Extended interview: Former BNSF engineer James Norvell

[@raymondblais947]

When I attended Canadian National's engineer school, they told us that when all else failed for stopping a train to throw the reverser into reverse and throttle out. What Mr. Novella did was absolutely correct. He prevented a catastrophe and should have been commended rather than fired. We had a saying on the Central Vermont that went do the company a favor and they'll find a way to get even with you. I hope Mr. Norvell prevails in court.

[@briansklarski]

I work for the NECR now. Thankfully I've never had to do that yet

[@raymondblais947]

Sorry about getting Mr. Norvell's name wrong in my comment.

[@raymondblais947]

@@briansklarski I worked for the NECR after the CV got sold. Worked on the former Southern Division. We had one train out of Palmer one day that had to be the longest train ever to go north. The tail end was at the clearance point at the east end of the CSX yard and the head end just cleared the north end of the transfer. 10,300 feet long. I never touched the train brakes until I had to stop at Brattleboro for a crew change. They added even more cars and the train was 13,600 feet long when they left town. Bobby Richardson was my boss but I heard he's retired now. I left the industry in 2005 following a couple heart attacks. Life's been good since. good luck in your career.

[@fotaugrafee]

@@raymondblais947 Been dealt a couple warrants from Jimmy Murphy in your time?

[@jackshittle]

What was the final out come of his lawsuit?

[@curtismass1014]

This is what a hero looks like. He may have saved countless lives.

[@jsmdnq]

Yes, but they will drag him through the dirt so they can cover up their grift.

[@echo-qe4gw]

I'm a retired CSX Locomotive Engineer with over 40 years of service. Sounds like all the railroads are the same, they will stoop to the lowest to make a profit and if something goes wrong blame it on the employees. All the management are in on it except for a rare few and their jobs are in constant jeopardy.

[@tommytruth7595]

Corporate mentality.

[@jazzdude904]

Unfortunately, that is what happens when Wall Street takes control of any company. Employee relations and moral is at the bottom of the list of priorities. #1 priority is profits and they will shit on anyone to get a profit.

[@NevadaSmith2]

Just like the current corporate bailouts for the COVID-19 pandemic: privatize the profits. Socialize the losses.

[@jamesvance8456]

They hire you so they can fire you

[@daveyboy_]

MMA . Montreal Maine Atlantic

[@catliftresearch]

They start trying to fire you on the day they hire you.

[@daleleibfried8648]

Kind of like, when you're born you begin dying

[@brandoncaldwell95]

They successfully did that to me on 2 jobs.. cant sue, wouldn't win.... i reviewed everything possible..

[@juliogonzo2718]

CP conductor told me, "They spend huge money training you, then spend the rest of your career trying to fire you"

[@DannyTOG]

management is the number 1 problem in railroading.

[@jazzdude904]

Danny_CRB Wall Street is the #1 problem. Management has to do what they say or they’ll bring their own people in to manage the railroad. It’s such a shame.

[@jamesvance8456]

always has been

[@lifeofbuzz6774]

its not just rail roading

[@jenniferwhitewolf3784]

Almost universally, railroads today are headed by accountants and corporate raiders that only look at maximum profit via neglect and abuse of their infrastructure. These are not railroaders. They employ middle management that parrots these dangerous values.

[@deadendfriends1975]

Industry too. Too much school, not enough real world.

[@jam00723]

It’s funny how management preaches safety until they need power.

[@TCFan30]

Same here in Australia. 'Safety' is just a front to create more jobs for the boys in the middle and upper echelons, whilst being virtuous to the bottom feeders.

[@petermichelson5720]

Boy isn't that the truth!

[@pretzelogic2689]

If they listen to this guy, management takes on the responsibility of liability. So they're just not going to listen.

[@deloreanman14]

Or until it costs the company money.

[@BossSpringsteen69]

Or, they say not to steal time but, they don't pay you your wages based on written arbitrary agreement and think that is ok. If the employees were another business that was not getting paid the company would get sued for breach of contract which, is exactly what this is..

[@jeffhruska8626]

"everything on the railroad is huge and trying to kill you" wow what a great statement.

[@wes5150.]

@doggish boy All of this is so familiar to me. How can a railroader work safe if he's always distracted by worry that a '90 day Wonder' is going to ruin your reputation with bogus rule violations. I wish the 'New Guys' well. AND, don't be intimidated by ANYONE. Let it 'Go into the Ditch'...just don't get hurt or killed and don't hurt or kill a fellow employee(or public). Glad I'm out(retired after 37 years). You're right...it is huge and trying to kill you. I couldn't even walk across a single 'Track Panel' without looking both ways TWICE. 15 operating dept deaths in my time including Best Friend(killed by 'Movement on Adjacent Track') Two public decapitations, suicides and usual crossing fatalities. Hey, it's someone else's railroad now...and Good Luck ! †

[@fotaugrafee]

@@wes5150. Those 90-day wonders need to be taken to the woodshed.

[@joelvela4366]

Cut in half by a big bnsf locomotive.

[@mcbradyandrews9181]

Very very true loco en 21yrs

[@Take-u6f]

He could’ve easily been talking about corporate and their huge egos.

