I worked two summers in a CB&Q car shop. One rule in the yellow book was along the lines of "Use a drift pin, not your fingers, to align metal plates." I could imagine someone saying, "Not close enough, hit it again" and having a finger guillotined off." One saying was "Every rule is the result of a fool" and another was "The rules are written in blood."
What's interesting is the way many examples of doing things the 'safe' way are themselves now banned. Locomotives no longer have footboards, Walkways on the roofs of cars were removed in the late 1960s. They do call out stepping on the railhead sometimes but let it slide at other times. That's one thing we were constantly cautioned about at CN. Good to see this here my old VHS copy is no longer playable.
It's best to remember it this way, everything about railroading is hard, heavy, an made of unforgiving metal. you are not. It's amazing how a being with two eyes, two ears, and a brain (?) can allow themselves to become so careless around such a dangerous occupation but we see it happen everyday, sometimes it is the smartest one of the crew that makes the stupidest mistake and it isn't always them that pays the price.
The old films are the best. They are well written, concise, easy to understand and the narrators speak well. I'd love to go back in time again when there weren't so many laws and didn't need them.
newstart49 I wish life was so simple.. there were rules back then, written and unwritten.. yes agreed the narration is all cuddlesome but truth is back then there were more rules than you can imagine.. sadly the health & safety side of things was to put it mildly .. ‘bloody awful’ .. Unions have a huge part to play in the reforming of safety rules for the better but please do not think for one second its all hotdogs and mustard in those days.. the part they don’t say is.. as long as the fireman is white, and male, and has a wife a 2 kids.. don’t you know? But since white men doing dangerous jobs that gets them killed or maimed or suicidal we had best not talk about that bit.. gender equality and all that silly stuff that the little women fuss over.. (Hmm, yes, re-read it, you either get it or you don’t)
In 1994 I worked for ConRail. I worked in transportation as a brakeman/conductor. There are so many ways to die or get maimed. I had several close calls.
When I found this I began watching to learn "why". A girl I had a crush on in 5th grade had lost her dad 2 years before in a 1943 yard accident..He was a brakeman and with wartime hustle to move military supplies,, I think I have seen the cause at about 1635. He fell off of a moving car during switching ops. Sharon survived pretty well but her older brother never got over losing his dad. Thankx for putting this up.
15 feet beyond the car, not only so you have warning if it starts to move, but so you also have a safety margin to stop and check and make sure the _second_ track is also clear. that way you have time to stop and look, and even if there IS a train coming AND the car you were walking around starts to move, you have time to go back. Otherwise you either need to jump out of the way of the first car, possibly into the path of a second, or you stop to avoid the second just as the first starts to move. I am not a huge fan of obsessive safety, but I also believe in a healthy respect for danger, and I cannot picture getting complacent around a rail line, or any heavy equipment.
Ahhhh, this reminds me of Durand Michigan a very large terminal for good old steam engines and trains. A small town , but with a very big train yard. My dad was the Grand Trunk doctor and seen many of these railroad injuries ...Boy, did this bring back great memories...
For anyone wondering, the shot of Minneapolis at 1:18 is the Stone Arch Bridge with the downtown skyline in the background. The train came from the Great Northern Depot in downtown. The bridge is now used by pedestrians and bikers, and the Great Northern Depot was demolished in 1985. The Federal Reserve Building now sits where the depot was. The skyline looks very different back then. Its nice that the Empire Builder serves Union Depot in St. Paul again, now if the trains could just run on time.
This is a great film. In today's context, what these railroad men did as a matter of course; as a 'normal' daily task (even when performed safely) is so astonishingly risky. Can you imagine, being the "pin puller"? Or riding atop a rolling box car set? Or doing any number of routine but very dangerous tasks around the rail yard? Interesting what people considered "safe" and "dangerous" in the 1940s....
Maybe now I also know why many companies, such as warehouses, don't want trains delivering their goods...well, all because of cost too, but trucks now do lots....HOWEVER, trains STILL deliver to many places....where it is too expensive for trucking.....so God bless these men....the ones that STILL risk their lives on the line.
@@Ithinkiwill66 I never thought about it that way as far as companies not using trains due to safety. I thought trucks are more comminly used due to financial struggles with railroad companies and also the fact that trucks are more accesible
Great film. They stopped riding on top of cars just before I went to work on the AT&SF. The 060 switchers looked great. Footboards on the front and back of an engine were long gone.
@ 31:45 into the video you can definitely tell the train is a model railroad layout. The when the crash takes place, there's no doubt in your mind, lol. I love these old railroad safety flicks. I think I have just about every one ever made? My only complaint is many of them are too short in my opinion, lol.
Thank you for showing us the safety on trains the whole idea was to show your workers because someone saved this video we got to see the safety on your train mint for your men that work there thank you 👍🇺🇸
being born and raised in West Virginia--I always loved trains and been around them all my life and loved when mom and dad took my sister and I to the train station in Charleston West Virginia to watch the trains....more kids need to experience this before its lost and gone.
"Hey Henry, we need to violate every safety rule we have for the purpose of making a training film. You might get injured but more than likely, as in real life, you won't." Henry: "Sign me up."
Extraordinary! I like this! I learned a lot. Never knew it was so dangerous to work the yard. I always heard that in Chicago around the turn of the century (20'th) on average one man died a day in the yards! A tough living.
Most of these safety measures for employees are no longer applied, because no one is permitted to get off or on moving equipment. I was taught by my dad and the switchmen on the Soo Line how to do this safely--as a kid in the 50s. When I worked on the Great Northern back in the late 60s, even then getting off and on moving equipment was frowned upon.
My great grandfather was an engineer in the steam days on the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy. Asbestos killed him as surely as if he had stepped in front of a train.
