose a turntable could be used in a pinch.

Victor A. Baird
http://www.erstwhilepublications.com

Not what you would call customer service.
When I was a kid working in a newspaper shop I heard and was told essentially the same thing.
Best training I ever had in marketing and keeping business...

Bill Deaver
Tehachapi, CA

On our model railroad at the mall I encounter a similar situation when one of our novices decides to switch the industrial areas and spots a piggy back against an unloading ramp backwards.
So I provide a lesson in thinking ahead and turning the flat.

Bob Krieger
Cheyenne, WY

I remember once when the Santa Fe crew working the Oil City branch out Bakersfield went two miles to a wye to turn a similarly-marked car (I think they may have been asked to do so by the consignee).

It might be a good idea to poise the question on the Railroaders' Nostalgia board to get more responses about how actual railroaders handled the situation (many of them may not look at the Model Railroading board).
 



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 04/24/21 06:16 by johnsweetser.

RioGrandeFan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I asked about the note to unload the other
> side and was told that the cars are spotted how
> they arrive and that they aren't paid enough nor
> have the time to bother turning cars around. We
> spotted the car with the wrong side to the dock
> (as per the note) and left. I was basically told,
> "not our problem" by the crew. 


...and we lament why the businesses turned to trucks.   boo hoo

I spent my career programming computers.  My first job was in the college computer center.  When students and professors had problems with their computer programs, the employees in the computer center would refer to them as "dumb users".  I thought that the expression was disrespectful.  But even more, I thought it was illogical.  Without users, there would be no need for a computer; and without the computer, we would have no jobs.  Those users were our customers and we needed them as much as they needed us.  I decided that there was no such thing as a dumb user; just users in need of help.  Their problems were my problems.  That attitude served me well in my career; customers/users liked working with me and that was frequently mentioned during my annual reviews.  As the poster Kimball said, unhappy customers will "Switch to trucks".

Jack 

I tend to think some of the responses were in jest, including my previous one, and were not to be taken seriously or as an indication of people's actual work ethics.

 







 

Jckaufman Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I spent my career programming computers.  My
> first job was in the college computer center. 
> When students and professors had problems with
> their computer programs, the employees in the
> computer center would refer to them as "dumb
> users".  I thought that the expression was
> disrespectful.  But even more, I thought it was
> illogical.  Without users, there would be no need
> for a computer; and without the computer, we would
> have no jobs.  Those users were our customers and
> we needed them as much as they needed us.  I
> decided that there was no such thing as a dumb
> user; just users in need of help.  Their problems
> were my problems.  That attitude served me well
> in my career; customers/users liked working with
> me and that was frequently mentioned during my
> annual reviews.  As the poster Kimball said,
> unhappy customers will "Switch to trucks".
>
> Jack 

My dad had a long career in industrial transportation, with most of his work centered on rail transport. I have long ago lost count of the number of stories I have heard about mis-spotted and misrouted cars when there were clear instructions on the delivery spot for the cars, or clear routing instructions for waybills. But on balance, it must be said that the vast majority of the time service was very good, and cars were properly routed and spotted. Certain roads had more than their fair share of problems, though.

After many years in information technology work myself, I think I would have liked working with you. I always felt the same way, and it served our customers well. I have no doubt that it did the same for your firm. Not everyone I worked with had the same attitude, sad to say. Yup, there were those who thought that "dumb users" were most of our problems.

Whether it's railroading, or programming and IT work, or any other line of work, so much of success or failure is dependent on the attitude and values of those who deliver the product or service. It really counts for a lot.

MC
 

Doug said it best, in every circumstance, except the hot Ford business, that I witnessed, the crew members simply ripped off the temporary paper sign.
JB

Remember these stories the next time someone starts bashing management for "running off business"

Unless you were going for an early "quit", go around the wye, then run around the car. Or if you don't want to run around it, drop it into the spur. ( tricky on a model railway)

Chris Rye