OPRRMS Wrote:
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>
> So let me see if I understand your comment, Chris.
> You posted it to accuse Zaroff and I of doing the
> same thing you're now doing. That's precious.

Not being "precious" go back and read both of your dismissive/condescending comments to Margaret. And while you are at it, read my two responses as well here's one. Apparently Anticipate isn't in your vocab. Why you insist on waiting for the ground crew to signal your every move precisely when kicking cars and it's obvious you have to perform certain moves to under take a series of kicks. You do realise he will emerge and give you stop eh. Zark's description of how to you kick cars was straight word from the instructor. :) Now when the radio was used yes you'd be correct, but on hand signals nah, the head went outside and you watched both the signal and the remaining distance. Ever seen a chain of passers relaying handsignals? What do you then since there is the Human delay in changing being passed down the chain, you watch the furthest man you see.

So tell me what you do when the guy on the ground messes up and you can see it happening in advance?? I could relate several examples where the Shunter did a miscalculate. One pulled the pointlever over at the wrong track, put the loco doing a slip into a fully occupied road with no clearance at dropping speed and still waving the loco away. I guess you'd keep going full stitch into that occupied road eh.
And once those pesky Enginedrivers got shoved off the Shunt here, how many of those new fangled Remote operating groundsmen got killed or maimed in the first few years (I recall at least 5 here) all because they had no idea on how to run the loco and be ahead of the 8 Ball once it started rolling.
>
> Anyway, Zarkoff has already replied to you. He
> and I had 40+ year careers in the American
> railroad industry, doing exactly what's shown in
> the video, at the same exact location, with the
> same exact locomotives, with the same exact
> switchmen. Sorry to disappoint you, but we really
> do know what we're talking about. I've never been
> to New Zealand and know nothing about their
> railroads and operating practices, so I'm not
> qualified (or vain enough) to post about how you
> do things in your country, thus I find it rather
> odd that you feel you're qualified to post about
> how we do things here.
>

Railways around the world pretty much work the same, regardless of terminology.
Hmmm, how does reading books and magazines for very close to 50 years, visiting the US for ten trips(395 days on the ground, since 1982), making acquaintances, contacts and some friends there as well, as far up as Anchorage and Skagway.
Then there are the several Drivers that went up to work on the Wisconsin Central after they took over the NZR, a couple of those I caught up with on their holidays back here every now and then.

I always took the opportunity to introduce myself, strike up a conversation. Those would include management as well as loco crews etc, had a long contact with an Espee/UP enginedriver who retired as an El Paso road foreman, he was the one who related to me on running the DPU's on Beaumont. Another feller was on the Espee, named Hardisty, worked out of Sparks Yard, could have been the master or op's controller there back in the early 90's. I even had one visiting UP exec in my cab, on the mechanical side in Omaha. I could name on and on to you, but it would be a waste of typing. :)
You should ask me about the US Narrow Gauges that were operated sometime?, that's my real passion.

Cheers Pal.

Chris
in New Zealand.