Banner Testing

Question:  How often do they perform a banner test and what do they check for when they do one?  How do they knock a signal down to do one? Is it remote or do they put an electrical charge onto the track to knock it down? Who performs it? A train master or yard master?

 

Answer:  A “banner test” is conducted to test a train crew’s compliance with Restricted Speed.  Restricted Speed is a speed that will permit stopping within one-half the range of vision.  It will also permit stopping short of a train, a car, an obstruction, a stop signal, a derail or an improperly lined switch.  It must permit looking out for broken rail.  It will not exceed 15 MPH.  To conduct this test, a trainmaster will place an obstruction (sometimes called a “banner”) on the track ahead of a train that is required to proceed at restricted speed on a main track.  The obstruction is large enough (with reflective tape for night tests) for a train crew to see in plenty of time to stop their train.  Similar tests are conducted in yards, where locomotive movement may not exceed 10 MPH.

 

A crew that fails a banner test (by allowing their train to come into contact with the banner) is immediately suspended from further train duty.  There will be due process and, depending upon many factors (such as a crew member’s safety record), appropriate discipline will be imposed.  It can (and probably should) be a career-ender for a repeat offender.  Both crew members are held equally responsible.      

 

Usually, a trainmaster is the one who conducts the test, but he or she may be joined by a road foreman of engines (who supervises engineers), or perhaps a more senior operations manager like a terminal superintendant or someone from division headquarters.  This is usually a two-person operation.  The test must also be carefully coordinated with the train dispatcher.

 

Banner tests are an important check of one of the most important operating rules.  However, they can disrupt traffic.  They require a trainmaster and others to venture away from a terminal (and their myriad other time-pressing duties).  They require coordination with the dispatcher.  Because of these factors, banner tests are probably the most elaborate safety check to accomplish and the hardest to successfully plan, schedule, and execute.  Most railroads have policies in place to ensure a minimum number of these checks is conducted in each territory each month.  Every crew member should expect to be tested at least once each year.

 

A test crew can “shunt” the track, which tells the track circuit the block is occupied, thus telling the block signal to indicate Stop or Restricted Proceed.  However, if they do this, they must coordinate this with the dispatcher.  You need to be very careful not to put an unexpected Stop or Restricted Proceed signal in front of an oncoming train operating on a Clear indication.  The train should be operating on nothing more favorable than Approach (which means medium speed—30 MPH—and prepared to stop at the next signal).  More often than not, the test crew will just collaborate with the dispatcher to line the route automatically, having the train crew progress through a block on an Approach indication then pass the next signal, which will be indicating Restricted Proceed.

 

Often, doing this will raise some suspicion among the train crew.  More often than not, a train crew will request and be granted by the dispatcher permission to hold at a Restricted Proceed signal for a more favorable indication (so they don’t have to creep along for several miles).  If the dispatcher denies the request and it’s not clear to the crew why, the train crew will be on alert for a banner test.  This isn’t so bad.  It would be just fine if every crew expected a banner test every time they are running at Restricted Speed.  They should also be expecting a train, a car, an obstruction, a stop signal, a derail, an improperly lined switch, or a broken rail   

 

Good train crews welcome the banner test, aren’t intimidated or put out by it.  They’ll run their lead locomotive right up to about ten feet before the banner, lean out the window and, with a grin, say something wise-ass to the trainmaster standing in the weeds trackside.  Usually, the test crew will board the locomotive and congratulate the crew.  The railroad is not interested in catching crews failing a banner test; they want to catch them all passing with flying colors.  

 

Great question.  Stay safe out there!  Here we go.

Passing a Red Signal

Question:  What gives a Trainmaster the decision to allow an engineer to pass a stop signal indicator at restricted speed?
  
Answer:  With one notable exception discussed at the end, the trainmaster really doesn’t figure into this situation. 

