[SFS] This is a boxcar that ruined our week.

I promise it's a boxcar.
Visit the channel shop: hycetrains.com...
Join my discord: / discord
Become an ES&D Train Crew Member and get extra perks!
/ @hyce777

[@michaelmoses8745]

Looks at the locomotive in the thumbnail. Title of the video says it's a boxcar. Feels like a comical bureaucracy moment.

[@Hyce777]

Not wrong. Lmao

[@Kromaatikse]

It's a *union* bureaucracy moment!

[@nickcook2775]

Together, we stand confused!

[@phillyphakename1255]

​@@Kromaatiksemore than unions, bud. Its the combo of corporate, union, and FRA bureaucracy.

[@GreenRC24]

Just 22 minutes of rambling. 🙄

[@lukemendel8197]

Sees GP unit. Corporate: Yup Boxcar!

[@datguymiller]

It's a GWR GP (Genesee Wyoming railroad)

[@rjohnson1690]

@@datguymiller GP as in a GP9 locomotive.

[@TB-ModelRR]

Walls ✅️ Roof ✅️ Wheels ✅️ = boxcar.

[@datguymiller]

@@rjohnson1690 yes

[@matthewrothert5433]

Were there days where yall did nothing at the shop

[@Hyce777]

A few. Not common. But some days when we had 4-5 units tops it was push broom city... Lol

[@matthewrothert5433]

@@Hyce777 cool man

[@jay_Jalapeno]

@5:40 same shit happens at my shipyard but its a safety thing hyce ... they dont want you not thinking with maybe a glove with some sweat on it and you plug in the fridge and zap

[@mikegiammaria]

I wonder why the railroads are not the first choice for moving freight or anything else.

[@jerrysgardentractorsengine2243]

I come from a union family (both on & off the railroad) and I’m all for people unionizing, but the whole “we need an electrician to plug in the fridge” crap is EXACTLY why unions have gotten a terrible reputation the last several decades

[@jaysmith1408]

Our convention centre is a Teamsters building. Couldn’t plug in an electrical cable, had to wait for a teamster. Thank god they didn’t break it down and specify an electrician, just a teamster would do. So I went down to set up an emergency shelter. I was (coincidentally) also a teamster, but not being in the mood to argue the point, had to confirm that though we couldn’t plug in a cable, it was only the cable to the socket we couldn’t plug in, but we could plug into THAT cable. My regular job, we’re all AFSCME. Just don’t do the mechanic’s work and we’re good. I really think they should just join a catchall union for that purpose. Just join BLET and get on with your day. I fully support unions for collective bargaining, but once they jump in and dictate exactly how you do your job, that is the nonsense that makes your job irritating, never mind everyone else’s. I used to drive truck for a grocery store. Stores were short staff, especially in the evenings or weekends when we’d show up. We had several stores that didn’t have a lumper with his forklift card on shift. I had one. One store considered it, but found a carded lumper, most others just allowed me to unload. Makes the day go much easier. Leads me to the point, no jobs are being taken by non union labour, we’re all still getting paid whether or not we’re even doing anything. Now if they made it procedure where the (non union) truck drivers would unload the trucks, and lay off the four lumpers, that’s a completely different argument.

[@rjohnson1690]

@@jaysmith1408the flip side is the carriers love to pit craft unions against each other. The railroads love to get the BLET and UTU fighting each other, and we all get screwed in the long run. I’m sure it’s the same way with other crafts.

[@kelvintorrence5994]

I come from union people and ive never Been union and don't want to be,with most of the union people I've worked with ill pass and keep my cash

[@rjohnson1690]

That’s like saying you prefer to eat feces than prime rib. To each their own I guess.

[@matthewmiller6068]

I've experienced that first-hand at convention and expo centers. In addition to the extension cord plugging BS and rearranging folding tables...one time had a place where we wanted to tape down wires on our display so no visitors would fall over them. Nope, only the Union folk are allowed to tape wires to the floor. Ok, Union person we need this wire taped...nope, that's not OUR wire, that's YOUR wire, we aren't allowed to tape that wire. So we ended up just saying "be careful don't trip" a lot all weekend, and only had a couple people trip. All over trying to use a little tape to hold a wire to the floor! I positively HATE the nonsense that unions cause.

[@adformer9212]

... this reminds me of how bees are considered fish in California

[@Hyce777]

....what

[@redshirt5126]

????!!!!!!

[@susanlua4792]

I live a California and I’ve never heard THAT before Edit: Omg 16 likes!?! Thank you so much

[@ayayaybamba3445]

​@@Hyce777due to the way an environmental protection law is worded, bees and several other animals are considered fish. It's really stupid.

[@TheWolfiet]

@@Hyce777 OH BOY. So, the California Endangered Species Act, which does not allow "insects" to be added as threatened species. They allowed the trinity bristle snail to be considered a "fish" in the eyes of the law, and they used the same loophole to protect bees as well. They concluded that the word “fish” should be considered a legal “term of art,” and not taken to mean a literal aquatic vertebrate. Bees are legally fish so they can be considered threatened. So yeah. Bees are fish.

[@railmastergaming]

meanwhile union pacifics weed sprayer looking like a boxcar and being a locomotive...also love the content man!

[@Spook_Boi]

5:15 my malicious compliance just had a knee jerk reaction of calling an electrician any time i needed to use power tools. I.E. battery needs replaced/ charged, or if its corded it needs plugged in.

[@AnimeSunglasses]

I'll drink to that!

