PARTIES TO DISPUTE:

          Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees


                          and


          CSX Transportation, Inc. (former seaboard Coastline Railroad Company)


STATEMENT OF CLAIM:

 Claim of the System Committee of the Brotherhood that:

          1. The Agreement was violated on September

          2, 3, 4 and 5, 1997 when the Carrier assigned

          an outside concern (Progress Rail Services)

          to perform torch cutting of bolts in track .

          joint bars between Mile Posts AK455.7 and

          AK459.0 at Augusta, Georgia [System File 97

          22-RLT/12(98-0051) SSY].


          2. The Agreement was further violated when

          the Carrier failed to confer with the General

          Chairman and reach an understanding prior to

          contracting out the work as stipulated in

          Rule 2, Section 1.


          3. As a consequence of the violations

          referred to in Parts (1) and/or (2) above,

          Welder R. L. Timms and Welder Helper W. B.

          Godwin shall each be allowed sixty-four (64)

          hours' pay at their respective rates of pay.


FINDINGS:

 This Board, upon the whole record and all of the evidence, finds and holds as follows:

 1. That the Carrier and the Employees involved in this dispute are, respectively, Carrier and Employees within the meaning of the Railway Labor Act, as amended,; and

      2. That the Board has jurisdiction over this dispute.


                            1

                                              SBA Illo


OPINION OF THE BOARD: R u0~ The record indicates that outside forces performed the disputed
 work. The Carrier presented as an affirmative defense and
 explanation a representation that the disputed work involved the
 sale of scrap rail and other related materials pursuant to
 Purchase Order 975124, which became effective on March 21, 1997.
 The Carrier further clarified that the outside concern had
 purchased the material on an "as is, where is" basis and that the
 outside concern merely had engaged in activity to remove the
 concern's property from the right of way. The record omits any
 evidence on the property that the Organization had requested any
 documents from the Carrier to substantiate the Carrier's
 representation.

 As a result of the evidence set forth in the record, the Organization failed to prove that the Carrier had violated the Agreement by using outside forces to perform the disputed work.

 AWARD:
The Claim is denied in accordance with the opinion of the Board.

R bert L. D glas

Chairman and Neutral Member


D nald DN ja: Mark D. Selbert
 Employee ember Carrier Member

 Dated: B-S~O/

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