"Getting Off on the Right Foot" -- Railroad Safety Film circa 1972

[@radioactivewraith]

This dude legit put his life on the line to make this video

[@benjaminmarks8765]

He put his life on the line every day

[@ridgec5670]

I know! How many times in the video when we was showing the wrong way did he almost get his feet under the wheels.

[@2H80vids]

Must have been black and blue when they finished filming.😁

[@getmeoutofsanfrancisco9917]

@Isaacstuff I was curious how old he was. RIP

[@Tbolt881]

This dude is my hero.

[@Wutzdegleinitz1630]

The man in this film Is Mr. Glen Roper. He worked on the Union Pacific railroad in many capacities over the years. He had done some stunt work in movies (I don't know which ones) and had also on occasion performed as a professional wrestler as the "Masked Marvel". I met Mr. Roper in Los Angeles when I went to inquire about employment on the U.P. and he was in the personnel office at that time (Oct.1973) and I hired out as a laborer in Maintenance of Way. In 1974 I went into engine service and Mr. Roper was giving the rules classes to us. He had worked in train service for many years. He was very knowledgeable of many aspects of railroading. Those old heads from that generation were a bunch of tough , hard working people. They were an interesting bunch and I was glad to have had the opportunity to learn from them.

[@littletrainguy]

good job I did not know that

[@BossSpringsteen69]

If six of the managers where i work saw some of the no longer allowed work processes that this guy is performing, they would crap their pants, trip over each other, and get a case of the shakes just trying to write this guy up.

[@sdkfz2512]

James Krause Wow, my dad was born in 1972. Lol

[@blueringedoctopus4778]

James Krause it was in the credits

[@flipflopsguy8868]

Wow great information, I was happy when I recognized old downtown Los Ageless in the background and was trying to figure out if the gentleman was an actual railroad training man or a stuntman when realized it was the rail yard along the Los Angeles river and not somewhere in middle America. Now with your great information I know who he was and where it was and I add I was born in Los Angeles and my grandfather was a big fan of wrestling and roller derby and went every chance he could to The Olympic Auditorium and he would take me along sometimes but I was a tv kid and watched mostly at home on our ten inch black and white, 72 was twelve years old. 😊

[@rcanterb7126]

“A little bit careless, that’s like being a little bit pregnant.” Best quote ever.

[@dickJohnsonpeter]

He stuck his hand in there. Sometime last Tuesday. Just so you know.

[@ActionNewsNetwork]

the good old days lol

[@1978garfield]

Was anyone else concerned after he said that he said "Come on" and then there is a pause... Is he going to attempt to impregnate the new hires?

[@The_Conspiracy_Analyst]

but you CAN be a little bit pregant. You can be 1 week pregnant. That's different than being 8 months pregnant, no?

[@dsandoval9396]

@@The_Conspiracy_Analyst no.

[@Elodea]

I can't imagine a modern safety production team even allowing and actor or stuntman to do some of the "examples" this guy demonstrated. OSHA inspectors would go nuts!

[@eugenetswong]

Yeah, some of it looked painful.

[@caseD5150]

OSHA is a buncha cunts

[@frank6842]

@@caseD5150 until they keep you from dying because a company is too cheap to invest in safety equipment

[@ryansaunders65]

But that's the problem. These examples will literally save your life. So much red tape oversight makes people overlook why it was made in the first place... To save your butt.

[@joeybickley4877]

Elodea first of all, OSHA has nothing to do with RR operations, the FRA does. This guy was actually in marketing but, before working for UP, he was a professional wrestler he knew how to fall. He passed away in 2004. I’m a retired operating instructor for UP.

[@flounder48]

Mr. Roper was most definitely a Union Pacific Employee. He conducted my student trips (training classes) when I hired on in 1967. Among other things, he walked the class around the entire East [Los Angeles] Yard and named every track from memory. We had to learn them all as part of our training. Years later, after I had left the railroad, he graciously met with me at the East L.A. office (now long gone), rolled out the ink-on-linen plan of the yard, and named all the tracks again so I could take notes. I was just a railfan by then, hoping someday to build a layout based on the yard. The man was exceptional.

[@chrisaceglav6579]

No

[@redrock717]

How come you left the job if I may ask?

[@adksherm]

No? Yes! Reminds me of mother's bush!

[@yellowpole9651]

😢😌

[@sab0nes]

That was when the tracks were ok n the streets in Los Angeles? I remember they even had a train track straight into the central USPS office

[@JawTooth]

I love these old productions

[@canadianpacificstudios5835]

Heyyyy jawtooth big fan!

