A sample excerpt from
The Basic Railfan Book

An introduction to railroading and essential
reference for railroad enthusiasts

By Ernest H. Robl
© Ernest H. Robl 2001; all rights reserved

Operation Lifesaver is a joint railroad industry-law enforcement public education effort to reduce grade crossing and trespasser accidents on railroads. Staffed largely by volunteers, many of whom are railroad employees or law enforcement officers, Operation Lifesaver tries to get out its safety messages through a variety of means, including key chains, hats, and bumper stickers. Operation Lifesaver staff or volunteers will provide safety presentations to groups on request. Color transparency original; file no. 981019. [This illustration is reproduced in black and white in the book.]

14
Safety

Throughout this book, I have emphasized that railroads are a heavy industry—with all the hazards that are found in industry. Railroads, including those owned and operated by government units, are also private property.

As your observe railroad operations, be aware constantly of the need to avoid trespassing onto railroad property.

In some situations, railroads, particularly smaller shortline and regional railroads, may give you permission to observe or make photos while on railroad property. In these situations, you still need to stay well clear of tracks.

If the railroad assigns someone to accompany you during the visit to its site, be appreciative of the fact that you are taking this person away from his or her normal work and do not overstay your welcome.

Some railroads hold an annual open house at some of their facilities during which members of the general public are provided access to shop facilities.

Tours of specific railroad sites, such as shops or yards, may be available to organized groups . You may be more likely to receive approval for a tour if you emphasize that members of the group are aware of safety concerns and will show up wearing appropriate safety gear.

Safety gear

Some of my photographs are made on railroad property—with the permission of the railroads—while I am doing photography either for the railroads themselves, specific publications, or for my stock photography file. Such permission to photograph on railroad property is typically not easy to obtain and may require considerable advance planning.

Permission to be on railroad property is more likely to be granted by railroads if you demonstrate a knowledge of safety concerns on and around railroads—and, if you come with the appropriate safety gear. That gear may include all of the following:

• Boots with steel-reinforced toes meeting OSHA standards
• Safety eyeglasses meeting OSHA standards (including side shields)
• A hard hat
• Hearing protectors
• A safety vest with reflective striping
• Work gloves
• Other appropriate clothing

Shorts are not considered appropriate wear in industrial settings (which include railroads). Avoid loose clothing which may snag on various objects.

All of the above items are readily available for a minimal investment. And, these items take up little space in your travel gear. The most bulky item is the hard hat, which you can buy locally at most hardware stores for a few dollars.

Among the basic safety rules observed by most railroads are the following:

• Expect a movement on any track at any time. (Do not expect to hear an approaching train or car.) In rail yards, cars may roll freely or may not have brakes applied. In the latter case, they may be set in motion by strong winds.
• Never step on the head of a rail. It is likely to be slippery. Step over the rail instead.
• If you must walk along a railroad track, do not walk between the rails, but keep well to the side of the track.
• If you must cross a track, do so at right angles, well away from any standing cars or trains.
• Never cross tracks in the area of a remote-controlled power switch. It may be thrown at any time, possibly trapping your foot.

Again, all of the above assumes that you have permission to be on railroad property in the first place. Various railroad locations may present special hazards. If you do receive permission to visit them, always ask about special hazards to watch for.

If, however, despite your best efforts, a railroad turns down your request to visit its property, accept that decision and confine your viewing and photography to public property.

Grade crossing identification plate with emergency information at a rural crossing. Color transparency original; file no. 971630. [This illustration is reproduced in black and white in the book.]

Reporting problems to railroads

Introduction

While visiting any location near railroad tracks, you may observe a hazardous situation, vandalism with potentially dangerous consequences, or other problems that could impact safety or result in damage to railroad equipment or cargo.

These situations can include any of the following:

• Smoke coming from stuck brakes on a passing train
• Tie-down straps or other loose equipment dragging from a passing train
• A shifted or loose load
• Leaking lading from a freight car, particularly one with a hazardous materials placard
• A vehicle or other materials fouling the right of way
• Unauthorized people in a highly hazardous area, such as on a railroad bridge or in a railroad tunnel

Major railroads want you to report such situations to avoid possible emergencies and resulting damage and injuries. In fact, railroads have even set up special toll-free numbers for the public to make such reports.

However, to be effective, such reports have to be timely, concise, and as complete as possible.

This section is an attempt to assist you in making such reports and includes toll-free emergency numbers of some of the major railroads. It is impossible to provide emergency numbers for every railroad in North America. However, most railroads post emergency numbers at grade crossings. You may want to make a note of such numbers for future reference.

Keep in mind that such calls will typically be answered at a central dispatching center, either by a member of the railroad's police force or its dispatching staff. The person taking your call may not be familiar with either the site or line from which you are reporting but will need to evaluate and pass along your information to others.

