New Metro-North Railroad President to Lead From The Front

Literally. Kudos to this guy:
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/new ... -1.1703197" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Brief, fair use quote:

The new president of Metro-North Railroad said Wednesday he’ll lead the trouble-prone agency from the front of the train.
Joseph Giulietti says he plans to get recertified as a locomotive engineer — a job he held earlier in his career — so he can operate trains on the Harlem, Hudson and New Haven lines.
“There’s no better way to truly understand the system than to get out there and operate it,” he told the Daily News during an interview at MTA headquarters in Manhattan.

removed, wrong forum.

I applaud what the new MN president is doing. It's about time they had a president who not only rides revenue trains, but actually operates them so he can get a first hand view of what the train crews have to deal with. I just pray that nothing bad happens while he's operating a train. I can just see the headlines!!

I think personally that this is just a PR gimmick. I hope that I'm wrong.

RearOfSignal wrote:I think personally that this is just a PR gimmick. I hope that I'm wrong.

Haha, I guess we'll find out in a few months.

RearOfSignal wrote:I think personally that this is just a PR gimmick. I hope that I'm wrong.

Even if it's a PR gimmick and he doesn't operate trains, I think he'll stick to his word and get certified, which brings with it a wealth of knowledge about the way the RR runs.

How many airline executives hold a valid U.S. pilot license? That should be interesting.

I agree with Rear of Signal to a certain degree. The president has already been in the trenches and built a successful career out of that knowledge. Probably a lot more pressing matters effecting Metro North verse the top guy getting a CFR license certification. Not trying to take anything away from his goals, but there is only certain things you can do from the head end of a train with 6000 people awaiting your directives each day!

Part of the equasion will be where Mr. Giulietti decides to reside. In my time in that terrritory, all of the senior management lived outside of Manhattan and commuted on the Hudson, Harlem, or New Haven lines.

Some of you may recall Joe Spreng who was General Supt., lived near Stamford, and often ran his trains to and from GCT.

shlustig wrote:Part of the equasion will be where Mr. Giulietti decides to reside.

Looks like he'll be living in the city for the first year:
http://www.lohud.com/story/news/traffic ... r/5853021/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Since he's originally from New Haven and a former NHL engineer I wouldn't be surprised if he were to relocate to the Gold Coast.

shlustig wrote:Part of the equasion will be where Mr. Giulietti decides to reside. In my time in that terrritory, all of the senior management lived outside of Manhattan and commuted on the Hudson, Harlem, or New Haven lines.

Some of you may recall Joe Spreng who was General Supt., lived near Stamford, and often ran his trains to and from GCT.

I remember this well, I was the regular engineer on that particular train for a while. He did a good job with the train too.
Noel Weaver

[[ I agree with Rear of Signal to a certain degree. The president has already been in the trenches and built a successful career out of that knowledge. Probably a lot more pressing matters effecting Metro North verse the top guy getting a CFR license certification. Not trying to take anything away from his goals, but there is only certain things you can do from the head end of a train with 6000 people awaiting your directives each day! ]]

Back some years ago (may have been the last days of Conrail just before Metro-North, the general manager of the Metro region was Joe Spreng, Sr. He'd come up through the ranks as an engineman, had been a pilot in World War II, I believe. He had as distinguished a railroad career as anyone who had worked his way up could ever have. (Aside: at a time when morale on the Mets was at a low, Joe Spreng gathered all the management folks together, and made them stand up and say, "We care!")

Well, after sitting in the GM's office all day, Mr. Spreng liked to come up on the engine for the ride home (they were old FL-9's and coaches in that day). And he didn't just want to sit in the fireman's seat -- he wanted to run, too.

And I heard that when he was "in the seat", he didn't particulary care about the timetable speed limits, either!

An engineman's engineman...

I can't say if Mr. Giulietti will be the same. But during the time that I knew him, he was a straight-spoken stand-up kind of guy.

He knows 'way more about what's required to run the railroad than two dozen "political appointees" the MTA might have chosen.

I hope the "new Joe" walks in the "ol' Joe's" footsteps...

Fishrrman wrote:[[ I agree with Rear of Signal to a certain degree. The president has already been in the trenches and built a successful career out of that knowledge. Probably a lot more pressing matters effecting Metro North verse the top guy getting a CFR license certification. Not trying to take anything away from his goals, but there is only certain things you can do from the head end of a train with 6000 people awaiting your directives each day! ]]

Back some years ago (may have been the last days of Conrail just before Metro-North, the general manager of the Metro region was Joe Spreng, Sr. He'd come up through the ranks as an engineman, had been a pilot in World War II, I believe. He had as distinguished a railroad career as anyone who had worked his way up could ever have. (Aside: at a time when morale on the Mets was at a low, Joe Spreng gathered all the management folks together, and made them stand up and say, "We care!")

Well, after sitting in the GM's office all day, Mr. Spreng liked to come up on the engine for the ride home (they were old FL-9's and coaches in that day). And he didn't just want to sit in the fireman's seat -- he wanted to run, too.

And I heard that when he was "in the seat", he didn't particulary care about the timetable speed limits, either!

An engineman's engineman...

I can't say if Mr. Giulietti will be the same. But during the time that I knew him, he was a straight-spoken stand-up kind of guy.

He knows 'way more about what's required to run the railroad than two dozen "political appointees" the MTA might have chosen.

I hope the "new Joe" walks in the "ol' Joe's" footsteps...

Mr. Spreng rode my train almost every weekday inbound to New York from Stamford and I let him run the train every day. I liked the break and he knew what he was doing. I never found him to exceed speeds at any single location along the way.
Noel Weaver

Regarding any fast trips with Joe Spreng or any other senior management on the head end, it was more likely due to the fact that the dispatcher knew that he was there and may have arranged a better move.

I can recall riding one train several consecutive days to determine the reason for daily delay. On the 4th day, I told the chief dispatcher I would be on the head end GCT to NH. Lo and behold, different track MO to JO, no xvr at Shell. Approaching the first stop, I asked the Big E what his braking point was. His respone: "I'm not sure; never came in on clear signals before!"

The above post reveals a concern of mine - usually when the management is on the train, word spreads quickly and everybody makes sure the boss's train is well-handled. Wouldn't it be better to buy a cash fare one-way and be a bit more below-the-radar?