DISCUSS INCIDENT

WITH PERSONS FAMILIAR WITH SITUATION
     OR HAVING TECHNICAL INFORMATION

When you ask people for knowledge, you flatter them. Information is easily obtainable on the railroad. You know the workers, and they know and respect you.

Tower men, station masters, even the track walkers are encyclopedic in their particular knowledge involving incidents of long ago, that may shed light on the present incident. Perhaps the section foreman had suggested to the roadmaster an increase in the incline of the curve; maybe a former derailment occurred under similar circumstances; could the tower have previously reported the crew for excessive speed?

As local chairman, you know better than anyone on the railroad what facts are questionable and require investigation, and the prestige of your office enables you to obtain information which the officers of the company may not be able to obtain.