Our dad was an engine driver. He told me when the engines were getting near shopping the plates would get loose and puffs of asbestos lagging would come out into the cab. He died aged 96.
Look at the size of that rulebook, I bet it fit in a trainman's pocket! Now we need a forklift to carry the rules with us. The main difference is that the little rulebook was clearly written in blood as explained in this video. Our mountain of books was written in bureaucracy citing liability and efficiency. sometimes it's almost too dangerous to be safe. The rest of the time, you can't turn a wheel without breaking the rules.
It’s all about limiting liability in court. It really has nothing to do with safety. It’s minimizing payout and being able to stop insurance payments and increases in profits.
"Power handbrake with vertical Wheel" this is the most safe to use -is unprotected and unsecured on a moving multi ton object that slices you in half if you fall infront of it -Is instructed to use a wooden bar to operate the break -Most safe to use
I saw one video where the engineer was sick and passed out--and the train hit a boxcar up ahead. A railroad worker standing atop the boxcar saw the engine coming and yelled "AAHHHH!!!" as the loco hit his boxcar. The man was flung off. ( He died hours later ).
Crossovers were very dangerous especially underground where walls and columns can obscure a approaching train. Also, Work trains being pushed that had a man on the first car connected via intercom with the pusher. At times I saw the watchman sleeping. The sounds of other trains in the area can give false sense of safety you may not hear trains approaching on your track. Keep your head on a swivel to see what's coming toward you. Stay safe and collect that pension !
Because a train yard is a dangerous place to not pay attention my great great grandfather worked for the Pennsylvania railroad he first started out as a brakeman and for those of you who were freightmen probably remember this practice turning a vertical brake wheel on a freight car with a peg and you all probably got used to it then came the day the wheel was put on the side of the car where the peg wasn't needed but for those of you who were used to using the peg would probably use it on this brake wheel by accident my great great grandfather was on a train walking from the caboose to the engine because it was his job to turn those brake wheels he was walking on the catwalks and he slipped and fell between two of the cars he broke his foot and was caused by the fall
I was a conductor recently for NS - people still making the same dumb decisions and getting hurt or killed doing the same things as in the 40s. NEVER break the blood rules and always keep your head on a swivel. Often times you are the only one out there looking out for yourself and anything can go wrong at any time.
Dont be a snowflake! US freedom types worked 20-36 hours and be damned with no goddamn socialist commie Democrat gay anti second amendment safety practices! They just cost our corporations profit! Trump was right to deregulate everything!! Long Live god and savior trump!
They don't let us do have of these things anymore for safety reasons although we still use many of these practices today things are done much safer. Railroading is only as safe as WE make it.
Anybody with a particular interest in the GN should also look up the Scenic Depot films (search on You Tube), which are GN in the early 60's. I look at this film and what strikes me is that we're still fighting the same safety issues, 80 years on. The problems have root in human nature, and people haven't changed much. Of course the other thing that strikes me is a wave of sadness at the loss of the GN. It was a great company with a great group of people.
I like how they show the examples of doing the job the wrong way and the right way how many railroaders do you think had to die for them to make this a important issue
macmedic892 • Agreed. Railroading, Aviation, Shipping, Automobiles. Most conceivable risk mitigation strategies have been absolutely written in blood from experience.
Interesting, how much emphasis is put on the worker taking responsibility for themselves. I wonder how much of that goes on, today? (I am told, by a former rail worker, that even today, the railway is a very dangerous environment in which to work.) Thanks for this interesting upload.
i can tell ya one thing: there arent such videos today that put much emphasis on the worker. videos today just explain the rules, but theres no "heart" in the vids you know
Note at 4:50 the employee is demonstrating the "right way" to stop to line a switch by stopping in the foul of the switch. Today, at most railroads like the one I retired from (Soo Line), this would be a violation of the rules. Always stop in the clear of the switch and walk up to line the switch.
True. To put it in historical perspective though, some railroads' rule books had their rules clearly state Main Track switches were not to be fouled before lining for movement. Other than main track movements, such as in the yard, did not fall under that. Interestingly, a book of rule INTERPRETATIONS put out by the ICG in the early 1970s, which oddly enough was as large as the rule book itself, made the difference clearer between fouling a Main Track switch and a yard switch, going so far to say that if an incident occurred as a result, the way the target or switch points were lined conveyed who had the right-of-way, whether the switch be lined normal or reversed. Of course, one should never foul another track without making sure what they are about to foul is clear and with no closely approaching movement. Congrats on your retirement. I retired almost two years ago from the BNSF after 42 years of service.
@@lokomac8 When I first started in train service as a brakeman at the Soo's former Milwaukee Road yard at Bensenville, fouling switches so the brakeman didn't have to walk that far was common practice even though the Soo Line's rules forbid this. This continued even after I was promoted to locomotive engineer. It wasn't until a change at the top that fouling switches on the Soo came to a stop (in the clear!). I retired last year, March 2018, after 37.5 years of employment with the Soo and C&NW. Congrats on your retirement too!
@@WAL_DC-6B, it was some years, after the GCOR became the book of the day, I think, before "Main Track" was removed from the rule I worked under on the Santa Fe and it could generally be applied to ALL switches, which of course, is the safer course, particularly as the number of crew members, heads on a swivel and eyes were reduced, thereby reducing AWARENESS as to surroundings. Oddly enough, it was some time before I even noticed the subtle change in wording that made the rule all-encompassing, lol. Not surprising though, as most of what we did from when I hired on in 1975 THAT WAS CONSIDERED PERFECTLY SAFE, is now considered UNSAFE! Of course, I had always considered "Safety Rules" and "Safe Work Practices" to be a misnomer and misleading in and of itself -- it is all about RISK MANAGEMENT -- the risk that is willing to be incurred to achieve a certain task. Making something SAFER does not actually equate to making it SAFE!
