New Member Who Gets Around

[RRConsultant]

Hello all! I'm new to railroad and railfan forums, this is my first, so please excuse any naivete or ignorance on my part!

I wanted to join a forum because I felt that railfans would like to see some of my pictures and hear about my travels, and I know I am in a very unique situation.

About myself/what I do: I work for an independent consulting company that helps short line and regional railroads comply with certain FRA regulations. A big part of my job is traveling the country every month to visit 2-3 railroads to do ride-alongs.

In 3 years of doing this, I've gotten to see and do some very exciting stuff. I've ridden in about 50 separate locomotives, some of them very unique, such as a 1927 Baldwin 2-10-0 steam engine, a 2001 EMD GP20D and a 1949 EMD TR4-A.

It's given me a very unique look at the rail industry, and I thought others might find it interesting!

 

[Bob]

So what is it that you consult with the railroads on? Your description is rather vague so far. (I'm having a rather hard time coming up with pretty much anything the Strasburg Rail Road would need to hire a consultant to advise them on. There's not a lot that Lynn and crew don't have a handle on.)

Obviously the results of your consultation with the individual operations would be confidential, but if I called your company up and said "So, what is it that you do?" presumably they'd be able to tell me the services they offer.

 

[RRConsultant]

I help short line and regional railroads comply with some of the FRA's medical and safety regulations, but the main thing we help with is part 227, which is a hearing and noise rule for T&E employees. Part of that involves measuring how loud the locomotive cabs are, which is what I travel for.

When I was up at the Strasburg, they told me I was the first non-employee
to ride in any of the steam engines in over 5 years (insurance reasons I think) so that was a pretty special day.

 

[Ragnar]

Looking forward to hearing your stories and seeing your photos. This forum needed some new blood... so, welcome!