Rolling a car downhill

This afternoon a local I was watching with my daughter pulled out of an industrial spur (actually a former interchange track, but now only a way to get to a couple of factories) and stopped on the main. The conductor or brakeman aligned the switch for main and walked uphill along the track away from the back of the train. I lost sight of him behind some trees. A little later he came back down the line, this time riding the downhill end of a single covered hopper car, rolling down the hill, and coupled onto the back of the train. I assume he walked up and released the handbrake.
Is rolling cars with no locomotive common? Is it generally legal (In case it's not, I haven't given the RR or the place)? Why would the crew have done that rather than back the train up to the car?

http://www.railroad.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=1402 <--- Kicking Cars Is It Safe.

Read that stuff from the link. Everything is explained.

. What you saw saves time and its totally ok, cars dont have to coupled to a locomotive to move them. We kick the brakes off the cars all the time and roll them out.

It's one of those things that you don't want to get caught doing and managers don't like to catch you doing.

Does it also save fuel and pollution?

SteelWheels21 wrote:It's one of those things that you don't want to get caught doing and managers don't like to catch you doing.

Since when dude? aint nothing wrong with it.

We've got an industry here within yard limits that is at the top of a steep little spur. Takes tank cars, ink for the newspaper I think. When we have to spot and pull, the crews used to do a reverse drop to get the motor on the right side of the car(s) to shove back to the yard. The move is exactly what the guy saw except the guy riding cranks the brake on, the switch is re-lined and the motor couples on from behind and shoves the empties to whatever track in the yard. Since the new regime of management has come in and "safety first" has been the motto, we are not supposed to do this. Of course it's a huge time-saver so it's one of those "don't get caught and I won't have to write you up" type of things, hence my comment. I don't know if the story is true but old heads have remarked that there was a guy who used to do the move without power at all...line his switches in the yard, go up and get the cars and ride them all the way down the hill, into the yard and into the right rail for the joint.

yea ... there is nothing wrong with that ... it happens all the time.
we even talked about them in our rules class and how to do them

This is one of those tricky little things, that railroaders do. It's been done, since the first freight trains were rolling. Some places it's quite legal, to make that "drop", other places, it's in violation of a Special Instruction, or a notice, in some other form. As long as the handbrake has been tested, (and is known to be able to stop the car) it's not a certain type of loaded, placarded car, and it doesn't involve moving over a grade crossing, without a crewmember on the ground, protecting the movement (doesnt matter anymore, if there are gates, or not, FRA says "man on the crossing") It's quite acceptable. If it's in contrast to the things mentioned above, or forbidden by your railroads rules, it could be a terminable offence. This "drop" I referred to, is not the same, as a "flying switch", or a "Drop", that uses the loco to start the car, in the direction of the loco. Kicking the car, to get it rolling, acceptable, if allowed by your rulebook, Special Instruction, or Other instruction. If you don't know the absolute rules of that railroad, then you don't know..........
No, it doesn't save fuel, or pollution. The loco is still right there, still spewing out it's filth.............

i see this happen all the time with the local that works near my house, but they only handle box cars, shoving cars saves a lot of time

You would probably enjoy working over in the yard at Rock Springs there GA, if you like taking part in stuff like that, theres a wye at the bottom of the hill with a couple industries up above, lots of crazy moves, rolling the releases out, run around some of the cars to spot, cars on both ends of the goats as you head up the hill to spot and finish pulling, once ya get ready theres no more "on ahead, or bring um back" its "up the hill, or down the hill." Paved road on the hill towards the top and another that runs down below threw both legs of the wye. Gets pretty hairy sometimes, car traffic, the weight on the grade, trying to get the goats on the other end of the cars so you can head back down the branch, and alot of 8th run starts.

Arborwayfan wrote:This afternoon a local I was watching with my daughter pulled out of an industrial spur (actually a former interchange track, but now only a way to get to a couple of factories) and stopped on the main. The conductor or brakeman aligned the switch for main and walked uphill along the track away from the back of the train. I lost sight of him behind some trees. A little later he came back down the line, this time riding the downhill end of a single covered hopper car, rolling down the hill, and coupled onto the back of the train. I assume he walked up and released the handbrake.
Is rolling cars with no locomotive common? Is it generally legal (In case it's not, I haven't given the RR or the place)? Why would the crew have done that rather than back the train up to the car?

Is riding the leading end of a car permitted? Whit if the brakeman falls off?

steemtrayn wrote: Is riding the leading end of a car permitted? Whit if the brakeman falls off?

On the RR I work for, riding the ends of the car is not permitted except to operate the hand brake.

Is riding the car legal? See my post above, that clearly answers that question........

I used to watch Hercules Cement from the truck yard. There would e strings of empty cement hopper cars spotted by one end of the plant. Guy used to walk up w/ a crowbar and make them roll, one at a time into the loading silo and after loading roll on to join the loaded cars at the other end of the plant. one man walking w/ one crowbar.

You can't ride a car to a joint, as far as UP goes, that much I am sure of, the rule for riding an engine to a joint is concerned, that rule seems a little less clear.

Riding a car to a stop, like setting a buffer is legal, though in my short experiance, you'll see a lot more illegal stuff out on the industry jobs than you will in the Yard.