Two trains collided in Panhandle, TX

[Shadow99]

I learned that they made the front section of the locomotive in a certain way with the cow catcher. That it diverts the collision up and away. I cant find anything on it. But pretty sure it was on a documentary I saw. Theres angled pieces on the front that forces away the trains from each other when hit straight on. Any train guys know the facts? And Im not talking about the plow itself, theres something above it.

 

[03GTGreen]

Its the anticlimber, the piece with the yellow reflective tape on it above the MU hose, it also prevents cars from going upward towards the cab, hence why it sticks out

 

[DanJ]

Looking at the locomotive in the pictures in post 8, that cab is just gone.

 

[DanJ]

https://www.google.com/amp/abcnews....ash-official/story?id=40218261?client=safari#

They found 2 bodies today and the third is presumed dead as well.

 

[Guess who's back]

Because they are ran by people, and humans can make mistakes

Its not hard to go by a red signal into another train when your dog shit tired, and no im not speaking from experience

They are currently putting a system in place called Positive Train Control that will prevent instances such as going by red signals, by using gps in accordance to the trains location to signals, men and equipment, speed restrictions, etc

Lmfao, yeah but that was supposed to be in effect Jan 2016. But thanks to Obama it got an extension. :facepalm:

https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/senate-bill/650

I work at a BNSF facility in Illinois and have been told all freight will pretty much come to a standstill the next couple days while things get figured out. Then we'll be hit hard with everything that was a week behind.

 

[Turbocharged400sbc]

...lobbied by the railroad co's to extend it so they can "afford" it and get them all installed

 

[DanJ]

All the tier 1 railroads told the FRA that if they didn't get the extension on PTC they would halt all rail traffic to avoid the millions in fines. They have the government by the nuts because rail freight is essential to the economy. I've ran PTC in a simulator and it's pretty impressive while being horribly annoying at the same time. It nags you non stop and counts down to a penalty brake application if you're under any conditions other than a clear signal.

You work at LPC I take it? That's how things were after the oil can derailed in Galena. We all pretty much had a 3 day weekend without taking any days off, then when they got the lines opened up we were going to work on our rest every day.

 

[Shadow99]

So they were possibly doing the limit at 70? Cant jump doing that speed.

Also some vids........

Theres one video on the link in above post.

 

[jason05gt]

All the tier 1 railroads told the FRA that if they didn't get the extension on PTC they would halt all rail traffic to avoid the millions in fines. They have the government by the nuts because rail freight is essential to the economy.

That's a bluff. The railroads aren't going to halt their business. These are publically traded companies and the shareholders/activists would sort that out real quickly.

Hopefully the Government heavily fines them for not being compliant and then fines them again for environmental/cleanup.

 

[Chester Copperpot]

It's not like [MENTION=102]DanJoy[/MENTION] works in the business or anything so he obviously doesn't know shit.

 

[jason05gt]

It's not like [MENTION=102]DanJoy[/MENTION] works in the business or anything so he obviously doesn't know shit.

Understood, but the Board of CSX isn't going to simply shut down their business, which is transporting products via rail. The Government gave these companies 8 years to implement this technology, while providing Federal funding to do so.

As an outsider, it seems to me that they dragged their feet and got special treatment due to lobbying. If the Automotive industry had not met a deadline for a critical safety feature to be implemented (ABS, Stability Control, etc,), it would be a big deal.

 

[DanJ]

So they were possibly doing the limit at 70? Cant jump doing that speed.

Also some vids........

Theres one video on the link in above post.

Hard to tell but I would assume they would have dumped the air brakes and not actually been going 70 when they collided. In the video the one that's moving is still going at a decent speed but I would guess under 40.

That's a bluff. The railroads aren't going to halt their business. These are publically traded companies and the shareholders/activists would sort that out real quickly

You're probably right. Or they would halt traffic for a few hours until the government gave them an extension or ordered them to start moving again. I forgot the term but BNSF employees went on strike years before my time and I think it lasted less than an hour before the president made some order that they go back to work.