Making the initial report

When calling in a report, do not try to immediately provide every bit of information. Rather, begin by identifying yourself and giving a quick summary of the problem:

Example: "Hello. My name is [your name]. I am calling from [city and state, or region of state, such as northeastern Wyoming] to report [nature of the incident: vandalism, hazardous situation, accident, crime in progress, etc.]."

Identifying yourself is extremely important in giving credibility to your report. Do not identify yourself as a railfan. That is completely irrelevant to the report you are making.

The person receiving your call will then either ask you to provide more details or hand you off to another person, such as the dispatcher or railroad police supervisor handling the particular area.

Do not use the word "emergency" unless you are reporting a situation that requires immediate action (such as stopping trains) to avoid injury, loss of life, or destruction of property.

The single most important fact you can provide about a hazardous incident is the precise location—in terms relevant to the railroad. In most cases, street or highway names are not particularly relevant to the railroad.

If at all possible, report the location in terms of railroad mileposts. If you know railroad names for a location, include those. If not sure of the location, give it in terms of distance (and direction) from a nearby city or town. Mileposts typically have alphabetical prefixes (though often not shown on the physical milepost markers) which designate the applicable line. If possible include that.

As previously noted, many grade crossings will have identification plates. If the incident you are reporting is at or near a grade crossing, be sure to get the grade crossing identification number. The plate will typically also include the milepost and prefix for that location.

Example: "I am at milepost H-54."

Example: "I am on the Orin line at the milepost 14.7 crossovers."

Example: "The broken rail is approximately ten miles west of [name of town].

Example: "A large tree has fallen onto the tracks about a mile west of the grade crossing with the following identification number …."

If the problem applies to a moving train, you need to identify

• The problem
• The train (including direction!)
• The location in the train

You can identify trains several ways.

• If you are absolutely sure, give the train's number or alphanumeric identifier. (Typically you will hear this on a scanner, as the train identifies itself in radio transmissions.)
• If you know the number of the lead engine (or any engine in the consist), give that.
• If you do not know either of the above, give the time you saw the train, the location at which you saw it, and the direction in which the train was operating. In multi-track territory, give the track on which the train was operating. For the latter, you can simply state that the train was on the [eastern, southern, etc. of the two tracks].

If you do not know any of the above information, don't be afraid to state that you don't know. Don't guess.

The location within a train is very important. If you spot a problem on a moving train, try to note the type of car. (Chances are that you will not be able to record the full reporting marks of the car, but even noting the owner will help.)

Immediately begin counting cars to the end of the train. The crew on the head end of the train will need to check the problem and need to know its location relative to the head end. But, if you can provide a count of the number of cars from the end, they can easily subtract from the known number of cars in the train.

Example: "I saw smoke coming from the front truck of a black UTLX tank car approximately 43 cars from the end of the train."

Example: "I saw tie-down chains dragging on the left side of a yellow bulkhead flat car 12 cars from the end of the train."

Example: "I saw liquid leaking from a white tank car about 20 cars from the end of the train.

(On a fast-moving intermodal train—see chapter 8—with cars consisting of multiple articulated platforms, you may not be able to determine which locations between platforms are articulated and which have couplers. In that case count platforms. Railroads usually assume that the typical person reporting a hazard is not familiar with articulated cars and will assume that a car count is actually a platform count.)

Pinpointing the location within a train can help the crew stop the train for quick access by emergency responders. For example, for a fire on a railcar (or an overheated brake or bearing that could cause a fire) the crew can try to stop the train with the affected car at or near a grade crossing, where the local fire department can reach it quickly.

If you are calling to report a stationary problem along the right of way, such as a mud slide, washed out area, broken rail, or tree fallen onto track, indicate whether you can stay in the area to point out the site to responding railroad workers. If so, provide some identifying features, such as, "I am in a red pickup truck and wearing a dark blue windbreaker. If you are calling from a cellular phone in your vehicle, be sure to give that number so that so that the responding crews can contact you from their cell phones.

If you do not have access to a cellular telephone or cannot establish a cellular connection from a remote rural area, you may have to hunt for a public telephone or a telephone at a nearby residence.

Do not count on remembering all pertinent information. Write it down! If you do not have note paper handy, but do have a pen, write on your hand.

Calling 911

If the situation you are reporting involves a crime, injuries to railroad personnel or nearby residents, or a fire or leak of hazardous materials, also call 911 or whatever the local emergency number is.

(While railroad police may have primary jurisdiction, railroad police are often spread very thin, and it may take some time for a railroad officer to reach the scene.)

However, if the incident requires the railroad to stop trains to avoid further damage or injuries, call the railroad emergency number first.

Railroad emergency telephone numbers

Listed below are toll-free emergency numbers for major North American railroads. A following section is provided for you to record emergency numbers for regional and shortline railroads in your area.

Major places of locating emergency numbers are

• Placards on grade crossings
• The railroad's official Web site, if it has one
• Operation Lifesaver (see later in this chapter) materials distributed by the railroad

Calling the following numbers is typically more efficient than trying to contact a local office of the railroad, which may or may not be staffed at any given time.

