Turning a Goose and the operation of a stub switch

Dougvv · **Joined:** Sat Aug 21, 2004 10:52 pm **Posts:** 914

Railfest 1999 D&S

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vnV3XwZ0zo

Doug vV

salty_4568 · **Posted:** Thu Aug 30, 2007 9:57 pm

Nice - though most safety guys would have a fit watching that fellow (who looks very familiar, BTW) standing on the drawbar as the Goose backs up .... (if her were to fall, the operator wouldn't know it until he saw the body appear in front of him a minute later...)

Stub switches! Gotta Love 'em!

Alex Huff · **Joined:** Tue Aug 24, 2004 6:51 pm **Posts:** 148

In defense of the conductor, it appears he is standing on one of the steps with his right elbow looped around a handrail and the left hand has a grip on the other handrail. I believe the doorway was the entrance/exit for the rear portion of the Goose. I agree with your discomfort about seeing a man postioned where a fall would be very bad news.

Alex Huff

salty_4568 · **Posted:** Fri Aug 31, 2007 11:11 am

Well, I can't say I have never done that myself (out of necessity,) but it is rather uncomforable. FRA stats show that the greatest number of crew deaths comes during "shoving" moves, ie: backing a string of cars with switchman at other end. In the case in the video, with the short distance and slow speed of the movement, I think I would have walked ahead (behind?) at a safe distance.

Dougvv · **Joined:** Sat Aug 21, 2004 10:52 pm **Posts:** 914

Hi Skip,

As I recall, the Geese (Gooses?) did not have any drawbars for towing anything. They did have a metal link of some sort to connect two geese into a "train" (gaggle?).
Goose 7 (I think) was modified after the RGS ceased operation by the scrappers to pull a flat car or two for scrapping operations on both the RGS and D&RGW Gunnison lines.

Doug vV

Rovronr · **Posted:** Fri Aug 31, 2007 3:24 pm

I gotta agree with Salty.
That guy gave me the creeps.
I don't care if he was standing on a drawbar, or on a set of entry steps, or whatever, and I don't care if his elbow was wrapped around a grab iron, or not.
That is unsafe at any time, at any speed, and would definitely have gotten my butt canned when I was braking.
The reason I make this point is for those few who log on to this board from time to time and demonstrate in their comments that they've never really been trained to operate safely, nor have they ever had one of the jobs (as many of us who've worked around the trains for a living have) that require death and dismemberment insurance. Whether it's a re-tooled school bus or a BNSF express at speed through Naperville, these little guys can kill you quickly, silently, and permanently.