@@lokomac8 I started back in 1980, as a yard clerk for a short stint before promoted to the C&NW's engineering dept. (maintenance of way) as a ultra-sound test car operator and consequently was involved with railroad operating department rules such as the GCOR. I was unaware of a time when in yard service it was accepted practice to be able to foul a switch. None of the "old heads" ever told me it was legal in the past. Thanks for the little history lesson!
@@WAL_DC-6B, I think it depended on the rule book that one was working under, and except for roads working under say, the Uniform Code of Operating Rules, most back in the day had their own books. Almost all books were loosely based on the old Standard Code. In my case, the Santa Fe rulebook I hired out under was dated Jan'y 5th, 1975. As long as it was determined safe to do so and no movement was closely approaching it seemed we were okay to pull close to the switch, even fouling another track, to hand line it or to run through spring switches, flopovers or variable point switches. Note the wording of the rule: "122 (F). Except at spring switches, a train or engine must not foul a MAIN TRACK until switches connected with the movement are properly lined." {emphasis mine}. Many arguments had taken place about fouling other tracks in yards before lining the switch, however, by either being overlooked or purposely excluded, the rule did not seem to specify as it was written. (Almost all blown away in modern times where they started specifying stopping back at least 50 feet from switches to be lined in these more modern times, of course. That was primarily to keep the switch from being in a bind when operating it, but you wouldn't be able to get much closer to the fouling point anwyay if you were a good fifty feet back.) Now, that being said above, note what is found in the book, RIGHT OF TRAINS by Peter Josserand (1957) that used the latest addition of the Standard Code (1953) as the basis of it's discussions of the rules. The Standard Code said this: "104 (5). A train or engine must not foul a MAIN TRACK OR OTHER TRACK until switches connected with the movement are properly lined." Now this was always a bone of contention and we would occasionally be called down by an official for doing it . . . until we asked them WHERE they got the info from and they would find the Santa Fe rule above and we would be somewhat vindicated, whether we were actually right or not. Someone smarter than me and all the switchmen I worked with back in the day could still say we were wrong, but too late, I'm retired now, lol.
And if you're late, do whatever you had to do to make up time-- but if something happens, it's on you. And passengers were more important than imported garbage from across the pond. Not anymore! Put 'em in the hole for that express intermodal!! The dollar rules!!
They haven't got what the old railroaders had. Old heads on the PRR showed me how to swing off and on cars with ease,how to ride a roof walk and relay hand signals,how to grab hooped up train orders.In sort how to be a brakeman.
"We wish to express our sincere appreciation to the many employes [sic] who cooperated in the production of this motion picture." One "employe" they should have hired was a proofreader.
You will see "employe" frequently in older railroad publications. When taking a 9th grade spelling test, consult the dictionary and NOT your grandfather's timetable. Uh, not that I would know about that...
The weird spelling of 'employes' seems to have been common back then. The Consolidated Code of Operating Rules, which GN used, was littered with it. I'm not sure where it came from, but it seems to have been widespread. I think it lasted until the early- to mid-70s (I know for sure it's still found in the 1967 Code)
Do tell, Mr Aspen? There’s a good video out there on that subject, with interviews with Underground employees. I’m always happy to hear more about them, though!
HOW LONG YOU GOT????? I was born just after the 2nd WW. My dad left my mum when I was 6 months old, so, mum moved back with my grand parents. Grandad was a porter on The Underground at the start of the war, too important to go to war, as he was going to work the train signals. He was Senior Signalmen at Hammersmith Broadway signal box by then. He used to set the signals up for me to work at the age of, about 5/6, and the passenger displays. I had a box bedroom at the back of the house, overlooking the District |Line. I used to watch the track repairs in the early hours, sometimes, steam trains passed by on the line. I have to send this, as the computer deletes long mails, part 2 in a mo!
@@sharong8511 Part 2! I won't bore you with my life in The Royal Navy and Met. Police London. After this I became a bus driver for London Trasnsport, then I went onto The London Underground, as an engineer, trained by BT, I learned to drive a train. In WW2, a Doodlebug, went down an air shaft, killing hundreds, I was told by a driver, that if you went down there, you could hear the murmerings. Part 3!
@@sharong8511 Part 3! We had a driver who had "ONE UNDER" He was asked to take the train back to the depot. On the way back, he had another one, he ended up in a mental institution, I know these people have problems, BUT! THE POOR DRIVER....One Friday night, when I was driving my bus, passing Ealing Broadway Station, a guy ran in front of my bus, fell over, I slammed my brakes on, passengers on the floor, I jumped out of my cab, thinking I had killed him, such a terrible state, "ONE UNDER" on my bus, he ran off laughing! For LOADS of videos, visit Geoff Marshall, The Londonist. Also, a web site, The History Of The London Underground. ENJOY! BIG TIME! I have more memories, but, I think you have enough for now....NIGHT!
It's never a good idea to show the unsafe way to do something by doing it. Best to stage it to make it look like it's being done but the guys doing it unsafe could just as easily be hurt. BTW, loved the fedoras all the new engineers at 32:42 are wearing :)
Yep. Looked pretty good until the actual collision. And I’m thinking no cameraman would be actually set up to film an accident about to happen without foreknowledge of same.
Oh mercy!!! Any FRA or OSHA rail inspector today would just have a fit if you tried ANY of the *SAFE ACTIONS* in train handling shown here! I dont even think they let switchmen get on and off moving cars anymore, do they?
