Train Conductor here with a quick word about headlights

Posted by Oreo112@reddit | Truckers | View on Reddit | 70 comments

Hello fellow ~~kids~~ transport workers, freight train conductor here with a quick PSA. When roads and rails are parallel to each other, we (the trains) do try and dim our headlights for approaching traffic for the most part, and we appreciate when you guys do the same. However, when approaching public crossings, we're required by law (both in Canada and the USA) to have both our headlights and ditch lights on at full blast in addition to the bell/whistle. I know it can suck driving into it, but we don't want to get fired or worse; hit a car at the crossing because we're running dark. Flashing your brights/other truck lights at us isn't going to change anything. This post may have been inspired by my trip last night across the Canadian Prairies. Mile roads every, well, mile means there's lots of crossings. I just wanted to apologize and explain to the 6 trucks that we apparently pissed off in one go.

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throwed-off@reddit

>However, when approaching public crossings, we're required by law (both in Canada and the USA) to have both our headlights and ditch lights on at full blast in addition to the bell/whistle. What constitutes a public crossing? Because down here in Texas it seems like the train operators NEVER dim any of their lights anytime the train is in motion, even when we're out in rural country and all the crossings are somebody's ranch driveway.

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Metreon_Cascade@reddit

Wait, people are actually high beaming and getting pissed at TRAINS now? Haha those dudes flashing their lights at you are a bunch of idiots, I get a few runs that put me parallel with y’all and have NO issues with with a 3.2mile 4 power unit train having powerful headlights: it not only doesn’t last long till I pass you but considering it takes y’all a mile to stop I think it’s only proper you have strong forward lighting. Hell I often try to give you guys the ol “shave and a haircut” toot on the air horn and see if I’ll get a “two bits” in return!

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Oreo112@reddit (OP)

Yeah, it's not too often I get a truck flashing all their lights at us, but last night was weird. We actually thought something was wrong with our train due to how often we got flashed yesterday, but every inspection we got was fine. And by all means, toot away. Its always good for at least a chuckle in the cab.

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Methmedikles@reddit

Are you guys allowed to toot back? I swear one morning we got a hello toot after we hit our horns, but now we never get a horn back.

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Oreo112@reddit (OP)

Technically, probably no. But we generally do. It'll depend on the time of day and location (middle of the night in town? No. During the day? Sure) Some people only toot for tits and tots. Some engineers are just assholes and dont blow the horn for anyone.

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gear_jammin_deer@reddit

This is good to know; I've always wanted to try exchanging toots with a train, but haven't gotten the chance yet

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KaleyKingOfBirds@reddit

I heard, (after a tragic train incident affected me personally) that your horns are connected to a little black box of sorts, and can be audited? Is there any truth to that?

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Oreo112@reddit (OP)

Absolutely. Everything on that train is monitored, recorded and able to be downloaded at a moments notice. Every switch position, throttle position, brake setting, etc is timestamped. We also have dash cams and interior facing cameras that can be viewed after an incident to see what was going on inside. So basically, they could take our unit data, fire up a simulator and completely recreate every incident.

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RegularBlueberry7479@reddit

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat, even the horn? That’s bonkers! Dumb question, can you have one earbud in to listen to music or something?

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Oreo112@reddit (OP)

Nope, not at all. No books, no music, certainly no cellphones.

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dirty-lettuce@reddit

See I always thought it'd be cool to be a line haul train engineer(?). I understand the need for not using anything. But the fuck do you do for a 10hr trip in the middle of the night?

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Oreo112@reddit (OP)

Talk shit about work, the company, other employees, RTC, the contract, wives/girlfriends, conspiracy theories etc. Oh and do a little work here and there I guess.

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dirty-lettuce@reddit

Cool, how many of you usually in a cab?

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Oreo112@reddit (OP)

Two usually. The Locomotive Engineer who actually drives, and the Conductor who's in charge of the train and does the grunt work like lining switches, switching cars, handbrakes, paperwork etc. There can also occasionally be a 3rd man in the crew, the Brakeman, who's an extra pair of hands and helps the conductor. The third crew member can also be a Conductor Trainee or an Engineer Trainee.

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_dontgiveuptheship@reddit

Re-evaluate life choices

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KaleyKingOfBirds@reddit

Thank you.

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TruckerAlurios@reddit

I flash my markers at night as a means of waving since I run nights.

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realmeverified@reddit

Can you actually stop within your headlights range?

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Oreo112@reddit (OP)

Going slow, maybe. Going fast, not a chance.

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RobertsFakeAccount@reddit

So while going fast, the lights are more for others to see you than for you to see. Because if you are traveling faster than your lights, they’re kind of irrelevant to you, right?