[@user-dh9oz9um2w]

Same

[@aperfectspongebobpopsicle2221]

@Joaquin Spragley wth

[@timothyxv171mmmpertinentgamer]

My friend love this Video how Awesome

[@metro-northrailroadproduct5043]

I'ma big Jaw Tooth fan Jaw Tooth

[@Dannyedelman4231]

This is glen roper he retired not too long after this was filmed, and he passed away from natural causes in the 90s or early 2000s

[@staticr1055]

This old man giving me a heart attacks just watching this video.

[@spiffster05]

OMG I totally agree, the suspense has me constantly on edge. I honestly don't know if I can watch the whole thing!

[@scottprendergast2680]

Static R old man? OLD MAN?! TAKE CARE WITH YOUR WORDS AS He can probably Out Walk, Out run as well as Out fight You- take note: he’s built Like A bear, deceptively fast and probably healthy as An ox- take note : This “Old Man” did all his O W N S T U N T S....

[@thelasthallow]

he had probably been doing this job for like 40 years, he was probably the best man the company had on staff and thats how he got on this safety video.

[@briankoski2532]

Badass El Camino at 20:00. Yeah, this dude's a badass too!

[@andeoo]

I couldnt say exactly how scary it was to watch his foot get that close to the wheels

[@Tony511utu]

You couldn't make a training film like this now. When I was hired in 77 we still did everything they do in this film except ride the tops of the cars. Now, they can't get on or off moving equipment. Retired last year and glad.

[@Don-et3yp]

I have been gone from UP for nearly 15 years now. When I left no getting on or off moving equipment. All of us old heads were retiring and they were sending the kiddies to school to learn how to run locomotive on he ground. Turned them loose just as soon as they marked up for work. There wasn’t a lot of work that got done with two new hires working the same job. The so called school did not teach them any kind of short cuts to make the work easier and faster. An most of the new hires thought they knew it all anyway, after all they just went to school for six weeks to learn how to play train. I was a safety man and I can tell you one thing about the UP railroad, if they needed something done in a hurry you could break every one of the rules in the book if you got the job done for them and didn’t tear anything up, and no one got hurt and nothing would be said. Oh and they would come to an old head crew to get the job done in a hurry.

[@Bohica-tq3ps]

Congrats to you two guys on retirement, I pulled the pin in 2009 with 43 years. Started with the Santa Fe as a switchman and finished with BNSF as a conductor. I never walked the top of cars either, but I rode the footboards on engines. Years before I retired they stopped us from getting on or off moving equipment. If the company had done that sooner my back and knees might not hurt so much.

[@Syclone0044]

Wow, from a safety standpoint right away it stuck out to me how they would board relatively fast moving equipment. Can’t say I’m too surprised they’ve ended that practice. I wonder how many total human lives and limbs were lost up to that point? I bet it’s in 5 or 6 digits.

[@michlo3393]

Yay for you. Thanks for the 1985 National Agreement too. 👍 You guys single-handedly FUCKED everybody who'd come on after you. And people call US selfish. And for the whole "back in my day" shit, well it must have been nice with your little 4,000-foot train with a full crew to do the work! wow! and a rule book the size of a Denny's menu, how tough.

[@jsccs1]

Got four years on myself. In the time I've been on the job they've gotten rid of getting on/off moving equipment, kicking unless stated as allowed in special instructions, gravity drops, and running switch moves. They've also created these... route indicating boxes for switches, which in practice makes it so we can no longer run semi autos.

[@TheRantingCabbie]

I couldn't help but laugh at $3K to clean up that derailment. But this is close to 50 years ago.

[@David-cy5zu]

Its not because of inflation. Rather it was made by company itself.

[@DKrueger1994]

Now these day, it would be a lot more than $3,000 for a derail cleanup

[@CosbyTheCaterpillar]

$3,000 in 1972 is about $18,000 today.

[@JohnSmith-lw2bm]

Probably 3 million today.

[@DKrueger1994]

@@JohnSmith-lw2bm that, plus a full scale investigation by the State's Department of Transportation, National Transportation Safety Board, and either County Sheriff or State Police

[@CathodeULT]

I hope they gave him a helluva bonus for making this.

[@teresapyeatt3698]

He worked for the railroad and worked as a stunt man on the side. So, right up his alley.

[@uuuultra]

probably didn't

[@jersyflame8952]

At 25 years I'm an old head now. I've never gotten on moving equipment faster than 2 mph. Mad respect for this guy and all the railroaders of the past.

[@Komodofq8]

At CP we can do 4mph... but I often do it at 7 or 8 🤫

[@peterfleming4431]

You have two arms, two legs, two eyes, etc. You only have one back, one brain...be mindful of the the things you only have one of! Goddamn the oldschool guys were tough, but insane, SOB's.

