Week 5

Greeting from the REDI here in Atlanta. 

Week 5 has come and gone and the countdown to home has begun.  Much like the first two weeks, week 5 was full of new information which required a tremendous amount of studying on my part.  While it was fortunate for me to be coming from a military background, relearning some of this information (Hazmat in particular) still proved challenging because of the shift in perspective from emergency responder to transporter. 

On Monday, we started off with a quiz over our field training from the previous two weeks.  Following that, we moved on and started our railroad Hazmat unit.

  Like our other subjects, the railroad has a specific rule book concerning the transportation and emergency response procedures for hazardous materials.  Unlike other forms of shipping, under the law, the railroad does not have a choice in what it ships, so constant awareness of what is being carried on trains is crucial to our safety out there while operating.  We discussed what carries Hazmat on trains where they are allowed to be located while traveling, and how they are to be identified.

We also discussed the necessary paperwork required to transport Hazmat from one place to another, along with basic emergency information.  We also watched a video of a Chlorine tank rupture following a train accident.  All I can say is that this can be some pretty scary stuff if we're not careful, so we have to be on the ball whenever we are transporting this stuff.

We tested out of hazmat on Tuesday and started on the Equipment Handling portion of our training.
This section focused how we should move particular types of trains, rules for coupling up, and a lot of speed information.  Certain trains have specific speed limits, by virtue of what they are.  When building trains, there are rules in place as to "best" practices for the safest ways organize them.  For instance, having a group of loaded "heavy" cars (cars full of things like coal, gravel, or sand) should be right up front next to the engine,

and empty cars should be towards the back of the train. These trains can't operate above 50 mph, regardless of what the maximum authorized track speed is. 

Equipment Handling was covered both Tuesday and Wednesday.  On Thursday, we covered the air brake system in it's entirety.  A couple weeks ago, we had some demonstrations over how the braking system on the trains work, and it's actually ingenious the way it is designed, even though it was designed in 1868 by George Westinghouse,

it is still the universal braking system used on trains, and I have to say it's a pretty good one.  The way it works is that each car has reservoirs to store air like a gas tank, except for air.  When the reservoirs are full charged, the brakes release and the train can move.  If there is any loss of air pressure, the brakes automatically apply.  It seems like a pretty straight forward, common sense design, which is why it hasn't changed much since then.  Prior to this, trains relied on an air brake system that required air to apply brakes, (the opposite of Westinghouse's design), which in turn led to a lot of accidents. 

As part of the air brake unit, we discussed the several different methods to perform brake tests on trains prior to movement and what parameters were required to be met with each.  Some are pretty extensive and require a good deal of time, while others are a quick check so you can get on your way.

 Friday, we tested out of air brakes and spent the rest of the evening in a train movement review for the advanced section this Monday, following our week 5 exam. 

It's almost done, with my finals right around the corner here.  I have a post coming about some of the more comical things that have happened here at the REDI.  I'm missing everyone, and can't wait to be home.  Until next time....