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Oreo112@reddit (OP)

Pretty much yeah. When we're running in CTC [(on tracks with lights that look like this)](https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.redd.it%2Fta5csnt27tza1.jpg) its a bit like airline pilots flying IFR with instruments and ATC instruction. We know the track is clear of trains and we really only need to match the speeds the lights and documentation tell us to, and stop when the lights tell us to stop. Sure, there are things on the ground we need to watch out for and be aware of, but we don't actually need to see the track ahead of us like someone driving on a road would need to.

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TheFirstCrew@reddit

You you don't need them, but we're the assholes? We're trying to drive. You're literally on rails. A truck's brights don't hurt you one bit, because you can close your eyes, look away, whatever. We can't. Your whole post is I'm the main character material.

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Oreo112@reddit (OP)

Wait a minute, I never called anyone an asshole, or complained about a truck's brights. My train lights are primarily for driver and pedestrian safety at pubic crossings, so that they can see us coming. We dim them when we can, especially when drivers are approaching us on roads parallel to the rails. But, there are laws and rules that say trains must have their lights on full brightness whenever possible, and especially when approaching public crossings, and therefore *regardless* of approaching traffic, we train drivers will have our full lights on. My only complaint, if there was one, is that there is no real point for trucks to flash their brights at us in an effort to get us to dim ours, for the reasons I just stated. I acknowledged our lights are bright, but they are on for a reason.

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TheFirstCrew@reddit

You're right. There is no reason to flash them, other than to be a dick. But I'm not dimming my brights for a train. I need mine far more than you need yours. I actually have to steer.

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Oreo112@reddit (OP)

> But I'm not dimming my brights for a train I mean sure, you do you. But its still appreciated on our end.

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TheFirstCrew@reddit

Alright, you win. Your cool and level headed approach has deflated my asshole balloon.

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Oreo112@reddit (OP)

Thank you. Have a good trip on your next run friend.

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MAD-4-CMS@reddit

To add on to the OP, if we're not in signalled territory, we operate on Track Warrants, or Occupancy Clearances north of the border, which have rules as to how they're issued so that we know whether we have sole right of way or if we're joint with someone, whether we must be prepared for main track switches left open and where, or if we aren't clear to be on the main until after someone else passes us. The only time the lights are on more for us than others are when we're running on other than main track, or in yard limits/cautionary limits (IIRC that's what it's called up north)

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ReneLevesque@reddit

Depends, most likely no.

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muffinman991@reddit

I've wanted to murder many a train conductor for burning my goddamn eyes out. I don't care if it's the law, I hate you. You don't have to steer, why do you need to have the motherfucking entire light output of the sun illuminating 86 miles infront of you? Eat shit, honestly. I wish I had double extra super highbeams to fire back with.

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Oreo112@reddit (OP)

I've been browsing the sub a bit, and all I can say is that we should add *more* lights, given how many of you truckers seem to be getting hit by trains.... It's not like we're jumping out of the bushes.

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TheFirstCrew@reddit

You guys are on rails and still crash. Get a grip.

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ksgif2@reddit

As long as you aren't parked across the Winnipeg ring road for 20 minutes when I gotta take a shit we're all good

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Oreo112@reddit (OP)

Funny you mention that, Winnipeg is my home terminal. Next time I'm switching in Transcona and blocking the perimeter, I'll think of this comment and go slower :p

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ksgif2@reddit

The CN track maintenance guy was staying in the cabin next door to us in Minaki a couple years ago. I only ever ocean fished before and he showed me how to catch pike. If you know that guy say hi for me

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Oreo112@reddit (OP)

NW Ontario is a fisherman's paradise, and the run to Sioux Lookout is a bit of a hidden gem for rail tourists. Lots of CN guys retire and get a cabin in the area.

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ksgif2@reddit

This guy was working out there, unless he stole CN's pickup. I went camping out there in the 90's, I was living at Kapyong barracks defending the free world and all that good stuff. I took my wife out there during covid when the truck was in the shop in Winnipeg. It's a pretty great spot.

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Tank52086@reddit

You guys never honk back at me! WTF?

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MAD-4-CMS@reddit

As a fun fact, the civil penalty for incorrect usage of horn is between 2,000 and 5,000 per the FRA.

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Go-Truck_Yourself@reddit

Hey, how does hours of service work for conductors?

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Oreo112@reddit (OP)

Depends on the country and company, but maximums in Canada is 12 hours for a single trip, 60 hours in a rolling 7 day period, and 192 hours in a rolling 28 day period. Plus a mandatory minimum rest break: >for freight railways companies, a continuous period free from any duty period, that lasts, at a minimum, 32 hours and includes 2 periods of 8 hours undisturbed by the company that begin and end within the period between 22:00 and 08:00; And that rest break is done at home, not at a hotel.

