Snow plow duty

 Sometimes more than just a possibility!

Holy Crap - that is some footage of the derailment.

That video was part of the show.  What a humble seeming guy, didn’t sign up for space exploration...  his head was under his thigh...   ouch babe.  No thanks.

The caboose is NOT where you want to be.  The majority of work related injuries in the caboose days was because of . . . . . being in the caboose, unattached, and not knowing what was GOING to happen.  Russ

Ok, but being pushed by two or three high horsepower locomotives into a snowbank seems like unpleasant duty to me.  The caboose is just tailing along.  I still would rather be there than in the plow, headlong into who knows what, with all that juice and force behind me.  

ChiloquinRuss posted:

The caboose is NOT where you want to be.

A believe you may be confusing that snow plow with a caboose, as it has a cupola. The caboose was at the rear, behind the motive power.

  The majority of work related injuries in the caboose days was because of . . . . . being in the caboose, unattached,

By "unattached", do you mean seat belts?

and not knowing what was GOING to happen.

Experienced railroaders, i.e the Conductor and Rear Brakeman, did pretty much know what was going to happen, by the action of the brake pipe pressure gauge, and the sound of the slack run-in or run-out. They were all very familiar with their territory and instantly realized when something was going wrong.

  Russ

William 1 posted:

Ok, but being pushed by two or three high horsepower locomotives into a snowbank seems like unpleasant duty to me.

They were NOT "high horsepower", but 1750HP GP9 units. The speed necessary for pushing a snow plow is the real issue.

 The caboose is just tailing along.  I still would rather be there than in the plow, headlong into who knows what, with all that juice and force behind me.  

The guy in the video said he was being pushed by three GP9s.  1750 x 3 = 5250 HP.  That is a lot of ponies.  And a lot of steel behind you.  Steel isn’t real forgiving, last I remember.  I wouldn’t want that job, but if your boss tells you to get in there or go home, I guess you have no choice.  

Reminds me of when I used to be a laborer for the plasterers.  I was happy staying by the mixer throwing 80 lb bags of Portland cement and lime into it and running the mud over to the scaffold in a wheelbarrow.  One day old Charlie says, it’s your turn boy, up you go.  Carrying 5 gallon buckets of plaster over a pair of 2x10 planks four stories up to the guys who could stand on a toothpick and work away on the side of a building like it was nothing.  Get up there or you don’t get paid.  Oh man, I was happy when those days ended.  Afraid of heights and scared the whole time.  But I got paid.