 |
|
|
|
|
| Railroad Tragedy in Southern California
brings National Attention to Modoc Railroad Academy,
CNN visits Modoc RA looking for answers. |
image by CNN.com |
CNN visits Modoc Railroad Academy looking for answers. Could
this tragedy have been prevented? Texting is now banned on California
trains due to this tragedy. What other safety measures should
be pursued?
Watch the CNN report >> |
|
 |
"The
People's Governor", Arnold
Schwarzenegger, Applauds Modoc Railroad Academy |
"I am delighted to extend my
appreciation for your exception commitment to railroad workers
in California and beyond.
Thank you for helping those in need gain the knowledge and experience
required for a successful career in the railroad industry. Your
unique academy not only creates skilled workers, but helps promote
safe practices, and I applaud your commitment to both of these
important endeavors.
I am also grateful for your dedication to keeping our Golden
State clean by using environmentally-friendly training locomotives.
Thank you for helping California continue its legacy of environmental
leadership..."
Continued
>> |
|
| Discovery
Channel's Dirty
Jobs
with Mike Rowe pays a visit
to Modoc Railroad Academy |
| |
First a reporter for
Reuters News Service called up and said he was doing a story
about railroad training and wanted to visit Modoc to see what
this was all about. His story ran in newspapers across the country
including the L.A. Times, and that’s where Mike Rowe,
host of Dirty Jobs found us.
It seams that trains intrigued him, as does many others, and
he called and asked if he could film a story about Modoc. Mr.
Rowe lives in San Francisco and he like the idea that he could
film in one day and be home for dinner so we blocked out two
days on the railroad for filming. Day one had his field director-producer
Dave Barski come in and walk through the various camera angles
he would use and how the impromptu story line would go. Mr.
Barski has to find out what we could and could not do and make
sure we had plenty of cold water and snacks for the production
crew as Mr. Rowe picked the hottest day of July to work on the
railroad.
The story was simple. Mr. Rowe would be a track worker for a
day, he called it a “Gandy dancer”, a facture error
but this was TV and facts should never get in the way of a good
story. Mr. Rowe and one of our instructors and a Modoc student
would replace two cross ties. In normal times about an hour
or two hour job. But this was TV.
We had three camera men, a director, an assistant and some other
guys that just hung around to fetch things plus the star and
our crew. Eleven people to do the work of two. Add in a live
studio audience and it was a crowd.
As filming goes, every thing had to be repeated a few times,
“just to get it right” and just like making sausage
everyone had a better idea. The two hour job stretched in 12
hours. Water was gone and all food eaten hours ago, but the
director was happy. 36 hours of combined film from three cameras
“should get us 15 to 18 minutes of usable material”.
And Mr. Barski was right; when our show aired it was 18 minutes
long.
Well in railroading, we often say “Hurry up and wait”.
That term is better suited to Hollywood. |
|
| US Congress Passes The Railroad
Safety Improvement Act of 2008 |
|
|
What does this new legislation mean for current
railroad workers?
Most railroads will face a critical strain on in house training
resources as every conductor must come into compliance with
new federal law and thousands of new crews must be hired to
meet reduced hours of service requirements.
Read
more >> |
|
|
| Los
Angeles Times
"In Search of Railway Workers" |
| "...the
academy has trained nearly 300 conductors, brakemen and engineers
over its six years. It sends students off with a handshake from
founder David Rangel – and as many as six offers each
from the likes of Burlington Northern Santa Fe, Amtrak and Union
Pacific.
The industry that shaped the American West and now carries
the nation’s freight loads from seaport to warehouse
is desperately trying to keep up with the outflow of retiring
rail men, the consequence of decades of hiring stasis and
recently relaxed pension rules.
Industry estimates point to 80,000 railroad jobs that will
need to be filled in the next several years, a daunting statistic
that is placing enormous pressure on industry executives to
attract and train new staff, and to help ensure the viability
of the industry’s pay-as-you-go pension system.
Having hired little in the decades since deregulation in
1980, the railroads now find themselves facing a demographic
bubble not unlike what awaits the economy as a whole: Its
workers are approaching retirement age in record numbers.
“The railroads look like the country in general, in
terms of the aging baby boomers,” said Steve Klug, the
assistant vice president of human resources at Burlington
Northern. “In 10 years from now, a good chunk of our
people won’t be here.” Read
entire article >>
|
|
|
|
.......AMERICA'S
#1 RAILROAD ACADEMY......./........