Now, let’s be clear.  If we are talking about an intermediate signal (typically the signals between control points, such as crossovers, sidings, junctions and other interlockings), the most restrictive indication is Restricted Proceed.  In this case, the train crew needs no permission to proceed at restricted speed past the signal.  (Restricted speed is a speed that will permit stopping within one-half the range of vision.  It will also permit stopping short of a train, a car, an obstruction, a stop signal, a derail or an improperly lined switch.  It must permit looking out for broken rail.  It will not exceed 15 MPH.)  In fact, if the crew does not wish to pass such a signal, they must get verbal permission from the train dispatcher to stop and hold for a more favorable indication.  This is not unusual on a mainline when one train is riding the heels of another, just two signal blocks behind (so they are seeing an Approach indication at every intermediate signal); if they catch up enough on an Approach block, their next intermediate signal will be a Restricted Proceed since the train ahead will not have cleared the next block.

If we are talking about an absolute signal (typically governing movement through control points), for which the most restrictive indication is Stop, then the crew must stop the train before the signal and contact the dispatcher.  The dispatcher may give the crew verbal permission to pass the Stop signal and proceed at restricted speed.  Usually, the reason for doing this (as opposed to holding for a more favorable signal indication) will be obvious to the train crew.  They’ll know the specific situation and it will make sense.

Typically, a trainmaster would not be involved in any of this.  However, a trainmaster may work with a dispatcher to arrange such a set up so the train crew can be tested on their compliance with Restricted Speed.  It’s pretty difficult to set this situation up in such a manner that the train crew is not at least a little suspicious and very wary that they are being tested.

The Dangers of Hopping Freight Trains

Question:  What do the workers and crew think of [people who hitch rides on freight trains]?  I’ve run into a lot who like us, a lot who are indifferent as long as we aren't messing around on their trains and a lot who really don't like us.

Answer:  While I suspect there are many people in the rail industry who admire—perhaps even envy—your free-spirited sense of adventure, the only thing that truly matters is how the railroad views the situation and how they expect their employees to respond.

All freight train equipment, infrastructure such as signals and bridges, and railroad tracks, including the property within at least 30 feet of tracks, is private railroad property.  Anyone who is not a railroad employee on that property is trespassing and subject to detention, arrest, and prosecution for criminal trespass.  If your trespassing results in financial losses to the railroad, you could also be subject to a civil claim for loss and damages.  You could pay hefty fines, do jail time, and end up with a criminal record. 

I’m not naïve enough to believe the aforementioned consequences will necessarily dissuade you from your adventures.  Just make sure you understand and acknowledge the possible ramifications of your actions and make your decisions accordingly.

If you do still plan to pursue riding the rails, I offer a few additional thoughts to keep in mind.

You’re not the only one out there.  You found that open boxcar door.  So may someone else.  Sure, you may run across your share of friendly “Boxcar Willies” who will entertain you with their guitars and regale you with tales of their journeys.  But you may also cross paths with someone who wouldn’t think twice about assaulting you, robbing you, raping you, beating you, stabbing or shooting you, and throwing your dead body off the train.  Not everyone who looks scary is.  Not everyone who doesn’t isn’t.  Some of the worst people humanity has to offer are lurking along the nation’s railroads and in the nation’s railcars.  If you choose to play the game, you must accept that you may eventually draw a “game over” card from the deck.

Your body is to a train what a ripe cherry tomato is to a bulldozer.  Every year, a dozen well-trained railroaders who know what they are doing get killed by trains.  You need to be eyes wide open about the myriad ways rail equipment can maim or kill you in an instant.  The railroad is extremely unforgiving of stupidity, ignorance, inattention, or complacence. 

If you are walking on the ground near railroad tracks, never ever walk between the rails or on the cross ties.  Don’t walk between two sets of parallel tracks.  Don’t ever walk across a train bridge.  Don’t ever walk through a train tunnel.  Stay a good 10-15 feet away from the tracks.  Never wear headphones and make sure you can hear what is going on around you.  Never make assumptions about which directions trains may be travelling on tracks.  A train can come from any direction, on any track, at any time.  Trains go both ways on both tracks on twin-track mainlines.  Stay off the tracks.

