SP5103 Wrote:
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> >When you put your time and/or money into keeping
> these old trains running, THEN you are entitled to
> your opinions.
>
> I have! I lived in the Reno area years ago, and
> would often be up at Portola mid-week getting
> roped into whatever project Hap, Norm, Jim, Hank
> et al had going on at the time. Having outside
> railroad experience, it wasn't unusual for me to
> be running an engine while the local rails worked
> the ground since they knew where they wanted to
> respot the equipment. Ever had the 707 hanging
> onto so many cars you were looking across the loop
> for hand signals? I didn't just run the 707 and
> the other engines, I spent a fair share of time
> fixing them. The only F unit I ever ran was the B
> at Portola to get it in and out of the shop while
> doing some work on it.
>
> Weekends were another story. The whole attitude
> changed at Portola when you had the "weekend
> warriors" without any real railroad experience. I
> quit volunteering at Portola and other museums
> because I got treated like $hit by most of the
> play-boys. I am not "qualified" to run because I
> don't have "seniority", but I have been PAID to do
> almost every craft on the railroad. Take your pick
> - steam, diesel, tourist, shortline, Class 1,
> industrial as conductor, engineer, trackman,
> signal maintainer, mechanic or manager. I have
> probably already forgotten more about the railroad
> industry than most of the non-rail weekend
> warriors will ever know. But I was more than
> welcome to fix the toys they had broken, I just
> wasn't qualifed to run them!
>
> So - What happened? Why did it happen? Has the
> appropriate action (including discipline as
> required) to prevent it from happening again? Has
> the entire RAL program been reviewed as a result,
> especially considering the huge potential for
> serious injury or worse? Since the alleged damage
> was on the nose, this suggests that visibility was
> not a big issue and the same incident may have
> occured with a Geep or switcher - both of which
> are just as hard to repair or replace as an F
> unit.
>
> Don't cry poor. The RAL program has made many,
> many dollars over the years for FRRS. A portion of
> every dollar should have been set aside to pay for
> overhauls for the hours run, and repairs resulting
> from inexperienced people running the engines. The
> primary purpose of a historical museum is NOT to
> provide equipment for volunteers or those with a
> few bucks to play with.
>
> And - many of those posting here have PROFESSIONAL
> railroad experience. And don't @#$%& too much
> about railfans, they are your potential future
> member/volunteers and RAL customers. These are not
> toy trains - these are the real thing and if lose
> respect for that fact that can maim or kill you,
> regardless if you are a guest, a volunteer or paid
> employee.
>
> My 2 cents ...

As as shortline operator who occasionally allows a competent person to become a "student" engineer and learn to operate a locomotive under STRICTLY ENFORCED GUIDELINES I am concerned that the RAL program is going to get noticed by the FRA and some sort of Emergency Order put in place to stop the practice entirely.

There's a VERY fine line these days between what is a museum operation and a "REAL" railroad. I am somewhat familiar with the Portola operation and believe there are some serious deficiencies in their program. I, for one, would NEVER allow a RAL operation in conjunction with another train operating or even equipment stored on the same track. The RAL operation would be between two derails thus affecting FRA "Inaccessible Track" as dictated by the appropriate CFR Rules. To do other than that would be financial suicide in the event of a serious accident, which, fortunately, this was apparently not.

Yes, the "weekend warriors" know it all EXCEPT, for the most part, a working understanding of the overall operation of a railroad. The nauseating 3/4 views of endless pig trains and whether it is a GE or EMD seen on website posts is about as close as many of them come to reality.

Another 2 cents worth!!! We've ALMOST got a nickel to try out the RAL program!

Dick Samuels
www.oregonpacificrr,com