[@stephenhoover4095]

I would get in so much trouble working at a unionized place like that because I'd probably do 5 different people's jobs without even realizing it.

[@daniellewis1789]

There's a couple union shops in my industry, I got caught out as a guest asking questions by "I can't do that, I have to wait for X craft". But they're all much bigger operations that can keep both crafts busy all shift without overlap.

[@SleeTheSloth]

I'd be one to get in trouble here. I see a small task that I knew I could do and that task was holding me up from getting my other tasks done, I just be like... Bleep it and get her done so I can do my work.

[@kleetus92]

This is why I will never work at a union facility. Complete waste of time and money, and then they get pissy when you call them on their bullshit. No thanks. Part of the reason why everything leaves the USA. Normal thinking people just get the job done.

[@DavidKehley]

Same here I’m the kind of person that will jump in if they need help even if it isn’t my job! People like us what helps companies run!

[@DavidKehley]

@@SleeTheSlothsame

[@tychobickerstaff7701]

On similar thing to the GP unit that's a 'boxcar': The British rail class 99 'locomotives' that floated. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Rail_Class_99_(ships) Because BR bought a computer system developed for union pacific, that tracked locomotives and cars. But BR had ships, so they needed to record them in the computer. So they were given engine numbers 99001 through 99015, and recorded as locomotives in the computer system. (This computer system is still in use to this day).

[@Dragonmdk]

It was TOPS, created by Southern Pacific, not UP.

[@Hyce777]

That's a fascinating niche piece of history, lol!

[@ethmister]

Class 99 is the best train class. Most diverse

[@andrewreynolds4949]

There is a new class 99 for one of the freight operators over there on order now. This one actually is locomotive…

[@davidty2006]

Did the humber paddle steamers wingfield & tattershell castle ever get TOPS numbers? they did run till 1974 and even got repainted into what is sealink livery...

[@TheBeeMan1994]

Hearing all this union stuff is crazy. Being a shortline mechanic, we work on anything that has to do with the locomotive, electrical, piping you name it. In a shortline environment you are a jack of all trades.... but the master of none lol

[@CDROM-lq9iz]

I work for a Class II and it's the same story lol.

[@EaglePointRails]

This reminds me of a time one of my local railroaders decided to park his train on the main line rather then going to the siding nearby. Clogged up the whole railroad since he left to go get lunch. The crew for the other symbol didn’t want to move power assigned to the other crew, so the train sat on the main for a few hours until the crew got back. 😂

[@BandanRRChannel]

I think I saw that Geep in Shelton c. 2020ish, still lettered for P&W. I guess maybe it went from Portland to you, and then back down to PSAP. That's a weird move. Side note, those tracks the reefers are on used to be stub-ended, with an unconnected turnout sitting nearby. Eventually the industry in question decided to complete the connection on the east end (just out of view when you showed it) so they could use their Plymouth to service both tracks. I designed that connection, and it wasn't easy; the adjacent trail and fences meant the clearances there are very tight.

[@Hyce777]

Oh wow! Small freaking world man. Yeah it's hella tight in there. And navigating the blimps that are those reefers.... Lord. Must've been an interesting one!

[@caelumvaldovinos5318]

Real railroad shop: I can't move this engine or touch this wiring b/c I'm not in the authorized department! Preservation railroad shop: *works on brakes* $^@*! Why the I park it like this! And why did I wire this cr@p like that! A$^@*^×)!^$&×!!!!!

[@Hyce777]

Toooooo freaking real

[@phillyphakename1255]

Oh god, am I working at a historic railroad? I order parts, I do shipping and receiving, I do tech support, and all of that is on top of my actual job of repairing things. And I'm usually swearing all day long...

[@caelumvaldovinos5318]

@@phillyphakename1255, I'm afraid to say it: you work on a historic railroad

[@dersterdabeast9901]

*On The Radio*: “O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo? The fridge in 348 is ready to have the whip on it.” Lmao

[@HustleMuscleGhias]

Sounds kinky...

[@Blue_Dingo]

I have just to opposite story. Union Pacific has new MOW power, it's a SD40-2, with a new body, and Maintenance of way lettering. Kind of like a F-Unit now. it's not a "locomotive" (For union reasons.), it's a piece of MOW Equipment. One of them recently showed up at Albina Yard, needing new wheels. Yardmaster sends it to the One Spot (carshop), it's a piece of MOW equipment. We don't have a lot of room either, and here it comes on our inbound tracks. I asked what are we supposed to do with that thing? Manager says nothing, it's a Locomotive. Well, it does not belong on our inbound tracks, call someone, it needs to go to the engine house. Well if the call was made, it was likely met with, why would a piece of MOW equipment go to the engine house? They shoved it into the one spot track. It takes a couple days to make it into the shop. They do nothing to it and shove it thru, takes another day to be pulled. Then some MOW Manager calls, asks if it's done. Leadman says no, we don't work on Locomotives, it needs to go to engine house. Next day I come in, it's in our inbound tracks again, rinse repeat 2 more times. After the 3rd trip thru, and a couple weeks later, MOW Manager calls again, are you guys done yet? We really need it back. Our manager says same thing to leadman again, who starts to tell the MOW Manager. I yelled wait, tell him we can't do the work because the car shop does not have a drop table for removing traction motors, but the engine house does. That is the only way to change wheels on his piece of "Maintenance of Way Equipment", by removing the traction motors. Leadman tells him this, and call ends. They pulled it that night, we have never seen it again, I don't know if it ever made it to the engine house.

