Late January Storm 2015 Shutdown...

I do have one counter argument however, you can not as railroad write up your personal, for everything they do unsafe, some stuff real nitpicking,
but then expect them to jeopardize the safety of the Employee and their families, just because you feel they should come to work.

LongIslandTool wrote:The Long Island Rail Road has served the public through the annual blizzards and storms. In all but the most extreme situations -- usually those involving extreme icing and power outages -- millions of passengers reliably got to their destinations without event. Certainly the railroad saved countless lives protecting its riders from driving slippery and icy roads and transporting rescue and medical workers to their tours in the City.

As Americans become softer and lazier and elect leaders who promise safety and comfort without hard work and risk, those who chose to forge ahead, battle the elements and persevere in adverse conditions will be demonized by a lazy and envious majority.

Regardless of the cost to the taxpayer, the loss of a vital conveyance to emergency workers and the inconvenience to the millions who depend on reliable transportation, the politically safe way will be to quit, to run and hide, to not make the effort. Why bother? The self sufficient, the strong, the independent vital contributors have left New York to the dependent and weak followers.

What a pity so many New Yorkers are buying into this agenda.

Go cower at home and don't come out until your Newsday reporter says it's safe.

I'm not sure I agree with this position but that is because you don't go far enough.. I think the politicians are acting on behalf of their (as you mentioned) weak constituents. The strong people you mentioned have been replaced by strong lawyers. Years ago, if you boarded a train, plane or automobile in the inclement weather and something went wrong, you kind of shrugged it off with the attitude "well, that's what I get for going out in a storm." Indeed, I have been on trains that were out there for hours and hours, stuck in the elements and when the passengers arrived hungry, late and tired, they'd give you a thank you.

Now, they hit you with a subpoena for false imprisonment and demand money for damages.

This isn't limited to the actually being a passenger on a train. Hell, the road can be slippery and you can slide into the side of a train at grade crossing and the railroad is mentioned in the lawsuit.

If you need an ambulance during a blizzard and it fails to arrive in a timely fashion, you're able to sue for millions.

I can't say I blame the politicians. Stay off the roads and stay in your house. This way, you can sue the power companies when you're without wifi for 45 minutes instead of suing the state.

DutchRailnut wrote:I do have one counter argument however, you can not as railroad write up your personal, for everything they do unsafe, some stuff real nitpicking,
but then expect them to jeopardize the safety of the Employee and their families, just because you feel they should come to work.

I definitely agree with this statement. It always amazed me that the people that feel you should come to work always stated that fact from the safety of their living room via a conference call.

If this storm is as bad as they expect then shutting down should make getting back after the storm more efficient.
2 to 3 feet of snow would most likely cause havoc and leave people stranded. This way the crews can concentrate on clearing snow and not rescuing stranded trains and people.

Everyone:

I have noted today that this storm is being referred to as the Blizzard of 2015 and this topic should be retitled to reflect this...

The timing of this storm is going to be key noting that the brunt of this storm should occur overnight into Tuesday 1/27 and it may help to get the LIRR back and running perhaps Wednesday depending on how hard Long Island is hit by this storm...

Be safe everybody and hope for the best...

MACTRAXX

Driving trains in the snow is so TOTALLY unsafe! What if a train hits a snow diff and DERAILS???? The scientists and experts no when global warming makes it unsafe to be outside. only a idiot would questing rules that keep us safe!!!

I am going to say this. I grew up on Long Island, and people on Long Island, our snow stupid and cold dumb. i have Railroaded in MN and Chicago for 16 years. MN for a total of 11 years. It snows and gets brutal cold. I have switched cars at a windchill of -55. I have pulled up a pair of locomotives to tie on to a drag of grain cars in a middle of a snow storm, that the rear unit pushed snow so high , that when i tied on, the snow was up to the front platform of a GP38-2. Took an hour to dig out just to couple the air hose to the first car. As long as you our smart and educated in snow and cold, life does go on. Long Islanders are just plain stupid in the cold and snow. Diesels and Freight Railroaders can and will run and work in -60 windchills, and snow pilled to the roof of our cars. And if we can do it, the rest of the world can do it. If the LIRR and MNNR and NJT called in some Furloughed freight guys from Minnesota tonight, give us a diesel, switch brooms, and a shovel. Service would run , no matter how bad it got. Been doing it for 16 years in the snow belt. Just funny to see the state of panic back home when this is daily life in Minnesota.

its not the trains that are problem but the load of rectal orifices, if train gets them home to their station they will sue LIRR cause they were dumped at station with no way home.
they all try to get on last train and if train breaks down they sue RR cause their stuck in blizzard with no heat, sorry Chicago rail but that load of potatoes or corn or whatever does not bitch and sue.