Some railroads, particularly shortlines still do. Just keep in mind, they are not actually "safety" rules or even "safe" work practices, but a form of "risk management." The safest thing to do is to do nothing, from that step on to doing something, more risks are incurred. When risks, for whatever motivation or purpose become "unacceptable," THEN measures are put into place to reduce the risk to an acceptable level or eliminate the risk. The end result is from behavior, basically.
@@lokomac8 So true. I havent been active in years, but when I first worked on our local operating railroad museum, we still used the (trailing end only) footboards on our center cab diesels when we switched our storage yard...we stopped around 1984, when the FRA outlawed that practice for good. Still got on and off moving equipment though, and its HARD to train volunteer operating crews on the safest way to mount/dismount a moving freight car.
YLW Pyro Yeah, trainmen rode the footboard of steam locos as there weren't provisions for riding forward of the engr any place else...early diesel locos like the GP7 had footboards but the practice was discouraged because diesel locos had side steps...and getting off next to a switch will get you knocked out
+25mfd By the 80s, footboards on Diesels were a thing of the past. Getting on and off of moving cars and locos was still allowed. In the early 90s, that started to change. Santa Fe banned it in 1993.
First, thanks for the video. 😊 Rail passenger service seemed like it was better before government involvement. When private non government competition improves service.
Yes "Offshore…", 'responsibility', hell 'awareness' of surroundings seems to be a lost art these days. Great fun informative video ! Thanks R.J.McKay! Good common sense stuff. How different it was back then, when our society's 'madness' was younger and Earth was still a veritable cornucopia . As a sometime vagabond I've been around old trains, truck stops, moving big equipment - I can relate a little and like trying to imagine what that world was like. Seems to me things made more sense then - but our relentless greed and lack of appreciation for what we had and the heavy price we were paying to achieve it has done us in. You know, evolution is evolution, and we never learned from our mistakes so sad. . . . . . .
Nothing like a safety video that was actually dangerous to film. What a gem.
Only the strong survived the 40s and 50s.
Yes....and those employees were walking over the rail lines, no path for them, no safety whatsoever...if they tripped, good God...😳
It isnt really dangerous if you are prepared and expect what is about to happen. If it is dangerous, they use stunt men. Danger is part of their job.
This is actually incredibly tame compared to _Getting Off on the Right Foot_ , also available on TH-cam.
@@Allurade and no safety vests !
I worked two summers in a CB&Q car shop. One rule in the yellow book was along the lines of "Use a drift pin, not your fingers, to align metal plates." I could imagine someone saying, "Not close enough, hit it again" and having a finger guillotined off."
One saying was "Every rule is the result of a fool" and another was "The rules are written in blood."
I love the way the line is delivered about the employees returning from lunch not being in a hurry lol. 80 years ago and some things don’t change :)
What's interesting is the way many examples of doing things the 'safe' way are themselves now banned. Locomotives no longer have footboards, Walkways on the roofs of cars were removed in the late 1960s. They do call out stepping on the railhead sometimes but let it slide at other times. That's one thing we were constantly cautioned about at CN. Good to see this here my old VHS copy is no longer playable.
I worked on a railroad. It's easy to get injured, or worse, when you lose your fear of the right of way and the trains. It happens.
me too
Randy Bingham it’s called a NORM, you get comfortable and then loose your head about things “that’s the way we always do it”
It's best to remember it this way, everything about railroading is hard, heavy, an made of unforgiving metal. you are not.
It's amazing how a being with two eyes, two ears, and a brain (?) can allow themselves to become so careless around such a dangerous occupation but we see it happen everyday, sometimes it is the smartest one of the crew that makes the stupidest mistake and it isn't always them that pays the price.
Rail road made of steel; we made of flesh and bone.
Looks like it can be very dangerous if you disobey the rules. I'll bet there are many more safety rules in place today.
Those veteran railroaders had a ball making this film. How often do you get to goof off on the job with the Company's blessing!
b3j8
Okay, you can show off, but you better not get hurt or we will have the film to prove why you got hurt!
Like all the time just don't get caught
Let's be fair, they were all drunk anyway.
Watching these safety films is a lot more entertaining than today's movies.
Facts
The old films are the best. They are well written, concise, easy to understand and the narrators speak well. I'd love to go back in time again when there weren't so many laws and didn't need them.
newstart49 I wish life was so simple.. there were rules back then, written and unwritten.. yes agreed the narration is all cuddlesome but truth is back then there were more rules than you can imagine.. sadly the health & safety side of things was to put it mildly .. ‘bloody awful’ .. Unions have a huge part to play in the reforming of safety rules for the better but please do not think for one second its all hotdogs and mustard in those days.. the part they don’t say is.. as long as the fireman is white, and male, and has a wife a 2 kids.. don’t you know?
But since white men doing dangerous jobs that gets them killed or maimed or suicidal we had best not talk about that bit.. gender equality and all that silly stuff that the little women fuss over..
(Hmm, yes, re-read it, you either get it or you don’t)
@@zhardoum shut the fuck up with your pc white male bullshit.
And people weren't "shamed" and "offended" by everything !
With 16 hour days back then, railroaders were too tire to be offended.
@@billdougan4022 Well they should have worked 20 hours a day like I have! What snowflakes they were! Pussies!
Brakeman's job was alot more dangerous back then
At least they weren't the only one on the ground like now.
Wow no spray paint on the box cars! Love the video's.
"You, young man, are surely carrying signals for the ambulance!"
"It's all wrong and bad practice!"
words to live by
cue the guitar riff from "Shake Hands with Danger"
In 1994 I worked for ConRail. I worked in transportation as a brakeman/conductor. There are so many ways to die or get maimed. I had several close calls.
Now I understand why so many retired railroaders are nicknamed, Gimpy, Limpy or Stumpy. !!! Great video.
Well all these people are likely not with us anymore.
