by morantscurve
What do different Class 1 railroad rule books have to say about reaching over a drawbar/coupler assembly to close an angle cock? Are there any best practices out there?
Here’s the problem: in many situations, it is neither safe nor practical to be on the engineer’s side of the train (from where angle cocks must be closed on the last car before the break when leaving a portion of the train behind). For example, when the engineer’s side is directly adjacent to an active main track. Autoracks present a special problem because they do not permit crossing over mid-train.
I understand why some railroads prohibit reaching across; they’re rightly concerned about someone getting an arm or hand injured should the draft gear, drawbar or couplers shift while reaching across.
Maybe there is a solution that is both safe and rules compliant. I look forward to the dialog on this.
Here’s the problem: in many situations, it is neither safe nor practical to be on the engineer’s side of the train (from where angle cocks must be closed on the last car before the break when leaving a portion of the train behind). For example, when the engineer’s side is directly adjacent to an active main track. Autoracks present a special problem because they do not permit crossing over mid-train.
I understand why some railroads prohibit reaching across; they’re rightly concerned about someone getting an arm or hand injured should the draft gear, drawbar or couplers shift while reaching across.
Maybe there is a solution that is both safe and rules compliant. I look forward to the dialog on this.