Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers
Division 758

Richard E. Etienne
Vancouver, WA
rick@etnsplace.com

October 18, 1999

Mr. Richard E. Etienne
Local Chairman BLE Div. 758
Forest Grove OR 97116

First of all, let me apologize for taking so long to answer your letter.

The air conditioner issue is a tough one. The ceiling mounts are a concern for a tall person and I thought the caution tape idea was certainly a step in the right direction. As we purchase new wide-body locomotives these units will eventually move out of the lead and ultimately will retire from the fleet. Until then we will need to brief each other when we have these locomotives in the lead to be aware of head clearance. The caution tape will give a visual cue to brief and therefore, I have notified the responsible shops to apply the tape.

At your suggestion, I did research the ATSF 582. As you indicated, the water cooler failed on 5/8/99, reported by Lincoln, and was repaired on 7/25/99 by Los Angeles. The failure was repaired about 30 days following the last major shopping event. This timeframe fit right into the transition period of the GE fleet to a 122 day maintenance schedule. In that schedule, there is a 61 day event that takes place on the service track but includes FRA inspections. Our policy during 61 day maintenance requires the change out of any water cooler that is defective. Unfortunately, because this was a new maintenance event, the service crew did not understand the policy and released the locomotive for service expecting that the water cooler would be repaired on it's next major shopping. During the 61 day period that the locomotive would have run with an inoperative water cooler, had the policy been observed, its use as a lead locomotive would have been discouraged by the open level 8 defect. If there was no choice but to use it in the lead, then the crew should be provided with a Styrofoam cooler that doesn't leak and create safety hazards. BNSF replaced some 693 water coolers on locomotives last year, and believe me we do not let the budget drive our concern for safety.

I understand your frustration with trying to communicate with the Mech. Desk. We staff four people to support the round the clock calls from the PENTA radio system as well as telephone calls. This job is backed up by some other positions in the same area (Car Desk staff Director Equip). Their goal is to keep the number of unanswered messages as close to zero as possible. In response to your concern about the amount of time in wait for response mode, the Desk will change it's system to ask you to immediately leave a message and then concentrate on responding to messages as quickly as possible.

Your second letter included an Engine Report Log, which I consider a valuable tool for auditing repairs. I have circulated copies to the Mech. Desk and to our Locomotive Shops and would appreciate your sharing it with me periodically in the future.

Thanks for taking the time to compile the information that you sent. We all strive for better quality locomotives, and feedback of this detail is extremely helpful.

Sincerely,

B.J. Ryan

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cc: C. Hill
     R.T. Dennison
     J.Kahler
     Locomotive Shop Superintendents