I'm not sure on the PTC thing. They had to update miles of track that was operating on a system where the dispatcher basically couldn't see you and your authority to be on the track was a piece of paper with distance and track limits specified. I worked south western Wisconsin to Minnesota at that time and the type of operation on a given stretch of track changed every single week so they were actively hammering it out. They also had to retrofit all of their locomotives with the hardware to work with PTC. What boggles my mind is the system works off cell towers somehow, yet we go places where I don't get cell service at all.

 

[Mike K]

As someone that doesn't work in the industry and doesn't know shit, I wonder, what's stopping these from being autonomous. Given the rails, the simplicity of following signals and the elimination of human error, rail seems like the perfect candidate for autonomy.

Is it not?

 

[03GTGreen]

No it isnt, there are too many variables to occur

Switches and Signals go out occasionally

In the Winter, broken rail occurs frequently

As easy as most think it is, each train handles differently, IDK bout [MENTION=102]DanJoy[/MENTION], but we operate FTO (Fuel Trip Optimizer) which is basically cruise control and it has ripped trains in half before, which is another variable, who is gonna put the train back together? Or switch cars in and out of the train in yards?

The FRA is currently attempting to make it mandatory to have 2 man crews

 

[DanJ]

No it isnt, there are too many variables to occur

Switches and Signals go out occasionally

In the Winter, broken rail occurs frequently

As easy as most think it is, each train handles differently, IDK bout [MENTION=102]DanJoy[/MENTION], but we operate FTO (Fuel Trip Optimizer) which is basically cruise control and it has ripped trains in half before, which is another variable, who is gonna put the train back together? Or switch cars in and out of the train in yards?

The FRA is currently attempting to make it mandatory to have 2 man crews

All of this. I'm not trip optimizer certified, but from what I've seen of it I don't like it. The only good thing is being able to see speed restrictions and work limits on the graph. Other than that it seems scary to have a 14,000 ton train with cruise control. I'm not sure what the current word on it is, but before I got furloughed last October they were saying once PTC is implemented that TO won't be used because the systems weren't compatible.

I really hope the FRA passes the 2 man crew regulations. Even if they do have some rapid responders in a truck to come replace a knuckle or air hose, I wouldn't want to spend 12 hours in that cab by myself. Not to mention when you wake up at 4 in the morning after a nap it's nice to have another brain to review the paperwork so you don't miss any restrictions.

 

[Guess who's back]

[MENTION=102]DanJoy[/MENTION] remember the strike on the west coast last year? All those ships sitting off the harbor waiting to get unloaded. Lasted maybe 3 weeks i forget, its like the longshoreman out in LA do that every year but the last one was the longest. It was dead at LPC for a while but then we got hit hard. 60 hr weeks for like 5 months straight. I almost quit because of it, a lot of guys got in accidents from being tired during that time too.

 

[03GTGreen]

[MENTION=102]DanJoy[/MENTION], are you still furloughed?

What is LPC?

 

[DanJ]

I remember that strike. It really slowed down intermodal traffic. LPC is Logistic Park Chicago down in Joliet. It's one of BN's big intermodal hubs. Yep I'm still furloughed. I got an offer a few months ago to permanently transfer my engineer seniority down to Houston, but that move was too permanent for me. I have a buddy with similar seniority who is hanging on as a conductor in willow springs or LPC, but I don't want to bid back and leave my current job and go back until I have a little more of a solid hold.

 

[03GTGreen]

I hear ya, ive been all over the CP system finally having a hold on where i started in Portage Wi

Hope it works out for you dude

 

[Shadow99]

Some update

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/report-train-didnt-heed-stop-signal-deadly-texas-151004633.html

 

[DanJ]

Saw that earlier today. Scary stuff, passing a stop signal going over 60mph makes you wonder what was going on that they missed the warnings.