Railway Track & Structures - September 2008 - (Page 3)

ON TRACK Vol. 104, No. 9 USPS # 860-560 ISSN # 00339016 EDITORIAL OFFICES 20 South Clark Street, Suite 2450 Chicago, Ill. 60603 Telephone (312) 683-0130 Fax (312) 683-0131 Website www.rtands.com Coming together George S. Sokulski/Associate Publisher Tom Judge/Editor, tjudge@sbpubchicago.com Mischa Wanek-Libman/Managing Editor, mischa@sbpub-chicago.com Wanda Welty/Copy Editor Susan Taylor/Editorial Assistant N CORPORATE OFFICES 345 Hudson Street New York, N.Y. 10014 Telephone (212) 620-7200 Fax (212) 633-1165 Arthur J. McGinnis, Jr./ President and Chairman Robert P. DeMarco/Publisher Mary Conyers-Brown/Production Director Barbara DiGirolamo/Production Manager Maureen Cooney/Circulation Director Jane Poterala/Conference Director Robert G. Lewis/Director of Special Projects For reprint information, contact: PARS International Corp. 212-221-9595; Fax 212-221-9195 RT&S, Railway Track and Structures is published monthly by Summons-Boardman Publishing Corp., 345 Hudson Street, New York, N.Y. 10014. ISSN: 0033-8916. Canada Post Cust.#7204564; Agreement #41094515. Bleuchip Int'l, PO Box 25542, London, ON N6C 6B2. Periodical Class postage paid at New York, N.Y., and additional mailing offices. Subscription price to railroad employees only in U.S. possessions, Canada and Mexico, Print or Digital version: $16 one year; $30 two years (all others $39.50 one year; $73 two years). All other countries, $68 one year ($168 for air mail); $120 two years ($320 for air mail). Both Print and Digital versions: $24 one year; $45 two years (all others $60 one year; $110 two years). All other countries, $102 one year ($202 for air mail); $180 two years ($380 for air mail). Single copies $8.50. Track Buyer’s Guide $21. 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Box 10, Omaha, NE 68101-0010. ot long ago I received a request to run a public service announcement for an organization that seeks to place foreign students for a time with families in the U.S. It’s a good cause, but unrelated to railroad engineering, so you won’t be seeing anything further about it in the publication. But it got me to thinking. Maybe too many folks in this country have gotten so far apart that we might bring people from different parts of America together, Red Staters to Blue States and vice versa. No, I don’t envision a bunch of liberal Democrats and conservative Republicans holding hands around a camp fire singing Kumbaya, but a lot more effective communication would be nice. Railroading itself is still far too divided into its own little spheres. Engineers don’t understand transportation folks, who have little use for the car and locomotive types, who can’t understand the communication and signal guys, and all of them in the operating department thinking the company could save a ton of money if it eliminated the human resources department and virtually every other non-operating entity. On the labor management front, if you listen to only one side, you’d think the other was evil incarnate, either stealing bread from the mouths of working families or highly overpaid and underworked, depending on which side you happen to be listening to at the time. It’s long past time for railroads to break down these barricades. I think the labor/management issues will eventually work themselves out as hordes of new people come into the industry who refuse to put up with the way things have been done. Union leaders and railroad managers had better realize that, because if they don’t, they will find themselves on the outside looking in a lot sooner than they planned. What about the interdepartment gaps and resentments? It’s time for more effort to break them down. Some of these issues will also go away with the big turnover in the work force, but someone will have to provide leadership in this area if railroading is to reach its full potential. We need more seminars and conferences that bring together people from across the industry. Yes, engineering conferences and trade shows such as those staged by AREMA and REMSA are vitally important to professional development and building networks across the industry. No doubt about that. But it’s also important to bring together the mechanical folks responsible for what goes on the tracks and the engineering folks responsible for the tracks and what’s under them. I can dream about more interaction between non-ops and ops, such as the sales department and the transportation and engineering folks, but someone has to take the lead to see that this kind of thing happens. I’m looking forward to the big get together in 2011 with mechanical, engineering and c&s types under one roof. That could be an excellent start to a much more homogenous and productive railroad industry. Tom Judge, Editor A SIMMONS-BOARDMAN RAIL GROUP PUBLICATION www.rtands.com Railway Track & Structures September 2008 3 http://www.rtands.com http://www.rtands.com http://www.rtands.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Railway Track & Structures - September 2008

Railway Track & Structures - September 2008 Contents On Track Industry Today Supplier News AREMA News NRC News TTCI R&D Larry Etherton Rounds Out Successful Term as President of AREMA Remote Bridges Present Challenges New Mexico Rail Runner Express Making Tracks for Santa Fe Products and Literature People Calendar Sales Representatives Advertisers Index Website Directory Professional Directory Classified Advertising Chicago Perspective

Railway Track & Structures - September 2008

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