[@nottiification]

When i worked at the airport there was one hangar that was a union shop & we were not allowed to open the hangar door because pressing that button required a union electrician. Fine.. I guess your airplane will sit out on the ramp through that hailstorm then. Hundreds of thousands in damage ensued.

[@Hyce777]

Sounds about right... Lol

[@kristoffermangila]

The plane's owner should have sued the union for the damage incurred due to their obstinacy.

[@kelvintorrence5994]

Unions are freaking worthless

[@nottiification]

​@@kristoffermangila The plane belonged to an airline... they just passed the costs on to you.

[@1471SirFrederickBanbury]

That "boxcar" has some nice trucks. They usually dont have such nice suspension! XD

[@paul6026]

Last time I was this early the RGS was turning a profit!

[@brillbusbootcamp2320]

Wow, for once I guessed the twist correctly! During my year in a tourist railroad, the freight/shop crews often used the term “set it up as a boxcar” for making a locomotive ready to tow. I can’t imagine how many incidents it took to convince crews to remove the MU hoses to ship locomotives!

[@captainkrazee7726]

I am simple. I see SFS, I click.

[@centraltexasrailvideos9646]

Same

[@Studiosodor1]

Me too every time I see a Hyce video I click it

[@joshuahudson2170]

We call that a dummy. It looks like a locomotive and it acts like a boxcar.

[@steeljawX]

I mean, if you consider that a diesel is just a boxcar with the components inside of it to actually power itself (in a super simplified sense), it makes sense that the reverse is also true. A diesel incapable of actually powering itself is just a boxcar that holds broken train parts in it.

[@ryandavis7593]

The problem is that it’s most likely a fully functioning locomotive. I have worked for several several short lines and have moved a bunch of locomotives to other locations. Some of these were in fact broken and nonfunctional but most left our facility fully functional. We just cannot move them as functional or really bad things happen. Crews looking for power will appropriate them and they get lost or damaged. So we disable them and change air brake settings under the cab to make them function as a boxcar. We also post the waybill in the windows of the cab. The problem is, there are a lot of employed people who either can’t or won’t read their orders nor that waybill. There’s a lot of stupid that happens on the railroad.

[@andrewreynolds4949]

The Oklahoma Railway Museum has the ex-BNSF hydrogen unit, which no longer has any of the hydrogen system. So it’s essentially an empty shell with nice cab and trucks. I got to see it and the thumbnail immediately reminded me of that

[@madalheidis]

This reminds me. So, I used to volunteer at a heritage tramway. Now, we had a very tall double-decker tram, No. 26. The wires in certain places got low enough that No. 26 was barred from those areas over possible electric shocks. There were big red, black, and white signs that had a picture of No. 26 specifically showing not to take it down there. That was ignored constantly. So long as you didn't go into the upper floor, in theory, you would be fine. I once saw No. 26 parked on one of these sections, right next to one of the signs, and thought: No. 26: "I wonder who that's for?"

[@blubaughmr]

When I moved to Seattle in the mid-80's, that roundhouse was a beautiful brick building. Then, it disappeared under metal siding. I thought 'They are planning to demolish it, so they have covered it under metal siding so nobody remembers how beautiful it was before they demolish it.' More than 30 years later, it's still there!

[@wilfstor3078]

Spoiler alert, they now plan to drmolish it...

[@dbolt6543]

When CN switches DPUs out of long trains they often leave them in "box car mode" so they can be picked up and taken to the engine shop like a box car would so they do not have to worry about any locomotive connections.

[@Paul070]

The only reason they do that is to save time vs. a conventional MU set up and air test.

[@dbolt6543]

@@Paul070 Like I said, they don't need to be on line and loaded to be moved from point A to point B.

[@ThatRailGuy]

When I see a locomotive and the title named THIS IS A BOXCAR!!!??? That's when I watch the video!

[@EyeMWing]

Small railroads *HATE* shipping locomotives over the Class 1's, because they almost invariably get lost in voids exactly like this one. I believe the Wisconsin Great Northern had a new-to-them GP7 fall into the abyss for awhile not too long ago.

[@timothystamm3200]

I wonder if something like this is what got the Northern Maine potato crop lost in the Penn Central System for long enough that it rotted because the reefer cars ran out of ice.

[@EyeMWing]

@@timothystamm3200 that was just good old fashioned mismanagement of the entire railroad. There’s a 12 hour podcast epic from Well There’s Your Problem on the Penn Central and they touch on that incident.

[@timothystamm3200]

@EyeMWing Yes, I've watched it, but I wonder if the issue was old rules being in place and because of a misunderstanding of them or an attempt to change them that didn't get full circulation someone wasn't informed what those were and that they needed to get to their destination in a timely manner. They couldn't just be shoved aside and forgotten. I'll bet someone misclassified it in a manner where no one wanted to touch them. Though it could copy the mistake this video is about in the manner that someone didn't know what it was and just shoved it somewhere and wouldn't listen until they were told that something literally smelled.

[@ThomasJM]

The thing about who plugs in something on a locomotive reminds me about something that I heard about the theatre and how things work on the stage with certain things like for example a lamp. The props department can bring it on stage but the lighting department has to plug it in and unplug it before props can touch it again.