[@mha53]

peter fleming oh .. I understood pack instead of back hahahah

[@TheNemosdaddy]

they weren't tough, they were stupid. A lot of them got killed and derailments were through the roof. If you ever looked at the statistics from the 1950's-1980 you'd been blown away at how bad things really were.

[@thetransportationguy7930]

Back then when you lost a finger the doctor would say, “it’ll grow back.”

[@verdun7390]

@@TheNemosdaddy people still get killed because of complacency. I see you have coined the 1950's-1980 whereas that's when the trucking industry took over the market share. Now those fatalities hit the interstates. I wonder what the statistics of moving freight by truck has on people being killed.

[@justforever96]

Personally I dont know that I value either of my legs or arms any the less just because I have two of them. Better to lose one of those than my back, certainly, but I would rather be careful of all of them.

[@Carstuff111]

I have said this before, and it still applies here too. This was back when men, were men. And at this point, at least someone cared enough to make a film to (hopefully) step safety up. I remember seeing this film back in the 1990s, as on an actual film projector. I can not for the life of me remember where or why, but I was hooked and it is still great to watch all these years later.

[@ushelushel1]

Anyone else now binge watching old safety videos that popped up in your recommended after you watched shake hands with danger

[@Rena152]

* guitar riff *

[@uuuultra]

🇺🇸

[@HappyHands.]

2:44 "Cushion?? Nah, just trow a couple blankets on the ground"

[@SDCustoms]

And women were too.

[@skiney]

@@RVD2448 so that means you are not a man.

[@spottySTC]

2 years ago, while returning back home at a evening, i took a nasty fall. Somebody left a wire across the road, i couldn't notice it because of darkness, and i almost broke my arm on an impact. I really wish there was at least a blanket like in the video there in front of me that day.

[@HappyHands.]

@@spottySTC motorbiking?

[@spottySTC]

@@HappyHands. Nah, just bike :)

[@gusmc2220]

dang! hats off to the guy doing the demonstration of getting on and off moving equipment! he took some CRAZY risks and hard hits especially at the 05:50 mark.so many modern rules broken! lol

[@bored.in.california2111]

+Gus Mc People back then knew how to take hits and punches. You wouldn't mess with an old guy in those days.

[@tommytruth7595]

+Gus Mc Not really. That guy was a Hollywood stunt man.

[@gusmc2220]

well seeing as how a guy I personally know and have worked with multiple times who has nearly 30 years of experience broke his ankle not that long ago getting off a car, and another gal who works not 100 miles from me was balled up and killed when she was pinned between two cars, I still think he was taking some crazy risks.

[@lokomac8]

+Tommy Truth -- actually, he WAS a switchman. I think someone posted here earlier that knew him.

[@eliotvideos2009]

Gus Mc and the switch thing looked painful

[@coloradostrong]

Fur those wondering, a box car is loaded if you can stick your fingers in between the load springs barely up to the knuckle. If your fingers go in almost to your hand it's unloaded. And when a consist of cars is sitting alone somewhere and you want to catch out on a nice grainer, to determine which way the cars will leave or which end the locomotive will attach to is simple. The brake line has a open/close valve on each car by the coupler. The car with the air valve closed (whichever end of the line of cars) is the *end* of the consist that the loco will not hook up to. That closed air-line valve is the end of the line for the air brakes so the loco will hook up to the end with the valve in the open position.

[@trentonjennings9105]

Cool to see Archie Bunker worked for the railroad.

[@m1sterhockey]

This guy is my hero. You'd think the guy they would have do this video would be like 30. Instead they get a 65 year old. Great stuff!!!

[@kingbenjamin22]

Who knew Archie Bunker was so knowledgeable about train safety?

[@captainkeyboard1007]

The real Archie Bunker may have been only Carroll O'Connor.

[@rjohnson1690]

"Gravity with all the the horsepower of the Earth is now the engine!"

[@SouthernRailPhotography]

+R Johnson OH NO STOP GRAVITY STOP GRAVITY STOP OH NO MOVE GUY MOVE BOXCARS THE GRAVITY TRAIN IS COMING!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@eliotvideos2009]

R Johnson I think that part got the message across to the viewers lol

[@kellypenrod2979]

An that ain't no joke brothers!! Don't matter if it's a consist of car's, a semi truck, or a dozer, gravity rules!!

[@AFriendlyTheo]

​@@kellypenrod2979 "set yourself in a sled and go down a steep hill- the power of the earth will quickly become apparent to you"- Grandpa Wayne, rest in peace.

