recent efforts

Recent efforts have included a meeting with Ed Adelman. He
shared numbers and statistical data which proves the extra work
put on the hump crews and Crest yardmaster is paying off. Train
traffic is up. With one crew shoving the hump, the second crew
can double over and be ready to shove with a maximum number of
cars thereby maximizing potential of our resources.

Meeting with Reggie in the Crest tower, he says he does not mind
the extra work of deciding which tracks to double, accounting for
tonnage, and which cars can potentially leave the yard sooner.
Car loadings are computer generated and some cars and/or trains
are "hotter" than others. Decisions have to be made and quickly.
Our yardmasters watch five computer screens at a time as well as
lists of train cars inbound and outbound. Let's face it guys,
sometimes you just aren't hot. Jack just quoted one dispatcher
who said, "somedays you're the chicken and somedays you're the
feathers".

Jack and I are inspired the union is onboard to utilize the data
we can acquire about your trains. Glen Johnson says keep it
simple. He wants to see train ID, date, on duty time (ODT),
departure (DPT), if work is performed and how much time it takes,
then terminal arrival time (TAT), and final tie up time. He says
with this data he can address big issues with management thereby
seeking solutions to give us a better quality of life.

Steffen Storbeck is excited with our project. He is hoping to
inspire railroaders morale and greater ownership of pride toward
their jobs. If we can all be the big guy and take
the first step forward, not being afraid, others will follow. He
does not like having to ridicule those who are lax and not doing
the simple tasks at hand with full responsibility. Haha. We agree
spit bottles should politely be deposited in trash cans instead
of left on engines and in vans.

Speaking of cleanliness, the service track reports a lot of us
are just plain nasty. True, but I pointed out a chair in the
living room where one sits daily to watch tv is dirtier in the
general area and has to be cleaned more than an unused area.
We are on these engines 24/7 so go figure. A little housekeeping
is respectful on the trainman's part, but if a persons job is to
clean engines and drain toilets, well then, do it or get a different
job. Excuses are childish.

So, all in all, progress is being made. Participate and see results.