[@rodchallis8031]

In a Union shop it's not usually like that-- until the company does something shitty or underhanded, then everyone gets all "work to rule." I worked on a line that paid extra-- piece work. And we learned all the minor non safety related "fixes" to minor problems to keep that line singing for 8hrs non stop. We learned ways to take our breaks and lunches in a way that didn't impeded production. Then one day the company decided they didn't want to pay incentive bonus, or piece work anymore. Fine, we just stopped doing all those little things and took our time finding a supervisor to tell him to get an electrician or millwright-- which because they cut back on them could be a half mile away at the other end of the plant. The Company was well within the rules of the Collective Agreement to stop the incentive bonus plan. And we were well within the rules of the Collective Agreement also. One big unhappy family.

[@jaysmith1408]

⁠​⁠@@rodchallis8031oh yeah, shenanigans beget shenanigans. Last case, I worked for a truck leasing company. We we all teamsters, with a terrible contract. Just about all we got, was overtime after eight hours. District came down and said, rental business is slow (with closures and lockdowns), they’re not going to pay overtime. Alrighty then, we won’t work any. There is nothing we could do in under an hour. Our closest lease customer was about twenty or so minutes away, took the time to pick and drop the truck, and twenty or so minutes to get back. Not milking the clock, really couldn’t do anything in under an hour. So at eight o’clock, we were in the cafeteria watching Chicago Fire or ChiPs, depending on the day. Management was pissed that we were just sitting around for an entire hour before the end of shift. We explained the dilemma. Pay us the extra ten minutes it takes to get the jobs done, and we won’t sit around for an hour. Otherwise we got to work in the shop, work with the mechanics, fuel and wash the trucks (saved the average half hour wait for a fueler). About a week later, we heard they were paying a couple people overtime as straight time. Very shortly after, we were on the phone with the union. Went as follows. “You hearing this?” “They WHAT?! Hang on” “YOU WHAT?!” “Uhh, umm, well uhh” “I’m back, overtime is restored, you can finish whatever jobs need done, and back pay will be in the next cheque”.

[@phillyphakename1255]

​@@rodchallis8031man I hate it when the company screws you over. I want things to run smoothly, I want to be one big happy family, but they really screw you over sometimes.

[@rodchallis8031]

Well, I think a lot of stuff happens at work that's just "shit that happens" and I managed to not get all paranoid or pissed off or vindictive over too much stuff. In the example I mentioned, though, we learned extra stuff and learned how to waste as few *seconds* in a shift bringing the A+ game to work every day, evening or night. I'm sure the company had good economic reasons in their eyes to get rid of the incentive pay. But I also am free to make the same economic assessment when it comes to busting a gut for less money. Less money, less gut busting. And, I am sure they factored in that exact reaction.

[@phillyphakename1255]

@@rodchallis8031 yeah, totally get it. When the company doesn't go above and beyond for you, you don't go above and beyond for them. I'm a guy who likes to give it my all, but it's annoying when the company gives you negative motivation to do that. So you make sure you take EVERY break you are allowed, you take a few extra minutes on the shitter. Delay a few seconds here and there. If they're nickel and dimeing me, I'm gonna nickel and dime them too. I just wish it didn't have to be that way.

[@Cammed_okie]

As a laborer In Tulsa we get DIC, DIT, & Rev moves all the time. Kinda sucks when we’re trying to moving and build consists; they’re always in our way occupying our other service tracks. So we will have less room for outbounds and they’ll sit at the diesel shop for days waiting to go somewhere else. I wish they just keep them in the yard or on the train.. little rant, love the video 👍🏻

[@Hyce777]

Lol, glad to hear it resonates and I know your pain! Haha

[@Bassotronics]

The "Box Car" did exactly as intended. It hit yall like a Boxer and won some rounds. What a mess.

[@737Garrus]

So THAT'S why they call them "Box Cars". XD

[@DrewPalmquist]

I’m also simple, I saw a ginesse and Wyoming livery, I clicked

[@dominicf8039]

Boxcar?? Must be a shell then.

[@alexander1485]

no, just has air going through it, its not supposed to be MU'ed or started.

[@jaysmith1408]

@@alexander1485so they say it can’t be MU’d, but it otherwise is for all other reasonable people, a fully functioning locomotive, which in this specific case, must be DIT. It ‘could’ be started and run, but it ‘shouldn’t’

[@angryrailfan5711]

Is this a locomotive? No this is a boxcar!

[@Thefreakyfreek]

mayonaise is not an instrument

[@hamentaschen]

"I'm gonna go get the papers, get the papers."

[@TrainMedia00]

If that's a Boxcar then, why the hell has a diesel locomotive engine there, and a horn, and paint scheme AND!!!!! headlights. Lol, my brain is spinning with no dialog.

[@Nate-sq9vd]

If you look carefully there are no lights from this perspective

[@andrewreynolds4949]

Plenty of boxcars have/had good paint schemes!

[@lsswappedcessna]

it's a boxcar designed to haul locomotive parts in a very specific way that requires it to be assembled with said parts in the same way a locomotive would be assembled. Hmm. I'm seeing a problem here. It doesn't have cupholders.

[@TrainMedia00]

@@lsswappedcessna yeah, but I don't know why they built a boxcar to look like a locomotive but it was loaded with locomotive parts and OH SHIT!!!! my brain is like lost now, this is too much to know this unknown rail equipment.

[@JackyBro1]

hyce do you like the 0-6-0 in derail vally?

[@Hyce777]

Yeah! It's fun. It just doesn't pull much.