[@kellypenrod2979]

I will give you a much scarier example Theo, LOOSE your brakes in a semi on a 9% grade with a 125000 lbs!! I am VERY well acquainted with the power of gravity! And like I said, IT AIN'T NO JOKE!!

[@rogergotstoned3291]

Dang Mr Roper "Shook hands with danger" often in this safety video.

[@ocsrc]

OMG, he really hit that switch stand. That really hurt. He must have been black and blue for week

[@jonmacdonald5345]

Actually they had to replace the switch stand after being hit by his enormous Balls!

[@B-and-O-Operator-Fairmont]

That is where "acting" comes into play. He knew "how" to hit it so it looked violent but without risk of injury. While it is true stuntmen can be injured, they know how to minimize the risks. Otherwise, no one would take the job.

[@mrgrinch35iswise62]

THIS needs to be required viewing for today's yard workers.

[@veronicadaugherty3760]

Hats off to this man for risking limb and life to teach the rookies

[@timeforbeans]

Gotta respect an old head like this. He knows what hes talking about

[@zachbrenner9959]

"A car only has to move a couple inches to give you a hell of a squeeze." Remember folks, don't stick your fingie where you wouldn't stick your dinkie

[@kablammy7]

one of my favorite railroad sayings : there are old trainmen and there are bold trainmen - but there are no old bold trainmen

[@chooch1995]

I hired on in the mid 90's & this was one of the first things we learned during our yard training. Seems pretty simple to most, it would be banned as the company began hiring what I'd call 'less than qualified' individuals en masse which couldn't grasp the concept. What comes around, goes around as they say...the method was recently re-introduced as being acceptable as pressures from Precision Scheduled Railroading prevailed! When the big wigs rolled out PSR, we tried to explain to them that their own rule book & dimwitted 'managers' were going to be like oil & water as compared to blending PSR concepts. They laughed it off, initially....but what do you know! Gobs of rules were cast away in an effort to move trains!

[@verdun7390]

Not being able to get on and off moving equipment is asinine. Waiting until the slack runs out and equipment not moving doesn't apply to tank cars. No one ever said you "Have to do anything" Riding cars is an option. I am a huge proponent of off and on. Its definitely not for everyone. Most Switchman know their limitations. The savings in fuel alone could save jobs if allocated correctly.

[@plushnpuppetshenanigans5948]

New dance move. The "I put my foot on the wrong side of the stirrup"

[@Max_R_MaMint]

To get your left foot in take your right foot out To get your left foot in you have to hop and bounce Jam your left foot in Where you took the right one out Thats what its all about

[@uuuultra]

dad humor

[@lindathrall5133]

THANK YOU FOR THIS VIDEO IN LOVING MEMORY OF MY DAD HE WORKED ON THE RAILROAD FOR 11 YEARS

[@uhlijohn]

I watched this film when I was in brakeman's school for the CNW at Proviso in May 1974 shortly after I hired out. I spent 40 years on the RR. CNW from 1974 to 1995 and the UPRR from 1995 to 2013. It was a great job and wish I was still working. I've been retired for nearly 6 years now....:-(

[@HazeGreyAndUnderway]

Can you provide any advice for someone looking to get into a rr these days? I don't necessarily have any specific schooling that I think would directly apply, but I have manual labor experience and a history of intensive safety training already.

[@TheChoochooboy99]

I used to run a transfer train out of the NS Ashland Ave yard to Proviso. It was always a crap shoot as to which yard I would end up in. Usually it was either Yard Two or Yard Nine. I always loved that run. I was always guaranteed the twelve and then at least two hours waiting for PTI to grab us and take us back to Ashland. I kinda miss doing that but don’t at the same time.

[@thejmc4074]

Aldo Raine don't. That's the advice. You'll get laid ofd

[@thejmc4074]

Enjoy your retirement

[@billduncan6786]

So, who is this? I probably worked with you. I'm still here, an Engineer now out of Proviso.

[@LegendsWorkshop]

Poor old Mr. Roper opens this film like a legend, with the stigmata wave lookin' like his wife just died. Lead the way and Rest Easy, Sir

[@CustomMuscleCarAccessories]

This gentleman can practically show you an example of a botch in a moving locomotive and still not get hurt even when it looks like he's actually in pain. Very professional 👍

[@lande18072]

43 years later and it all still applies today

[@priority6885]

Eli Wilson Train Videos Not all, but most

[@arcnova1982]

Getting on and off moving equipment is a thing of the past sadly. Wish it wasnt.

[@jrrailroad7631]

arcnova1982 nova they still let us do it at KCS, but I think we are one of the last.

