theconductor Wrote:
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> One benefit (for the company) of having a
> centralized crew base is that they can pull people
> away form their normal assignments to cover other
> assignments. For example, if they are out of
> rested engineers to go to Dunsmuir, then they can
> pull a guy from the Sparks pool to cover it.

That's provided the engineer is currently qualified to operate on the off-assignment territory, which isn't always the case.

> That is not an option with outside crew bases. It is
> not uncommon to tie a train down in Dunsmuir or
> Bakersfield because there aren't any crews
> available.

All the more reason to have double-ended pools like SP did.

> With a major yard like Roseville, you don't want
> trains laying around waiting for away from home
> terminal crews to be rested. It creates a downhill
> spiral very quickly.

Trains held for rested crews at Roseville is merely an example of UP's poor crew management and utilization and operating policies. A major originating terminal like Roseville should never run out of rested and/or qualified crews.

UP's handling of the empty Unit Oil Train from East Oakland to Roseville is a classic example of poor policy decisions. The train often requires two crews to complete the 105 mile trip. The train that was supposed to depart East Oakland Sunday night took over 14 hours to get out of town, and needed to be re-crewed before it even left East Oakland.