[@Elliottblancher]

@@Hyce777 You got to give it more beans. :)

[@BrooksMoses]

@@Elliottblancher : I was running the Rivarossi model equivalent on a branchline job at the model railroad ops session last night, and had an amusing problem from giving it too many beans. It was late and dispatch had gone home, and I was reassembling my train after having doubled a hill (because, no, the model doesn't pull much either!), and had uncoupled some cars and was sitting right in front of some points on a switch that was set for the diverging track. And, because it was late, I gave it the beans to take off at a rather unprototypical rate of acceleration, and the little engine pulled a tiny little wheelie and jumped the front wheels over the points and derailed. I don't suppose Derail Valley simulates that particular bit of behavior, but they should!

[@Kevin_Rhodes]

Unions are mostly great - except for this sort of nonsense.

[@RandallVanDusen]

Reminds me of when I worked in "The Milwaukee Road" shop in Milwaukee, WI, in 79/80. However, they were in their third bankruptcy and going under. We no longer had labors except for their union rep, who would bitch and moan whenever one of us trade craft types would do one of their jobs so we could get to doing ours. The Milwaukee shops closed Apr 12th 1980 at the loss of 7000 jobs.

[@voidfaux]

my dad and grandfather worked in Harlowton MT

[@SteamCrane]

Reminds me of setting up a trade show booth at McCormick Place in Chicago. Foreman "Tony", assistant foreman "Anthony", coincidentally his son. Electricians must plug things in, and you wait a couple hours. Eventually, our guy has a talk with Tony, an envelope changes hands, and suddenly stuff gets moving.

[@lifeisfakenews]

what in the Schrodinger is going on

[@Cletrac305]

My father was the R&D engineer for a large global company. We were also farmers. He ALWAYS wore a flannel shirt, blue jeans and steel toed boots even to court cases! One day he was getting frustrated at work and walked to the breakroom. He passed the maintenance crew busting concrete down by the loading dock with sledgehammers. He said "man you guys look hot and tired, I need a little stress relief, mind if I swing that sledge for awhile? You can take a break" sure, no problem! The head of another department walked by, also a farmer, eyed the situation, relieved another maintenance man and started swinging. The head of engineering walked by and did likewise. Everyone was happy. A truck driver walked in and saw the maintenance men drinking cold pop and smoking cigarettes watching the proceedings. He said to dad "I haven't seen you guys before who are you?" Dad shook his hand and said "hello, I'm the R&D engineer, this man's the head of production, and this is the head of engineering" the driver was awestruck and said "by god, this ain't no union shop!" And walked away shaking his head! Dads father had worked for the CCC&C " big four", my great grandfather died working on the Pennsylvania, (I still have the crowbar that killed him the railroad gave the family) and the Nickel Plate (now N.S.) went through the farm.

[@SteamCrane]

Like MOW trains where they booger up a locomotive so that it doesn't look like a locomotive, so track dept can operate the train.

[@pastasauce]

17:40 I work a few miles south of you at Amtrak. We had an old head engineer who had a saying, "We're a transportation company, not a communication company."

[@chrissutton5457]

Man, this reminds me of a story my trainer at UP told me: "a locomotive may show up as a boxcar on your manifest, you treat it like a specialty car and for the love of God don't kick it down the track like one of the new guys did a couple years ago. Guy saw it listed as a box car, decided my paper work says a boxcar and kicked it into the bowl."

[@Sigil_Firebrand]

This is a great story. I could almost feel physical pain as you explained having to argue with the yard to come get the "boxcar".

[@peregrina7701]

Since I saw the thumb I've been trying to figure out how that was a _boxcar_. Thank you for the fun story. Love these little slices of modern railroad life and big-organization shenanigans. More please! :)

[@SodorTrain1225]

Well, that’s the strangest looking boxcar I've ever seen.

[@alexander1485]

its a "term"

[@SodorTrain1225]

@@alexander1485 I know. Just thought it was funny.

[@patricksheary2219]

Hi Mark, that was a well told, and enlightening, description of rail yard workings. Liked hearing about the various types of specialists allowed to move and work on specific things. I now better understand what a hostler does. Using Google maps to illustrate what you were talking about and at the same time giving us a tour of where you worked was brilliant! I so enjoy your SFS episodes Mark, they are both hilarious and educational. Another fabulous video Professor, many thanks for creating it and looking forward to the next episode. As always cheers to you!

[@ELDRGW]

Bnsf moving dead in tow locomotives is clown show . I've seen a unit go to Chicago to la 4 times round trip before ut got dropped off at its destination.

[@Hyce777]

Lmao. Not surprised.

[@LynxSnowCat]

If revenue transfers usually create logistical problems for railroads with 'talent' like BNSF - then I can almost understand why Wisconsin Southern Railroad did everything but explicitly deny allowing Wisconsin Great Northern Railroad use of their service - with an apparent demand that 'revenue' locomotive be fully functional before reaching the customer's machine shop... I'm thinking of 2 TopperMachineLLC 's horrific experience with Wisconsin' Southern (subsidiary of Watco) : months of write ups for absent inspection defects (in one instance without actually leaving the truck after being handed paperwork showing the previous list was cleared -or irrelevant _for a boxcar_),- then later not even gracefully accepting the payment without extra -hassle- encumbrance once their -encumbrance- part of the job was done. Because CN sold a number of 'their' subsidiaries to Watco the preceding June; and I thought that CN's sale included the entirety of Wisconsin Central surrounding his shop -- I felt so bad when J.Topper capped his praise for CN ({for generally being highly competent, allowing the problem to be resolved in days once it was in their care}) declaring that he would never [need to] deal with the Watco again... ...Though it reportedly took 4 inspectors to get past Watco. I wonder if 4's a magic number of iterations for moving dead locomotives over US railroads.