Never, ever, get on or off a moving train—no matter how slowly it may be moving.  If you stumble and fall under a wheel, you’re done.  Never, ever, cross over a stationary train by going under it.  That’s just stupidly dangerous.  You should never cross over a train, period, because you don’t know when it is going to move.  If it moves when you are at a precarious point, you can fall onto the rails and die.  If you insist on crossing over (or through) a standing train, do so at a railcar that offers good hand holds and footholds.  Hopper cars are probably best, and most boxcars offer good grab irons and foot surfaces.  Never cross through between autorack cars.  If you insist on crossing through, and you’ve found a good car, maintain three points of contact at all times, moving only one arm or one leg at a time.  Never ever touch or step on the coupler or draft gear.  Don’t grab the hand brake wheel.  Again, I encourage you to never cross through a standing train.  Walk around it (leaving 25 feet of clearance between you and standing equipment on the rails).

If you are going to ride a railcar, be smart about which car you select and where it is located with respect to objective hazards.  Don’t pick a boxcar next to a tank car hauling hazardous chemicals (you should acquaint yourself with the diamond-shaped HAZMAT placards posted on railcars).  Don’t get in a railcar anywhere near lading that may shift in transit.  If you’ve ridden, you know how violently the train can jerk when the slack runs in or pulls out.

Don’t ever hang on or ride on the exterior of a railcar.  And for God’s sake, don’t ever be between cars on a moving train.

In summary, I truly hope you will reconsider the risks and rewards of riding on freight trains.  You need to expect that rail employees will not welcome your presence.  If they are doing their jobs, they will report you to railroad police or other law enforcement officers.  You are breaking the law and you may face serious legal repercussions.  You need to expect that you will eventually find yourself in very grave danger from another individual or group of individuals you encounter along the rails.   You can be beaten, raped, robbed, and murdered.  You need to understand that thousands of tons of moving steel have no conscience and no mercy.  You can die a horrible death in an instant because you took a stupid risk, took a shortcut, let your mind wander for a few seconds.

I appreciate your question.  Please stay safe out there.       

Timeline for Positive Train Control?

Question:  Positive Train Control has to be implemented by 2014?

Answer:   No.  The current mandate is for PTC to be in place by the end of 2015; however, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) recently recommended that Congress push that date back because full implementation by that date is not feasible.

For the uninitiated, Positive Train Control (PTC) is an integrated network of sensors and communications (mounted trackside and in locomotives and perhaps also rolling stock) that will all but eliminate train vs. train collisions.  If implemented properly, PTC will result in significantly improved safety as well as increased capacity (through more precise and accurate train spacing and control).

No doubt, the rail industry and the federal government are spending a lot (billions of dollars) of money to develop, test and implement PTC technology.  Developing and maturing the most effective technology, then deploying it across the nation’s rail network is going to cost tens of billions of dollars and take over a decade.  This is not an elephant the railroads can eat all at once or in a hurry. 

Several smaller scale pilot systems are currently in place and being tested.  I believe we’ll see PTC implemented in an incremental fashion between 2015 and 2025.  It may be 2030 by the time PTC is completely implemented.  Between now and then, new technology will emerge.  PTC in 2030 may be quite different than what we envision right now. 

As long as the railroads are showing a good faith effort, continuing to move forward with PTC, pushing technology and implementing it where it can be effective, Congress will likely demonstrate a lot of patience.

Thanks for asking.  Stay safe out there.  Here we go!

Train Weight vs. Tractive Effort?

Question:  Could you answer a question on how power is assigned to a train?  Example: I have seen mention of a locomotive set producing 240,000lbs of tractive effort, but that's only 120 tons, and I usually see mention of trains weighing 6,000 tons. So I don't understand how the math works here.

