So what is the point of having these back office management types ride trains EVERY day?
And still have to accomplish all their original duties?
It does not bother me they're on there because so far every one of them has sh– talked PSR the whole trip and I've gotten some damn good insight into the shenanigans.
They're certainly getting a crash course into why velocity is in the c-apper...and it's not train crews.
At CN, where the infamous Hunter Harrison (an ex carman, by the way), implemented PSR for the first, there has been a long standing "railroader" program where managers are encouraged to qualify as carmen and engineers. The point of it is to replace unionized workers in a strike. Just google it, "CN Harrison manager train riding". HH even has a quote where he jokes that the unionized employees eyeballs will pop out of their skulls when they see a train driven by a manager barreling down at them.
He repeated that formula at CP and you can google that too. Unfortunately, CP started "drafting" managers for train handling duties after a while and it started getting out of hand.
In fact, CN did use managers to drive trains during strikes when HH was in control.
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Side note: CP and CN are both very linear railroads. CP is essentially straight east-west while CN is a big T across Canada and down to New Orleans. Running those railroads like a conveyor belt, i.e. on a schedule no matter what is a lot easier than running CSX, UP, or NS on the PSR model. UP has some east west dedicated lines, but it's a lot more of a hub and spoke model. It's the U.S. too, unlike Canada, where all the economy and people are concentrated in one east-west band close to the border due to weather, we're all spread out. Point being, PSR is not something that's really meant for a UP style network.
The Awr folks cut off are mad because mgrs are riding in their place and they can’t make any $$$ . Not fulfilling guarantee work obligation
No charity compensation because mgrs ride in their place
Velocity up?
Hehe. Well...seeing as i saw a monster I train get 4 bearing hits over 60 miles and the corridor kept hiballin it till it got to the crew change...where it got eye balled and hi balled...and then hit again and finally set out....yea...when you hi ball safety velocity goes up till ya hit the ditch...and oddly enough they're not riding the trains with scheduled work..
Managers like riding trains. Then they go have their prime rib dinner. Then find a special friend to keep company all while the workers back home cover for them.
Everything I did as a manager for UP was done because someone told me to do it. I had next to no agency in the organization, and neither did any other field manager.
These managers are riding trains for a simple reason: they were told to ride them. They have no control over the situation, and they hate PSR as much if not more than you do.
My guess is that upper management told them to ride the trains for some BS administrative reason. The likely real reason has already been discussed - they will be used to cover any vacancies caused by agreement layoffs. It's a good job for an OMT, because the company can say that it's "training" and wiggle out of any liabilities when some kid fresh out of school gets broken while doing something that had nothing to do with their job description.
Rule of thumb: if it isn't in your job description, don't do it.
They are looking for delays, trains delays so they can input the data into a database, so they can increase the flow. They were told to start pulling people out of service for DELAYING A TRAIN....
Watch em
I love when the mto’s used to come in the yard for a switch test, told us they were about to do a switch test, and then proceeded to ask us which was was the trailing/facing side of switch so she Oops I mean they could do the test. I’m sure all the other managers riding the trains are just a barrel of knowledge.
Carmen are the hardest working MoFos on the railroad! Know more than any conductor/engineer, machinist any day. PUSH THE BUTTON!!!!
We could get the carman to operate the trains fix the trains and make the railroad great again.
They are in the process of training and putting Carmen through class on how to hostle power on the Great Plains service unit. Crazy/Sketchy stuff is starting to go down fellas. 2020 is going to be rough!
Learning the territory in case of a major dispute with upcoming negotiations, employees being cut, and all the PSR BS. MOP and MRO will be engineers and MYO and MTO will work conductor jobs.
Weird how velocity is up. And mainline disruption are down now that their riding these trains.
I hear the same complaints about PSR, unfortunately notone of these managers has the sack to speak up to any real decision makers in this company telling them what the real issues are on the mainline.