[@ELDRGW]

@Hyce777 that's not even the record God help you if you have to interchange a locomotive between bnsf and up . We watched a set of G&W units go back in fourth 10 times between Barstow and west Colton stuck on the transfer job .. your story does explain a lot though as there often separate from.power and train at each yards hump pocket. No one wants to move them ever ...

[@notmuch_23]

It seems like _everything_ that starts good always turns stupid. This is because *PEOPLE* are stupid.

[@russellhltn1396]

And the smart ones know how to make "stupid" work in their favor.

[@Satchmoeddie]

Once upon a time a large construction company named Morris Knudsen went into the business of refurbishing, upgrading and customizing used motive power for railroads, and one day they also decided to do locomotive leasing & rentals for a while. Those rental/lease things would get lost in transit on the mainline railroads all the time. The old lease period was up 7 months ago and it's still not on the new client's trackage. That is called how to lose money.

[@Jamesclass37]

Now I work in a depot in the UK. However, as a railway man, this video is entirely relatable! It's the exact same here!😄

[@IsaacDaBoatSloth]

clearly its a box shape and its a railcar so surely it must be a boxcar

[@the_1drummajor]

Box car on paper. There. If what's on the video thumbnail was actually the thing that was being argued about when the logistical fiasco was the thing and not just there for props, then I have to say that the P&W recently had to get rid of it because the parent company was under fire from the EPA for failing to comply with certain regulations. Ironically, they ordered several newer GP38-2's (which are really no different emissions-wise than the 1xxx fleet they got rid of).

[@u9027]

As a retired yardmaster, I feel your pain. It wasn't just the mechanical department that got that Excedrin headache #5, the transportation department also shared the misery. Once we had an engine (boxcar) come in to the terminal and it hung around for weeks like a bad suit because of clearance issues. We finally got rid of it only to have the damned thing come back through a week or so later and it got set off again in our terminal. Luckily, the RR that owned it were now watching it like a hawk and it only stayed there a day or two, never to be seen again. Oversized loads that needed clearance were also a pain in the pants, but that's another long, sad RR story... you did a great job of explaining the reasons why things can be so crappy to deal with at the RR!

[@Hyce777]

I talked with the yard guys enough. You guys got it much worse than we did. Yardmaster at interbay sounded like the worst job on the railroad. Lol. Sounds about right. Thanks for sharing your story!

[@Zalaniar]

Hey Hyce, I'm starting training as a Conductor with CSX tomorrow morning and I just wanted to say I love your videos and thank you for motivating me to get into this world of rail!

[@hurinironfoot6865]

Love the stories as always. Definitely why I subbed to you!

[@Hybris51129]

History of the Unions shows why they were needed but stories like this show that like ball signals and steam engines they no longer make sense and only cause problems for everyone except the Union itself. Not a popular take but reality rarely is popular.

[@Poldovico]

Ah, yes. The two genders: mired in nonsensical paperwork or multiple amputee for peanuts of pay. Truly no intermediate solution that preserves the good things while mitigating issues can ever exist. Don't fix anything, just entirely delete old solutions and hope against sense that the old problems they were in place to fix won't also return.

[@kristoffermangila]

Incidents like this makes me understand why European unions look down on American unions with disdain.

[@Hybris51129]

@@kristoffermangila The only way the European labor unions look down on the US is the Americans failure to fully indoctrinate their existence to the point that the population and governments believe that they are still essential. Beyond that the Euro labor unions are just as antiquated and barbaric as the American unions are in the work place.

[@barrettwbenton]

If René Magritte was a railroad man...

[@p51mustang52]

You always talking about the book Little engines and big men, in your kah co-op videos, got me interested in it and I just won an auction for it, cant wait to read about the engine being brought to the other side of the train after being snowed in.

[@Radioactive4001]

When i saw the title, i was really hoping they had torn out all the inner workings. and just made it a actual box car with a GP9 shell

[@jasonmcleod8914]

"It's not a refrigerator, it's a water cooler" - as a railroader, I felt that 😂😂😂😂😂

[@shopdog831]

This is exactly how aircraft hangars work in the airlines as well.

[@matthewmiller6068]

What would the airplane-equivalent be? Calling it a bus that can't fly?

[@lsswappedcessna]

@@matthewmiller6068 The airplane equivalent would be pulling a terminal tractor into the hangar and expecting the aircraft mechanic who mostly works on jet engines and old Continentals to perform a full service on it without a wiring diagram or a fluid specs sheet.

[@SleeTheSloth]

Wow, what a mess. This was a fun and interesting video. I had a friend ( Less Olver ) whom worked as the yard master for the PC and later for CR here in the Dunkirk yard. He always said if you need / wanted overtime, do not do anything to try and cause it to happen. Just fallow the rules and you will get all the overtime you want. Less had a lot of great stories. I wish I had put them on video while he was still with us.

[@camaroboy1968ss]

See's thumbnail of a old P&W loco, see those trains all the time as they run lumber into Portland.

