Seat check question

Oh, noooo --- what have I done?

I have started a war between conductors and enginners!?!?!

Please, please, let calm prevail! Remember that without a conductor the train would never leave the station, and without an engineer the train would go nowhere.

In all seriousness, though, it seems to me that handling (and punching) all those little papers involves a lot of repetitive motions. Do you guys get carpal tunnel syndrome or at least tendonitis?

I have met one conductor who actually punches the current date on his seat checks before starting his assignment. How's that for repetitive motion?

NJTrider wrote:Please, please, let calm prevail! Remember that without a conductor the train would never leave the station...

Wanna bet.

Pull the throttle to close the doors,
release the brakes and off you go!

Of course, the most overlooked member of the crew is the rearbrake, who actually tells the engineer when to go. Having been a conductor and rearbrake (im rearbraking currently) I think the rearbrake has a tremendous amount of responsibilty, and actually works harder than the conductor and head brakes (TC's), but there is no pay scale difference between headbrakes and rearbrakes, except crews have longer on and off duties times at final and initial terminals.

The conductor can say its okay to go 1000000 times, but unless the rearbrake agrees, the train does not go anywhere. The rearbrake observes the train, and checks the train after the conductor and the head brakes have given the signal back, to make sure no last minute stragglers are wandering out. Then and only then, does he close the doors and give the engineer two to go, telling him its okay to move and depart the station.

But in the end, the train doesn't go anywhere until the rearbrake says so!!!

*edit* I should say that the train SHOULDN'T go anywhere without the rearbrake saying so. That doesn't mean that they never do! I know of a few situations where rearbrakes have been left standing on the platform!!!

Actually, the only reason the rear brakeman (actually he is a flagman), give the signal to proceed is because the conductor has deligated his authority to him. In the event something shold happen, however, the conductor will still be held resposible also, as it is his job, even if he should deligate it to someone else.

Also, one needs only look in the 950 rules (Engineer Duties) to see how important the conductor is. I think its rule 954 says that in the absence of a qualified conductor, the engineer shall act as conductor also. An example of this is such as when my conductor was not qualified to Sunnyside, and I was told to make the trip "on the engineers qualifications". So I was a conductor for a couple hours one day.

To be serious though, the conductor is an important member of the crew, and most of them do work hard.

Actually, the NORAC rules do state that the conductor is the boss of the train. He/she indeed delegates the authority to give the two to go.

I remember that in the LETP class finals, we were required to know the part of the 900 rules meant for engineers, PLUS one rule from the 900 rules for conductors.

Now let's start another war: who has the toughest job?

I say: the conductor. After all, he/she has to deal with unruly passengers, fare evaders, people under the influence of all sorts of substances, etc., etc. The engineer just pushes little handles and watches for little red lights.

Ahhhhhhh, JT, your estimation of an engineer's duties are slightly on the low side. Do you really think it is easy to get good slack action from a set of MU's?

Of course, coordinating moves with a conductor yields excellent results. For example, when a good conductor sees 7 or 8 commuters charging up the 386 steps at Metropark and gives the highball, an experienced engineer will move out quickly enough to prevent the commuters from actually reaching the train, while keeping their hopes up that they can catch it (physical fitness is important for our commuters).

Same way with connecting trains. Good timing of the highball along with careful speed modulation means that the passengers off of the arriving connection will still be able to see our markers dissappearing down the tracks.

Good crew coordination means that the conductor will remind me that when operating an express to be sure to turn on the sanders as we blast by a low platform full of waiting passengers.

Long Branch isn't really that far from me. Maybe when I come back, I'll bump on to your job, and give the NJCL a real treat.

Thats very true Sir, the conductor has passed his authority on to the rearbrake (it actually states in the rulebooks the Conductor is to close the doors, and give the signal to proceed, unless another person is designated by him, but with NJT, on most passegner trains, its the rearbrake) ......... BUT the conductor can give the signal to proceed, but unless I (as a rearbrake) deem it safe to proceed, the doors are not closing and I am not giving the signal to go, or even if its too early, we ain't going anywhere.

Ive had variuos conductors yell at me because I didn't give close up immedately when they gave teh signal back. Some of the time, the conductor will give the signal back to the next headbrake or even to the rearbrake with out waiting for everyone to get off the train, looking to see fi the doors are open, and sometimes, looking to see if anyone received his signal. Those times, we (I) sit at the station, and sit, and sit, until he gets back out and gives the signal again, usually at this point, he is quite perturbed that he has to go all teh way back outside the train and wave his arm in an up and down motion again........

I even had a list conductor get so mad once at me for repeatedly giving him a stop signal, that he decided to close the doors back, because he didn't wanna wait (there was a family still getting off the train) I of course knew this was coming and had my keys ready.......but at the next stop, the doors didn't open at all, and I simply said on the PA, "rearbrake to Conductor, Apparently I have a bad panel, as the DOORS CLOSED on me at the last stop, so I guess YOU are going to have to operate the doors from up front then." and that was it. He then said, "Uh.....thats okay, just try a different panel and work from there.....I don't think we will have any more problems" Then I say "Okay, ILL open and close the doors from another panel - (the panel was working fine, BTW) "

All the while my engineer was laughing his ass off!

I dunno TR, ive been knocked off my feet, literally, with some almost 10 mph slack action in MU's - 2 to 11 mph in like 1/2 a sec...........you can beat that??? BTW, did you get the memo about the 120mph F40's down the Coast Line :D