[@steadyrest7048]

So sorry this happened tp you James. I knew your father, grandfather & grandmother from 45 years ago. You look just like your father and present yourself just as I remember him, a big kind gentle soul that left a lasting impression on me. Your emotion over the outcome of the incident testifies to your innocence and that you know the right action was taken. Being attacked by the company instead of praised for conscientious duty is a real punch to the gut, it would affect me the same way. Hope everything goes well for you in the future, you deserve no less.

[@tomservo5347]

I work with a former BNSF employee and he said their supervisor system is terrible. It's a system of the supervisor acting like your friend and having your best interests while they're writing you up for some stupid gig to get promoted. If they don't like you they'll invent something. He said they also installed cameras everywhere explaining that they'd never write anyone up, it was for safety. Sure enough after a couple of years people were getting gigged for stuff seen on those cameras. They've lost lots of their good workers for dumb reasons and it's become a toxic environment to work in.

[@chuckabbate5924]

It's everywhere. I'm on commuter rail up in Boston. As Vanderbilt once said, the public be damned

[@Take-u6f]

To sum it up, isn’t who you know, it’s who you bl🤬w

[@tomservo5347]

@@Take-u6f Whoever kisses the most ass, capabilities be damned.

[@firstnamelastname3841]

You can hear the sadness in his voice.

[@MetrologyEngineer]

Let down.

[@stuartadamsrailfanningvideos]

Yep!

[@WELLINGTON20]

@tom kat Idiot

[@volkssturm9694]

awful, sounded like he was going to cry at the end.

[@zacharyredding3860]

“They took everything I have, so I have nothing to lose.” This dude’s a brave soul.

[@williamphillip9749]

The freight railroads are so outrageous I don’t think people in the real working world could understand how badly they treat their employees

[@mikep.541]

All major corps are the same. Don’t point out problems. It costs money.

[@herrkiwi3110]

Good on him for standing up for himself ! I could hear the tears in his voice when he talked about what losing his job had meant , this is the kind of man they need in charge , not the kind of person who fired him ! Typical short sighted corporate thinking.

[@davefuller9087]

poor guy. Feel terrible for him. Heroes always get kicked to the cold.

[@stuartadamsrailfanningvideos]

So true!

[@stuartadamsrailfanningvideos]

@Lindhurst Meadows Yep. You nailed it!

[@stuartadamsrailfanningvideos]

@Lindhurst MeadowsTrue! Yes they do. At the railroad that I work for, I'm the shop mechanic in charge, and I frequently have to move equipment around the shop floor. The management tried to write me up for "three accidents/derailments" that never occurred. Supposedly somebody wrote up a document and then threw it away or destroyed it to cover up the fact that none of the information was actually true. They want to let me go on account of Precision Scheduled Railroading (PSR). Technically, they can't let me go, because they have only 2 other mechanics on duty, but the thing is that I'm the only one qualified to do the repair work in the mechanical/car department. I've been forced out because I've exposed problems, just like James Norvell has, and now I'm being threatened with all sorts of layoffs, furloughs, a forced resignation, and being fired all for nothing. PSR...... What a frickin joke. I'm getting treated the same way at a tourist railroad that is now using Precision Scheduled Railroading (PSR).

[@brianburns7211]

I’ve been where he is. Luckily there are new laws to protect railroaders who report violations and safety deficiencies. The railroad always has to learn the hard way, and this case is no different. Uncle Warren will catch on only when he starts looking his precious money. The railroad is ruthless! I tell people who express interest in the business to have another gig lined up. Between this kind of situation and layoffs, this is very important. I’ve worked with guys who were truck drivers, professional chefs, carpenters, plumbers, and 100 other things. They stayed on the railroad for benefits, but had a standby. I tell all new guys to be ready.

[@fotaugrafee]

@@brianburns7211 I totally understand, but workers are still afraid to lose a day's / week's / months of pay to roll the dice on a whistleblower complaint. Then you have the "you just need to learn how to railroad" idiots who walk all bow-legged from getting off moving equipment at 8-10mph for 30 years.

[@ILSRWY4]

I'm a railfan.. trains have always been a hobby of mine. I'm a pilot and instructor pilot by trade. There is a lot of similarities between trains and planes except speed... one is slow, one is fast, both are safe but extremely unforgiving. In our flight manuals are list of emergency procedures. One of the last things it says in that list is: "This manual takes a positive approach and tells you what you can do with the aircraft, normal and emergency procedures, but it is not a substitute for sound judgement. Emergencies, equipment failure and weather may need modifications to these procedures, necessary to meet that emergency" As it states "Not a substitute for sound Judgement" In other words... do what ever you need to do to avoid a disaster. This engineer did exact that! He did exactly what we do in planes... and he did exactly what I would have done in a train... he excised sound judgement and did a modification to meet that emergency. He's alive, his crew is alive and nothing was damaged. very experienced and smart engineer here!!!

[@dknowles60]

just 27000 dollars to the locomotive but he save his company up to 120 million dollars in damages

[@NevadaSmith2]

As Stobe the Hobo would say: this is more FNBS than BNSF

[@bluegrassman3040]

Wasn’t he killed by a train?