When I found this I began watching to learn "why". A girl I had a crush on in 5th grade had lost her dad 2 years before in a 1943 yard accident..He was a brakeman and with wartime hustle to move military supplies,, I think I have seen the cause at about 1635. He fell off of a moving car during switching ops.
Sharon survived pretty well but her older brother never got over losing his dad. Thankx for putting this up.
“The law of gravity needs no courts to enforce it!” (13:55)
That statement sounds so cheeky but lives up to it!
Gravity never lets you down.
69th like, wether or not anyone cares
Gravity doesn't exist in Cartoons, India or Russia.
15 feet beyond the car, not only so you have warning if it starts to move, but so you also have a safety margin to stop and check and make sure the _second_ track is also clear. that way you have time to stop and look, and even if there IS a train coming AND the car you were walking around starts to move, you have time to go back. Otherwise you either need to jump out of the way of the first car, possibly into the path of a second, or you stop to avoid the second just as the first starts to move. I am not a huge fan of obsessive safety, but I also believe in a healthy respect for danger, and I cannot picture getting complacent around a rail line, or any heavy equipment.
Ahhhh, this reminds me of Durand Michigan a very large terminal for good old steam engines and trains. A small town , but with a very big train yard. My dad was the Grand Trunk doctor and seen many of these railroad injuries ...Boy, did this bring back great memories...
For anyone wondering, the shot of Minneapolis at 1:18 is the Stone Arch Bridge with the downtown skyline in the background. The train came from the Great Northern Depot in downtown. The bridge is now used by pedestrians and bikers, and the Great Northern Depot was demolished in 1985. The Federal Reserve Building now sits where the depot was. The skyline looks very different back then.
Its nice that the Empire Builder serves Union Depot in St. Paul again, now if the trains could just run on time.
+airminnesota Ride the AutoTrain. It has a very good chance of getting in early. But it is also known to run late when there is bad weather in the SE.
Awesome Railroad History! Thank you for sharing this beautiful video with us..
Boxcar handbrakes were some scary shit
This is a great film. In today's context, what these railroad men did as a matter of course; as a 'normal' daily task (even when performed safely) is so astonishingly risky. Can you imagine, being the "pin puller"? Or riding atop a rolling box car set? Or doing any number of routine but very dangerous tasks around the rail yard?
Interesting what people considered "safe" and "dangerous" in the 1940s....
Maybe now I also know why many companies, such as warehouses, don't want trains delivering their goods...well, all because of cost too, but trucks now do lots....HOWEVER, trains STILL deliver to many places....where it is too expensive for trucking.....so God bless these men....the ones that STILL risk their lives on the line.
@@Ithinkiwill66 I never thought about it that way as far as companies not using trains due to safety.
I thought trucks are more comminly used due to financial struggles with railroad companies and also the fact that trucks are more accesible
Great film. They stopped riding on top of cars just before I went to work on the AT&SF. The 060 switchers looked great. Footboards on the front and back of an engine were long gone.
@ 31:45 into the video you can definitely tell the train is a model railroad layout. The when the crash takes place, there's no doubt in your mind, lol. I love these old railroad safety flicks. I think I have just about every one ever made? My only complaint is many of them are too short in my opinion, lol.
You should upload them. Love to watch these!
Yup, could tell by the telegraph poles, lol
Thank you for showing us the safety on trains the whole idea was to show your workers because someone saved this video we got to see the safety on your train mint for your men that work there thank you 👍🇺🇸
Thanks for preserving this this film!
being born and raised in West Virginia--I always loved trains and been around them all my life and loved when mom and dad took my sister and I to the train station in Charleston West Virginia to watch the trains....more kids need to experience this before its lost and gone.
i use to drive through/around Nitro,WV as an OTR trucker a few yrs ago. saw many trains full of coal in that area. the views in that area were pretty.
"Hey Henry, we need to violate every safety rule we have for the purpose of making a training film. You might get injured but more than likely, as in real life, you won't."
Henry: "Sign me up."
Thanks for posting! Great video for those of us of the Steam Era Freight Car persuasion!
Extraordinary! I like this! I learned a lot. Never knew it was so dangerous to work the yard. I always heard that in Chicago around the turn of the century (20'th) on average one man died a day in the yards! A tough living.
Most of these safety measures for employees are no longer applied, because no one is permitted to get off or on moving equipment. I was taught by my dad and the switchmen on the Soo Line how to do this safely--as a kid in the 50s. When I worked on the Great Northern back in the late 60s, even then getting off and on moving equipment was frowned upon.
depends on the railroad. a decent amount still allow it. on csx its under 4mph
Where did you work on the SOO?
My great grandfather was an engineer in the steam days on the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy. Asbestos killed him as surely as if he had stepped in front of a train.
Our dad was an engine driver. He told me when the engines were getting near shopping the plates would get loose and puffs of asbestos lagging would come out into the cab. He died aged 96.
I love these old films, and I love railways. What's not to like?
Sven thanks for the eye opener, SVEN......
How many lives were lost in the making of this film?
I love this film, it teaches you how to operate vintage railroading equipment xD!
Lmao!!
i love these old fashioned safety films
Amazing how easy those switches are to throw!
Very interesting learned a lot thanks for sharing.
This might be an ideal safety film for MOW crews from BNSF.
They get injured often, huh?
Look at the size of that rulebook, I bet it fit in a trainman's pocket! Now we need a forklift to carry the rules with us. The main difference is that the little rulebook was clearly written in blood as explained in this video. Our mountain of books was written in bureaucracy citing liability and efficiency. sometimes it's almost too dangerous to be safe. The rest of the time, you can't turn a wheel without breaking the rules.
It’s all about limiting liability in court. It really has nothing to do with safety. It’s minimizing payout and being able to stop insurance payments and increases in profits.