[@stallord8796]

Shit like the fridge plugin thing is why I can't stand any kind of union involvement on gigs. (as someone who's determined to accomplish things) It's just insanely nonsensical and legitimately benefits no one. What's worse is how many union guys seemingly get off on being as obstructive as possible in any way they can and use whatever excuse they can to justify it. "I was told to standby, I'm not not moving from this spot until I'm done standing by" ok, yea, but YOU specifically chose to sit directly in front of the gear I need to load on this truck, and moving 5 feet so I can do my job would not go against your standing by. It's infuriating

[@QuintonMurdock]

Ah Portland and western.

[@sjwhitney]

Yeah, can't plug in the fridge... Stupidest union BS ever... I'm glad I was 37 years on a non-union job. I has LOTS of hats and checkmarks on my list of things I could do at a moment's notice. Retired with lots of accomplishments.

[@arthura.applegatejr.7145]

Why don’t you have jitney cars or side-by-side to move employees around the yard more efficiently?? Also during the 1970s and early 1980s, my dad ran an Agrico fertilizer plant with rail service. Conrail ran that back then. they lost a carload of ammonia, ammonia nitrate, I’m not sure which it was anymore but they lost it and it was worth about $500,000. Wherever they put it we don’t know but they charged my dad and Agrico demurrage on the car they had lost. I don’t know when and where they found it, but it was a couple months before we got it. That gave me a sour taste in my mouth railroad.‼️🖖🏻

[@tarnishedknight730]

16 minutes in and I still don't know what's up with the object in the thumbnail. I know different from the ones that plug things in do the actual work. I know that there is a derail that hasn't been used in an eon. I know way too much about union operations. But still know nothing about the boxcar or engine or whatever. DUDE! Get to the point... PLEASE! This is why I don't watch this channel; it's because you go off on tangents all the time. Sorry, but OMG!

[@TalenGryphon]

If that's the actual Geep in question I recall seeing it on the Puget Sound and Pacific. A good buddy of mine lives in Shelton and we used to go to the Radio Fryer and then watch switching ops down by the sawmill. Also the moment you said there was an industry within mechanical limits I KNEW it was Coastal Transportation (Does that old Plymouth gas switcher they re-powered with a CAT engine even work, or is it just there for looks?). I rode my bike past there a lot when I worked at Smith Cove

[@MilwaukeeF40C]

I thought this was going to be about one of the older locomotives the DOJ forced G&W to disable and scrap. New BS "tier" emissions systems are supposed to have records kept on functioning and maintenance. G&W didn't do it to the EPA's liking and sued. G&W agreed to scrap a bunch of older locomotives. Some beautiful high hoods were on the list, one in a Black Widow paint job.

[@laphonys1096]

That’s a locomotive not a boxcar silly!

[@737Garrus]

It looks like a locomotive, it sounds like a locomotive, it's probably a locomotive...NOPE. Box Car. Period. Dot.

[@JeffreyPar-pr2zw]

Hmmmmmmmm. I would insert a turnout to be a "B" line to a 3A, 4A, 5A, etc. Depending where a turnout can be shoehorned in with a few sticks of rail to be able to set 3, 4, 6, 10, or however many cars or locos need to be placed somewhere that won't clog up the operations.

[@PianomanKY]

@Hyce thanks for sharing your fantastic and in-depth videos about railroading. You explain things so well to where it is easily understandable while still using and explaining industry terms. I had a question. Could you do a video on travelling hobos, history and lifestyle (if you know much about that). I think it would be interesting since it's a long-time part of railroading, albeit illegal in most cases.

[@Idaho-Cowboy]

A wild Boxcar Appears! Maintenance uses Union Rules and hurts itself in the confusion.

[@dzymslizzy3641]

How frustrating! Unions have their good and bad points, and some of the bad ones are truly stupidly dangerous. I'm reminded of the cartoon about a guy getting blasted off his ladder by a live wire, and he's being fried, but no one is helping, because he's pinned under the ladder, and no one can touch it because that's carpenter's union; and the guy pinned is the carpenter; and no one can shut off the power because that's the electrician's union, and none of them are available, and of course, by the time it's all sorted out, the guy is dead! Just do what needs to be done, people; when somone is in trouble is no time for petty jurisdictional disputes! (BTW--is "Hyce" your real name, or a pseudonym for the channel?) Your commentary and explanations are always interesting.

[@erniecolussy1705]

At union jobs I was more likely to hear, "that is not your job." Union workers are usually protective of people taking their work. Not doing someone else work was intended to prevent getting in trouble with workers in that trade for taking their work. Taking work is the equivalent of taking money from them. At non union jobs I was more likely to hear, "That's not my job."

[@worldtraveler930]

I'm guessing whoever Originally Parked that box car in That location got Fired!!! 🤔

[@andrewreynolds4949]

I’d bet no one cared, and the shop people got in trouble for being behind instead!

[@bjrnfrederiksson2505]

This was such a laugh, miscommunication can be such a b***. Well it was not just pure luck I guess that the Boxcar was removed ha ha. Damn, what a commotion a single Boxcar can make 🤣 just because it looks like a chocho..

[@crsrdash-840b5]

Sounds like a typical day on my HO Scale layout - CRSR in University Place, WA. I get Tacoma Rail power Genset and SD70ACe visiting mixed with a few private railroad power (from my friend's layout) and its always a mess trying to switch power in a single weekend.

[@SheepInACart]

The workaround lots of the world does for those type of rules is the highest report in each location being permitted to do anything, they normally only manage so unions don't have any concern with loosing work/roles, but when one "boxcar" fouls your entire process, or somebody needs to walk a mile to plug in a fridge, they can step out of the office, fix the problem, then return to their paperwork... normally shaking their head about ridiculous rules the entire time.