[@butterpecanisfire]

@@bluegrassman3040 yeah, an Amtrack caught his pack as he was running off the track, dragged him and killed him.

[@billforse6540]

@@butterpecanisfire so sad

[@daveyboy_]

This is expected when u get drunk and play on train tracks ,no?

[@alnagy1700]

Long live the memory of Stobe

[@likesanddislikesetc]

Railroads try blame the crews for any incident. I was seriously inured in a train crash that wasn’t my fault. Railroads get nasty in FELA cases especially.

[@deetjay1]

I was once put on an "attendance watch" list after suffering my second heart attack...BNSF, all heart...

[@stuartadamsrailfanningvideos]

Yes they do. At the railroad that I work for, I'm the shop mechanic in charge, and I frequently have to move equipment around the shop floor. The management tried to write me up for "three accidents/derailments" that never occurred. Supposedly somebody wrote up a document and then threw it away or destroyed it to cover up the fact that none of the information was actually true. They want to let me go on account of Precision Scheduled Railroading (PSR). Technically, they can't let me go, because they have only 2 other mechanics on duty, but the thing is that I'm the only one qualified to do the repair work in the mechanical/car department. I've been forced out because I've exposed problems, just like James Norvell has, and now I'm being threatened with all sorts of layoffs, furloughs, a forced resignation, and being fired all for nothing. PSR...... What a frickin joke.

[@PRR5406]

He did his job to stop a huge issue on the scale of Lac Megantic. $27,000 in Geep repairs is nothing to BNSF, and especially with an alternative staring back at them. The company needs to "man-up" and admit their mistake, give him his job and compensation.

[@michaellake2359]

Do not underestimate this engineer. He is one smart individual. Just listen to his eloquence. Warren Buffet needs him in higher places.

[@TCFan30]

People like Warren Buffet caused the problems in the first place...Wall St!

[@frankwurth5375]

Warren Buffet is the problem!

[@Magaville]

@@frankwurth5375 yes he is

[@mongo5392]

Sounds as if he is fighting for everything he has not to cry. This man speaks the truth, about all railroads.....

[@j887276]

As a railroad mechanical employee, I 100% listen to engineers and conductors even small stuff. You'd be surprised how a very small problem can affect an entire train! I tell all the engineers and conductors to call us immediately if they have any kind of issues! I even give my personal number out so they can contact me in an emergency or weird situation!

[@chico7469]

As a fellow mechanic that repairs a huge fleet, I can concur with this comment, I tell my fellow coworkers that the operators know the vehicles better than we do because they operate them on a daily basis, they can point out any given unit and verbally tell us what the vehicle’s good and negative traits are and usually when the work order is placed they’re usually on point.

[@utubewatcher360]

Great testimony, I can totally get on your side. Your well spoken, articulate and I wish you all the best in your case against BNSF

[@rogerbobrowski5741]

After spending a career working on the railway these type of stories are all too common.here in Canada prior to using “ new power “ a bake test is required prior to moving off a shop track.Defective equipment must be tagged out .If you do not tag it the company will order another crew to use the defective equipment. Workers have to stick together .Use what ever Union and safety procedure you have to to get yourself home safely.These stories of fired workers are all too common. If only the public knew the horror stories that railways workers know all too often, Thank god for arbitration boards. I know your pain.

[@buibuibuirockineverywhere8701]

This is heartbreaking... I feel for him. You can hear the hurt from the betrayal from a company he did a lot for and they just decided to cut him. Smh. I hope he’s with a better company now.

[@chuckabbate5924]

I've been at it on and off for nearly 25 years and I never thought I'd see it get this bad. It's devastating.

[@caseyj5518]

My Father was a Engineer for BNSF for 40 years. And he would always be stressed of how CS Yard Masters etc. were. He said the BS from people is what made it hard not to include odd hours. Had the highest Seniority in Tx at one time. It stressed him to no end. Said that's why you make damn sure you do everything by the book and record it. Of course now they have recording devices. He started in 1968 right out of Vietnam. Said you had to watch everything you said and who to!

[@ArantiusVulpes]

as a CP eng makes me wonder why air was not cut in he had to have done some sort of brake test

[@littlegp18]

@@ArantiusVulpes when he said he threw on the independent i was wondering why not the automatic?

[@ArantiusVulpes]

@@littlegp18 because the cars weren't cut in

[@rippen1982]

I got offered a job with UP a few years ago.. God am I glad I turned it down. I've heard nothing but bad about all these railroad operators..

[@brandoncaldwell95]

Well, its not all bad, but mostly. They just swapped shifts where its 8 days on 6 days off. Dont forget the day of travel time.. union willingly accepted without battle. If they woukd have they were going to aim for 10 on 4 off.... I dont even work for the rr but having to help someone who does.. full time job just maintaining the property and another full time job for the house (i dont do).

