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Derailments Caused By Emergency Braking?

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[quote user="samfp1943"]Appolgise for the earlier post in which I had thought that the Ellicott City derailment had not gotte into this Thread.  The effects of 'slack action' as mentioned here is a necessary function that seems to facilitate train handling in North America's longer trains. [/quote]   No problem with bringing up that accident.  It was only mentioned briefly, and it seems to be highly related to the discussion about emergency applications causing wrecks.  We don’t know yet what actually caused that wreck, but we do know it was a UDE.  I read that the NTSB is investigating it, so I am sure we will learn all about the cause some day in the distant future.  The context of what happened with those two girls is rather haunting if you read the details. Regarding slack. Certainly, I would not say that the effects of slack action is a necessary function that seems to facilitate train handling in North America's longer trains. I really don’t know if the railroads today could start trains in every case without bunched slack.  With steam, it was routine to start trains with the aid of bunched slack, but steam fundamentally lacked starting tractive effort compared diesels.  Steam is like being in high gear all the time.  I have read claims that the aid to starting trains was the purpose of designing slack into couplers.  That is not true. It is easier to start trains with bunched slack.  But other than that one silver lining, slack is the veritable Great Satan of loose car railroading.  We would all be richer today had it not been for slack.
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