[@thenekom]

Yes and you call it a boxcar despite the fact that it is obviously a locomotive. Regional dialect.

[@mybadluckcharm]

I can't see why they did not put language in the union agreement that covers locomotive ferry moves. Especially on the BNSF. I don't think i've ever seen any other railroad do locomotive ferry moves quite like them. So many locomotives in a single train, and nothing else. Sure other lines do dead moves all the time, too, but BNSF just does it on an epic scale.

[@grizh4583]

This is why nothing shows up where it’s supposed to be 😂 just put it over there 😂 I got a loaded pet coke car in the middle of my priority intermodal train like 2 weeks ago. Made it 900 miles and somehow never got noticed till I’m running around it to shove into the terminal. 😂🤦🏻‍♂️

[@robertgift]

Hyce, what is that grey lamp behind your left? Is it blue glass which means the locomotive or railcar is not to be moved? At Goodwill just bought one similar. *HANDLAN* ST LOUIS USA Apparently had a removable wick lamp which fits into the base. Presumably a clear glass chimney so the blue glass lens would not be sooted. Now a white LED always on inside.

[@Patrick-bu4vq]

Thats the thing the nice Managers getting fired and those who are ashols staying because they get a bit more done per shift... What i see is that the moral of the team decreases and then the people leave We are 6 Pearsons that collect the parts for the productionline and 1 who goes around to support the people, same fore productionline but they are more people. One manager came to the idea if we work thruh the lunchbreak that they get instead of around 488 Axels 518 done. Now those who should support the people if to much work comes have to do the work on the stations while they go to lunch, 7 people everyone has 30min break = 3,5h untill they had their lunch, now half of the team is looking for a new workplace

[@Soporbum42]

yeah if I only had a 20 minute lunch I would play every game possible to get a longer break too. That's effin ridiculous

[@bensmith4563]

Sounds like a nightmare of too closely following stupid rules combined with unions making everything far more difficult than necessary

[@kge420]

From @5:10 you can hear and understand the downside of a union shop. It’s not about getting work completed but more about protecting the work. fwiw, I’m not anti union.

[@CDROM-lq9iz]

"Just send all the broken stuff to the maintenance facility at once." Good lord that is so true lol. Good to know it's not unique to where I work. You'll have 3 days with nothing of note, and then out of nowhere "hey I have 11 engines, and only two of them are running." "Oh ok..." looks at power sheet. "They want all of those to go back out within 12 hours..." "Yeah... And?" "Ok, drop them on the pad." *calls dispatcher to tell them someone's gonna be late leaving* It gets even better when half of the defects haven't been reported yet. Or they got reported, but didn't end up in the system where they're supposed to be.

[@bobbg9041]

My sisters kid used to be your boss now he is a yard master Yep he builds the trains. So how did you get all the stuff behind you thats railroad property, and they never throw stuff away, they dig a hole and shove stuff into it, kinda think thats where Jimmy Hoffa is!.

[@ourv9603]

It took you 11min to explain why that loco was called a boxcar. UNIONS, Theyre #1 function is to provide & protect jobs. The RR screw the shippers over each & every day moving the freight further than it needs to go in a round about route to increase the miles so the shippers get charged more. Yeah, it is a real screw job. SO, the unions want a piece of this money pie the RR is eating. If the RR were allowed to make their operation efficient half the workers would be gone. I understand it is hard to understand but be happy this system gives you and a lot of others jobs. If the RR was more efficient making more $$ would they increase wages? Oh, Hell No. Be happy you work in a union job all other industries in America is non union their workers do not have a voice and they are free to abuse their employees as they see fit. !

[@mattomon1045]

Hyce at the museum yesterday I had one question where is Hyce ? I told them on vacation ! at D U i was told to take the trash that was out side of the door by my boss !!!!!! D U had a contract with a company, that is a union shop, and one of their workers came up to me. And told me never to touch the trash in these cans ! Or I will not have the trash picked ! up at my house for 30 days!!!!! Denver has the same trash has the same union loco for trash pickup.

[@JPennDotCom]

I worked for a big corporation for thirty years and in a union. Yes, I understand everything you said. I saw the waist but also reaped the benefits. The benefits won out. Thanks!

[@ianthompson2802]

I got offered a job at a smaller train shop thank god its all under on union bc the boss wants me to spend the first year getting rotated all round the depts. From welding to the plumbing (air systems) salvage and welding to engines then put me wjere i excell and click with the coworkers

[@matthewmiller6068]

GOD I hate unions...dealt with some of that BS at conventions where only the Union people can plug/unplug an extension cord but they provided a faulty cord and then they don't actually get around to replacing the faulty cord until the event is over so we had to improvise with zipties and bent prongs to make something stay connected. Similarly moving folding tables was a "union only" thing but they wouldn't get around to them until after our chance to set up was over. One time I got mad and started dragging one out of the way of our booth area, they complained "you can't do that" so I set it down and start walking away. Then they yell "you can't leave it here, its blocking the walkway fire exits" well you just said I am not allowed to move it so I guess that's your problem now, should have moved it a day ago when I asked repeatedly. Worst was an argument about "not allowed to tape wires to the floor myself" for an exhibit display to prevent tripping...but also "we can't tape your wires to our floor because they aren't our wires". So you forbid me from doing it while refusing to do it either. Only a few people tripped over the unsecured wires that weekend...