[@andrewandersen5200]

he did the right thing avoided a possible derailment or worse

[@drsmith4806]

I worked for csx as an engineer for 20 yrs & I've seen shotty or minimal repairs on locomotives the whole time I was there I can relate to this guys story & I've done exactly what he did to get the engine & slug of cars to stop . Plug the motors is what it was it was called in upstate ny. We had no air in cars because it takes to much time to lace the hoses they want job done as quick as possible with just engine brakes. Wish you all the best brother & I hope a judge realizes you saved lives by plugging the motors & stopping the cars.

[@thomasklimchuk441]

I guess that was the reason why these engineers at CSX working those yard assignments at Frontier yard only moved a a mile or two an hour while pulling cuts of cars from the hump tracks and shoving them into departure tracks

[@drsmith4806]

@@thomasklimchuk441 I know about 95% of yard switching in csx yards are remote control now.

[@paulne1514]

I worked as a contractor for a railroad. I’d watch 4 road units come to a stop, so the conductor could get off, then throttle up to pass the switch then stop again. I asked the conductor, why didn’t the engineer just coast pass the switch? He said, someone tripped getting off, so this is what they had to do. I also watched some kid set up a flag in the center of the track as a heavily loaded steel train was coming around our yard. The train stopped, the kid went and took the flag down and it took forever for the train to get moving again. Meanwhile, we could not get our work done until the steel train left our yard. Our local crew said the RR hires these kids to try and get the RR crew to hit the flag and then the crew gets 3 days off! Such a waste of fuel! One night I couldn’t find the jittney driver. So when the locomotive stopped at the switch, I told the conductor I would take him around the yard to line up his switches. He said no thank you as he had to “play the game”. I asked him, what had he done. He said a couple of cars broke loose and we’re headed towards the track gang. He grabbed a radio and yelled for them to watch out. “Improper use of the radio”! The railroad has a lot of stupid rules. Crews cannot carry their own bags from jittney to and from the locomotive! My Aunt was the hot box employee. She was legally blind and could not drive. Her supervisor told her she had to be the jittney driver! So one of the crew would drive out to the locomotive then one of the other crew would drive back. The supervisor saw this and told her, SHE had to drive! She would be going down the road and one of the crew would tell her, slow down, slow down, slow down, right hand turn coming, TURN! This was about 30 years ago for a major RR. I used to work for a small RR. It was fun when I started. Yard masters were guys that worked up through the ranks then switched to management. Most were great to work for. Then they hired some guy out of college to be the superintendent. He was related to someone high in the company. Maintenance went out the window. Most of the yard masters were replaced with college graduates, who had no clue as to what they were doing. And we had to do things,”their way”. Jobs that used to take an hour turned into 2 1/2 hours. Then they’d scream, what took you so long. 3 man crews went down to 2 man crews. Safety rules were thrown out and new ones made up. This is when I quit. If you worked safely, you were a trouble maker. Then they went to 1 man crews. Derailments and injuries skyrocketed. (And 1 death that I can remember) He was 1 week from retirement. The rules this company made were so rediculous, am amazed they made money. For example, the had all the lower steps cut off all the company rail cars. Because in the course of rerailing the cars, they would get bent. Now, instead of riding the rail cars, one had to walk! The company is no longer in business! Wonder why?

[@milomilo6404]

Too.long

[@andrebouchard2036]

Rules are relatives for rail compagnies when they want the job done fast,they look the other way,but throw the book at you when something bad do happen.They are part and judge in the process.

[@andywomack3414]

The Ballad of Pay-less Pete Tonnage first Safety last Uphill slow Downhill fast. I'm not allowed to blow the horn I cannot ring the bell but if the train goes off the track then see who catches hell.

[@3DayFlagman]

I stumbled on this video and what an eye opener for a true hero and whistle blower! This needs to go public!

[@richardalbert8079]

We all pray you win the case against these corporate mongrals These trains should be regulated on maintenance just as we Class 8 trucks are regulated by the D.O.T. on the hiway. If a truck is involved in a crash, first thing driver us arrested, and truck 🚚 trailer go to impound yard for inspection. Is "anything" is out of compliance, truck is automatically at fault, and gets "the brakes" sued off them. TRAINS ARE NO EXCEPTION!!!!

[@ethanslape8889]

That's a shame I'm totally on his side. I can't believe they would do that to him.

[@likesanddislikesetc]

Ethan Slape I used to work for a major railroad. They are all like this.

[@joegarcia2381]

I thought they were union. Don’t they have protection from the union in case something like this happens?

[@southernpacific7200]

@@joegarcia2381 I worked for a unionized grocer, and I brought to them numerous violations and they convinced me the manager was going by the books. I should've got my union dues refunded...

[@tbone3972]

Ethan Slape That’s what happens when working for corporate companies...... build you up so high (you make good money) then slowly tear you down to the ground. (so you can’t make anymore)

[@jamesvance8456]

@@likesanddislikesetc true

[@AtTheCrossingProductions]

Mans in the right, he prevented a major event.

[@Angela-cj1to]

CN is the same they ignore the problem and patch it over

[@joenichols590]

Large transportation companies like BNSF UP And large trucking companies all have the same issue greed and making money at all costs including safety

[@Redruffensore1]

Sounds like he is a responsible, caring, thoughtful, enterprising, young man who had the best interests of the community AND his company in mind. Doesn’t say much for BNSF management nor generate trust in how they do business.