Emergency numbers for major railroad systems:

Numbers were obtained from various sources, including railroads' Web sites in late 1999 or in 2000.

[The UPRR crime number was corrected on this site 2002/05/25; BNSF number updated 2007/02/24.]

Some railroads may have multiple numbers, on a region-by-region basis, primarily as the result of previous mergers or multiple dispatching centers.

Please note that in areas affected by recent mergers (such as the previous Conrail areas) or spin-offs of lines to a shortline operator, it may take some time for emergency numbers posted at grade crossings to reflect the current situation.

If you do not normally take this book with you on your travels, at least photocopy copy this and the preceding page and take this information with you. Use this page to record telephone numbers of smaller railroads in your area.

Emergency numbers for local railroads:

Operation Lifesaver

One of the best ways to meet working railroaders is to participate in activities sponsored by Operation Lifesaver, Inc. (OLI). OLI is a national industry-law enforcement partnership aimed at eliminating grade crossing and trespasser accidents on railroads—and improving railroad safety in general.

The non-profit organization includes railroad operating employees, railroad police, railroad managers responsible for safety issues, law enforcement officers, other emergency responders (firefighters, paramedics), state and municipal officials, professional truck drivers, and a range of private citizens.

To provide OL presentations, you must receive certification from a state OL organization after attending training courses.

While OL continues to focus on grade crossing and trespasser activity, the opportunity for dialogue among railroaders and emergency workers has led to other programs, such as ones explaining railroad operations and equipment to firefighters and paramedics who may respond to a railroad incident.

OL and participating railroads often operate special trains to promote railroad safety. If you participate in or support OL activities, you may just get an invitation to ride these trains.

A portion of the tractor underframe—and hardly enough of that to identify—is all that is left from an accident where a tractor-trailer drove into the path of an Amtrak train at a crossing. The driver was killed and the engine derailed. Color transparency original; file no. 980583. [This illustration is reproduced in black and white in the book.]

Grade crossing safety

The mention of Operation Lifesaver presents a perfect opportunity to reinforce basic points about grade crossing safety. Even as a new railfan, you should be aware of the following points.

If you are already familiar with them, perhaps from attending an OL presentation or other safety program, remember that many members of the public are not. So, it never hurts to remind your friends, associates, and especially members of your own family of them. Here's a quick overview:

• Trains cannot stop quickly. So, you must always yield to them at grade crossings.
• Never try to beat a train across a crossing, whether in a car or on foot, such as trying to get a better angle for a photo. The optical illusion created by the size of the approaching train and the merging of the rails makes it difficult to judge the speed of the approaching train. If you can see the train, stay on the side of the rails you are already on.
• After waiting for a train to pass at a grade crossing, make sure all additional tracks are clear of approaching trains before starting across. At public crossings, the number of tracks is posted below the crossbucks. If the crossing has active warning devices, such as flashing lights or gates, wait until the lights stop flashing and the gates have raised fully before proceeding.
• Never stop on a crossing, pass another vehicle waiting at a crossing, or shift gears while going over a crossing.

Unless you have permission to be on railroad property, you do not belong there. Never climb on or under railroad equipment.

If you see violations of the above guidelines, report them to the railroads or local authorities. This includes malfunctions of grade crossing warning equipment.

Most public crossings have identification plates which not only provide toll-free numbers for the applicable railroad but also unambiguously identify the location for the railroad.

If you are watching a train from the vicinity of a grade crossing, stay on the side of the crossing from which the train is approaching. Should a vehicle pull into the crossing at the last second, debris from the collision will be thrown away from you rather than towards you. Yes, the likelihood of such an accident is small, but most people who've spent time around railroads have seen enough close calls to make this consideration worth-while.

The engineer's point of view

If you spend time trackside, you may think that waiting close to the rails is no big deal, as long as you can get out of the way in plenty of time before the train reaches your location.

But, put yourself in the locomotive engineer's place for a moment. He knows that if he has a long heavy train, it may well take him up to a mile to make a controlled stop.

At perhaps half a mile, he sees a human figure near or on the track. At that distance, he cannot tell whether you have a camera or what you are doing. He cannot tell if your are intoxicated to the point that you are impaired; he cannot tell if you are suicidal and plan to intentionally stand in the path of the train.

Yet, at that distance, he has to make the decision whether to go for an emergency brake application, as that is the last chance of possibly stopping short of your location.

He or she also knows that once the train is in emergency, all bets are off. The engineer no longer has control of the train, and that in many types of terrain, the emergency application may well lead to a derailment.

Yet, at that great distance, the engineer has to make a decision between possibly hitting and killing a human being or possibly derailing his train. Would you want to have to make a decision like that?

Stay well clear of the tracks, even if the train is a long distance away. If you can see the train, the crew can see you and has to make its decision at that time. Locomotive engineers face enough stress without your contributing to their problems.

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