[@arcnova1982]

@@jrrailroad7631 damn u guys are lucky. Makes switching a whole lot faster.

[@robertjennings397]

Eli Wi now.

[@michaelschultz5127]

He's his own stuntman. You have to give to him to do this film. One brave railroad man.

[@splithoof9567]

This is a great film! The body mechanics of how to do something without injury are amazing. I could see how everything he presents nearly fifty years ago applies today. I don't work in the rail Industry, and don't know what procedures are used now, but what he demonstrated made 100% sense to me.

[@acehandler1530]

We had an instructor (1977) that had to wear special shoes, he took his right shoe off to show us, his heel was about 1" further back than it should have been - from getting off the train when it was going a 'bit too fast' for many years he told us. Also had 3 vertebrae fused in his neck from a collision when he was riding in the engine - and he was slammed bent over into the front bulkhead! What a trooper!

[@bluehand9631]

Hired on the Penn Central in 1969. Didn't get all this training if I remember right. Lots of others hazards to watch out for too. Materials hanging off gondola cars, kids throwing rocks at the way car and engine, snow and ice etc.. Working the hump yard at night was probably the most dangerous. Never knew when those cars would move while you were hooking up air lines. I was actually on a train that got robbed. Taking a drag from one yard to another, they dumped the air and set the brakes. Then cut the seal on a car full of new tires. Tires rolled out into the ghetto and disappeared. I grabbed a brake handle and started out of the engine when the engineer grabbed me and sat me down. He said " kid those aren't our tires, you stay put and let the railroad cops handle it". That went on for years until they finally caught the inside man. It was a car checker that marked the hit car.Back in the day before air brakes, thousands of brakemen were killed yearly. Sometimes they wouldn't bother retrieving the body. I didn't stay on but about a year. Had other fish to fry I guess. Good memories of my time on the rails.

[@Leland45028]

Let me guess ? uncle sam sent you a letter.

[@Bretyllium]

One of the greatest railroad safety videos ever made. The sheer audacity of some of the things the actor did was shocking and awesome examples of real life applications. Getting himself hit by a switch stand sign while riding a car was amazingly bad and I don't know if he was a stuntman but he seemed to understand railroading in the way he moved.

[@calcutt4]

He was a railway employee

[@evanforst7272]

The one that got me was the “impaired clearance” one.

[@contextspecific]

Glen Roper what a legend

[@juans6639]

Brings back memories of me and the neighborhood kids in the 1950's early 1960's when we used to hop on the cars like this man was doing. At present, I am now too old to do that....LOL. Great instructional film.

[@armchairrocketscientist4934]

My Grandpa hopped on and off steam locomotives back in the 50s. He even fired the 844.

[@Surfliner450]

That’s amazing!

[@twizz420]

I absolutely love old instructional videos. When we used to have to watch them in school, everyone would complain and fall asleep and I was secretly watching intently from the back of the room.

[@James_Knott]

Many years ago, I was a technician with CN Telecommunications, the telecom arm of CN Rail. Back in the mid 70's, when I worked in Northern Ontario, I often rode freights, in either the engine or caboose (van as they called it). Because the engineers didn't like stopping if they didn't have to, this meant I often had to hop on or off a moving train. Incidentally, that section on properly setting the brakes reminded me of a disaster that happened in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, back in 2013. To save money, the railway was running trains with only one crew member. When he left the train, he hadn't set enough brakes. During the night, the locomotive providing air for the brakes caught fire and was shut down. As a result, with inadequate brakes, the train rolled into town and derailed, with it's load of oil exploding and destroying much of the town and killing 47 people!

[@pennsyr1]

Of all the railroad educational and instructional videos I've seen, this was definitely the most entertaining! You're certainly right that the elements of humor help to hold one's attention and make the subject matter stick. Thank you for sharing this bit of railroad history with the rest of us!

[@googoo-gjoob]

wow, the _risks_ and *expenses* they took to make this. impressive.

[@ghostchips170]

‘A little bit careless, that’s like being a little bit pregnant.’ Iconique™️

[@brentboswell1294]

Still have my grandpa's railroad lantern, he passed away when I was 1 year old...freight conductor on the SP.

[@crapper1]

Wow he almost lost a leg more than once doing this

[@antoy384]

john leininger “We broke our leg so you don’t have to break yours!”

[@anniebellemiller2986]

And an arm.

