11-05-2009, 05:51 PM
sgtcarl1 Wrote:Actually, I have seen that very thing right close to where I live. I discovered, by being nosey, that sometimes locos are parked in such areas so they can be serviced. I observed the crew, while they serviced the engine, swapped out air filters, and did a thorough check of everything else. The foreman said that for every week an engine ran, it needed to be sidelined and serviced, which took eight to ten hours, minimum. (NS believes in taking care of their equipment.) The service was being done by a subcontrator. He had 12 people on his crew, and they were all busy.
I hadn't thought of that. I thought that BNSF did all of their own service work; but, if they have a small terminal with a handfull of locomotives that is too far from a major servicing facility, I could see them doing minor service work on a siding. If the work is being farmed out to a subcontractor, it also makes sense to do it on a siding away from a busy yard where the workmen doing the service would need to know the blue flag laws, and be watchfull for approaching trains while working.