PARTIES TO DISPUTE:

STATEMENT OF CIAIM: "Claim of the General Committee of the Brotherhood of

Burlington Northern has unjustly dismissed Mr. W. D. Campbell from service and in so doing violated Rules 54-C and 56 of the current Signalmen's Agreement.

 Carrier should now be required to reimburse Ice. Campbell for all time lost and clear his personal record of any reference to the investigation leading to his dismissal."

OPINION OF BOARD: Claimant was notified of an investigation concerning
 responsibility in connection with a collision. Subsequent to the investigation, the Employe was dismissed from service, but was reinstated some fifteen months later.

 We are unable to find that the charge was defective an3 thus we will consider the dispute on its merits. Further, we fail to find that the Employe made any proper basis for the production of a witness. A Carrier may not deprive an Employe of a means of defending himself nor may it treat an accused in a devious manner. But there is nothing of record here which suggests such a scheme by this Carrier.

 Limiting our review to matters properly before us, we find the record to be rather clear. There was a collision on December 20, 1978. Faulty equipment led, or contributed to the accidents and the equipment vas under the control of the Claimant. Further, the evidence supports a conclusion that Claimant was less than diligent in his maintenance of the equipment.

 The Employes have raised certain speculation, but have produced nothing of record to warrant resolution of the dispute based upon that speculation.

 If the evidence supports the Carrier's conclusion of guilt, it is not incumbent upon us to substitute our judgment.


FINDINGS: The Third Division of the Adjustment Board, upon the whole record
        and all the evidence, finds and holds:


        That the parties waived oral hearing;


That the Carrier and the Employee involved in this dispute are respectively Carrier and Employe within the meaning of the Railway labor Act as approved June 21, 193+;

 That this Division of the Adjustment Board has jurisdiction aver the dispute involved herein; and

        That the Agreement was not violated.


                        A W A R D


        Claim denied.


                            NATIONAL RAILROAD ADJUSTMENT BOARD

                            By Order of Third Division


Attest: Acting Executive Secretary
        National Railroad Adjustment Board


i

 BY
        Rosemarie Breach - Administrative Assistant


Dated at Chicago, Illinois, this 8th day of June 1982.