[PRCo] Re: Maintenance on route

[Boris Cefer]

Today's rules have been created by idiots. Yes? No?

That was what I had on mind. Continuing without lights (it could be easily a
broken switch which would be pretty difficult to repair) might result in a
accident and there would be no excuse. But then what was the official
procedure in the late PRCo days? Calling for a help from a 1200 at night
somewhere in the woods? Impossible. Waiting for next car from downtown? No
help, it would require pushing, still without light on the front car.
Interior lights result in that the car is visible, but the motorman is
rather blind with the interior bright.

B
----- Original Message -----
From: "Fred Schneider" <fwschneider at comcast.net>
To: <pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org>
Sent: Friday, December 02, 2005 6:03 PM
Subject: [PRCo] Re: Maintenance


> Reread previous message.  Dash lights.   Interior Lights.   And he
> better know where the railroad is or he should not be on it.
> Houses around you give clues to your location.   A good railroader
> could go through a pea soup fog at 50 mph and know where he was all
> the way by the rocks along the right of way, the bad joints in the
> rail, the crossings.   They were paid to be good.
>
> If you hit something because of no lights, it was your fault.   If
> you had enough brains to get home without trouble, you were probably
> going to be known as a good operator.   You could also be "Myer the
> Cryer" who called in for every little defect.
>
> We also need to admit here that conditions have changed.   Men used
> to change their own fuses and bulbs.   It was part of life.   They
> were trained to do it.   They were expected to use their heads for
> something other than hat racks. Because of our litigious society, we
> are now forbidden to do anything other than call for help.
>
> On Dec 2, 2005, at 11:40 AM, Boris Cefer wrote:
>
> > OK. It was a 1200 scheduled for Library. Not uncommon in earlier
> > days. What
> > did the motorman?
> >
> > B