[@yellowtrain3161]

Everything this guys is saying is true. I hope he wins his case. Being “railroaded” is a real thing and when it happens there is not much one can do except take legal action.

[@airman611]

I'm glad this worked out for James. It sounds like some important maintenance issues were brought to light because of his testimony. Railroads have a mandate to make sure their equipment can be operated safely.

[@MrWestdayable]

Problems, not "issues."

[@donhagen2194]

All I can say young man is good job for turning this to the public here so they know what's going on with the railroad thank you very much

[@TheReserve211]

There's other great railroad companies that should appreciate him. If there is a rail company that needs a great man like James, can you PLEASE consider him on your fleet. Don't let a good man down for being a hero. Give him a shot. Call him to his passion on the rails. Please give James Norvell his job on the rails. I'm in tears hearing his story. From a rail fan to a rail soldier. I salute.

[@upperechelons6403]

💯💯💯✊🏿✊🏿✊🏿

[@rc391995]

There is no such thing as a great railroad. You have no idea !

[@axdesho]

I know what this well capable engineer is going through. In order to save money, or they think will save money, the company puts into place a horrible process and procedure, dangerous at best. In order to avoid blame, they scapegoat out of a problem they create! Shame on them! I hope they get their due. He took drastic action as a last resort in order to save the company a huge cost.

[@kensurrency2564]

This is whistleblowing 101. It does not matter how competent the operator is, if they can throw you under the bus, and the economics work out for the corporation, they will 100% all the time throw you under the bus, even if you saved them money. 2020

[@stuartadamsrailfanningvideos]

You are so right!!!!!!

[@SamSitar]

lesson: don't leave when wrongfully fired. instead call local police.

[@dknowles60]

@@SamSitar had no choice. the Rail road has their own police

[@cprtrain]

How was this lawsuit resolved? The CPR fired a number of maintenance employees in Winnipeg who grieved their termination. All got re-instated along with back pay. One employee is a friend who was off for over a year and he received almost $100,000 in compensation. Management was the problem. Fortunately, that problem was finally corrected.

[@thomasabramson100]

He was railroaded hope he gets his job back

[@robertallen6710]

Ha! Get it?

[@oubrioko]

The incident happened in 2015. What is the current status of his court case? Has it been adjudicated beyond the pretrial Motion to Dismiss mentioned in the video?

[@AuroraDorealus]

He’s still in Court. Look up James Corvell, and you’ll find some court documents. He’s doing okay though.

[@chasl5674]

IF SEE SOMETHING, YOU SAY SOMETHING… And you did and you saved the company a huge equipment loss and you saved lives, including yourself, WOW!

[@tubesockets120v]

So his crew left cars out to foul, left the yard, brought back dangerous cars, and he plugged the loco to avoid a side swipe? Sounds like his conductor created the bad scenario, but he the engineer knew about it.

[@tubesockets120v]

@@davidandrew477 I did and he says 00:50 we placed tank cars in such a manner earlier that night (out to foul) that we were going to run into the side of them. So, again the conductor created the situation but the engineer was aware of it.

[@samh3029]

@@tubesockets120v The crew also neglected to supply air to the cut of cars they were shoving, instead relying only on engine braking.

[@tubesockets120v]

@@samh3029 Perfect storm⛈

[@adriannettlefold9084]

I know exactly what this guy is talking about. As far as I have been in a similar situation at work where I had safety concerns which I was trying to raise in the appropriate manner, only to have management sideline me and dismiss everything I brought up. I learnt that day you can be right, BUT you're still Wrong! The only difference between myself and this man, is I didn't lose my job.

[@Trashman702]

BNSF screwed a good man. I hope he gets paid

[@jacobw446]

They are currently screwing.. about 7000 people on the furlough boards, because of PSR railroading.

[@stuartadamsrailfanningvideos]

@@jacobw446 Yep! The tourist railroad I work for is using PSR. What a joke.

[@jacobw446]

@@stuartadamsrailfanningvideos All the railroads are doing this.. and it wont be pretty for the public when you have only one engineer on a 30,000ft hazmat train that crashes and burns down a town. Unfortunately, it will take fatalities for the feds to go after the management.

[@stuartadamsrailfanningvideos]

@@jacobw446 Right!!!!!!!

[@kevinmaddog3064]

@@jacobw446 well that’s technology newer locomotives more fuel efficient.Company’s are always looking to save unfortunately that’s business. On that wouldn’t this help smaller railroads because class 1 are passing up on some smaller customers? Let me know I don’t know much about psr railroading

[@bobbydooly]

CP Rail never seems to wash their locomotives in Canada.They are so dirty. When I go to the USA, CP has the cleanest, shiny, locomotives, you can see them coming 20 miles away. I live in Windsor and you can tell which locomotives are here from USA (tunnel).. they are clean and usually EMD's left over from when they bought SOO lines.

[@SCHensley]

It’s scary, being a railfan and living close to tracks, how things like this happens. Hope this man gets what’s right, and things like this and bigger issues get dealt with.