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MAD-4-CMS@reddit

To add on, South of Noyes our HOS are a bit more rough. You work up to 12, get 10 off minimum If you work 12 and then get towed in by taxi, every minute after 12 hours adds another minute to your 10 off. (Ie if you wait 2 hours for a cab and then it takes 2 hours to get you back you get 14 off, undisturbed) If you work 6 starts with less than 24 hours in between on duty times, you get 48 hours off If you're away from home you can come back, but have to be called within 24 hours. After that 7th start, you're entitled to 72 off No maximum hours in a week, it's not uncommon to have a 24 hour and 1 minute off duty to reset, or get called in for work but not get on a train to reset your clock. (For HOS being in a cab, or doing anything _except_ throwing switches, coupling trains, or being on a train is not considered "performing service") Maximum in a month is 270 hours on duty, plus 30 hours of limbo time (for truck drivers, it's sort of like on duty, not driving, except you can't drive after that or else it doesn't get counted that way)

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DistanceWild7286@reddit

But you can work 12 hours and then sit in the front of a train for 8-12 hours waiting for a taxi, before driving 5 hours home for your time off. And then 8-10 hours later they'll call again.

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Oreo112@reddit (OP)

*Que 'nam flashbacks to working during bad winter storms* Yeah, I hate when that happens.

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robitt88@reddit

I honestly would have never thought to dim my lights for a train. I run parallel to tracks every day. I'll be doing this from now on because I appreciate when people dim them for me.

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CoWood0331@reddit

Would you dim your lights for a pedestrian? Like are you an animal?

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Oreo112@reddit (OP)

Before I worked at the railroad I didn't even think about it either, but brights are bright.

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minneapolisblows@reddit

I worked at a rail yard as a yard driver and didn't know this. Yet you butthead conductors are too good to talk to us, so you would never have an opportunity to tell us nobodies this federal law. Doing drayage meant burnt corneas.

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ReneLevesque@reddit

Esp the LED bars nowadays. Almost burns the retinas right off!!

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ElectronicGarden5536@reddit

Pfff yall slow asf last time i raced one of you clowns and took you to gapplebees.

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4th_rock_from_sun@reddit

One of the coolest parts of driving through south Florida is getting to run side by side with the TRI-RAIL system. Always puts a smile on my face. It runs next to 95, a beautiful sight if you time it right.

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Oreo112@reddit (OP)

Sure, but you still have to stop for us eventually.

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Arnhildr-Fang@reddit

It's very helpful for different transport personnel to communicate their intents, tyvm for such a clear & descriptive explanation

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R-e-s-t@reddit

this one time i was driving my rig on i10 through Arizona… i saw a train next to me on the tracks and i could see the conductor… i started blasting my air horn and also doing the arm pump at the conductor… lo and behold the dude saw me and blasted his train horn which drowned out my air horn… coolest shit ever, i couldn’t believe it

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Parx2k14@reddit

That is valuable information. Thank you for sharing.

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Naive_Composer2808@reddit

Admittedly I have had fits of tired rage, flicking my brights at an oncoming locomotive 🚂, knowing full well the requirements, because, I’m a bit of a frothy guy. (Not quite foaming status mind you) I always said I’m sorry, as we passed because I felt bad. Not that anyone other than me heard it. So here I say to those gentlemen in 2010-2013 as I ran the expanse of Canadian Prairie between Estavan and Pasqua SAsk, and Warroad, Minnesota and Middleboro MB. Also anywhere on the grEat Canadian transcontinental highway. The big 1. I promise it only happened a few times and it was honestly the fatigue getting to me. So many miles.

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Oreo112@reddit (OP)

The Sprague sub (Winnipeg to Fort Frances, including Middlebro/Warroad among other towns) was in fact the route I was on and inspired the post!

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Naive_Composer2808@reddit

That’s funny, as in amusing coincidence! And again, I’m sorry.

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K-Dog7469@reddit

If you don't know, you don't know. I didn't know, but I do now.

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WindVeilBlue@reddit

Fascinating...I always assumed train lights were maxed out all the time.

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TruckinTuba@reddit

For those who don't know, it can cost them their license if the leave their headlights dim. I was an engineer for a year before trucking

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Laffenor@reddit

Yes, that's what the post says.

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ifIaskONEmoreTIME@reddit

Train lights are pencil beams, and it doesn't bother us.

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1961trucker@reddit

I dim my headlights for trains when running 84 outa Portland and most engineers will dim there's if they can safely do so.i can relate to what this person is saying.

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pstbltit85@reddit

I found out about the first night I ran a route that paralleled a track. Didn't take too long for the light to dawn in the dark continent.

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CleanSeaPancake@reddit

Didn't even think about dimming my lights, I'm sorry man I'll get on that.

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Oreo112@reddit (OP)

Thanks, but this is more to say that trains can't always dim theirs. We dim when we can, but the government takes a dim (ha) view of dark trains hitting vehicles at crossings.

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WIbigdog@reddit

At least in a train it's probably a little more acceptable to completely turn your head away if something is too bright. Not the like the train is gonna hit the rumble strips 😂

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DistanceWild7286@reddit

I think the same truck was trying to make cars take the shoulder a day ago in northern Alberta

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WonderWheeler@reddit

Never knew about this, thanks for the education.

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