August 1998
CSXT and Unions Implement New Employee Accountability Policy
CSXT and three of its unions have implemented a new employee accountability policy that replaces the company's former disciplinary procedure. "Positive corrective action -- not punishment -- is the cornerstone of the new policy," according to a company news release. Repeated minor offenses and first-time serious rules violations will be handled by non-punitive methods such as incident review committees -- composed of fellow craft employees -- and "time-out sessions." Corrective action could include providing the involved employee with additional training, or assigning the employee to an experienced employee from the same union who volunteers to assist. Only in cases of continued offenses or "egregious" rules violations will the new policy require formal company hearings.
CSXT Equipping Locomotives for Conrail Cab-Signal Operation
CSXT locomotive 6242 has been equipped with a feature to permit cab-signal operation over Conrail territory. It involves the installation of equipment to function on both the RF&P and Conrail cab signal frequencies. Other cab signal-equipped units will be fitted with the same feature over the summer, with intended completion on or about Labor Day. CSXT currently has 73 units designated for train control operation on the RF&P Subdivision.
Norfolk Southern to Have Three Regions Following Conrail Acquisition
Following the closing date for the acquisition of Conrail, Norfolk Southern will have three operating regions (Eastern, Western and Northern), encompassing 12 divisions. The Eastern and Western regions will remain unchanged from the current system, while the Northern Region will include three divisions from the Conrail territory: Harrisburg, Pittsburgh and Dearborn. The Harrisburg Division will include lines through Maryland, New York, New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania; the Pittsburgh Division will include Altoona and Youngstown toward Cleveland, and trackage rights from Crestline to Fort Wayne; and the Dearborn Division will include Cleveland and Detroit to Chicago, and lines to Indianapolis.
Burlington Northern Santa Fe Announces Stock Split
Burlington Northern Santa Fe has announced a three-for-one stock split in the form of a stock dividend and a 20 percent increase in the common stock dividend on a post-split basis. The record date for the split is August 17 with new shares being issued effective September 1. BNSF currently has approximately 158-million shares outstanding.
Burlington Northern Santa Fe to Refurbish Old Line in Kansas
In the next couple of months, Burlington Northern Santa Fe crews will begin refurbishing an old line through Olathe, Kansas, that once connected the former BN to the north with the former ATSF to the south, according to a BNSF news report. The line was once an interchange point, but it was never intended as a main thoroughfare. The improvement will allow trains leaving Argentine Yard in Kansas en route to Springfield, Missouri, to avoid going directly into Kansas City, thus saving one or two hours of travel. Once the project is completed, up to 10 trains a day will use the line.
Poughkeepsie Bridge Sold to Walkway Group
Poughkeepsie, N.Y. [From a Walkway Over the Hudson news release; June 8, 1998]... The Walkway Over the Hudson now owns the entire Poughkeepsie Railroad Bridge. Six years ago, on June 30, 1992, at the first meeting of the Walkway Over the Hudson Board of Directors, the Board passed a resolution by a unanimous vote making the vision of owning the Poughkeepsie Railroad Bridge part of its mission statement. That vision has become a reality. Chairperson Bill Sepe and Poughkeepsie Railroad Bridge owner Vito Moreno met in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, and transferred ownership of the balance of the Poughkeepsie Railroad Bridge to Walkway Over the Hudson. This transfer was the result of several years of phone discussions. The deed was filed in Ulster and Dutchess counties on June 5, 1998.
A Hudson River Adventure
In the summer of 1906, my paternal grandparents took a two-week canoe trip on the Hudson River north of New York City. My grandmother, the late Nettie Isabel Hill Brougham, kept a log of their trip. Many of the places visited are familiar to those who know the ex-NYC Hudson Line, and the railroad gets some mention along the way. The participants are Herbert Bruce Brougham (H.B.B.) and Nettie Isabel Hill Brougham (N.I.H.B.). Their story is entitled 'Log of the Canoe Waban.'
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