We would like to give you a taste of what we are talking about. Most East Coast Railroaders are familiar with NORAC Rules. Imagine employees having that plus every other manual required for duty on a tough handheld device.

Better yet, why not make it a railroad and weather-tough laptop, complete with a handwriting to typed text electronic file cabinet, filled with all the reports and forms necessary for their assigment.

Train Crews communicating Excel, Word, or Access documents back and forth with the Company via a secure virus sniffing off-property server keep the Railroad's Mainframes out of Harms Way.

And all this upgradeable with updates by a click of the mouse... and adding no extra duties to staff or changes to how you do business today.

The following example is the Beta Laptop version of "The Digital Library", a module from The Digitized Conductor.

With the blessings and in cooperation with Management at CP Rail / D&H, Binghamton, NY Terminal, we volunteered to create a new way to carry and transfer information. This format had to be practical, inexpensive, easy to use yet have a powerful search function. It also would have to use existing documents, be upgraded and changed quickly, expandable with new manuals, maps, video and just about anything they wanted employees to know. And while we were at it, add some information that might make railroad life a little easier. All this on a small portable device that is able to survive the harsh environment of the railroad. Well, we did it and how you see it here is how it will look and function offline. Palm Version in the works!

A few things before you enter the Library...

What's this yellow warning bar on the top of the page?

 Newer versions of Internet Explorer may show the warning bar below.



If you see this bar, right click on it and "Allow Blocked Action".... then "Yes" to the pop-up window that follows. These files are all safe for your computer and will do no harm whatsoever! Warning is created by the Java powered search feature.

How do I use the
Search Feature?

In the Library you'll find the following publications:
1. NORAC Rules
2. NEUS Timetable Number 4
3. HazMat Rules
4. Air Brake and Train Handling Rules
5. HazMat Response Book (the little orange book)
6. CP Safety Manual

Now that's a lot of reading! ... especially if you're looking for something as simple as a question about "hand brakes".  Using the Search Box will allow you to look through all those books at lightning speed to find your answer!

Please note the little drop down menu in the search box above. Using this will make your search more precise.

All words: If you were to type in "hand brakes", the search will locate all documents that have those words . So you'll find "hand signals" along with "stuck brakes".

Any words: This will return any page that has "hand" and/or "brake" as a part of other words (e.g. handle or brakeline).

Exact phrase: This is the way to look up a question. This will return a search that will only find "hand brakes" as seen below.
So much information on one page, how do I find just the stuff about "hand brakes"? Using the example above, you click your way to the "NORAC" link. Once you are on the page, you click on "Edit" in the menu bar of your browser to find what your looking for by using the IE little known search feature shown below.

Clicking on "Find (on this Page)" will bring up the search box below... type in "hand brakes" and just "Find Next" your way thru the page till you find your answer. It's that quick and easy!
How do I search The Hazmat Response Guide? This section is important because you don't have to know how to spell what you are looking for or even how to say it... all you need is the HazMat number and you can find how to handle a spill in 5 seconds!

The little orange book "Hazmat Response Guide" is in what is called an "Adobe Acrobat - PDF"  format and that has its own search feature. You start with a click on the binocular icon on its menu bar.

 

Next, the search box will appear on the right hand side. Let's say we know we have a 1075 Hazmat on the ground and we need answers fast. Just type "1075" in the search box.

We get a result that shows the response for a spill is "115".

Next you would do a "New Search" and find "115".

In the "Results" box shown above, you would scroll to the bottom two entries and click on the link. This will bring you to the "What To Do" page ... all this in under 5 seconds!

Please give this a try to get a feel for it. You don't want your first time doing it the time you really need it!

NOTE: If you are using an older version of Adobe Reader and this section doesn't load properly, you can get a FREE upgrade by going to http://adobe.com and downloading their latest program. Make sure you get the right Operating System version for your machine.

When you want to return to this Tour for more information,
simple close "The Digital Library" window.
Note: This is an individual pilot project and has not been approved or implemented by CP Rail

Enter "The Digital Library"

Continue the TOUR

 

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