Csx public safety used to focus a lot of money and effort on this, plus training for first responders. Was a class act under Skip Elliot

Back to preservation roads, it is really important to have an emergency management plan.

How do you plan to handle a derailment?
Do you have contacts for cranes and clean up?
Environmental remediation for fuel leaks?
Evacuation of passengers?
Medical care?
Communication with the media?
Communication in general if you run through areas with out cellular coverage?

I don't believe the FRA regulates DD standards, though I may be wrong. If it turns out that NS came up with the help desk idea because of increasing train lengths, and they didn't want to have the delays required to look at what might be a false reading a mile back, the expense of dog catch crews, etc., then expect all h*ll to break loose.

.

.

I always thought the FRA had jurisdiction over everything that happens on the Class I RRs. Maybe I don't know nuthin, but it seems like SOMEBODY sooner or later is going to have to answer for "Defect Detector Help Desks"... I'm glad it aint me.

Apparently there are not, and have not, been any federal standardized rules regarding wayside defect detectors. I didn't know that, and I'm sure I'm not the only one here who didn't. My guess is that instituting them will be one of the recommendations of the NTSB final report on the East Palestine accident.

No, that's just a different form of Trump/Bush/whatever Derangement Syndrome in action. Attacking the questioner.

Literally--just tell me anything whatsoever that our current Secretary of Transportation has done or been responsible for that has improved the transportation environment in the United States since being appointed. Then tell me why he should be president, if you honestly think that.

Then contrast that to the glaring media spotlights on the recent air traffic meltdown, the threatened railroad strike, this derailment, and other unfavorable events. As well as what he has gained media attention for--very badly timed "vacations" and "leaves of absence." Wait'll someone in the mainstream media looks at Amtrak's timekeeping and lack of capacity/service.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/202 ... rn-pr-push
"During a 14 December FRA hearing about the rule, for instance, a representative for Norfolk Southern told the FRA that the company opposed the train staffing requirement in part because it would prevent the company from “redeploy[ing]” conductors from trains to “ground-based role[s]”. “Once again technology has supplanted the conductor’s traditional safety role,” the representative said." I assume they mean the detector desk among other things. My emphasis.

He made Polly Trottenberg his Deputy Secretary.

I actually like the Union Pacific's idea of creating an "Expediter" position, with someone in a given territory in a truck equipped with spare parts on call to assist passing trains. I just believe that it should be IN ADDITION to the conductor on the train. I think having someone with a vehicle nearby to give the conductor a ride back to the head end from having walked a reported hot box, or have an extra knuckle at the site of the broken one, instead of 50 cars away on the rear pilot of the locomotive would speed things up. Of course it wouldn't be the labor cost savings the company envisions by doing away with dozens of on-board crew people, which is their whole point, but it would be safer. I'm feeling pretty good at this point that due to the East Palestine wreck, the current push for one-man crews is off the table for at least a decade. It's a bad time for the bad, greedy, evil corporations to be asking for more cuts to anything that could be perceived as compromising safety. And if I were a union official, I would make that point loudly and often.

In the good old days of the Twentieth Century, before the Texas State Railroad decided to cut off as many pro enginemen, trainmen, and mechanics as possible, we often had what you're calling an "expeditor". Especially when we ran an extra at night, the brakeman would follow the train on a parallel highway, in a service truck full of steam parts and supplies, while staying in contact with the engine crew by radio. All of our brakemen worked as hostlers and mechanics a lot of the time, and were steam qualified. Even with most of the employees off duty, meaningful help was available anywhere on the route with a few minutes notice. The brakeman turned the train at the end of the line and took care of the air test before the return trip, then put the train away once they made it back to their initial terminal. This system worked pretty good in our particular circumstances. I can't recall a single train delay when we used this strategy.

Back to the relevant topic... Emergency planning and preparation.

Anyone in any organization (in the US) who might be in charge when an incident escalates to where there is a significant involvement with emergency services should be familiar with the "Incident Command System" as practiced in the US. The system WORKS, and is scalable from a minor incident to a full blown multi-state, multi-agency, multi-risk incident (aka East Palestine). There are four basic classes, self study, available on the FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) website. ICS-100, ICS-200, ICS-700, ICS-800.

Yes, there should be an "emergency action plan"! However the KISS principle applies if it is to be used effectively. What constitutes and "emergency". What should just be dealt with with resources on hand who to report the incident, actions, and results. When to "pull the air" and call 911. Who to contact to bring in additional resources when the issue is too big to deal with immediately but does not warrant 911. "Who" should be positional (organization president, general manager, etc) rather than specific individuals (who may have died 10 years ago). Avoid the "HUB" effect (Huge Useless Binder). Too much detail or information means the "plan" is too complex and will be ignored.

Your organization should now what its ordinary hazardous materials are (fuel for example) and have the training and equipment to deal with them on a day to day basis and know how to identify hazardous materials outside normal operations. Basic hazmat awareness. If you have to deal with uncontained hazmat outside of normal operations, stand back, isolate the area, and deny entry until properly trained and equipped people can deal with it. This would be a good subject to discuss with your next FRA inspector as to what is required for your operations and what are "BEST PRACTICES".

Regarding discussion of PTC, iirc there is an allowance for carrying passengers and hazmat as long as a certain speed is not exceeded (40 mph?).

I frequent this forum because I find relevant and interesting information. That said one of the themes is how many discussions degrade into personal attacks or political rants. Take a step back, read all the posts, and see how this discussion is almost ready to blow up. If you are a player dont get defensive (there obviously are no virgins in this whorehouse) just cool down and keep the discussion objective.

This discussion has real potential for benefit lest it become derailed because of personal bearings overheating... pun intended.

ICS classes and standards are a great resource.

Also working with the local fire department and familiarizing them with your operation. Maybe have a fire dept day and invite the local fire house to visit your operation and give you some advice and familiarizing themselves with rusk and territory. Perhaps for some good will give them some tickets for their families.

This isn't about politics it's about protecting what we love. Imagine the insurance issues if their is a major event.

Do you have oil containment booms and absorbent material? A response contractor to call? Are you insured for clean up? Are you near water, do you have a coast guard contact?

We store up to 20,000 gallons of diesel fuel on the property, delivered 7,000 gallons at a time, occasionally one truck load a week. We've had two decent fuel spills in the last few years - once the delivery driver had a valve on the truck in the wrong position, the other the crew member fueling a locomotive got distracted and overflowed the fuel tank. Both instances required remediation, soil testing, disposal, etc...

I recently went through OSHA's 40 hour Hazwoper training to manage hazardous spills. We're required to have at least one person on the property that has this certification. Currently I'm one of 2. It was 32 hours of online classwork and 8 hours of classroom exercise, and requires an 8 hour refresher annually.

If your property is not already discussing these type of scenarios, with proper crew training, and contact information for local emergency providers, then you are behind the curve.

Another good topic for a Heritage Rail or RPCA conference.

Eric