[@robertbob5683]

Holy crap bnsf comes through my town I cant believe they push safety to the side like that

[@kensurrency2564]

Listen to the whole interview, folks. He did the right thing, and he got punished for it. Let that sink in. This is the state of the world, in 2020. Good people are out there, all over the place. Money interests continue to rule the world. This is not right. We have to change things. ☮️❤️

[@25mfd]

he left the yard without cutting in the air and performing an initial terminal brake test... his lack of doing that placed him in the position of not being able to control the movement... that's all his fault and the fault of the switchman as well

[@SamSitar]

@@25mfd if that went to trial i would vote "not guilty".

[@25mfd]

​@@SamSitar what in your opinion makes him not guilty?

[@olderbutyoung7959]

All rules are there to protect the company, not the employee.

[@rc9597]

There so many ways to get fired in as a locomotive engineer than a regular job people, remember that. HR was a jackass in this problem tho

[@spaghetti9845]

ANY job can get you fired for any BS reason... Companies never forget to remind people they are easily replacable.

[@THEATREofPAIN270]

A good friend of mine has worked for CP, CN & now CSX. He's set with CSX although he had no issues with the others. And said the training was amazing.

[@hammerdragon4321]

It’s a shame I work at a rail yard that has BNSF comes to every day

[@user-ru6mq5sc5n]

7:30- His coworker tells him he's getting railroaded. Warren Buffet one the ten richest people owns BNSF.

[@jasonking2943]

And he paid union dues for what?

[@Iowarail]

If he didn't belong to the union he wouldn't have a chance in hell getting his job back.

[@chuckychuck]

You meanhe paided his dues to oorganized criminals.

[@rickszabo4312]

Hey ,I got a T-shirt.

[@1960gambit]

@@Iowarail Doesn`t sound like he got it back, so he paid for nothing.

[@paulman9989]

I seen the union win many many cases that l = Never thought they would = In the 25 yrs l worked for RR

[@commodoresixfour7478]

I appreciate what this guy did. I only wish the camera man would have zoomed out so I could see his car.

[@johnathanlewis2049]

Sir I’m very sorry this happened to you. I pray you prevail in court. God bless

[@MkVIIIMaus]

James, I'm a rail nut. You are what all RR's need. Someone who understands that, better equipment = better revenue. In the words of my father, one of the former top mechanical engineers in the US. SOLVE THE PROBLEM, DON'T FIX THE RESULTS!

[@dw.7655]

James, I hope the STB can pressure the big 4 into doing things right. I have 2 friends that retired within the last couple of years from railroading and are members of our outdoor railroad club FLLS, and we’re very happy to retire as working conditions are going down hill fast. Good luck, hope the judge gets your job back , and back pay as well.

[@rjohnson1690]

I am a locomotive engineer as well, and I have had similar situations occur, where you need to do something drastic to avert catastrophe. Equipment can be repaired, a human being cannot. I am familiar with the yards where this occurred, and a derailment would have blown up 20-30 tank cars. It’s BS that the BNSF pulled this engineer out of service for Rule 1.1 Taking the SAFEST course!

[@doozowings4672]

I’m confused , he worked on the railroad for 13 years .. He was a trained engineer, and a union member . I come from a third generation railroad family. Here is where I scratch my head. He says he had that unit up and down the yard that evening but didn’t sense any bit of diminished breaking capacity .. he said he was “getting use to” units that would have a difficult time stoping . That night or any other nights, how many times did he notify his union rep or Forman. The union will tell you to report report report .. The BNSF is brutal when it comes to abusing employees, you NEVER take matters into your own hands ..

[@danjoy7385]

I get their brutal, but at that very moment when its all going down, and its only enough time to react. It sounds like he did not have a heck of a lot of time to call in and wait for instructions on what do. Simply stated it was going down right then and there. The train was in full motion and the only thing he thought to do was reverse engines. That's based on what he said in the video. He could be lying after they did an investigation. its speculation. And I think he described it was a slight down grade. But I wonder if he kept dates and times of all incidents.

[@brandoncaldwell95]

To be fair, last job i tried the constantly reporting of issues. I was canned for being the problem. Noone helped me as noone wants the trouble but do take the cash! So, ya, it's not what it cans up to be when youre the one being boxed up ever so slowly...

[@steelmill888]

Man I feel for you Brother.I just left NS and it sounds like the same exact problems after PSR.Managers will not take advice from the experienced employees they are looking for a reason to write someone up.

[@mattgiguere5638]

James I Love you. Your exactly right. YOU did the best you could do in a bad situation. I hope that you don't forget that. Those assholes!🤬 God be with you James....👍

[@Cnw8701]

BNSF never overhauls their locomotives. They always subcontract or contract their work to NRE, CEECO, MPI, or other contractors. They always wait until their engines are deteriorated enough before they overhaul them. And unfortunately, as much as us railfans love the GP30/GP35 rebuilds, it pains me to say that they need to be retired.

[@dknowles60]

if fix right they are very good locomotives

[@blackpiston13]

typical BNSF witch hunt

[@julienlalondemymachines]

You did the best thing you could ,you avoided the accident Lac Magantique incident was catastrophic. Awesome job your company lost a good man a great Engineer

[@eezyclsmooth9035]

I thought I was looking at Bob"The Bear" Hite from CANNED HEAT !

