SPECIAL BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT 1063 -
Case No. 259
Award No. 259
PARTIES TO DISPUTE:
Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers
and
Norfolk Southern Railway Company
Norfolk and Western Railway Company, et al.
STATEMENT OF ,ATM:
Claim of Chicago Engineer T. W. Rooks for the removal
of thirty days actual suspension and pay for all lost
time, assessed for his failure to ensure that Train
Crew L99's shove movement on RI Lead, Pullman Junction,
was properly protected, resulting in signal No. 512.2
being passed while displaying stop indication on
October 2, 1995.
OPINION OF BOARD:
The origin of the problem for the claim before this Board
was an operational move handled by Crew L99, an emergency yardcrew, composed of a Fort Wayne Road crew needed in the Chicago
Terminal because of a Yard Crew shortage. The movement required
Train L99 to relieve another Relief Crew, cut off under the Hours
of Service Law, in order to pull the BRC transfer cut back to
Calumet. After securing the bulk of the train on H2 Main track,
Pullman Junction, Crew L99 was instructed to take the head
fourteen car cut to the Rock Island Lead. In carrying out these
instructions, the Conductor of Crew L99 contacted the Conductor
of Yard Assignment LC24 and made arrangements to shove the
fourteen cars as agreed. Unfortunately, Crew L99, an emergency
yard crew, was not familiar with the physical characteristics of
the area, so in moving around the Rock Island Lead blind, crew
L99 went by a Stop signal, which is the reason for the discipline
administered in this case.
The intriguing part of this operation was the Operator at
Cummings Drawbridge had given the switches to Crew L99, but not
the signal, because the Operator had not yet contacted the L24
crew, which, sad to say, was the crew acting as the seeing eyes
for Crew L99 while the shove was made.
It is clear there=was a break down in Rules compliance as
stated by the Organization's representative. However, we believe
it is necessary, in deciding the severity of the penalty, to
factor in the unusual circumstances, principally the crew's
SBA 1063
Case No. 259
Award No. 259
Page Two
unfamiliarity with the physical characteristics of the territory
over which they were called to operate. With that as our
sextant, we believe the thirty days discipline should be reduced
to fifteen days and Claimant compensated accordingly.
FINDINGS:
The Agreement was violated.
AWARD:
Claim sustained in accordance with the opinion.
ORS
The carrier will place the Award into effect within thirty
(30) days of the effective date. -
Dated at Norfolk, Virginia, this
S0
day of,
1998.'
W. F. ukeri N t . 1 Member
.S~R. Weaver, Car ier Member
-,Va.
T ~'q -~,..~
P. T. Sorrow, Organization Member
Carrier File: OE-CGO-95-41
Org. File: OE-CGO-95-41