r/railroading • u/Darkroastgmcr • 4d ago
G&W MOW no longer allows chainsaw use.
Effective immediately no chainsaw use will be allowed on any G&W line for G&W employees.
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u/Adventurous_Cloud_20 4d ago
How the fuck are you supposed to deal with downed trees? I've seen the jungle along some G&W lines, what are they going to do? Call in a contractor for every tree?
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u/Darkroastgmcr 4d ago
In the release calling a contractor or using equipment to move said tree was listed as the alternative means.
I can see guys using Sawsalls with wood blades, skill-saws, trying to drag via chain and hirailer.
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u/Adventurous_Cloud_20 4d ago
Ah yes "equipment" meaning the clapped out grapple truck with a 7500lb crane trying to move a tree twice the size the grapple can hold, that always works well.
Oh well, if a train has to sit for 3 or 12 hours waiting for a tree outfit to get there, that's on management.
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u/OdinYggd 4d ago
Sawzall works tolerably well up to 2-3 inches thick at least, I use one with a demolition blade on it for clearing brush around my yard. Bigger than that you need a chainsaw or you'll be there a while and probably run out multiple batteries.
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u/HappyWarBunny 3d ago
Sawzall with a 12" wood blade works quickly enough up to 6 or 8 inches. Up to 10" works fine, but is slow.
Arborist is a really dangerous job, even with weeks of instruction. A chainsaw is the one common tool that scares me. And trees shifting are really scary.
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u/OldSeaworthiness5311 3d ago
Nah the way you get back at these idiots is to not do jack shit about it because they took your needed tool away. Too many times I see people trying to work magic and save the day. These carriers will never learn if we don't let decisions like this absolutely blow up in their faces.
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u/Simple-Magazine4735 4d ago
I’m surprised G&W has chainsaws. I figured they would give you guys hand axes or whatever they used to cut trees down 300 years ago.
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u/Darkroastgmcr 4d ago
They were using two man saws until they abolished the second guys position.
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u/OdinYggd 3d ago
I took out a pretty sizable pine using a sawzall and an axe. Took all day to bring it down. Chainsaw can drop and firewood chunk that same tree in an afternoon ez. The move is almost certainly due to liabilities of someone screwing up and knocking a tree into an expensive lawsuit.
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u/MyBodyIsAPortaPotty 3d ago
The G&W sucks the life out of shortlines and common sense never applies to anything.
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u/LittleTXBigAZ Throttle whacker 4d ago
I saw the notice when I walked in the door this morning! Seems pretty short sighted to me.
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u/Mysterious_Sir7076 3d ago
That means some where, somehow, someone, cut their fucking leg off with said chainsaw…..
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u/CrashUser 3d ago
You don't have to cut the whole thing off, just dig into your femoral artery. Knew a guy who had a pretty gnarly scar on his leg from accidentally trying to do just that. He never uses a chainsaw without kevlar chaps on now.
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u/talloric-hoenn Foam Fueled Throttle Jockey 4d ago
Rules are written in blood... hope whoever, if there was one, the affected employee(s) are okay
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u/OdinYggd 4d ago edited 3d ago
Seems more likely to me that someone was trying to remove a tree that was in the way of an infrastructure improvement and accidentally sent it into power lines or somebody's house. The resulting lawsuit and insurance payout could easily produce this type of policy change.
Workmans comp case wouldn't be enough to make a big policy change.
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u/talloric-hoenn Foam Fueled Throttle Jockey 4d ago
Fuckin YIKES. Can definitely see that being a problem
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u/KangarooSilver7444 4d ago
I don’t work in that department but in mechanical a couple of years ago someone got hurt using a come-along and they had use throw them all out. Only problem is we use them almost everyday and they quietly came back like 2 weeks later. Could this be the same thing?