Why risk your life? A film from an era when the brakemen still ran across the top of the cars while the train was moving.
yes the title is kinda rich considering the risks they took that were NOT considered unsafe
OK OK SAFETY FILM'S OVER, NOW GET BACK TO WORK!
This can certainly set a positive standard for any occupation yet today. Very well done video. Thanks for posting.
Safety first is the rule people, Don’t forget to stop 🛑 look 👀 and listen 👂. Very important especially when working on the railroad 🛤.
Really good enjoyed it... My times have thankfully changed
"Power handbrake with vertical Wheel" this is the most safe to use
-is unprotected and unsecured on a moving multi ton object that slices you in half if you fall infront of it
-Is instructed to use a wooden bar to operate the break
-Most safe to use
The one dislike is probably the person who got stuck between 2 train cars buckling.
So the moral of the story is do things the "right and safe way!"
Except even the safe way is loaded with dangers that are ignored in the film, working at height being just one.
@@Uftonwood2 Well in the 40s, if you worked on a railroad, you we expected to not be a bumbling moron.
"cars can't look out for you" thank you for reminding good sir!
I saw one video where the engineer was sick and passed out--and the train hit a boxcar up ahead. A railroad worker standing atop the boxcar saw the engine coming and yelled "AAHHHH!!!" as the loco hit his boxcar. The man was flung off. ( He died hours later ).
I particularly enjoy the "flying switch" demonstration...
Crossovers were very dangerous especially underground where walls and columns can obscure a approaching train. Also, Work trains being pushed that had a man on the first car connected via intercom with the pusher. At times I saw the watchman sleeping. The sounds of other trains in the area can give false sense of safety you may not hear trains approaching on your track. Keep your head on a swivel to see what's coming toward you. Stay safe and collect that pension !
Because a train yard is a dangerous place to not pay attention my great great grandfather worked for the Pennsylvania railroad he first started out as a brakeman and for those of you who were freightmen probably remember this practice turning a vertical brake wheel on a freight car with a peg and you all probably got used to it then came the day the wheel was put on the side of the car where the peg wasn't needed but for those of you who were used to using the peg would probably use it on this brake wheel by accident my great great grandfather was on a train walking from the caboose to the engine because it was his job to turn those brake wheels he was walking on the catwalks and he slipped and fell between two of the cars he broke his foot and was caused by the fall
I was a conductor recently for NS - people still making the same dumb decisions and getting hurt or killed doing the same things as in the 40s. NEVER break the blood rules and always keep your head on a swivel. Often times you are the only one out there looking out for yourself and anything can go wrong at any time.
NS like Nederlandse Spoorwegen?
Dont be a snowflake! US freedom types worked 20-36 hours and be damned with no goddamn socialist commie Democrat gay anti second amendment safety practices! They just cost our corporations profit! Trump was right to deregulate everything!! Long Live god and savior trump!
They don't let us do have of these things anymore for safety reasons although we still use many of these practices today things are done much safer. Railroading is only as safe as WE make it.
My grandfather worked for rock island line pretty much his whole life until it closed down. Guessing he probably watched this
awesome vid. I'm from Butte and it is great to see vids. of how great she once was.
Anybody with a particular interest in the GN should also look up the Scenic Depot films (search on You Tube), which are GN in the early 60's.
I look at this film and what strikes me is that we're still fighting the same safety issues, 80 years on. The problems have root in human nature, and people haven't changed much.
Of course the other thing that strikes me is a wave of sadness at the loss of the GN. It was a great company with a great group of people.
I like how they show the examples of doing the job the wrong way and the right way how many railroaders do you think had to die for them to make this a important issue
Apparently the examples they showed were common enough that they warranted special attention.
Safety rules are written in blood.
macmedic892 • Agreed. Railroading, Aviation, Shipping, Automobiles. Most conceivable risk mitigation strategies have been absolutely written in blood from experience.
Interesting, how much emphasis is put on the worker taking responsibility for themselves. I wonder how much of that goes on, today? (I am told, by a former rail worker, that even today, the railway is a very dangerous environment in which to work.) Thanks for this interesting upload.
i can tell ya one thing: there arent such videos today that put much emphasis on the worker. videos today just explain the rules, but theres no "heart" in the vids you know
XxAdminChllaxX that's all they want now and days 100% rules compliance.
StangThang07
do you know any "today" safety vids? couldnt find much
No I don't. I've seen EEO videos here but that's just about it. The rule book is about the size of a dictionary.
+Offshoreorganbuilder The former rail worker - which I also am - told you the truth! Railroad work calls for vigilance 24/7!
Note at 4:50 the employee is demonstrating the "right way" to stop to line a switch by stopping in the foul of the switch. Today, at most railroads like the one I retired from (Soo Line), this would be a violation of the rules. Always stop in the clear of the switch and walk up to line the switch.
True. To put it in historical perspective though, some railroads' rule books had their rules clearly state Main Track switches were not to be fouled before lining for movement. Other than main track movements, such as in the yard, did not fall under that. Interestingly, a book of rule INTERPRETATIONS put out by the ICG in the early 1970s, which oddly enough was as large as the rule book itself, made the difference clearer between fouling a Main Track switch and a yard switch, going so far to say that if an incident occurred as a result, the way the target or switch points were lined conveyed who had the right-of-way, whether the switch be lined normal or reversed. Of course, one should never foul another track without making sure what they are about to foul is clear and with no closely approaching movement. Congrats on your retirement. I retired almost two years ago from the BNSF after 42 years of service.
@@lokomac8 When I first started in train service as a brakeman at the Soo's former Milwaukee Road yard at Bensenville, fouling switches so the brakeman didn't have to walk that far was common practice even though the Soo Line's rules forbid this. This continued even after I was promoted to locomotive engineer. It wasn't until a change at the top that fouling switches on the Soo came to a stop (in the clear!). I retired last year, March 2018, after 37.5 years of employment with the Soo and C&NW. Congrats on your retirement too!
