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  • Track Breach protection

  • Discussion about the Union Pacific operations past and present. Official site can be found here: UPRR.COM.
Discussion about the Union Pacific operations past and present. Official site can be found here: UPRR.COM.

Moderator: GOLDEN-ARM

 #700760  by WÖØD
 
just wondering everyones thoughts on this? personally, i think its one of the more stupid things i've seen in a while. i understand the theory behind it, but still don't agree with it. think better situational awareness and training would do the trick instead of making up new rules
 #701400  by slchub
 
Seems like a "simple" fix to an issue that has to do with awareness when working on/near the main line as a TE&Y employee. It has been established on the Salt Lake Service Unit and I have encountered it once. With Amtrak we call the dispatcher for before turning a wheel departing the SLC depot to ensure that track breach protection (TBP) has not been set up that would involve our mvt.

A question posed which has yet to be answered is do you need to contact the train dispatcher (TD) for another subdivision if you cross over/onto it? We presume that the other TD would notify the TD for which you are currently on to place a block in your face to keep you from heading over to the other sub if there was indeed a TBP in place. But nobody can tell me if this is the case. Until then we call the TD and ask if TBP is in place when crossing over to a new subdivision.
 #701650  by WÖØD
 
yeah, the way it was explained to me was that the dispatcher would block out their boards much like a form b (unsure if you know CAD but different color blocks mean different things) basically from what i gather is that like on a main track (controlled by control operator) the employee would call the CO and state that they wanted TBP at the location where they are. the dispatcher would grant TBP and notify any trains close to the move of the TBP. i might be wrong, but i'll give you a scenario. a local is working in the siding at Bess and you are leaving your intial terminal of Anna. after the disp. gives you a signal to depart, 10 miles away a local calls and says they want TBP. dispatcher grants them it. now its the dispatchers job to instruct you of the TBP. i think it falls on the disp to notify you of TBP, then its your responsibility to contact the employee to see if you can enter the limits. thats the best i can make of it, basically the whole point of it is to make us walk on the field side. hope that helps
 #741299  by Gadfly
 
I'm "rusty", but under the old CTC, you would, of course, be talking to dispatchers on the division you're on, proceed according to signal indication (you can't enter a block anyway without either an "Approach prepared........." or a full "Green" board) and, if you were crossing onto another division, you would receive what was called under OUR operations, a "Form 23A" (permission to proceed past open station and Train Order signal). This would be handed up with any additional orders by the TO operator. On a busy division, there were usually PLENTY of orders from "running" orders, to "High & Wide" to "maintenance" orders ("approach prepared to STOP short of MP 106.5 and do not proceed until contacting MOW foreman Jones that the way is clear)". They would usually be talking to the dispatcher(s) well prior to aproaching a division change, and the transition would be smoothe. I "think
(and it's been a LONG time since I was an Operator) there WAS an order that went with this, but it didn't specify directly it was a division change, but it merely stated that, "Train # 134 is to proceed from (XXXXXX) to (ZZZZZZZZ) not protecting against other trains (which meant it was the superior move and other trains had to clear up for it). Lord, I've forgotten so much of this stuff!!!! :P
All of this is, of course, on Southern/ Norfolk Southern!

GF
 #741515  by slchub
 
slchub wrote:Seems like a "simple" fix to an issue that has to do with awareness when working on/near the main line as a TE&Y employee. It has been established on the Salt Lake Service Unit and I have encountered it once. With Amtrak we call the dispatcher for before turning a wheel departing the SLC depot to ensure that track breach protection (TBP) has not been set up that would involve our mvt.

A question posed which has yet to be answered is do you need to contact the train dispatcher (TD) for another subdivision if you cross over/onto it? We presume that the other TD would notify the TD for which you are currently on to place a block in your face to keep you from heading over to the other sub if there was indeed a TBP in place. But nobody can tell me if this is the case. Until then we call the TD and ask if TBP is in place when crossing over to a new subdivision.
Per the new UPRR General Orders we no longer need to call the dispatcher to ascertain if TB is in effect before turning a wheel so long as we have a controlled signal in view and it provides a "proceed" indication. That takes away some of the work load for the Amtrak hoggers as we can just head on out the chute and get going without toning the head honcho up.