Train 406

[Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] when you first see her she doesn't look like she's moving very fast but to railroaders she's known as a hotshot a fast Freight and after the passenger carriers she has a top priority on the line she carries a payload of Steel oil livestock and hardware fruits vegetables and meats [Applause] she picks up her cars at Toronto draws them tour like a magnet from points of thousand miles away then she's off bound for Halifax [Applause] [Music] soon after 406 leaves Brockville on the way to Montreal she gets to be my responsibility mine and the men working with me I'm assistant superintendent of terminals Montreal it's my job to get four oh six along with a hundred other freight and passenger trains into the Montreal area and out again every day with the least possible delay it's supposed to be all routine but after 23 years on the railroad I've learned never to take anything for granted [Music] my office is here in the terminal building don't spend much time here though mostly just long enough to check in keeps me moving but that's the way I like it where are the others oh wait a second I like finally all right I've got it now that car was reported scaling ready it final block yesterday that shouldn't put any hitch okay all right I'll check hey remember that corner we got from Truro last week I was ten empty refreeze I thought they'd cancelled they want them again now now I was winning about the cars in the East yard I know they're all tied up but maybe we can get them released and on the 4:00 or 6:00 this evening I'll check with the dispatcher it's busy I'll let you know how's it been eight the dispatcher is supposed to know the location of every train in his area every minute of the day and to coordinate their movements into a smooth-running pattern from his office in the terminal building he keeps formed contact with operators along the line if the phone goes out of order for any reason he can switch over to Telegraph in a matter of seconds four shapes with marijuana at 8:14 8:14 five that means she should hit Turcotte just about on time [Music] by now she'd be just this side of koto pelting along in the final stage of her overnight journey from Toronto [Applause] it takes a crew of experienced men to handle a train like 406 there's more to it than just driving the engine periodically the headend brakeman may pick up special train orders advising the crew of any changes in schedule on their section of the road according to regulations every man has to read his copy of the train orders aloud to another crew member to make sure they're both correct and understood [Music] and end brakeman also looks after the braking system and watches for hot boxes [Music] from the caboose the rear-end brakeman also keeps a lookout for any signs of trouble in the caboose with the rear-end brakeman is the conductor the skipper of the Train it's his responsibility to keep her rolling and to handle any emergencies the engine crew must always be on the lookout but especially at level crossings you never can tell when somebody's got to be fool enough to try to beat the train it's amazing how many people seem to think you can stop six thousand tons as easily as you can a bicycle [Music] [Music] [Music] the conductor and the rear-end Bricklin usually have a lot of seniority this carries with it numerous practical advantages as well as a few privileges once and t-totally fire right [Music] normally a fast Freight like 406 is time not to coincide with the passenger schedule but sometimes this cannot be avoided then the freight has to pull into a siding or take the hole as it's called to clear the mainline for the passenger train every man on the crew knows from reading his orders what the stop is for and what his duties are under the circumstances the conductor as always has the overall responsibility [Music] if there is more than one section of a passenger train all but the last section must carry green that is display flags or lights to let trains in sidings know that there are other sections to come at the same time they must also give a special signal engine six five three two no signals only when a section passes without carrying green and giving the special signal can the freight proceed [Music] [Music] [Applause] as 406 moves on the engineer is guided every foot of the way by automatic signals [Music] controlled from a central point in each division the modern railway signal system is complex and very nearly foolproof in the old days signaling required almost as many men as there were signals and traffic moved slowly particularly near big cities now electronic devices have reduced the number of people needed and also the chance for error [Music] as 4:06 got near the Turcotte yards I was on my way there too I had to worry about getting ten reefers cleared for troll among a hundred other things 23 years I've been on the railroad brakeman conductor yardmaster 23 years but I still got a kick from looking out across a busy freight yard they say after a while railroading gets in your blood and you don't want to do any other kind of work I know what they mean because that's the way it is with me [Music] [Applause] [Music] once 4:06 arrives at the west end of the yards one stage of her trip is over the conductor takes the train journal and waybills to the yard office and the crew that brought her from Brockville is off duty [Music] [Music] the diesels which brought 406 from Brockville take her as far as her assigned reception track and then levered then they go to refuel before continuing on to Halifax or if necessary go to the running