[@davidlussier2104]

Ill never get tired of those old safety videos They are the best

[@Mark-wrecken]

Infinitely more informative than any newer videos that just push false company values

[@byronnelson2549]

Memories with Southern Pacific in Dalhart Texas in 1995. This guy is incredible. I can believe he was a stuntman and railroad employee. They were tough old heads back then. At present OSHA would faint at this video. I do miss the rail and a high ball 🚆 Train

[@kablammy7]

Wow this brings back memories . The rules specifically state which foot and which hand to move when and where . Dismounting in an incorrect fashion is against the rules because it is dangerous . I know from experience . In order to dismount in that improper manner, you must swing yourself out and away from the travel of the train to reduce the relative ground speed differential to your impacting first step . The faster you are going, the faster you have to make the swing . Watch the video - when he hits the ground with the first foot - he is facing directly toward his line of travel . At a higher the speed there would be far greater tendency for that left foot to move swiftly to his rear, relative to his right foot still on the train . Which means a fast pivot of his body to the left . That could easily cause twisted ankles or a fall . Or worse a pivot and out of balance fall back towards the moving train . Another factor to consider is that almost all the time, you are stepping on loose rocks . That means that the faster the speed, the more likely that your first step might want to slide rather than plant . There is also a rule for what is the top speed that you are allowed to mount and dismount . I have had that happen one time when we were going too fast and I dismounted PROPERLY. I leaned way down towards the direction of travel so that the angle of my leg, to the ground, was too low, causing my foot to slide and I hit the ground . Now for the experience of dismounting improperly . One time I was riding on the side of a TTX flat car and we were moving a bit fast . It was fast enough that I had to make quite a fast improper swing in the same manner that the man in the video made . I guess I would have been ok if it were not for the top of the long lever hand brake which was only a few inches from the TTX hand rail . The direction of travel was to the left ( just as in the video ) . When I made my big swing - releasing my left hand and foot - pivoting quickly back away from the direction of travel - as I released my right hand from the ladder and wanting to drop my right foot off the foot stirrup - I suddenly was being dragged through the air by the brake lever which caught my right leg behind the knee . Fortunately it slung me around in a circle; my leg was released and I dropped down on the tracks on my hands and knees . That was over 40 years ago and I remember it just like it was yesterday . My leg could have easily gotten wedged behind that lever and I would have been dragged down the track with my head hitting the ground etc ...

[@zudemaster]

Growing up next to some train tracks as a kid back in the 70s-80s we were always playing around the tracks. Jumping on and off of moving trains. INSANE. Thinking back on it scares the Hell out of me now.

[@patrickfogarty2961]

I have honestly used this training video for about 12 years already. It's truly fantastic and the old guys love it as the style brings back memories. While the new kids think it's unreal what they were allowed to do.

[@Tomh821]

What is different today operating in railroad yards? I always thought it was extremely dangerous, imagine pouring rain and snow?

[@BrEaKiNg_Brad]

I really appreciate the effort this guy went through without a stunt man.

[@MrWolfTickets]

3:40 the tension of watching this guy doing his own stunts is only tempered by his delightful arm wave as he gets off the right way

[@robertbowman3406]

I was taught on the Great Northern way back in 1966 to never wear 5 finger gloves. If one finger gets hung up on a burr of metal on a rail car you can lose a finger. Instead I was told to go and buy a pair of leather mittens so if you got hung up the mitten would come off all at once. It makes a lot of sense.

[@25mfd]

so true... I worked for the Chicago and northwestern... we called those leather mitts "choppers"... I wore them in lew of the 5 finger gloves... they were more spacious

[@seththomas9105]

When I hired on in the 90's most of the old heads wore mitts. Nobody does now.

[@Marauder92V]

Your reply brought back some memories. My Dad and his father were both PRR. My Dad lost 2 fingers on his left hand from a crushing injury caused by a load shift on a gondola car while he was holding onto the top of it. This was back in the early 1960s. I remember him telling me about the early 1900s when his father started working for the railroad. It was a pretty dangerous time and a lot of men were injured or killed.

[@DavidCurrey4]

This is a really entertaining and excellent educational video. I wish they had shown it during my brakeman school when I hired out on the Missouri Pacific in 1979, but by then some of the safety rules were even more strict than in this video. For instance, we were taught not to ride on the stirrups on the rear of a car except for the rear car in a cut. The reason was because if you missed the stirrup on stepping up, you might fall between the cars. Also, footboards were outlawed by the time I hired on. I believe walking on the roof walk of cars was also against the rules by the time I hired on, but I did it one time anyway, because I wanted the experience. I was tasked with releasing the handbrake on an old boxcar that still had its roofwalk with a high brake wheel. I climbed up the ladder on the non-brake-wheel end, and carefully walked the length of the roof walk. One thing emphasized to us was never to place your foot underneath the coupler when opening a knuckle. I'm sure they had that rule when the video was made, too. If the knuckle is missing its pin, that 60-pound thing (four times the weight of a bowling ball) can fall out and crush your foot. Of great interest was the difference in the “go away from me” signal compared to how we did the signal in south Texas. Our signal was the exact reverse of the “come to me” signal. The top part of our “go away from me” signal was moving away from the body, whereas the top part of the “come to me” signal was moving towards the body. I don't think I ever saw anybody give the signal the way it was done in the video, but if I had seen it done so by a boomer, I would have known what it meant, as the meaning was obvious.