Answer:  A locomotive only needs to pull hard enough to overcome the rolling resistance of the train.  As long as the force applied exceeds the resistive force, the train will accelerate.  Modern roller bearing trucks on freight cars offer very little rolling resistance.  You can also think of the analogy of you pushing your car on a level street.  You don’t have to exert anywhere near the car’s 2000 lb weight to get it moving.  In fact, once you get it moving, you only need to match the rolling resistance to keep it moving at constant speed.  This is analogous to the starting and continuous tractive effort supplied by a locomotive. 

As an aside, coupler knuckles are designed to be the mechanical fuse in the train (it’s way easier and cheaper to replace a broken knuckle than a broken draw bar or ripped apart draft gear).  Most modern North American coupler knuckles are good for somewhere between 350,000 lbs and 650,000 lbs of tensile force.  This is why, on steep grades, you need to push a train from the rear instead of simply adding more pulling power to the front.      

How Does Extreme Cold Affect Rail Operations?

Question:  How do locomotives exposed to extreme cold conditions affect daily switching operations?

Answer:  Extreme cold conditions slow down rail operations, including switching, for a variety of reasons. 

Most railroads have policies in place to ensure switching locomotives stay running (or their engines stay warm with various new fuel-efficient engine warming systems).  A very cold locomotive can be very hard to start.  Any delay in starting switching operations at the start of a shift will have a negative effect on the ability to switch cars and build trains in a timely fashion.  Lose an hour or more trying to start a locomotive, or getting a replacement (if there even is one) from the ready track, and you’re in an uphill battle.  Delays cascade and pile up—you can jack a yard up so bad it will take over a week to recover in just one bad shift.

Extreme cold is miserable for switching crews, too, and slows down their productivity.  There are not too many less fun places to be than out on the switching lead, kicking cars at night with a minus ten degree wind chill blowing on you.  I used to bring my guys and gals hot chocolate on nights like this (as the junior guy, I worked nights).  A heightened awareness of safety is an absolute must in conditions like this, because the cold is a distraction.

Extreme cold affects equipment other than locomotives, too.  Ice and cold will jam cut levers, draw bars, coupler knuckles, brake wheels, switches, and drain radio and lantern batteries a lot faster.  Train air brake lines (e.g., brake valve seals and the glad hand connections between cars) don’t hold air as well in cold weather.  Rails are more slippery, so engine wheels slip and sand piles build up on the yard tracks.  Rails will break and rail joints will pull apart. 

Railroading in winter is truly an adventure.  Thanks for asking and stay safe out there.

Here we go! 

Old Engines in Passenger Service?

Question: Do you think the SD40-2F Red Barn would make a good passenger locomotive for any of the passenger railroads today?

Answer:  Since this forum is primarily aimed at answering questions or addressing issues from a trainmaster’s perspective, I’m obliged to say that, as a trainmaster, this issue wouldn't have any bearing on my responsibility to safely and efficiently execute my railroad’s operating plan.

Nonetheless, since you ask, I doubt any of the major passenger rail services would be much interested in SD40-2F locomotives.  While there is no mechanical reason these venerable old workhorses couldn’t be converted to passenger use, we must take into account the life accumulated on their frames coupled with the cost of adding all of the equipment (e.g., auxiliary generators, etc.) necessary to run passenger trains, plus the cost to install a fuel efficient diesel generator and associated equipment that will meet the increasingly rigorous emissions standards.  

Considering all of these factors, rail passenger services such as VIA, GO, Amtrak, etc., are probably going to opt for much newer, more efficient, cleaner, more reliable locomotives.  I don’t see any of these services investing in refurbishing programs (other than as stopgap measures as they recapitalize their fleets).  Perhaps a few of these beautiful old SD40-2Fs will find extended life on excursion railroads someplace.

Thanks for asking.  Stay safe!

Here we go!