Thomas M. Olsen wrote:

In the many times that I witnessed this move, they never had
a derailment or a "run in" with the equipment . . . The crews that I
worked with as an operator, all had worked with each other for a long
time and had a lot of experience in making this type of movement.

Well said, Tom. I have heard the same of experienced crews elsewhere. The fact that the move is obviously dangerous and can go wrong, does NOT mean it went wrong all the time.

Tony Thompson Editor, Signature Press, Berkeley, CA
2906 Forest Ave., Berkeley, CA 94705 www.signaturepress.com
(510) 540-6538; fax, (510) 540-1937; e-mail, thompson@...
Publishers of books on railroad history