>>9203179 (PB)
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The city government where I work uses it. I have not participated yet and have no intentions of so doing.
Do Not Hump
Don't push the car over a hill under gravity propulsion. Usually applies to a heavy load that won't tolerate end to end shifting. You would not, for instance, hump an M1Abrams.
One of the most "interesting" parts of training a new brakeman is to place him on top of a box car at the manual brake and let him ride it down with no help from the retarders. You put him up there. He tests the brake. You let the SOB roll through the chicane of switches into a classification yard. By the bottom, they are moving too fast to jump from and you've been whipped side to side, hanging on for dear life but with work to do to control the impact into the cars further down the track.
FULLY HALF of the guys I was training with quit then and there. That ride will determine your level of testicular fortitude in under 30 seconds. It will also establish whether you have the self confidence to do dangerous work safely.
Two guys refused to ride the car down. They were terminated on the spot. One guy shat himself while climbing to the brake. A couple called a cab. Three others walked the two miles back to to the MC Depot, where their cars were parked. A couple of us asked if we could do it again. ;-)
Man, if you're afraid of the equipment or if you don't respect it enough, you are going to get somebody killed. Better to find out during training. You need to understand what's involved and have the confidence to control it. A couple of years later, only two of us remained. Although we rarely saw each other (I worked the road, he stayed in the yard), he and I stayed until new crew laws forced us off.
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Michigan Division, PCRR. Classes were in the old MCRR depot.