Commute from Hell

The LIRR put in one its worst performances in my 20+ years of commuting this morning.

Caught the 7:33 from Oceanside, which didn't show up in the station until close to 8:15. This meant it was handling passengers who normally take the 7:49, 8:06, 8:13 and 8:18 trains in addition to its regular load. To add insult to injury, the train was running on the eastbound track and was two cars short.

The train lost additional time due to slow running and lengthy station stops at East Rockaway, Centre Ave., Lynbrook and Valley Stream. Since there was no service on the Atlantic Branch, we were diverted onto to Montauk and thankfully skipped stops at Rosedale and Laurelton; there wouldn't have been room for any more passengers, anyway.

Outside Jamaica we waited nearly 10 minutes until track space cleared. West of there, the railroad ran like normal; we came through Kew Gardens, Forest Hills and Woodside at track speed. The train arrived in NYP at 9:40 a.m., almost 1:20 late.

I know this was caused by the weather, but it is really pathetic when less than an inch of snow can foul up an entire railroad. LIRR employees, shame on you!! You let us down today and you owe us an apology.

This mornings snow caught everyone off guard, I went to bed yesterday and it was 44 degrees out in Moriches. And this morning it was 14. The heaviest snow hit out on eastern long island, preety much anything east of old nichols road including the Ronkonkoma Yard and Station. The roads were not much better. My 25 minute commute from Moriches to Ronkonkoma took 1 hr 15 minutes this morning!

I don't think it was so much snow as the sudden drop in temps last night. RR tracks and switches do strange things like bend or snap when the temp changes 30 degrees that quickly.

It wasn't all roses up North this morning, either. The snow that fell was the fine powder and I was 30 minutes late this morning as well.

We're not through yet...it is supposed to be 60 on Thursday. Better turn the AC back on.

I went over to Lynbrook this morning around 8 and by 9:30 2 trains had come through and you could't get on. By 9:30 I went home. Do I get a refund?

I think the worst day of commuting was back in 1950, when an MU rear ended another MU at speed, and almost 100 people were killed.

Does that put it in perspective for you?

It was posted above, sharp dips in temperature tend to make rails break and crack. A good, safe railroad lowers speed and/or cancels trains if it is unsafe to to public to run them.

I'm sure the roads weren't much better either.

Jay

Yes it sure was "interesting" today. I was on 1 of the non disabled westbound trains on the atlantic branch that had to go back eastward to valley to cross over to the montauk. At valley they decided to "wrong" main us to jamaica, only to discover while almost to Rosedale that there was another disabled train! Both Atlantic mains blocked ! This commute today will be cannon fodder to the newspapers and media! And they want a fare hike ! LMAO!

Im sure the old time railroaders are turning over in their graves over the "New" LIRR.

Most of the delays weren't caused by track or switch trouble. It was casued by disabled trains all over the place. Even the M-7's were having their fair share of problems. I even seen one being rescued by an MP-15AC near Rosedale about 9am. Thats the one that started it all on the Atlantic Branch. Train lost all of it's 3rd rail shoes somehow. The cold and snow caught everyone with their pants down, and the sudden drop in temps didn't help either. Another glorious morning on the LIRR!!

the 3th rail shoes fell off wow

jayrmli wrote:I think the worst day of commuting was back in 1950, when an MU rear ended another MU at speed, and almost 100 people were killed.

Does that put it in perspective for you?

It was posted above, sharp dips in temperature tend to make rails break and crack. A good, safe railroad lowers speed and/or cancels trains if it is unsafe to to public to run them.

I'm sure the roads weren't much better either.

Jay

Is that your response, Mr. Jay? That I should be thankful that I wasn't killed? A fine railroad attitude you have, sir!

I'm sorry, sir. But for $2,300 a year, I have expectations of something better. Not playing Russian roulette every time I step on board.

Also, your scientific knowledge leaves something to be desired. Steel contracts when it gets cold. It expands when it gets heated. That's why there are heat kinks during hot weather that result in slow orders.

FWIW, the temperature dropped 23 degrees in a 10-hour period. A sharp drop, yes, but hardly a sudden drop, and one that should cause rail damage.

No, in all likelilood, today's delays were the result of poor preparation reflecting disinterest and incompetence on the part of LIRR management and workers. The spirit of public service needs to be revitalized within the ranks of the Long Island Rail Road because it surely wasn't there this morning.

The shoes didn't fall off...I should have been clearer in my post. There was a third rail condition just east of Lynbrook that knocked them off.
As far as the workers not caring or doig whats needed, I suggest that next time you ride in a bad weather situation, you look out the window. The workers are always out there doing what is necessary to keep the railroad moving as best as they can taking orders from incompetent managers. Unfortunatly, we can only do what we are told to do. We really aren't allowed to think for ourselves.

The shoes were knocked off by a broken end approach on the third rail.

When a third rail goes out of alignment, tips over or breaks, it causes the shoes to shear. The iron contact shoes are made to break off easily and limit damage to the shoe beam and mounting gear. Just hope to never be around when they come whizzing off at high speed...

The problem is that often only some break off, and the problem goes unnoticed for miles, which leads to a frantic search for "the pile of shoes" to pinpoint the trouble spot.

Most Railroaders do their jobs. Remember that more than half of the workforce on the LIRR has less than five years on the job and most crafts take far more than five years to master.

Also bear in mind that as a generation, new hires have had far less exposure to mechanical things than their older contempories.

We can discuss work ethic, etc, but in reality the new employees are probably not much different than the older ones in this area. Most are dedicated and determined to get the job done. Some are less capable than others and a small minority simply doesn't care. Probably a similar cross-section in any business...

