HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolution 1983 (06)RESOLUTION CHALLENGING ELIMINATION OF CABOOSE/CARS FROM RAIL-
ROAD TRAINS
Resolution # rta
WHEREAS, St. Croix County constitutes an important rail traffic
center, and:
WHEREAS, many local rail crossings come in close contact with
vehicular traffic, and
WHEREAS, it appears that there is movement afoot to eliminate
the cabooses from the trains, and
WHEREAS,employees in the caboose at the rear of a train con
stitute` the first line of safety, when co-ordinated with an effort
of :employees at the front of the trains, and
WHEREAS, trains affected vary in length from 35 cars to trains
11-2 miles in length, and
WHEREAS`, guarding against hazards ij virtually impossible without
rear observation from a caboose, and
WHEREAS some railroads plan to eliminate the caboose without
regard to the consequences, and
WHEREAS, all the ordinary dangers apparent in clear weather are
greatly increased by storms, snow, sleet and fog making it a calculated
risk for even one to a dozen cars to proceed, however slowly, through
populated areas without ext,r,eme caution, and
WHEREAS, automated electronic signal equipment has failed to
fully provide the necessary warnings, and
WHEREAS, the human warning system is an essential safety pre-
caution which present electronics cannot totally replace, and
WHEREAS, the railroad, unions ,and other agencies concerned should
be aware of a near tragedy, an incident which occurred recently in
Louisville, Kentucky, when a railroad employee averted a major disaster
while working as rear brakeman on a 92 car freight, upon making a
routine inspection by noticing a 14 inch by 2 inch chunk of wheel
missing on a car loaded with propane gas, averting a major disaster,
in a manner impossible for a computer to detect, and
WHEREAS, hazardous substances carried periodically through St.;
Croix County pose a high degree of risk, and