[@paulman9989]

EEZYCLsmooth = yes you hit that one pal = That was great observation = And a Great Band = To Bad the RAILROADS = CANT WORK TOGETHER = LOVEED THAT BAND

[@michaelzighera9111]

Substandard GPs !!! , my friend is 3rd generation railroader BNSF Montana , the job killed his brother , you are just a number no matter how good a employee you are , something goes wrong and your gone !!!

[@stewartstewart273]

our company took the double rigging off, change shoes to composition, reduced independent brake pipe pressure, some times switching in the yard you had no choice but to plug the motors on the old geeps

[@gordonvincent731]

You're talking about the Santa Fe, been there! They rebuilt all their Geeps, 7 up to 35's. Impossible to switch cars on the lead.

[@thomasabramson100]

Was probably a GP 7 or a GP 9

[@brianburns7211]

You can always insist on a few cars with air. My company got new geeps with large composition shoes, with clasp rigging, and 30 psi cylinder pressure. It takes a while for them to get warm enough to do much. That’s why I usually make the switchmen put some air back.

[@donpatrick8582]

This is a perfect example of what you see .... is not necessarily what you get ...... James is above and beyond being a standard human.

[@kirillberinov1784]

Best wishes with your suit. I spent 46 years on the rails and understand how it works with these big railroads today...

[@myfriend7350]

Terminal Supervisors, Managers and Road Foremans make these decisions on how to handle these types of situations it particular yards and subdivisions. These people aren’t always the most professional or best suited people for the job requirements. They lack professional, social and legal etiquette.. Some of them literally have no idea what they are doing, they applied for an office job because it got them off the road and off of a call board … They have no idea how to handle situations such as this. The Company itself has no clue whats going on in a particular yard. This is internal. I believe this man did everything in his power to mitigate the risk of a bigger catastrophe. Everyone walked away from this. He should be getting an award.. His local management put the spurs to him..

[@nfordf450]

This is why I won’t work for a class 1. Short lines take care of there stuff well. Might not always be clean. But they work.

[@DonnieBrasco-dy9yd]

That's a preposterous claim. I work at a class 1 that had leased a run to a short line for a number of years that eventually stopped doing any maintenance at all on the tracks, crossings, ect. It often took 3 crews to get a train 180 miles because of all of the slow orders. They instructed their employees to get off of moving equipment and run up to flag crossings so the trains could keep moving. They also hired subcontractors to do switching to save more money, which eventually bit them when one of the untrained subcontractors left a main line switch open, costing an employee his life. Shortly after that, they "coincidentally" started going bankrupt. They actually removed radios from the engines to sell them. When the line was taken back over, dozens of broken rails were found and the track still isn't up to part years later.

[@jeffaumand1323]

I worked for some so called short line rr's and they weren't much better...

[@stuartadamsrailfanningvideos]

@@jeffaumand1323 Same with the tourist railroad I work for!

[@wargamz9051]

I guess the only thing that confuses me is that before you move the engine you perform set and release tests. Conductors on the ground watching the pistons come out and everything. Im not sure if they did any of that, but I'd assume they would find any problems with independent set and release tests. Still not nearly enough to fire someone, more like praise him for taking action and thinking fast. Glad everything worked out for him

[@hunterriley9904]

You absolutely did the right thing ! Damage to 1 locomotive is way better than a explosion and losing loco , cars track and more importantly y'all's lives ! I'd sue them too ! Keep ur head up!! 👍👍

[@633rick]

One of the old hogheads I trained with 31 years ago told me to do if all else failed and an accident was imminent. Throw it in reverse and throttle #1. It happened to me once and saved a slow speed sideswipe from occurring. This was after riding the independent for nearly a mile to heat up the brake shoes in -35 weather which did almost nothing. Reverse and #1 Locks up the wheels quite nicely. These days you are severely disciplined for using emergency application. Scary times. I quit training engineers once they started with the no emergency BS. This will get people killed.

[@Spawn674]

Any Update on this???

[@katperri3224]

Court November 30th,2021 update to follow

[@donnlowe9129]

They should have been switching with the brake pipe made up But Seeing as to how They didn't And the independent brake didn't have the ability to stop the only thing left to do Was what he did, We call it plugging the traction motor. It is hard on the equipment But if it brings the drag to a stop Then that is what is most important. It is typical of the railroad, Any railroad, To make someone the scapegoat They are great at pointing the fingers and placing the blame wherever they can.

[@williamdickman7917]

This guy is a hero, much love to ya, man.

[@jimlove8144]

I would like to know the outcome of his case, I hope he won or wins.

[@jgalexander510]

Still in court. If you google James Norvell you’ll see some court docs. Also, seems like he’s doing well. Working for a local switching company (Ballard), bought a caboose, still rockin the beard....he’s living the dream :).

[@wolterfd]

@@jgalexander510 He got his job back for a while this year, then left. Not sure what happened.

[@billdougan4022]

@@wolterfd what some companies do, is hire you back, so you will drop the case, and then they fire you for a different reason.

