I would wager that it is a joke or a facetious rule. Sheldon Johnson may have done something so funny that they made it a "rule". Or it may be a code phrase that someone is watching them work.
Even train crews like to have fun at work.
I don't personally know any mechanics, certainly not one from a few hundred miles away.
I wouldn't read too much into it. Around here, you might see crews rubbing their faces while looking at another crew...
Sheldon Johnson is an Amtrak conductor who does not want the passengers sent down to the train until he notifies the yardmaster that HE is ready. Its normal practice for the usher to sent the passengers down at their own discretion however Mr. Johnson does not want this, therefore we call it the Sheldon Johnson rule.
I had forgotten about starting this thread. I figured out what it meant a while ago and posted to the Scanners-TARA Yahoogroup. Thanks for the confirmation!
I guess he's not the only one as I have heard the rule invoked for multiple trains simultaneously.
Sheldon Johnson is an Amtrak conductor who does not want the passengers sent down to the train until he notifies the yardmaster that HE is ready. Its normal practice for the usher to sent the passengers down at their own discretion however Mr. Johnson does not want this, therefore we call it the Sheldon Johnson rule.
Intresting, as i`ve rode on Amtrak a couple of times now (both times to Cincinnati to meet my brother & do Dayton) and never heard this one yet. Just wondering, is this for passenger safety mabey? I could see that as i know at MKE (Milwaukee Intermoadal Station) they wouldn`t let us go out to the train till they got the okay from the conductors. No biggie, but if this is for safety i can defenitely dig it, it makes sense. N9NRA