PARTIES Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes
 _TO
 DISPUTE: and
 The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company
 STATE1,1ENT 1. Carrier violated Rule 24 and other Agreement
 _OF
 CLAIM: provisions when using Leroy Bass, Machine Oper
 ator for overtime work when assisting in sur
 facing track from 3:30 to 7:30 p.m. October 18,
 1977, near Chester, Pa ., work which accrues by
 Rule 1(d) to track.
 2. Richard Simmons, Trackman, being qualified and
 available, should be compensated for four hours
 at the appropriate Trackman rate.

 FINDINGS : It is Petitioner's position that Rule 1(d) was
 breached when Carrier assigned a machine oper
 ator, Leroy Bass, to help surface main track
 at Chester, Pennsylvania. Rule 1(d.) prescribes
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that track maintenance work, will be performed by track forces.
 The work in question was performed at MP 12.2 by Mr. Bass from 3:30 to 7:30 p.m. Foreman Davis had been instructed at 3 p.m.'to investigate the track condition at that location after a report had been received that it was unsafe. At about 3:30 p.m., Foreman Davis determined that the track at MP 12.2 required lining and surfacing.
 Mr. Davis's force. had been released from duty at 3 p.m. and, according to Carrier, Machine Operator Bass was selected to perform the work since he and not Mr. Davis' gang was readily available.
 Claimant, a trackman and member of Foreman Davis' force, had been released from duty at 3 p.m. and was on his way home at the time that it was determined that the track's condition called for immediate repair.
 An unsafe track condition manifestly constitutes an emergency situation. It was not unreasonable or a rules violation therefore for Carrier to use the only employe readily available to perform the necessary repair work. Under the circwnstances, Carrier was not obligated to search for trackmen who had been released from duty and were on their way home in order to have them rather than an available, machine operator attend to the work. A
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dangerous track condition had to be repaired in the quickest time possible.
 On the basis of these facts, the claim will be denied

 AWARD: Claim denied.

                Adopted at Baltimore, Maryland,G~t~f~:7/ 1981.


~~iarold M. Weston, Chairman

 Carrier Member Employe Member