[@wolterfd]

@@billdougan4022 There have been a few people out here who were awarded back pay in arbitration, but had to return to work to collect it. That is also a possibility.

[@kishascape]

@@jgalexander510 shortlines FTW

[@CombatDoc54]

I used to rebuild trucks on a short line. Everything this guys is saying is true. I wonder if the FRA got involved.

[@PrenticeBoy1688]

Replying to you since your reply is the most recent I came across immediately. As of April of 2022, looks like the BNSF prevailed in court. Looks like they tried to stick him with their legal costs. Ugly.

[@PrenticeBoy1688]

I've since found out that the court maxed out legal fees at $5000. I think BNSF's counsel sought over $30, if I recall correctly. Mr. Norvell's counsel successfully argued that the original amount would make Mr. Norvell indigent, and that the amount would have a chilling effect on future whistle blowers.

[@wsmc8275]

@@PrenticeBoy1688 They got everyone in there pockets, so I'm not surprised one bit.

[@PrenticeBoy1688]

@@wsmc8275 Lots of money involved in railroading, so it's almost inevitable that corruption occurs.

[@cinnamontoast9999]

God bless this man, hope he’s doing okay now

[@CutterJ]

...it’s got to where being fired by a class one is a much too common incident...it’s no wonder where the phrase, “being railroaded” comes from Cutter

[@garynugent4400]

I love trains. I love modelrailroading.... But I feel for this guy and many others like him. They are used as an escape goat when it comes to money, that's what I hate about not just the railroading industry but all forms of other business. It's the suits. All about them and they protecting their nest egg. Shameful and sad. Go get'um bro!!!

[@kelvintorrence5994]

My navy brother works for BNSF and he hates the way the company is now he s just holding on for his last 10 years to retirement.hope you all get out safety.

[@mikeilkenhons8896]

The railroads are not the families they were when my dad, grandfather and great grandfather all put a total of 110 years with the CB&Q. When it merged with the GN and NP to become the “Big Nothing” RR. The Q had “Safety First” signs everywhere. My dad was there for 40 years and was a Mechanical Inspector. He knew the importance of keeping the locos in top working order. Good luck to you brother.

[@ohbrother3792]

Everyone back then knew the CB&Q as the "Cheapest, Best & Quickest"

[@melaniemel2732]

Where can any public information be found on this case? Links are much appreciated

[@pippastone6018]

Total agree with the issue he is chatting about, full support from my place in the world😎👍🇳🇿🌈❤️

[@davidsteckley8846]

Well what happened to the lawsuit? Can't find any new information

[@katperri3224]

Court November 30th 2021. Update will follow

[@chevyracing477]

I was wondering If a daily inspection or air brake test was done on this locomotive before use.

[@chevyracing477]

@RAILROAD FAMILY You would have been able to see if the brake were setting up properly on the locomotive

[@DonnieBrasco-dy9yd]

@@chevyracing477 You wouldn't likely be able to notice that from a walking inspection.

[@thebusterdog6358]

Typical cover your ass on the part of the railroad. But if there's any consolation, all jobs in every aspect of work will do exactly the same thing. The first thing management will do is point the guilty finger at the employee, when the fact of the matter is, management should be looking in a mirror when they start pointing. It's all about cost cutting, profitability and the the law of averages. 9 out of 10 times nothing is going to happen, and if management can extend routine maintenance for a couple of days, weeks or months it's a profit to them and they get raises.

[@captainmack2754]

And where the hell was his union representative at this time you know!

[@edsmith438]

When he hooked up to those I think it was 22 cars, why weren't the air hoses connected and the brakes checked? Is it normal to run a heavy train downhill relying solely on the locomotive brakes?

[@carsonholtorf8233]

Ed smith I’m not sure about this but I don’t think they are required to hook up air hoses when switching around the the yard.

[@MattsTrainArchive]

Carson Holtorf correct. They don’t have to unless it’s running on a main line or it’s becoming a train.

[@bluegrassman3040]

At my last job(chemical plant), CSX switched out the tank cars with the hand brakes set and no air.

[@jamesvance8456]

@@carsonholtorf8233 only if they go across "public crossings"

[@pauliedweasel]

The BNSF has been cutting it’s work force for some years now in the name of “Efficiency” but claiming that modern technology will allow them to do more with less, but to us in the work force it looked more like they were sacrificing safety for the bottom line. After retiring from a twenty five plus year career in the rail industry last year I received a message from one of the guys in the BNSF Carmen’s Department in Los Angeles saying that they’d just fired half the works in the department. The Carmen are the workers who do running repairs on rail cars that are in the yard being loaded and readied for departure that are found to have defects like a bad wheel/axle set, worn brake shoes, bad couplers or air hoses for example and are easy enough to fix without being sent to the car repair shed. My friend from the Carmen’s department was complaining bitterly about the guys being laid off and the fact that the remaining workers were now expected to do the same volume of work with half the work force. So to the non railroad types reading this don’t be surprised if you hear more news stories about derailments and ‘Accidents’ due to mechanical failures.

[@simonjester0074]

Thanks for speaking up • Best to you • Hope you win