maintenance shop [Music] a locomotive stays in the shop anywhere from an hour to a full day depending on the amount of work it needs for instance if she had to make an emergency stop during the run and developed a flat spot the damaged wheel could be ground true again without removing it from the locomotive [Music] diesel locomotives can usually rack up a pretty impressive mileage figure before they need major repairs quarter of a million miles for freight locomotives half a million for those pulling passenger trains diesel power won't be the last word for railroads turbojet engines are already being tested for practical uses then there's atomic power which is almost certain to figure in our operations someday but right now Diesel's furnished over 65% of our motive power and within five years that figure will be 100% I checked and it looked as if the reefers refrigerated cars - you would be released to go out on 4:06 that afternoon in the meantime the cars she brought to Montreal were being processed in the yard office the main-yard office is the nerve center of any freight yard hundreds of cars come in and go out of Charcot every day and quick accurate decisions have to be made about each one otherwise the whole system could get fouled up in a hurry hello Bruce SR this is our do surround the freight yard is like an army and its general is the yardmaster have you got everything in line for 406 406 engine seven one five six many of the cars 406 brought from Toronto are not going through to Halifax so every single car has to be carded by a checker from the yard office so the switching crews can pick it out with no trouble meanwhile the train is blue flagged for inspection the cars are given a thorough inspection particularly their wheels and journal boxes this is specially important because of a car develops an overheated bearing during a run it may have to be left on a siding this could mean the spoilage of a whole carload sometimes during inspection a car is found unfit for service these cars are called cripples and with their Lord still in them they're sent to emergency repair sections in the yard called RIP tracks mostly it's a wheel unit that needs replacing and this can be done on the spot the damaged unit is sent to the shop it's no easy trick to handle these wheel units they weigh close to a ton [Applause] [Music] [Music] after 406 has been inspected the switch engines begin to break her down the cars consigned to Montreal and district will go to any other thousand sidings or factory warehouses the rest bound for the Maritimes a hauled away to the point where the new train 406 is being made up [Music] other cars balled for the East have been collecting in the yards cars from all over Quebec in the eastern United States [Music] now on orders made up by the yard masters office they're sent to join the cars which came from Dorado in a few years automatic switching yards will simplify this job but right now it's still largely a matter of the crew skill and judgment [Music] [Music] of course you got to have a system that can find what you want when you want it including refrigerator cars that's the last of the major yeah that's it I've got to get over to the east yard would you call my office and tell Tom Payne those ten Reapers for Truro will be on 406 today now the new 406 is ready and waiting on the run to Halifax you'll have a different engine and a different crew one to the board come in 406 right for 2 p.m. 78 309 romantical okay [Music] I need one card morning what is morning for sex 2 p.m. mr. O'Reilly spider in the brush at this will you sign Tish got the right timepiece 5 for 12 okay in two hours two hours later the crew start to assemble this crew will take 406 as far as Joff 150 miles down the line on arrival in Java they'll have the choice of working the first available train back or asking for some rest time others work out of a pool on a rotation system [Music] the diesels that will take her to Halifax cross the yard [Music] she's ready to go like her arrival 406 is trip out of Montreal will be regulated from the wellington tower this controls a complicated signal system known as an inter Locker every light on the board represents either a train or a signal and there are dozens of them the busy Montreal area carries a lot of traffic but with this system there's practically no chance of collision when a train is moving along any particular track no other train can use that line because all entering switches are automatically locked from the tower as soon as number 5 here line up for 406 train for office right [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] let me know am i falling 5 2 3 5 4 2 O 5 4 2 1 5 3 8 a 1 3 4 car numbers on a conscious to rail rollers but they mean something else to merchants manufacturers farmers and just plain consumers their goods to sell materials to fabricate machines to do the work and clothes to wear [Music] the world moves ahead pretty fast these days we have planes that will fly faster than the speed of sound we have satellites and rockets and ballistic missiles but there's also an awful lot of people who stay pretty well put just do their jobs and raise their families and they need a thousand and one things that have to be moved from place to place around the country as long as they do 4:06 and trains like ER will be needed to do the job [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] you [Music]

Channel: NFB

Views: 102,867

Keywords: Fergus McDonell, Toronto, train, freight train, Halifax, transportation network, Canada

Id: 6_RE2Ku4eCU

Length: 28min 54sec (1734 seconds)

Published: Wed Jan 23 2019