As a railroader, I can apologize to any rider who was stuck this morning. But I can honestly say that human factors hardly contributed to their delay. Today, the workforce truly battled the elements to help move things along.

As far as incompetent managers are concerned, the Railroad is expanding its management force at a frightening rate. New managers are offered very poor pay for positions which tend to attract those high in ego and low in experience and skill. This results in a force of a hundred snitches rather than a dozen problem solvers.

The career foreman, who earned his stripes working up through the ranks is a dying breed... the Railroad simply no longer pays the wages they command. Veteran workers can count the good managers on one hand. They rally workers, value the expertise of their men and are a welcome sight when trouble brews.

No notable mistakes, fiascos or operating errors this morning... just cold and snow.

Clem

Jay, I would like to commend you on your extensive railroading knowledge. As you stated, rails indeed break and crack in extreme cold weather due to becoming brittle...I admit that as an LIRR worker ant, I am incompetant, but I've seen broken rails in cold weather.

In addition, I have also seen 3rd rail CONTRACT so much in cold weather that it deforms and knocks the contact shoes off MU trains.

As Jay would know and other worker ants in the rail industry, severe heat kinks don't warrant "slow orders" they warrant "no orders"...you can't go.

It really pissses me off when I hear all these people complain about delays on the LIRR and then accuse the employees of not caring. First of all, as an employee, I can personally tell you, I do my job, and I do care, and so do everyone else who I work with. unfortunately things happen, and sometimes it's beyond our control. Please do not disrespect us and consider us the problem. We do our best, and quite simply, we actually do it a lot better than many other commuter agencies country wide. Is it an inconvinience? Of course it is, you think you will do better in your car? This is what I will say, you think the LIRR has such crappy service? Well, shut up, and get into your car, drive to work, find a parking space in the city or pay your Bargin priced parking lots and then tell me how you do!

LIRR commuters are the worst of the worst. You never hear MNR commuters complain, yet over the past few winters, they have had serious problems during bad weather. NJ Transit commuters never complain, and they too experience problems during bad weather. This Island is filled with a bunch of whinning over paid babies who expect premium service out of public transportation. Here is a word to learn "PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION!!" It doesn't say anything like the word personal does it??? Even more amazing is that if you go elsewhere in the country, you will be lucky if you even get a fraction of the service that the LIRR offers. Try waiting for your train on an Hourly schedule during rush hour everyday! Even better, imagine the LIRR not even existing at all, being forced to drive in your car instead! Well many cities across the country are exactly like that, and they make traffic in New York and on the LIE look like a picnic. But I'm sure most LIRR commuters have never had the opportunity to deal with this scenario. It brings the phrase "you don't know what you got till it's gone". Maybe the RR should shut down for 1 week and let Long Islanders feel what it's like to not have a reliable 24 hour 7-day operating Public transportation.

Sorry folks, when bad weather comes, things happen, things break, things malfunction, and delays occur. Nothing is perfect in this world or in yours. And please, if you don't work for the RR and if you don't really know much about issues concerning the third rail or even our equipment, please keep your opinions to yourself regarding what the problem was this morning. On the contrary, a drastic drop in temperature can cause serious problems to the entire infrastructure of the RR. Rails can break, third rail can have a build up of ice, rails can warp, and many other scenarios can occur. Lastly, as was said before, a truly bad day commuting was a day when many commuters lost their lives from an accident. What are you complaining about?? that you were late today, Oh poor baby, I guess that life is not as meaningfull as getting to work on-time. Everday of the year, the employees of the LIRR do their damn best to not only get you to and from work on-time, but most importantly, we consistantly get you there safely, and that it something we truly take seriously. As a saying goes, "we want to get home the same way we came into work, alive". Please don't be ignorant and sellfish. And while I totally disagree with raise in fares and all the constant mismanagement on the MTA, the amount of money that commuters spend to travel on the RR is still comparable and even cheaper than it is to rely on your own personal veichle to commute. Try doing the mathematics (Gas, maintainance, parking, tolls, insurance, car payments) it adds up, and I know, because I got rid of one of our two cars long ago, even before I started to work on the LIRR, and I saved money then! Thanks to all those folks above who obviously know what they are talking about (Clemuel, LIengineerBob).

I don't want to sound disgruntal but the platforms were very bad late last night and there was no reason why they coundn't get them ready for the commute. Crew members fell at Flushing and Island Park last night around 10pm. They were reported. But instead of taking care of ice every tower and yard master was reminding crews to open all cars to the public last night even early morning trains. I don't think a train leaving Far Rockaway at 1am Monday morning needed all cars open because of increased holiday passangers. What was up with that???

Yes indeed, it was very stupid to open all cars. Try operating a 12 car train on a Ronkonkoma west bound on a late Sunday night! The rear 4 cars were completely empty. Rumor has it that someone important was on a train the other day and was very pissed at the fact that people were standing and that some cars were closed off. Of course what that person fails to understand is that even after you tell people to walk back for seats, they simply ignore what you say and prefer to stay on top of each other at the front of the train. Those same people then complain saying that they had to stand up the whole entire time. Truthfully, we can run a 16 car train, and people will still rush into the front of the train and sardine themselves while the rest of the train remains empty.

I use to be a station cleaner, and yes, the platforms were a block of ice last night, unfortunately, it takes time to get employees out there in-time to clean the stations. It use to take Crew Dispatch almost 4 hours to contact me during a snow storm (sometimes it was my Foreman who called me personally on my cell to request for me to report to duty earlier than the reporting time).