Chemical Transportation Safety and Responsible Care

Lincoln County (LincUP) Community Advisory Panel

LincUP provides open dialogue on health, safety and environmental issues between representatives of the community and Union Pacific Railroad to promote awareness and understanding for mutual benefit. For a complete listing of members, see 2010 LincUP Panelists.

Questions? Comments?

Contact the LincUP Facilitator, Lorre McKeone.

Minutes of Meeting: August 23, 2010

Present: Jessie Allen, Jerry Covey, Dallis Dye, Mark Esterline, Rich Hoaglund, Mindy Hope, Edward Joel, Orville Kaschke, Dan Mauk, Lyle Minshull, Bob Morrison, Cinch Munson, Jeff Nichols, Tony Orr, Jean Pavlik, Gene Tacey, Steve VanBoening, Crystal Welch, Bob Wilkinson.

Facilitator: Lorre McKeone.

Guests: Deloyt Young and Tom Pendleton.

Absent:Sue Buhlig, Marcia Colvin, Marc Kaschke, Kim Keeling, Shirley Kissinger, Jim Nitz, Steve Schad, Nancy Striebel, Dennis Thompson, Chad Wilbourn,

Public Comment Period: No observers.

Community Roundtable: No announcements.

UP Report

Tony Orr reported that car loadings have continued to slowly increase to about 180,000 , compared to about 130,000 in April 2009. Improved volumes are being seen in auto industry shipments and intermodal. At one point ,700 workers were furloughed in the North Platte Service Unit. Now all but 170 have been rehired with additional hiring in some departments.

Tony shared his impressions of major changes: Technology has changed everything from the design of locomotives to how trains are dispatched and monitored. There also have been great advances in safety through proper training and improved equipment. Currently the North Platte Service Unit has a 1.01% injury rate per 200 man hours worked which is phenomenal given the number of employees and trains in operation 24-7. Total Safety Culture is now a part of every department of the railroad encouraging workers on all shifts to watch out for each other’s safety.

Preparations for RailFest are gearing up. There will be tents with displays for each of the different trades and four buses giving tours of the yard with the final stop at the Golden Spike Observation Tower.

Meeting Topic

Tour of Cody Park Railroad Display, Deloyt Young (Retired UP)

Since retiring from UP, Deloyt has been actively promoting North Platte and has shared his railroad knowledge as a tour guide since 1985. He proposed the promotion of a “North Platte Tourism Package” that would include the Golden Spike Observation Tower overlooking Bailey Yard, Scouts Rest Ranch, the Lincoln County Historical Museum and the Cody Park Railroad Display. These unique attractions promoted as a package would encourage visitors to stay for two days which would help our local economy.

The Railroad Display includes:

• Challenger #3977 Steam Engine: This two-tone gray locomotive, manufactured in 1943, is the only one of its kind in the world on public display. One of the largest locomotives ever built, it is nearly 122 feet long and fully loaded it weighs over one million pounds. It has a 4-6-6-4 wheel arrangement. Originally designed to run on coal, the engine was converted to an oil burner in 1945. This model was discontinued because it was difficult to get the oil heated up and running properly in cold weather and it was so long that it was difficult to navigate sharper turns.
• Baggage Car: Inside the baggage care is a small museum of railroad memorabilia including photographs of past presidents of UP and celebrities who rode on the trains. Also on display is a variety of rail repair equipment including a bicycle fitted to run on rails.
• Mail Car 103: This particular car traveled between Omaha and Salt Lake City. It was set up to allow mail to be sorted en route into slots by town or into bulk bags if destined for a location on another route. Mail was exchanged at stations without stopping. Mail bags destined for each town would be thrown out of the car while a catcher arm in the mail car snatched up the incoming mail bag. During busy times like Christmas there could be as many as 15 to 20 people sorting mail in the car.
• Caboose: This final car in the train served several purposes: It was an office of sorts where the waybills for that train were verified as they traveled down the track. Workers riding in the caboose also checked air gauges to insure adequate air brake pressure and watched for fires caused by friction when braking. This was a rather dangerous place to ride. If the train stopped suddenly the caboose would be whipped around and shake up any riders inside. As computerized reports replaced waybills, and technology allowed air brakes to be monitored electronically from the cab and hot spots detected on the rails, the caboose became unnecessary. Recently locomotives have been placed on both ends of the train allowing the front engine(s) to pull and the rear engine to push. Air for the brakes is pumped from both ends. This has resulted in fuel savings and improved safety as the rear locomotive is controlled from the front.
• Centennial 6922 locomotive: The other locomotive on display, built in 1969, was one of 47 locomotives delivered in time to participate in the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad, which explains its name – Centennial. It is actually two locomotives, 3300 horsepower each. The biggest drawback of this locomotive is that if one broke down the entire unit had to come out of service for repairs.
• Refrigerator Car: The final car on display is a refrigerator car – also known as a “reefer” – which was used to haul vegetables, meats and other perishables cross country.
• Train Depot: In addition to the locomotives and cars, the Railroad Display includes the original depot from Hershey, Nebraska. When you enter the Depot you feel as you have stepped into a different era when railroads were used extensively for passenger travel as well as for cargo transport. Several displays in the Depot explain how the railroad used to operate including an original “order board” which communicated orders to engineers in the locomotive cabs. Orders were written on a piece of paper and tied to a string attached to a Y-shaped holder. As the train passed the depot the engineer would hold his arm out the window and insert it into the holder. The string holding the orders would catch on his arm and when he brought it back into the cab he had his orders.

Deloyt was asked to share his impressions of the biggest changes he witnessed in his years working for Union Pacific. He said there have been significant increases in the volume of coal trains (35 per day) and those trains have gotten longer with 135-140 car coal trains stretching over one and a half miles. There are increasing partnerships between UP intermodal service and major short run trucking companies like UPS and JB Hunt to save on fuel costs and improve delivery time. The railroad has become a significant land bridge transporting containers from ships on one coast to ships on the other coast.

Committees

Membership: Student - Keaton Hope has conflicts with sports, so may not be able to be our student representative. Mark Esterline will follow up with two students that he knows. Panel members were asked to provide the Membership Committee with the names of people who could serve in positions where panel members will be completing their 3-year terms in November:

• Schools
• Finance/Banking
• Seniors
• Homeowner
• Civic / Service Clubs
• Red Cross

Planning: September – West Central District Health Department Emergency Response Coordinator. We need to set agendas for the October, November meetings.

Outreach: A sign up sheet was passed around for RailFest. Seven panel members volunteered to man a LincUP booth on Saturday, September 19th (Bob Wilkinson, Mindy Hope, Crystal Welch, Ed Joel, Dan Mauk, Orville Kaschke and Lorre McKeone). The facilitator will send out reminder information to these people. We will be displaying shelter in place kits and informing the public of steps they should take to prepare. Jean Pavlik will assemble kits for us again this year to be given away in a drawing of people who visit the booth. Craig Johnson had shelter in place brochures made for us at UP headquarters. We will also hand out LincUP flyers and shelter in place magnets.

Summary and Strategy

Next meeting: 5:15 p.m. Monday, September 27, 2010

Location: North Platte Community College, North Campus Student Lounge

Meeting Topic: West Central District Health Department emergency response and shelter in place

Speaker: Cindy Glos, WCDHD Emergency Response Coordinator

Next Meeting - September 27, 2010

North Platte Community College
Student Lounge, North Campus,
1101 Halligan Drive, North Platte