Bad Order: A Whistleblower's True Story of Robber Baron Justice in America's 21st Century - Gilded Age by Mike Elliott ➱ Book Tour & Giveaway
BAD ORDER
Mike Elliott
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GENRE: Memoir
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BLURB:
This
is the incredible true story of railroad worker and union official Mike
Elliott, targeted by his railroad employer, BNSF Railway Company, for his
safety-related activities. As the union's state legislative board chair,
Elliott was the top safety official in the state, and the voice for over 900
rank & file locomotive engineers operating trains around the clock, every
day of the year.
When
his members reported a plethora of trackside signal malfunctions on the BNSF
Seattle subdivision, Elliott went to the railroad first, asking that they fix
the problems. When the BNSF failed to act, he contacted the government's
regulatory authority, the Federal Railroad Administration. That led to an FRA
inspection of over 130 miles of the railroad's track and signal systems turning
up hundreds of federal defects – all with potential to put workers and the
public at risk.
What
followed was a retaliation plot reminiscent of the Nineteenth Century Robber
Barons: A management-staged conflict at work, police called in, arrest, jail,
criminal charges, and termination from his job – not once but twice.
The
wrath, influence and power of North America's largest freight railroad is
unleased in full force and in an all-out attack on a whistleblower's life,
liberties, and career. An amazing journey of one man's righteous battle against
impossible odds and the nearly unlimited resources of a multi-billion-dollar
corporation.
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EXCERPT
His train was
about three-quarters of a mile from the Longview yard office, which it passed
less than seventy seconds later.
The approach
signal to Longview Junction South was located at milepost 100.7. The Longview
yard office was at milepost 100.3. If functioning as designed, this signal
should have displayed a solid yellow aspect, indicating “approach and proceed
prepared to stop at next signal, trains exceeding 35 MPH immediately reduce to
that speed.” Burlington Northern dispatching records indicated that BN 111
passed the Longview Junction approach signal at approximately 12:20 A.M. Just
after this time, the conductor of the local freight job, UP Train 59, was
walking to the manually operated “hand-throw” switch at the north end of
Longview yard. He later reported to investigators that the five locomotives of
BN 111 passed him before he reached the switch, so he only saw the rear portion
of the train, whose speed he estimated at 40 miles-per-hour.
While standing
beside the switch, the UP 59 conductor heard what sounded “like thunder, just a
rolling thunder.” At 12:24 A.M., BN dispatching records show that the Longview
Junction South interlocking had a “power off” alarm. That marked the moment
when southbound BN 111 collided head-on with northbound UP 09 at milepost
102.8. At least two motorists driving north on Interstate 5 witnessed the
collision. One told investigators that he was traveling between 65 and 70
miles-per-hour when he passed UP 09, which he estimated “was probably doing
55.” What he saw was “a major explosion. It was unbelievable.” Another motorist
reported that he saw the headlight of BN 111 coming at him; this because the
railroad tracks were close and parallel to the freeway. He watched the train,
waiting for the two converging trains to pass each other; instead, they slammed
head-on into each other.
“There was just
fire and devastation,” he said.
The impact of
the collision ruptured the fuel tanks of six of the eight locomotives. Fire
engulfed those six, as 10,000 to 15,000 gallons of diesel fuel spilled onto the
tracks and over the banks of the Columbia River. The first fire-fighting unit
arrived at 12:36 A.M., twelve minutes after the collision, and began knocking
down the flames surrounding the locomotives. Although a total of forty-four
fire and rescue units responded, the on-scene fire commander soon concluded
that no one could have survived the flames; he ordered his units to stand down
and let the fire burn itself out to consume the leaking diesel fuel and thus
prevent further environmental damage.
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AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Mike
Elliott was born and raised in Washington State. He enjoys the great outdoors
of the Pacific Northwest, classic rock & roll music, vintage stereo gear,
home cooked meals, and Seattle Mariners baseball. He lives in Tacoma,
Washington.
https://amazon.com/dp/1779626037
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/224714537-bad-order
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GIVEAWAY
Mike
Elliot will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
We appreciate you featuring BAD ORDER today.
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