CANADIAN RAIL MOVING IRON ORE

[tree68]

Pull-aparts are as common as can be, especially during the winter.  The joint bars are usually still in place, albeit only connected on one end, and all the spikes are still in place.

While it needs to be fixed, it's safe to carefully run a train across that.  

Fixing it, however, might not be as easy as just sticking the bolts back in.  If the rails have contracted the holes may not line up.  Oftimes the cure is to burn a kerosene soaked rope along the sides of the rail to expand it until the holes do line up.

[NorthWest]

Small rail gaps will trigger the signal system, but they are safe to walk trains over at restricted speed until repairs are made. Nothing unsafe about this. It will be reported and fixed as soon as possible, but the trains can still run.

[cx500]

Didn't see the episode, but you should always take EVERYTHING seen on TV or movies with a healthy dose of skepticism.  Unfortunately that also includes supposed documentaries.  By increasing tension and excitement the general public finds any show more interesting, thus increasing popularity.  Meanwhile those with greater understanding cringe and ignore the questionable plot.  I am talking in general terms, not just rail themes.  Consider it a "docudrama".

Other documentaries have been known to promote a producer's agenda by only mentioning one point of view, failing to even mention that there is compelling evidence that does not support it.  Even history "documentaries" can often have debatable slants.

[BaltACD]

Your defect is not as serious as you think it is.

[cabforward]

NOTE: I SEARCHED FOR A TRAINS FORUM ABOUT FOREIGN (INTERNATIONAL) RAILROADING, BUT DIDNT SEE IT

"THE SCIENCE CHANNEL" CABLE NETWORK                                >> SERIES: MONSTER MACHINES                                             >> EPISODE: MONSTER TRAIN, #1, #10, (2018).

this is a very interesting episode describing the massive challenges faced by sd-70 emd locomotives pulling a train of 24 thousand tons, 1.6mi long and 240 hopper cars with iron ore... this run follows the train from montreal westward for 260mi.. in transportation, safety is always emphasized as the #1 priority for all employees, including drivers, mechanics, inspectors, supervisors, etc.. this episode is no exception, as employees each describe their role in performing their tasks relative to safety of employees, engine, rolling stock, payload and the right-of-way.. most of the time..

in one sequence, a potentially flawed section of track is reported to the roadmaster. who drives a track vehicle to the area of the flaw.. the flaw is discovered and the roadmaster describes aloud the process for determining whether the flaw should be repaired, which means halting the ore train, or to somehow deem the flawed section as "acceptable" and allowing the train to proceed over the flawed section..

the flaw is a separation between the two ends of rails that meet at a joint, where the ends are coupled together with special plates, nuts and bolts to join the plates and bind the ends together, insuring a tight fit and preventing the ends from separating and causing accidents..

this time, the roadmaster sees a missing bolt and nut laying loosely on the roadbed next to the holes where they would normally be holding together.. for reasons well beyond understanding, the roadmaster decides that the gap between the two rail ends is not serious and "deems" the gap safe to drive over.. and so we see the engines and cars rolling over the gap between the rail ends, safe and sound..

so, what is wrong with this picture? how MANY things are wrong with this picture?

>> the roadmaster sees an obvious safety hazard: nuts & bolts laying loosely, certainly out-of-place and also sees the loose-fitting plate which the nuts & bolts would ordinarily be binding together;

>> the roadmaster handles the nuts & bolts, apparently to re-assure himself that they are, in fact, what they appear to be: nuts & bolts designed to bind together the ends of rails thru plates, which he seems to conclude they are;

>> the really confounding part is, he does nothing to make repairs to re-attach the nuts & bolts to the plates against the rail ends, to perfect the safety of the soon-to-be approaching train;

>> it is possible that the roadmaster COULD NOT legally make the repairs; union rules might prevent anyone other than a union employee from taking any action that would infringe upon the union's right to require a duly-authorized union employee accompany the roadmaster to the site of the flawed track and make the repairs himself, personally, without assistance from the roadmaster, who would not be a member of the trackworkers' union.. so, what about a union trackworker riding with the roadmaster to the site of the flaw, and upon locating the flaw, repairing it? would this violate anyone's sensitivities? is the solution too simple or too complicated?

so, what is our "take-away" from this event? what is the point of preaching to the audience about rail safety if a roadmaster chooses to ignore an alarm about a flawed section of track? like, what is his mission for the railroad? to locate flaws in mainline trackage and ignore them? how does this promote the image of the railroad and its employees working to insure safety conditions for all concerned? how does the railroad rationalize an employee turning his head away from a track hazard, knowing an extra-heavy (or any) train is approaching? what other hazards do railroad employees ignore when checking for flaws in trackage, signaling eqpt., defects in rolling stock and locomotives? what are the defects that can be "let go" at the risk of life, limb, rolling stock, payload, right-of-way and engines, to say nothing about insurance carriers, stockholders, and corp. mgmt.?

i cannot believe that railroad officials, seeing such video of a mgmt.-level employee disregarding a critical safety hazard, would discount wjhat was done as a minor violation.. the program emphasizes nothing if not safety in pulling the train, gathering speed, rounding curves, slowing the train, even the "engineman" taking a 6-hour break from the controls at a rest-stop..

but, when it comes to actual alarms about track flaws, well, the roadmaster can see the problem is no real problem at all, and signals the train to continue.. I just have to ask myself, what would have happened IF the train had left the rail halfway thru the 240-car length? might we have the roadmaster's first comment after seeing it happen? OOPS! REALLY??

the disingenuousness of this roadmaster's actions, without an explanation, are so beyond reality, it takes my breath away.. how does this highly-trained railroad employee ignore a track flaw which set-off an alarm at a control center and decide it's not a danger and walk away from it? what standards is he enforcing? what is his threshold in deciding whether a track flaw is a danger or not? if he doesn't enforce the railroad's rules, whose rules is he enforcing, his or somebody else's?

i'd really like to read a reply from someone experienced in railroading who can "dumb-down" for me the rationale for this roadmaster doing what he did, rightly or wrongly.. I would not want this man, or anyone using his judgment, inspecting anything I was riding on, whether, by car, plane, train or bus..

also, I could not read the name or the emblem of railroad on the engine.. at no point did i hear the name of the railroad used in the program narrative.. the lettering looked like "DNS"(?)..YELLOW characters on an ORANGE background are not easily understood; YELLOW characters on a SILVER background are not easily understood, either.. does anyone recognize the r.r. location or payload? the r.rs. i know are CN and CP..

but, I could be wrong!