Who is/was Sheldon Johnson?

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DaveNF2G

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The yardmaster for Amtrak in Albany/Rensselaer, NY, occasionally announces that "the Sheldon Johnson Rule is now in effect."

Does anybody know what that means?
 

burner50

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The yardmaster for Amtrak in Albany/Rensselaer, NY, occasionally announces that "the Sheldon Johnson Rule is now in effect."

Does anybody know what that means?

Sounds like a local deal...

Could mean anything.
 

QDP2012

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The yardmaster for Amtrak in Albany/Rensselaer, NY, occasionally announces that "the Sheldon Johnson Rule is now in effect."

Does anybody know what that means?

Not sure if it is related to the same individual, but on page 17 of the Sep 2013 issue of Amtrak Ink, in the 30-Year milestone list, it lists:
JOHNSON, SHELDON
Ivy City Maintenance Facility
Washington, D.C.​

So, the rule might apply to more than just the NY yard. ...maybe?

Hope this helps,
 

burner50

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Not sure if it is related to the same individual, but on page 17 of the Sep 2013 issue of Amtrak Ink, in the 30-Year milestone list, it lists:
JOHNSON, SHELDON
Ivy City Maintenance Facility
Washington, D.C.​

So, the rule might apply to more than just the NY yard. ...maybe?

Hope this helps,

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...
 

Explorer711

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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.
 
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DaveNF2G

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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.
 

N9NRA

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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
 

cbehr91

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There's a lot of railroader vernacular that is highly regionalized/would make no sense to non-railroaders.
 
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