[@25mfd]

what you said about "...your foot underneath the coupler when opening a knuckle"... I had a close call with that... stepped in to open the knuckle, pulled it open and it kept opening further and further and then came all the way out... BOOM... just missed my foot...learned something that day

[@DavidCurrey4]

@@25mfd Wow! My worst accident was stepping up onto the leading step of a locomotive coming at me and somehow my foot missed the step. My hands slid down to the bottom of the handrail, but I kept holding on like we were taught. The engineer got stopped after dragging me at least a dozen feet. I was badly bruised, but otherwise okay, but it took me ten minutes sitting in the locomotive cab to determine that.

[@25mfd]

@@DavidCurrey4 WOW!!!!! and it's a good thing you held on... natural inclination is to let go but no telling where you'll roll and tumble, your hands and feet flailing around could end up caught in a really bad place... after a few sobering incidents i learned quickly to keep my wits about me... this stuff is unforgiving

[@owboky102050]

1971 I started on the Indiana harbor belt railroad there were no films they just handed me a lantern and it was like good luck and you watched everyone else and taught yourself

[@eshelly4205]

Probably the most dangerous safety video ever made

[@jamesfalker2947]

guys at the time this was shown may not admit it, but his antics prevented a lot of injuries. my compliments.

[@ikonseesmrno7300]

Thanks for posting this video. This brought back some great memories. I wasn't an employee, but my Dad was a freight car conductor for the Milwaukee Road, in Milwaukee. He taught me about safety at a very early age. Hand signs & whatnot were taught at home & car safety was shown to me at the tiny Stowell Yard by Jones Island. Only once did I ever have to use a hand signal (stop) & that was to get the local to stop in the fog because there was a car broke down on the crossing in town, locally. The other time was to move an empty cut of ballast hoppers into the siding of the Sears scratch & dent warehouse in Wauwatosa. The engineer who dad knew, spotted us in the parking lot, motioned us over & wanted to know if I remembered anything. I did & did my best, but it's no fun juggling a Motorola hanging off of the side of a car. Dropped the radio into a puddle, but I held tight. The engineer asked if my dad handed down that tradition. Lol!

[@garyhersemeyer2642]

OUTSTANDING film on railway safety. This should be mandatory viewing for every new railway employee. I particularly like the segment on how to get on and off moving cars.

[@royreynolds108]

Moving cars? heck I slipped off one that was standing still.

[@turbo1438]

4:40 damn, that looks painful! This fella is tougher than woodpecker lips!

[@candicetharp1369]

i had to watch this video and whoever got hired at this shortline railroad we worked for and we all called it the Archie Bunker video!

[@bootloops888]

as someone who has been through more training programs then I can keep count ( oilfeild, railroad, and trucking) I would give my left nut to be trained by an old hand like mr glen then anyone with a sheepskin and a open book you will learn way more about the actual inner workings of anything you are studding for and it will actually stick with you over cram study a paper test and get shoved into a fire.

[@royreynolds108]

You are absolutely correct.

[@seththomas9105]

We saw this when I hired out in 97. Still good. To bad we cant railroad anymore, maybe someday again.

[@Reefdevil]

" A little bit careless; that's like being a little bit pregnant, ya stupid meathead no-nuttin' empty-headed stifle yourself good for nuttin'...." Actually, this guy really took one for the team when he filmed this. Very impressed.

[@dsandoval9396]

ONE!? It looks like there were a couple of times he took one for the team!

[@user-ru6mq5sc5n]

He looks like he is about 65. He is in great shape!!

[@vtwinbuilder3129]

When I was in Boy Scouts, we went to a place where they were restoring some old stretches of railroad and fixing up some rail cars. They had a museum type thing there too. I remember this is the video they showed us to learn the ropes of being safe around the trains that sometimes moved by where we were working. It was in Baldwin, KS if anyone cares. Funny I still remember this almost 20 years later. They also told us not to jump on the train even though they had shown us this video teaching us how.

[@acdeditch99]

No horror movie has ever given me this many jumpscares.

