by Backshophoss
A classroom instructor/examiner could be a good place to settle into,if allowed.
The Land of Enchantment is not Flyover country!
Railroad Forums
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EM2000 wrote:There is no such thing as being "demoted" from Train Dispatcher to Locomotive Engineer. Two entirely different crafts completely. Train Dispatchers rise up through the ranks from Block Operators. In Metro-Norths case all "RTC's" are Dispatchers. Justalurker, if you are not in the RR industry just stay out of it.Simply stated ... that is exactly what happened to the former dispatcher, now former engineer in question. The railroad he harmed by putting opposing trains on the same track at the same time gave him a second chance and a few years later he blew a signal and caused a fatal accident. Facts courtesy of the NTSB.
justalurker66 wrote:First off what railroad are we even talking about? How about providing a link? Second of all do you even know the details of the accident? I know you probably don't understand the technical specifics, but if the story you tell is true, it would have happened in unsignaled "dark" territory. The dispatcher does not give commands to trains with the crew blindly following. There are rules in place and paperwork issued so that the crews are on the same page and act on their own discretion and rule application in the field. This is not a game where a Dispatcher plays chess. In the end the crew would be to blame as well. The Engineer is the last line of defense especially in dark territory. And again, no RR I know of has a craft structure where Train Dispatchers are "demoted" to Locomotive Engineer. In order to even be "demoted" one would have to have an Engineers license.EM2000 wrote:There is no such thing as being "demoted" from Train Dispatcher to Locomotive Engineer. Two entirely different crafts completely. Train Dispatchers rise up through the ranks from Block Operators. In Metro-Norths case all "RTC's" are Dispatchers. Justalurker, if you are not in the RR industry just stay out of it.Simply stated ... that is exactly what happened to the former dispatcher, now former engineer in question. The railroad he harmed by putting opposing trains on the same track at the same time gave him a second chance and a few years later he blew a signal and caused a fatal accident. Facts courtesy of the NTSB.
EM2000 wrote: In order to even be "demoted" one would have to have an Engineers license.Could you please give more info about what you mean when you say "engineers license"?
Effective January 1, 1992, the Federal Railroad Administration issued extensive certification and licensing requirements for locomotive engineers. Engineers in the U.S. must be certified pursuant to the provisions of Part 240 of Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations (49CFR Part 240). Under 49CFR Part 240 each railroad must have in place an FRA approved certification program. An individual railroad's certification program must meet minimum federal safety requirements for the eligibility, training, testing, certification and monitoring of its locomotive engineers. In this regard, certification eligibility is based on:It's from the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers website That seems like a pretty decent source!
- * Prior safety conduct as a railroad employee and motor vehicle operator
* Compliance with substance abuse disorder and alcohol/drug regulations
* Vision and hearing acuity standards
* Knowledge testing of operating rules and scheduled retesting
* Performance skills testing/train handling
Patrick Boylan wrote:Thank you ladies and Germans. As I said, this is the first I heard it called a license, or even that it was an item the engineer had to carry with them.And fully effective about a year or so ago, the FRA extended a similar requirement to conductors. I have the railroad-issued conductor's document which I must carry when on-duty in that craft for our all-volunteer operated passenger trains on the BR&W.