TrainManTy wrote: Yes, that could be a problem....I know I wouldn't waited....come to think of it, I'd have gotten out of the loco...What would the engineer stand to gain from staying in the loco? He could just get out for the actual impact, then get back in and radio the dispatcher....
Yes, that could be a problem....
I know I wouldn't waited....come to think of it, I'd have gotten out of the loco...
What would the engineer stand to gain from staying in the loco? He could just get out for the actual impact, then get back in and radio the dispatcher....
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
True, the railcar (which is wrongly labeled as a bulkhead flat, it's actually a centerbeam BTW) could've derailed and crushed anyone in the way. If there was enough time, it would most likely be safe enough about 1 1/2 car leingths forward from the point of impact, unless the car bounced off the front of the loco or something....
In the case of not enough time to do that, the smartest thing would probably to stay in the loco, although if a freightcar was rolling towards me, I probably wouldn't think clearly and just GET OUT OF THE WAY.....
Here's a pic of the damaged F40:
http://photos.nerail.org/showpic/?photo=2008033016494630149.jpg&order=bydate&page=1
Ouch. Hope they repair it...
Also, I think that one's an M-K rebuild, not the origanal EMD "screamer"....Could be wrong though.
ArtOfRuin wrote: Here's a pic of the damaged F40: http://photos.nerail.org/showpic/?photo=2008033016494630149.jpg&order=bydate&page=1 <> EDIT: Just read the header. It's an M-K rebuld not a screamer. Thanks for the correction Ty!
<> EDIT: Just read the header. It's an M-K rebuld not a screamer. Thanks for the correction Ty!
Does the locomotive has a chance to be repair and run again?
As long as the frame isn't too badly bent, it should be repairable. MBTA is very short on motive power right now, so this accident came at a bad time for them. They've been sending F40's and Geeps out for rebuilds left and right.
Yeah, I heard they have some MP40s on order, can anyone confirm that?
Oops,
http://cs.trains.com/forums/1406769/ShowPost.aspx#1406769
Can anyone answer this forum?
What someone hasn't mentioned yet is that this accident may have been caused by the failure of the handbrake to actually work. A friend of mine is an engineer/conductor on a short line around here, and he told me about the time when he was riding a car that had been kicked. He wound up the handbrake...and nothing happened. Fortunately, the car came to a halt by itself without hitting anything too solid, but a lot further than where he wanted it. Handbrakes can fail.
However, that being said, my money is on the lumber co. moving the car and it got away from them.
Oh, and FYI: that RR friend of mine also said that one of his RR buddys (a CSX engineer) told him that the lumber co. derail had a gouge right across the top of it after this incident. On the Railroad.net MBTA Forum, another CSX employee told everyone that these derails are tied into the CTC system. Since several other trains had passed this lumber co. switch without getting a restricting signal, this means that the switch and the derail were both apparently lined and locked for the Stoughton Branch main.
More info: I have the track charts for this area, and the grade is all downhill from the lumber co. The grade is mostly 0.7% to 0.9% with only a small grade going up towards Canton Jct. Also, the grade on the NEC in this area is 0.71% down towards Boston.
DMUinCT,The runaway car went through three grade crossings, not two. The car hit the MBTA train on the NEC, not on the Stoughton Branch. If you look at the video on this incident, the helicopters show the catenary quite well...and the Stoughton Branch is not electrified. Also, the only Amtrak speed limits above 125mph in all of North America are between Bleachery Curve (MP 205) in Mansfield to East Jct. in South Attleboro and in the Kingston flats south of Providence, RI. Both are 150mph zones.
This runaway could have been far, far worse. If the MBTA train it hit hadn't been a Stoughton job, the interlocking at Canton Jct. would have been set for the NEC. These switches have moving frogs, which would have almost certainly derailed the car on the NEC (this is the same interlocking that derailed an AEM-7 a few years ago because the switch maintainer did not throw the frog manually after he manually threw the points).
If this car had derailed on the main...would it be still tripping the cab signals? What if the next train happened to be a Boston bound Amtrak Regional or Acela job? They bust through there at more than 100mph (120mph? Not 140mph). If it hit a derailed and fully loaded freight car at that speed it would be like the German ICE train hitting that bridge abutment a while back (especially considering that there are two bridge abutments in the area and along rock cut). Not to sound too alarmist here, but hundreds could have died.
BaltACD,We don't have accents. All the rest of you talk wicked funny.
Oh, and it's Bah-stin, not Bastan. http://www.boston-online.com/glossary
I knew someone from Baltimore when I was in college. He called it "Ball-more"...like there was no "t" or "i".
Paul A. Cutler III************Weather Or No Go New Haven************
Paul3 wrote: BaltACD,We don't have accents. All the rest of you talk wicked funny. Oh, and it's Bah-stin, not Bastan. http://www.boston-online.com/glossary I knew someone from Baltimore when I was in college. He called it "Ball-more"...like there was no "t" or "i".Paul A. Cutler III************Weather Or No Go New Haven************
I have assembled a video of the event with emphasis on the interview of the engineer.
http://cs.trains.com/forums/1409512/ShowPost.aspx
~Rick
BaltACD wrote: Paul3 wrote: BaltACD,We don't have accents. All the rest of you talk wicked funny. Oh, and it's Bah-stin, not Bastan. http://www.boston-online.com/glossary I knew someone from Baltimore when I was in college. He called it "Ball-more"...like there was no "t" or "i".Paul A. Cutler III************Weather Or No Go New Haven************Actually true Baltimorean's pronounce it more with two A's and one L.....Baal-more...those from the Maryland Eastern Shore have their own take on how to pronounce it.
The natives used to say it something like "Bawlimer". Not to be confused with a couple of newspaper columnists who spelled Baltimoreans as "Baltimorons".
update:
MBTA Files Lawsuit In Commuter Rail Crash
BOSTON (AP) -- In the lawsuit, the MBTA says CSX Transportation and a lumber company failed to properly secure a freight car that got loose and struck a commuter rail train. The incident in Canton last month injured 150 commuters.In the suit filed Thursday, the MBTA claims CSX workers who delivered the car to the lumber company failed to set a hand brake; neglected to lock a steel gate between the lumber yard and commuter rail tracks; and didn't secure the car's wheels.The suit also claims a device designed to deliberately derail the car was not properly set.A CSX spokesman and the owner of the Cohenno lumber company of Stoughton refused comment.The suit is asking that the defendants to cover costs associated with the crash, including medical claims and track repairs.
http://www.wcsh6.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=85093
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