I'm doing some additional research into the different operating policies that other museums/tourist railroads may have in place concerning operating department personnel and would like to compare them to revamp our own policies. So basically, if someone violates a rule out of the rulebook or special instructions in the timetable, what does your organization do?

Here's some of the points I would like discussed and addressed (along with any of your other thoughts/suggestions):

1) Does your organization even have a discipline policy in place?
2) Does your organization have different levels of severity for rule infractions?
3) Are there repercussions in your organization for violating rules?
4) What type of discipline is administered to an individual who violates a rule?
5) Who administers the appropriate level of punishment?

I realize that many organizations are run by volunteers, but I'm willing to guess that many of you must have some type of policy already in place that we can model our new policy on. If you want to discuss it off-board, I'm fine with that as well, just shoot me private message.

Thanks!

difficult to "fire" a volunteer.....when their valued work is needed.

Even for a model railroad I would make rulebooks for authenticity. Being safe around railroads is a priority. Just look at any railroad rulebook.

If you wanted to establish some operating rules just look at the railroad rulebooks and adapt them for your needs, hand them out to members, it helps to be a reminder how to do things safely, perhaps some safety training/meetings.

Walking on rails a nono...(but you know how that goes.....!!)

We already have a rulebook, timetable (with special instructions), and bulletins that we have to follow. Everybody has to carry a copy of all of the above in addition to another set from the shortline we operate over. We also perform monthly safety meetings and annual rules classes.

I'm looking for information on what happens when someone violates a rule from any of the above. What procedures do various organizations have in place to combat potentially unsafe practices or violations of the rules?

Just as an example, what if an volunteer engineer violates a blue flag and somebody gets hurt, what happens then? Do you let that same volunteer keep running like nothing ever happened?

Blue Signal violation is a big one. It is equivalent to an engineer passing a stop signal. The individuals involved should be pulled from "safety sensitive" service, or anything that directly involves movement of trains or equipment. That individual could still be able to do maintenance work, ie. track, equipment or cleaning/painting, etc.

I'd suggest some form of a suspension period for investigation of the incident first, then time off depending on the severity. Perhaps a panel of senior members should decide this. Make sure everything is documented. After a set number of violations, then permanent suspension. It is not that the volunteer help is not welcome or needed, but steel doesn't cry. Rules are in place for a reason and must be followed even if you are doing something just because you like doing it...

As for more minor rule violations (such as how they handle a switch or boarding equipment) retraining is required. For railroads, Periodic Examinations of Rule Compliance tests must be done on all employees. The frequency of this depends on several factors. We call these the weeds test. Someone in charge of the rules must observe those working periodically and file a written report of what was observed. These should be treated as unannounced tests to the workers. Monthly, the rules coordinator should review all of these "PERC" tests and formulate a plan for what areas of the operation need additional training or perhaps even modifications to the rules.

For the sake of the museum or operation, documentation is of utmost importance.

Just a few thoughts of mine..
Pat Connors
CMO, BSOR

Hi Bob:

Our Museum has a discipline policy that was modeled after the one developed by the Seashore Trolley Museum up in Maine. You can read it and download it if you wish to by going to our website. Here's the link directly to the document: http://www.trolleyride.org/Member_stuff ... cpline.pdf

This policy does specify graduated levels of discipline and an appeals process.

While this policy doesn't specifically say that our members must abide by our operating rules, bulletins, etc., our rulebook does state that by becoming an active volunteer the volunteer acknowledges that he/she has read, understands and agrees to abide by all of our rules. Our rulebook is also found at our website.

We have had to discipline a volunteer only once as I recall. This entailed a demotion to a non-supervisory operating status. The volunteer in question remained with us and after 2 years was reinstated to his former supervisory position.

Thanks!

This is really good! I love reading through what other organizations are doing. Sharing information is the key to success, IMHO.

TOTALLY agree.

I'll give you some class-1 perspective. I don't have any volunteer/preservation information to pass along, so if you want that, please skip this post.

I had a real great trainmaster pass along his thoughts on this very subject. When he faced someone violating the rules, he first determined WHY they violated the rules. Was it intentional, or does the individual not understand the rules? If it is a case of not understanding, he would simply sit that person down and have a impromptu rules class right there.

If the person understands the rules, but chose to violate them anyhow, then he had to determine why again. Laziness? Was the person in a rush? Did he come from somewhere that didn't follow that certain rule?

Same applies to preservation, I reckon. Take for example the blue flag rule. That is one of the core, cardinal rules on any railroad. For someone to violate it, I would hope it is because of a lack of understanding the rule. Because if someone willfully violated that rule, well, no organization should ever need a person that badly. That person will end up hurting or killing someone (most likely another volunteer/worker).

I doubt most volunteers work on the rails 40hours a week+, and do not use the rules like "regular" (or is that irregular?) rail workers do, I could see how some rules can be murky to understand, esp. when they don't cover normal operations. Our outit has a "START" program. If you get caught violating a rule and end up in the START program, you are supposed to get remedial training in said rule, and have a certain amount of time where you better not get caught ciolating the same rule again. If you do, it gets escalated into something more serious. In theory that is how it is supposed to work. In reality....

PS. we have a rule that says you cannot use a piece of wet string to measure the distance between two pieces of live wire.

That's all good advice and a class I perspective is more than welcome! In fact, the newly proposed policy is loosely based upon programs from KCS and UP. What I'm trying to do is compare this policy against as many others as possible in order to make sure it fairly covers everything, so every little bit helps. I also read through the materials from the Minnesota Streetcar Museum and I was impressed there as well.

(By the way, I gave the blue flag incident as an example only.)

Our practice requires that any Accident, Incident or Violation of Operating Rules be reported to an officer of the company. That officer will then determine what immediate action is appropriate. In case of Accident involving a streetcar and a motor vehicle, the crew will be relieved of duty and complete the accident reports.

In case of an Incident, the crew will be relieved of duty and appropriate report made to the officer of the company.

In all cases, the officer receiving the report shall distribute the reports to the other management-specifically the Safety Officer. In cases of accidents and incidents, the Safety Officer shall convene a Safety Committee which will receive statements and testimony from the crews involved and witnesses. The Safety Committee reviews the information regarding the incident being examined to determine whether the incident was accidental or intentional. The committee then determines what actions shall be taken regarding the crew involved and if any change to policies are needed.

There are some (very limited) circumstances where the officer of the company receiving the initial report may take more drastic actions. The punishment for the violation of rules related to alcohol and/or controlled substances is immediate dismissal. Our organization also prohibits crew members in uniform from entering premises whose primary purpose is the serving of alcoholic or intoxicating beverages. Public image is very important.

Just a quick poll of the respondents, but in most cases are these discipline situations normally administered by a committee, the board of directors, or a separate manager?