Could the crew not move it themselves?
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Nice pic... but delayed a few hours? What was that crew afraid of? Its a tree...and a small one at that! NS must have some rule where you can't push a tree out of the way.
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If the first comment is approved, apologies Chris, i guess i just associate these kind of shots with Andrew! Again Great shot.
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It's a cool shot, but my lawn-mower could pull that out of the way. What would have happened if they had just driven the engine forward?
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Now that is a REAL branchline (ducking) Good work as always, Andrew
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Nice Shot Chris! Arent locomotives designed to take out stuff like that?
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Union workers...... :P
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I am guessing that the maximum authorized speed for this branch line is below 25 MPH. Having hit more than my fair share of trees on the BNSF Seattle Subdivision, I can assure you that it is no fun. While there is no question that the NS locomotive in this photograph is capable of moving this tree, it is entirely possible that the remnants could get tangled up in the trainline air hoses, causing a separation and subsequent undesired emergency brake application. And believe it or not, a tree this size could cause a derailment. As far as the crew moving it by hand goes, not happening. NS is infamous for their Draconian discipline policy. Brotherhood's Relief and Compensation Fund (BRCF) paid out $1.70 in out of service benefits for every dollar they took in from NS members in 2007. If someone on this crew got injured attempting to move that tree, NS would most assuredly have fired the employee for engaging in an unsafe activity. It doesn't have anything to do with being a unionized worker; but taking the safe course. I would have done the same thing...
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Thanks for shedding some light on this situation for us from an insiders point of view Tom. By the way great pic Chris !
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Now I may be no expert in the ways of RRing, but I've done been here and there once or twice. I do figure that unit would have sufficient capabilities to not only remove that miniscule twig of a tree, but most likely snap it like a black belt breaking a board.
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What freq does NS operate through the freehold area?
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