@@WAL_DC-6B, it was some years, after the GCOR became the book of the day, I think, before "Main Track" was removed from the rule I worked under on the Santa Fe and it could generally be applied to ALL switches, which of course, is the safer course, particularly as the number of crew members, heads on a swivel and eyes were reduced, thereby reducing AWARENESS as to surroundings. Oddly enough, it was some time before I even noticed the subtle change in wording that made the rule all-encompassing, lol. Not surprising though, as most of what we did from when I hired on in 1975 THAT WAS CONSIDERED PERFECTLY SAFE, is now considered UNSAFE! Of course, I had always considered "Safety Rules" and "Safe Work Practices" to be a misnomer and misleading in and of itself -- it is all about RISK MANAGEMENT -- the risk that is willing to be incurred to achieve a certain task. Making something SAFER does not actually equate to making it SAFE!
@@lokomac8 I started back in 1980, as a yard clerk for a short stint before promoted to the C&NW's engineering dept. (maintenance of way) as a ultra-sound test car operator and consequently was involved with railroad operating department rules such as the GCOR. I was unaware of a time when in yard service it was accepted practice to be able to foul a switch. None of the "old heads" ever told me it was legal in the past. Thanks for the little history lesson!
@@WAL_DC-6B, I think it depended on the rule book that one was working under, and except for roads working under say, the Uniform Code of Operating Rules, most back in the day had their own books. Almost all books were loosely based on the old Standard Code. In my case, the Santa Fe rulebook I hired out under was dated Jan'y 5th, 1975. As long as it was determined safe to do so and no movement was closely approaching it seemed we were okay to pull close to the switch, even fouling another track, to hand line it or to run through spring switches, flopovers or variable point switches. Note the wording of the rule:
"122 (F). Except at spring switches, a train or engine must not foul a MAIN TRACK until switches connected with the movement are properly lined." {emphasis mine}. Many arguments had taken place about fouling other tracks in yards before lining the switch, however, by either being overlooked or purposely excluded, the rule did not seem to specify as it was written. (Almost all blown away in modern times where they started specifying stopping back at least 50 feet from switches to be lined in these more modern times, of course. That was primarily to keep the switch from being in a bind when operating it, but you wouldn't be able to get much closer to the fouling point anwyay if you were a good fifty feet back.)
Now, that being said above, note what is found in the book, RIGHT OF TRAINS by Peter Josserand (1957) that used the latest addition of the Standard Code (1953) as the basis of it's discussions of the rules. The Standard Code said this:
"104 (5). A train or engine must not foul a MAIN TRACK OR OTHER TRACK until switches connected with the movement are properly lined."
Now this was always a bone of contention and we would occasionally be called down by an official for doing it . . . until we asked them WHERE they got the info from and they would find the Santa Fe rule above and we would be somewhat vindicated, whether we were actually right or not. Someone smarter than me and all the switchmen I worked with back in the day could still say we were wrong, but too late, I'm retired now, lol.
I like how they used model trains on the signal one
Great video, brought back memories of my grandfather, I remember him wearing those railroad caps and overalls
Ah yes, the thrilling days of yester year, how many newbies have never seen how things were done back then....✌😊
this was very engaging and informative
The most important message from the film is: Remember employees, if you get hurt it is YOUR FAULT.
And that is STILL the message today. LOL.
That's because they aren't employees. They were employes. See the film at :32 in. :-)
And if you're late, do whatever you had to do to make up time-- but if something happens, it's on you. And passengers were more important than imported garbage from across the pond.
Not anymore! Put 'em in the hole for that express intermodal!! The dollar rules!!
Your careful introductory note made me a subscriber.
I remember reading a railroad safety book from the late 1800's. One of the rules was that you had to be wearing shoes while working for the railroad.
Traveling Tom low wages and shoes were expensive I guess
Wow, I cant believe they actually wrecked a whole train to film this video! O.O
Awesome vidio, thank you for posting this great piece of history:)
I love these films
They haven't got what the old railroaders had.
Old heads on the PRR showed me how to swing off and on cars with ease,how to ride a roof walk and relay hand signals,how to grab hooped up train orders.In sort how to be a brakeman.
An odd choice of music from 1:00 - it's the march past of the Royal Air Force!
15:10 I like how the micromanaging boss tells the engineer of an unsafe activity whilst standing in the middle of the rails.
"We wish to express our sincere appreciation to the many employes [sic] who cooperated in the production of this motion picture." One "employe" they should have hired was a proofreader.
Apparently that spelling is not necessarily incorrect, old usage! Look it up!
You will see "employe" frequently in older railroad publications. When taking a 9th grade spelling test, consult the dictionary and NOT your grandfather's timetable. Uh, not that I would know about that...
The weird spelling of 'employes' seems to have been common back then. The Consolidated Code of Operating Rules, which GN used, was littered with it. I'm not sure where it came from, but it seems to have been widespread. I think it lasted until the early- to mid-70s (I know for sure it's still found in the 1967 Code)
Jeez, no wonder so many railroaders died back then!
OH MAN! So scary what those people did! I was on The London Underground, UK. The stories I could tell you...INCLUDING....GHOSTS!!!!!
Do tell, Mr Aspen? There’s a good video out there on that subject, with interviews with Underground employees. I’m always happy to hear more about them, though!
