With 3420 being in the phelps dodge copper refinery we discussed the possibility of an issue requiring us to assemble due to an issue with in the plant. When the issue of what could happen if standard oil plant next door had an issue and we were told if we heard a certain whistle signal to immediately get into our personal vehicle and do not let the accelerator off of the floor until we reached Tornillo, Texas

When I started one thing GCR did was give each employee a First aid CPR class. Over the years as ridership increased the rate of medical issues increased. During my time at Grand Canyon Railway we dealt with heart attacks, track being washed out with the passenger train caught north of Williams, AZ, three passenger deaths and an on duty employee death and before I left they had a disaster drill at historic Apex station (now called Imbleau). One passenger who passed on the train was not even expected to live thru the day by his family when they boarded the train. Sure enough 10 miles north of town he passed and the train waited for law enforcement. The family disembarked and before long there was a request by other passengers to upgrade to the seats in the bar car they had vacated. Chest pains were a regular complaint due to the altitude. For some reason people do not understand that if the canyon is a mile deep the rim is at least a mile high. To counter altitude issues we encouraged people to stay hydrated. I was told by friends that they thought the conductor did a good sales job but the problem was they had come down from Chama to ride the train.

One chest pain cases I remember chose not to tell anyone on the train that they were suffering chest pains. Instead they called 911 and the emergency services called the dispatcher to find out when the train was due at the canyon. The problem was there were two trains going to the canyon and the first train had stalled due to overheating. The dispatcher called both conductors to begin the search for the victim. After the conductor had publicly asked if anyone was having problems the victim told the passenger service attendant privately that they were the person having issues. When the train made the canyon we unloaded the person into a waiting ambulance. In other cases we had air medi vac meet the train along the line to pull out chest pain cases due to inaccessibility by vehicle.

Just before I left they did the drill at Imbleau. The most interesting issue was the railroad dispatcher placed the call that started the drill. The call went to Flagstaff to the Grand Canyon and then to the responding fire department. It took a while for the word to get to the appropriate agency.

Everyone remembers 1995 for the Gettysburg accident but few remember the same weekend that a tie car got loose from the shortline operator on the NN and the excursion train operated by the museum was struck by the car. Results were 4 people critically injured and additionally over 150 people injured to some lesser degree. The local hospital was overwhelmed. I spent time talking to people who were involved in some manner about their opinions of what they remembered about the accident. The local law enforcement saw the accident as the collision site and not starting with the escape of the car. This resulted in the museum engine crew being initially treated as instigators by the initial response instead of the victims that they were. The engine crew dealt with the issues of what could I have done differently and the other emotions that come with being an equipment operator in an accident. An employee for the short line ten years latter was still trying to figure out why the crew for the shortline operator insisted on using a loader to move the car instead of the 70 ton GE he had prepared the day before for the task. The equipment damage was extensive and the museum has never completely recovered. The locomotive was 93 and two wood coaches the flat converted to a passenger car were involved NN 93 and Coach 5 was eventually returned to service but the other coach still has not been repaired.

Over the years I have heard stories of an I.C.C. inspector dragged three cars in Taylor yard, a person slapped by a loose driver doing a roll by on an opposing train. I meet s former SP brakeman who was legally blind due to his time working in the sun on the railroad. I have burns on a right foot from a steam wash hose that I pulled out of the cab floor that I did not know was already on and it crossed my foot. There was also the accident on Roaring camp where the brakeman lost an arm due to falling while getting off a piece of moving equipment. It not only affected the brakeman but the fireman as well as she apparently realized what happened prior to the engineer.

Having emergency training on various types of potential issues is important. But it is also important to remember that crew training for various equipment failures is also important particularly as equipment gets older. .

It is important to remember that your nearby class one railroad has some form of field safety support. I found working with the BNSF representative in El Paso easy to do and by working with the local class one you both avoid unnecessary duplication of work but also both can work together to help everyone’s cause.

Robby Peartree

There's another excellent idea, but don't restrict it to the Class Ones. There are free or inexpensive resources all over the place. For instance...

FEMA-sponsored free emergency management courses, diversity training, workplace safety and workplace shooter classes, all online (some you can cash in for college credit):
http://training.fema.gov/is/

We've already mentioned SKYWARN:
http://www.skywarn.org

Some community organizations will supply AEDs to nonprofits, if you don't already have one. The Red Cross claims to have such a program:
http://phss.redcross.org/aedoffers/

There are many commercial providers of first aid and CPR training. It might be a better idea to find your local paramedic training facility and ask when they're having first and and CPR for their incoming students. It'll probably be cheaper if your people can sit in with their group, but the best part is the contact with those who teach the first responders.

This isn't strictly necessary, but could be useful:
http://www.vialoflife.com/
I became a believer when my neighbor had a stroke and her daughter didn't know who her doctor was or what medications she took (and there were a lot of them.) I had handed her one of these forms, but she never got around to filling it out. If you can get your staff to fill out one of these forms and carry a copy with them, it can be a huge help. In theory, having your medical info on a cell phone app should work. In practice, nobody looks at anything but the emergency contact number. If you're a trusting bunch, you can keep copies in the break room fridge.

I hope the fire department training taught them that an illuminated indicator light is conclusive evidence that the power is on, but if the light is out they MUST check with others since the power could be off OR the indicator light could be malfunctioning for some reason and the power is actually on.

Example of what we should be undertaking:

http://www.islandecho.co.uk/news/car-co ... t-exercise

We also trained their Officers In Charge to visually inspect the transmission switches (which were mounted externally at the time). If the switch was open, they could safely assume traction power was off but had to assume that there might be a residual static charge. With Sun Link now operational, all they have to do is contact the Sun Link operations center if they need power turned off. They already know how to work around the streetcar line.

I should also note that while at TVRM, there were several of our volunteers and employees who maintained ARC First Aid and CPR certification and two trained EMTs. As Conductor, I had one onboard medical emergency-child experiencing seizures. We were at Main Street waiting on a route into the Terminal Station (Chattanooga Choo Choo) and were waiting for an approaching CSX train to pass. After confirming the medical emergency and talking it over with the passengers who were treating the child (both had medical experience dealing with seizures), I informed the tower operator of the emergency and our requirement to get to the station immediately. The operator immediately contacted the approaching train and determined that they were still far enough out on approach to stop at the home signal. He then overrode the machine and lined our route. I had already contacted Choo Choo security and they had the gate and switch opened for our movement. They also contacted EMS and the ambulance arrived just as we stopped at the boarding location.

In that case we determined that attempting to send an ambulance to a location other than the train station was undesirable as it was uncertain that the ambulance crew would have been able to locate us quickly. We did not want to stop in the yard as it was probable that the EMS rig would not be able to safely clear the crossings and the crew would be unfamiliar with the layout of the facility. In that case, I could have done treatment for the victim, but as I was Conductor and had others who could provide treatment, it was more important for me to get the train to a location where the EMS rig could meet us.