'If he had just taken my suggestion': New railway manager ignores veteran's suggestion creating a logistical nightmare

Author image for Brad Dickson
Brad Dickson • Managing Editor
Nov 16, 2023 12:00 PM EST

Generally, the idea of managing something implies that you have some understanding of how that thing works and are, thus, capable of coordinating the operations of said thing. But, surprisingly, very few managers actually have a real understanding of the thing they're managing… and so their job mainly consists of talking to other managers who don't understand their thing very well either. Still, companies continue to think this is a good idea and continue to hire external candidates with no industry experience when there are suitable and experienced internal candidates waiting in the wings. To make matters worse, these external hires are often notoriously arrogant, refusing to listen to rhyme or reason to the point that their subordinates just stop trying to help out, determined to doom them to their own mistakes. This usually leads to predictable situations where now-frustrated lower-level workers are more than happy to follow directives that they know make no sense, complying maliciously to the letter of but not the spirit of their manager's orders. 

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  • 01
    "If he had just taken my suggestion..." NULUI TENT 56
    via Gautam Krishnan

  • That's essentially what's happening here when this railway worker offered to go and relieve a crew whose time on the clock was about to expire before they were able to park their train in the yard out of the way of the tracks. Their manager chose to deny their offer due to the paperwork, creating a bigger headache than they anticipated at greater cost to the company.

  • 02
    Posted by u/TheAxioner 2 hours ago Don't want my advice? Then suffer the consequences MOC Hey all, So this story involves a railway, and the collective agreement that we railroaders operate under. I'll try to simplify it since some terms are industry specific. This happened a few years ago.
    via u/TheAxioner
  • 03
    My crew and I were called for work on a train leaving east from the port. While doing our paperwork at the start of the day, I noticed through our live train tracking system that a westbound train was about 30 minutes travel time out from the yard, but only had 1 hour left on their federal hours of service... which absolutely can not be exceeded. They also had 12,000ft of traffic to yard, which alone takes 1-2 hours to compete. As soon as I realized this, I
    via u/TheAxioner
  • 04
    called the local manager (called a TM). Now, I had 13 years seniority at that point. The manager had spent 6 months as a trainee railroader before switching to management...total seniority, maybe 1 year. I suggested that he "swing" us to a Rescue ticket in the payroll system and we would go out immediately and help that train. Normally this would entitle us to a 2hr off duty spacing between tickets, and up to 8hrs rest if we
    via u/TheAxioner
  • 05
    wanted it, but we offered to decline that to help the other crew. He immediately declined and confidently explained that the crew was just fine and they would be setting half their train out enroute at a storage track. That move takes even longer than yarding in the port, due to track clearances and stuff needed to allow the moves. So, I just shrugged, hung up the phone and continued with my paperwork. It turned
    via u/TheAxioner
  • 06
    out, that even if they had the time on their clock, that track had unreported cars in it! So the TM frantically tells them to make a run for the port. During this time, we had gone out and started working on building our own train. We talk to the inbound crew and agree to help them land the first cut of cars, and secure their tailed cut before their federal 12th (required by law). So, there we sat... the inbound crew landed half their train before houring out.... and left 6000ft of train blockin
    via u/TheAxioner
  • 07
    TM: Hello Crew, I need you to go down and pull that second cut in to clear the rail Crew: OK, and then we taxi home? TM: No, no... you get back on your own train. Crew: No... we only handle 1 train per ticket, and this ticket terminates at our home terminal, so if we handle their train, we taxi home on pay. You could cancel us and put us on a Rescue Turn ticket like we originally suggested... but if we do it on this ticket we go home.
    via u/TheAxioner
  • 08
    TM: OK, you're cancelled and called on a Turn. Crew: So you're saying we're cancelled? TM: Yes Crew: OK, since we are cancelled after working we are all taking 8hrs rest, and we are the only crew in the terminal to do this work. TM: Wait what?!? Crew: So are we cancelled, or is there a taxi coming after we yard that train.
    via u/TheAxioner
  • 09
    TM: Yard the train. Funny thing is, it was a beautiful summer day. If he had just taken my suggestion, we would have yarded their train, and jumped back on ours.... making 2 tickets worth of pay, but saving the railroad a lot of headache. Instead, we yarded half a train, and got paid to play on our phones in a 4.5 hr taxi ride, for the same rate of pay as we would have gotten on the 10hr train trip home.
    via u/TheAxioner
  • 10
    McXhicken 1 hr. ago Didn't understand half on the jargon, but the manager wouldn't listen and hopefully learned a lesson. Vote Reply Share Gryffindorphins · 1 hr. ago Yes I understood the individual words, but not in that context. Cutting cars and rescue turns and storing tracks at home terminals. Yep. The 4.5 hour taxi ride sounds expensive! Vote Reply Share
    via u/TheAxioner
  • 11
    alex_hawks 23 min. ago . OP noticed a train that was too far away for the time the workers had left before they were legally required to stop working. Offered to go out and take over, and in the process make a lot of paperwork for boss. Boss declined, said build your train. So OP did. Inbound train's team ran out of time with only half the train in the
    via u/TheAxioner
  • 12
    yard, and the other half blocking the only rail entrance/exit of the yard. OP now decides to be stubborn, and take the breaks or entitlements they are entitled to, which is at the boss' discretion. Both are expensive and time consuming, but boss chooses the one with the 4.5 hour taxi ride, but no train blocking the only rail entrance/exit for the yard. Reply Share Vote
    via u/TheAxioner
  • 13
    Archangel4500000 48 min. ago Ferengi rule of Acquisition #92 "There are many paths to profit." Reply Share Vote
    via u/TheAxioner
  • 14
    ZeroPenguinParty 25 min. ago When you only have one track in and out of port, you do whatever it takes to keep it clear. And any good manager would have looked at what is coming and going, the crew requirements, and thought ahead. This guy was jusr a plain idiot. ✩ Vote Reply Share
    via u/TheAxioner
  • 15
    Geminii27 16 min. ago • It's a joy and a wonder when you have a rock-solid contract/union and management doesn't bother to familiarize themselves with it before making demands that they then expect you to clean up after for free. Reply Share Vote
    via u/TheAxioner
  • 16
    josephmo87 14 hr. ago I'm a train conductor. There are so many great stories like this but it's hard to share with people outside of the industry because of the terminology. Vote Reply Share ferky234 12 hr. ago The terminology is where trains try to start and end, right? /s Reply Share Vote
    via u/TheAxioner
  • 17
    Tallguy71 14 hr. ago Astonishing that so many companies use inexperienced 'managers'. The worst is that they make more money than the people actually doing the job Vote Reply Share ●●●
    via u/TheAxioner
  • 18
    WOODEN SPOON SURVIVOR Blondelefty 14 hr. ago I dated a lineman way too long in my 20's - I understood it all. Well played! Vote Reply Share TheAxioner OP. 6 hr. ago So, about 3 days then? Vote Reply Share ●●●
    via u/TheAxioner
  • 19
    RangeMoney2012 12 hr. ago and that is problem with not promoting from with-in Vote Reply Share docstens 11 hr. ago But then how would management guarantee brown-nosing yes-men in the junior management positions? Vote Reply Share
    via u/TheAxioner

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