In 1977 we had a blizzard.. RR shut down electric service on most branches.
so they made up a group pf Push Pull Diesel trains, to run up and down the branches to clear the snow and pick up stranded passenge. pics are of a train I worked, we shuttled back and forth from woodside to port wash. We stopped at douglaston and I took a couple of pics while we got coffee.
The last pic was the next day, when I finally got relieved at Little Neck, where my car was. I have posted these before.

speaking of MN, it was a downright tropical 45 degrees here today in the twin cities, hope all the LI people enjoy getting fistfucked by old man winter this week, i'll take the january thaw we are having.

Actually, from a a railroad perspective, its ripping power from the overhead and the 3rd rail that screw the railroad. Diesels are self sufficient. Add the modern pussification of society and blame someone else for a persons own stupidity and you get a major screwing. Metra (non electric territory) , for the amount of snow Chicago gets and Minneapolis Metro Transit (Heavy Rail Rail) runs pretty good in a blizz. Its ripping your power from pure energy that causes issues in the snow. And lack of experience that Horse Power per ton needs to be doubled in snow. But I understand Dutch, people our stupid and want to blame everyone. But the LIRR, MNNR, NJT can run with burners on the head end if need be no matter how bad the snow. As a train and engine guy, i would still have to answer the phone. I just tell the caller, if the Trainmaster can come get me, i will plow some snow. But if he can't .....well then I cant.

Thats notthing Dr. Brown. This is how we role on the CP the next day from a Blizzard....lol

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q ... 8403921266

Everyone:

These comments remind me of what happened to the LIRR during the Blizzard of 1994...
I believe that was the event that brought down the LIRR Presidency of Charles Hoppe...

The MTA Inspector General issued a report about how the LIRR fared during that storm which was a interesting read...
It may be available someplace...

MACTRAXX

LongIslandTool wrote:The Long Island Rail Road has served the public through the annual blizzards and storms. In all but the most extreme situations -- usually those involving extreme icing and power outages -- millions of passengers reliably got to their destinations without event. Certainly the railroad saved countless lives protecting its riders from driving slippery and icy roads and transporting rescue and medical workers to their tours in the City.

As Americans become softer and lazier and elect leaders who promise safety and comfort without hard work and risk, those who chose to forge ahead, battle the elements and persevere in adverse conditions will be demonized by a lazy and envious majority.

Regardless of the cost to the taxpayer, the loss of a vital conveyance to emergency workers and the inconvenience to the millions who depend on reliable transportation, the politically safe way will be to quit, to run and hide, to not make the effort. Why bother? The self sufficient, the strong, the independent vital contributors have left New York to the dependent and weak followers.

What a pity so many New Yorkers are buying into this agenda.

Go cower at home and don't come out until your Newsday reporter says it's safe.

While I generally don't subscribe to the 'kindergarten society' that's developed in recent years with elected officials sealing off roadways, transportation systems, and in this case, nearly the entire downstate area, when weather conditions are foretasted to be as treacherous as they are for this particular storm, there's zero reason for anyone to be out traveling anywhere.

I have always found, however, that the reason people offer up for keeping everything open is so that "the cops and firefighters [and railroad employees, etc.] can get to work" is a bit ridiculous. If weather conditions are going to be unsafe enough for the average person to not be allowed to venture out, they are not going to be any different for the cops, the firefighters, or the railroad employees. Last time I checked, people who work in those occupations do not have any special superpowers that make them immune to bad weather. They may be "stronger" than us "soft and lazy" inside workers, but if they think they're strong enough to go and venture out in the middle of a hurricane or a blizzard, then they're not much smarter than the people Mr. Tool mocks in his post. I understand the roles these people play are essential, but they ought to be where they need to be for the duration of the storm before it begins, and not traveling out during the height of it...

At any rate, those reminiscing of the days when the railroad would run during the snow might find the following New York Times article dated December 27, 1947 interesting:

New York City's transportation systems suffered a creeping paralysis that became more and more acute yesterday as the snowfall piled higher and higher.

Air traffic was completely blanked out by the snow. Railroads ran more and more behind time as the hours passed and the Long Island Rail Road finally announced over the loudspeaker system in the Pennsylvania Station at 6:09 P.M. that service was suspended indefinitely....

While the Long Island station was packed with commuters, the loud speakers blared the announcement of indefinite suspension of service. The Long Island had made extensive preparations to defeat the storm with gas and electric heaters for switches, rotary and nose plows and "flanger" cars to clear the third rails but the storm became too severe even for this equipment.

That storm, the "North American blizzard of 1947" dumped 26.4 inches of snow on Central Park. This storm is currently foretasted to bring at least that, if not several inches more, to Long Island over the course of tomorrow.

In my Post I DID say the Railroad shut down electric service in 77. As they probably will do tonight. Then they will run diesel equipment up and down the branches to clear the snow, just like they did in 77. Only now, they have DM engines they can put Ice scraping third rail shoes on to further clear things.