HOW LONG YOU GOT????? I was born just after the 2nd WW. My dad left my mum when I was 6 months old, so, mum moved back with my grand parents. Grandad was a porter on The Underground at the start of the war, too important to go to war, as he was going to work the train signals. He was Senior Signalmen at Hammersmith Broadway signal box by then. He used to set the signals up for me to work at the age of, about 5/6, and the passenger displays. I had a box bedroom at the back of the house, overlooking the District |Line. I used to watch the track repairs in the early hours, sometimes, steam trains passed by on the line. I have to send this, as the computer deletes long mails, part 2 in a mo!
@@sharong8511 Part 2! I won't bore you with my life in The Royal Navy and Met. Police London. After this I became a bus driver for London Trasnsport, then I went onto The London Underground, as an engineer, trained by BT, I learned to drive a train. In WW2, a Doodlebug, went down an air shaft, killing hundreds, I was told by a driver, that if you went down there, you could hear the murmerings. Part 3!
@@sharong8511 Part 3! We had a driver who had "ONE UNDER" He was asked to take the train back to the depot. On the way back, he had another one, he ended up in a mental institution, I know these people have problems, BUT! THE POOR DRIVER....One Friday night, when I was driving my bus, passing Ealing Broadway Station, a guy ran in front of my bus, fell over, I slammed my brakes on, passengers on the floor, I jumped out of my cab, thinking I had killed him, such a terrible state, "ONE UNDER" on my bus, he ran off laughing! For LOADS of videos, visit Geoff Marshall, The Londonist. Also, a web site, The History Of The London Underground. ENJOY! BIG TIME! I have more memories, but, I think you have enough for now....NIGHT!
It's never a good idea to show the unsafe way to do something by doing it. Best to stage it to make it look like it's being done but the guys doing it unsafe could just as easily be hurt. BTW, loved the fedoras all the new engineers at 32:42 are wearing :)
Good film! hoping for a job w/ the RR-most of the safety info equally true today!
Safety first always.
Rules to Live by. Interesting video of times gone by.
The scenarios starting at 31:42 were made on a model railroad set.
Yep. Looked pretty good until the actual collision. And I’m thinking no cameraman would be actually set up to film an accident about to happen without foreknowledge of same.
A Classic gem & good info too
Oh mercy!!! Any FRA or OSHA rail inspector today would just have a fit if you tried ANY of the *SAFE ACTIONS* in train handling shown here! I dont even think they let switchmen get on and off moving cars anymore, do they?
Some railroads, particularly shortlines still do. Just keep in mind, they are not actually "safety" rules or even "safe" work practices, but a form of "risk management." The safest thing to do is to do nothing, from that step on to doing something, more risks are incurred. When risks, for whatever motivation or purpose become "unacceptable," THEN measures are put into place to reduce the risk to an acceptable level or eliminate the risk. The end result is from behavior, basically.
@@lokomac8 So true. I havent been active in years, but when I first worked on our local operating railroad museum, we still used the (trailing end only) footboards on our center cab diesels when we switched our storage yard...we stopped around 1984, when the FRA outlawed that practice for good. Still got on and off moving equipment though, and its HARD to train volunteer operating crews on the safest way to mount/dismount a moving freight car.
Even in the 60's it was considered dangerous to ride on the footboard of a locomotive, and to get off a loco too close to the switch.
YLW Pyro Yeah, trainmen rode the footboard of steam locos as there weren't provisions for riding forward of the engr any place else...early diesel locos like the GP7 had footboards but the practice was discouraged because diesel locos had side steps...and getting off next to a switch will get you knocked out
+25mfd By the 80s, footboards on Diesels were a thing of the past. Getting on and off of moving cars and locos was still allowed. In the early 90s, that started to change. Santa Fe banned it in 1993.
Even the hand throw switches are dangerous
The iron weight at the end of the lever is easily able to smash a foot
Love those old kero switch lamps. But those gems wouldn't last long in most places today sadly.
First, thanks for the video. 😊 Rail passenger service seemed like it was better before government involvement. When private non government competition improves service.
Great full width diaphragm shot at 24:25. And I'd like to know more about the models used for the simulated engine/caboose crash at 36:30.
Back when people would actually do dangerous stuff in safety videos
What I learned was to carefully observe RULE 99!
Remember that these workers had to work up to 16 hour days...
very informative …excellent
how i wish i could've lived back then & worked on a locomotive. sigh. lol
Aidan Maurice feel free to drive me
I wish that many rail crossing didn't vanished...then again knowing how dangerous trains are....🤔🤔😳
I’ve worked on a Steam engine, it’s dirty as hell
good old film,,supprised any guys lived to tell the tale,,,,lol ,thanks.
Ahh, a brake club is what the bulls use to thump on HOBO's.
Great film, thanks
Nice of the railroad to use "The Royal Air Force March" as its background music
Wow, I thought I'd be the only person to recognize that - though I identified it as the Royal Canadian Air Force March!
Yes "Offshore…", 'responsibility', hell 'awareness' of surroundings seems to be a lost art these days. Great fun informative video ! Thanks R.J.McKay! Good common sense stuff. How different it was back then, when our society's 'madness' was younger and Earth was still a veritable cornucopia .
As a sometime vagabond I've been around old trains, truck stops, moving big equipment - I can relate a little and like trying to imagine what that world was like. Seems to me things made more sense then - but our relentless greed and lack of appreciation for what we had and the heavy price we were paying to achieve it has done us in. You know, evolution is evolution, and we never learned from our mistakes
so sad. . . . . . .
I like your term "relentless greed".
Does anyone else notice at the 0:24 mark, they misspelled "employees"?
In that day, it WAS an accepted spelling. When it fell completely out of favor I do not know.
It seems strange how even the steps on a rolling boiler full of fire and steaming hot water can freeze up.
The "safe" way is really the less dangerous way.
Exactly. It's all about risk management. The safest thing to do is nothing at all because as soon as you do something, you elevate the risk factor.