[@WindsorRailProductions]

if you're careless, you're shaking hands with danger.

[@therealskull4786]

I never realized how huge railroad equipment is...

[@tgrghostrider]

Fun fact Mr. Roper was 40 in this video...😂 this is a great video and many men to his jr would have been injured during filming.

[@TheDuplicat3]

i can't believe that this old guy didn't give himself back pain

[@stuff_n_thanngs7552]

Wild how much of this still holds true today. Cant tell you how often ive watched it.

[@whosyaghaddy5382]

This guy just gets off the trains in the beginning like a hero in the movie’s turning and walking away from explosions, what a badass.

[@ottoroth3066]

I am not a rail employee, but am glad there are radios for engine and conductor!

[@1956tmo]

That Guy resembles Carol O Conner from all in the Family

[@christianbeard7001]

Exactly, that's who I thought it was.

[@rrbone]

Boy the way Glen Miller played.

[@paulramsey8187]

Gee our old lasalle ran great....

[@catlady8324]

You meat head, you!

[@johncholmes643]

Chief Gillespie

[@mountain29]

I remember that film well during my training course.What an Athlete that man is!

[@jbeasley7516]

I admire this man’s dedication

[@pawelwis7215]

This is a proper safety video, no bullshit and correctness, pure life.

[@Tomh821]

Railroad work is insanely dangerous. It is what started our labor laws. A guy lost his leg on the railroad, in 1890 they would carry him home in a bloody sheet and drop him at the doorstep. That was it.

[@sd90mac61]

This was very interesting, RAILROADING IN THE 50's, 60's and 70's ROCK!!!!

[@kellypenrod2979]

This reminds me of those "Shake hands with danger" videos.

[@vkuscak]

As much as I like trains, I would have never been able to get as close to moving heave machinery like this guy without shitting my pants through and through

[@Hosethebtch]

My favorite memory of Union Pacific is the French toast. Yes, I said the French toast. Back then they hold passenger Cars too. Every winter my family took a ski vacation, and we always took the Union Pacific Railroad. This may not have anything to do with mr. Roper however, but I still remember the Union Pacific as being the best damn French toast I've ever eaten in my life. Back when they had dining cars with actual waiters in white service coats and you had a menu that you could write down what you wanted. I miss those days

[@jackshittle]

Where was the ski destination and where would you depart from?

[@Darryl6636]

Awesome video of some old school railroading!!! No safety glasses,no high vis vest,no radio,and climbing to the top of boxcar to operate the handbrake!!!

[@Tomh821]

How is it different now other than what you stated?

[@Darryl6636]

@@Tomh821 it’s completely different chum I’ve been railroading for 36 years how about you?

[@rjohnson1690]

I loved this movie when they showed it to us in new hire training. Its was really well done!

[@jt4199]

As old as this video is, it’s totally practical even today. Lots of lesson to learn.

[@RailroadScannerMan15]

It’s not practical when you’re not allowed to do it lol. I work for a class 1 as a conductor. No practice here is allowed there at all. But yes, lots of “what not to do’s”.

[@TheDiner50]

@@RailroadScannerMan15 No practices? Dam them wireless air lines are coming along nicely. And the hover train technology was news to me. I mean cool and all that the rails are not a trip hazard. Ow I'm dum. The hole train is automated and wireless! Ofc there is no practices left then! Just for the electrician to learn how to deal being around the carts. No really. Even if everything should be safe etc etc it is still a good idea to treat the danger for what it is. No matter if everything is supposed to be safe honky dory.

[@Bestomusic85]

I never worked for the railroad but found this safety video to be very informative for anyone working around railroad cars that can start moving and stop on a dime. Helpful info about rail activity

[@rileyfriesen715]

We watched this video in my brakeman training in 2018 there is still allot of things in here that still apply today

[@commonsense3673]

2019 and times sure have changed ! I remember when they used to have cabooses !

[@JeffreyWilliams-dr7qe]

Always admired and Respected these guys from the present All time and All Over.

[@HappyHands.]

I dont work around trains but.. I feel like i and everyone else needs to see this LOL

[@TlD-dg6ug]

16:29 love the "automated" railway sign when dude is doing almost everything manually lol

[@larryhostetler3887]

this guy is a badass...

[@yanzhao7298]

No helmet, no safety vest, no boots with steel toes. The good old days… He’s in the train yard in the sky by now.

[@johnpignatelli3148]

Old Glen needs to get a oscar for that, must have been a stun man.

[@deepandhard803]

John Pignatelli apparently from what I read he was

[@rigol2k]

This guy is the OG Jackie Chan. Old man needs no stunt man!