Watch both to the end.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03Nq632eV6I
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zzmEROlTnc
...
Oh brother!
Video One. I'm no expert on railroad operations, far from it and wouldn't claim to be, but something didn't seem right with that switch when the crewman threw the lever. It seemed awful "bouncy," for lack of a better term, like something was preventing it from seating all the way. I'm also surprised there was no way to lock it in place, but what do I know?
Video Two. Man, who could see that coming?
Thank God no-one was hurt in either incident!
Flintlock76 I'm also surprised there was no way to lock it in place, but what do I know?
Odds are one of the cars picked the switch - perhaps a case of too sharp a profile on the flanges.
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
tree68 Flintlock76 I'm also surprised there was no way to lock it in place, but what do I know? There is, and it appeared to me that he did make sure the lock/latch was in place. It also appeared that he verified the position of the points. The bounce in the lever is not unusual. Odds are one of the cars picked the switch - perhaps a case of too sharp a profile on the flanges.
There is, and it appeared to me that he did make sure the lock/latch was in place. It also appeared that he verified the position of the points. The bounce in the lever is not unusual.
Sharp flange or a worn switch point. There are keepers on 'switch ties' either side of the switch machine to secure the switch 'ball' and its activation bar.
Brakeman steps on the treadle on the left to release the switch ball and rod and observes that the rod and ball are secured on the other side when completing throwing the switch. In the 2nd video it appears that both these things were done properly as well as the brakeman observing that the points did actually throw and mate against the stock rail.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
Thanks gents!
One thing's for certain. I'll bet those raifans shooting video now know exactly how those newsreel cameramen back in 1937 who caught the Hindenburg disaster felt!
I mean, that wasn't supposed to happen either!
Today I heard a train report that the conductor's windshield had been shattered by a loose chain on a passing train. The chain was able to swing up and hit the windshield.
I once had a passing train throw some object up and break the glass in the number board of our engine. This was an engine that had the number board above the cab instead of on the nose.
Jeff
If my memory is correct I think the fed have rules that speeds of 80 and higher require complete isolation from highways etc. if this is the case posting a max speed of 79 would be CYA.
On standing too close to a train you might be caught in a vortex and sucked into the side of the train. That would ruin your day.
ccltrainsIf my memory is correct I think the fed have rules that speeds of 80 and higher require complete isolation from highways etc.
You are right on the principle but wrong on the speed: note that the ex-Alton 110mph project is rife with grade crossings. I believe the number requiring full separation is 125mph and that we have discussed this in some of the HSR threads.
jeffhergert Today I heard a train report that the conductor's windshield had been shattered by a loose chain on a passing train. The chain was able to swing up and hit the windshield. I once had a passing train throw some object up and break the glass in the number board of our engine. This was an engine that had the number board above the cab instead of on the nose. Jeff
Wasn't there an Amtrak crash several years ago (I'm wanting to say South Carolina) where they were passing a piggyback train going in the opposite direction and collided with a trailer on the piggyback train that had somehow gotten loose with one end coming off the side of the car?
Kevin
http://chatanuga.org/RailPage.html
http://chatanuga.org/WLMR.html
ccltrainsat my age (79) is can be a little foggy.
They say that something is the first to go, and I can't remember what it is, either...
I think I've heard of trailers/containers coming loose. I know I've heard of lumber getting loose...
tree68 ccltrains at my age (79) is can be a little foggy. They say that something is the first to go, and I can't remember what it is, either... I think I've heard of trailers/containers coming loose. I know I've heard of lumber getting loose...
ccltrains at my age (79) is can be a little foggy.
If it is supposed to be secured - it can become unsecured while in transit.
There was an AMTRAK train that left Chicago on the former PRR, (now NS) track and as it was passing the freight yard between 47th St and Englewood, hit a piggyback trailer door that had been swung open breaking the engineers mirror and maybe the windshield, but that was possibly 20 years ago. Don't remember whether it had been opened by thieves but there have been multiple cases of theft from RR cars in that area.
Intermodal equipment can sometimes become unbalanced, for various reasons, enough to foul the adjacent track if the track spacing is close. I remember reading about an engineer (I think it was out west on the Santa Fe) who on a left hand curve saw a trailer leaning out that he yelled at the brakeman on the other side of the cab to hit the floor, just in time before it struck the cab.
Trailer/container doors coming open aren't all that unusual. Yesterday a Z train was stopped because a FedEx trailer's door came open. I remember some years back a UPS trailer door came open and they called out a section gang to patrol the right of way and pick up packages.
jeffhergertTrailer/container doors coming open aren't all that unusual. Yesterday a Z train was stopped because a FedEx trailer's door came open. I remember some years back a UPS trailer door came open and they called out a section gang to patrol the right of way and pick up packages. Jeff
Such actions happen when doors are found open on UPS, FedEx and US Mail; or at least they did before PSR.
Found the crash information. It was Amtrak's Silver Meteor in 1994 in North Carolina.
https://www.upi.com/Archives/1994/05/16/Amtrak-train-derails-in-NC-1-dead/7944769060800/
chatanugaFound the crash information. It was Amtrak's Silver Meteor in 1994 in North Carolina. https://www.upi.com/Archives/1994/05/16/Amtrak-train-derails-in-NC-1-dead/7944769060800/ Kevin
https://dotlibrary.specialcollection.net/Document?db=DOT-RAILROAD&query=(select+4127)
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Standing too close to fast moving train will suck you in if you are unbalanced and very light weight.
Dust and dirt can get into eyes standing too Damm close also. Be careful.
Don't stand too close. 20 yrs ago 2 teen girls and a boy were were standing close to tracks when Amtrak going by and pushed boy in front and train killed him. Sad
Growing up along the NYC's old West Shore LIne (today CSX) in the northeast suburbs of New Jersey we were admonished by our parents to never - NEVER! - walk on the railroad tracks and to stay on the 'safe' side of the crossing gates when they're down. We were told the trains created wind that would suck us under the moving rail cars. Our parents did not sugar coat it when explaning to a ten year old kid: "You weigh less than sixty pounds, a train will suck you right under it before you even know you're off the ground!" Even as teens, after the original four-track main was reduced to two, we stayed off the tracks. In high school a friend was walking where the original center tracks had been when he saw a train approaching, being he was walking between the far-apart remaining tracks he felt safe; what he didn't hear was a train approaching from behind on the other track. Suddenly he was between two fast freights running in opposite directions, both many feet apart but close enough to create a tornado-like vortex. He threw himself to the gound and pulled his jacket over his head to fend off debris the wind was throwing around. Needless to say my friend never walked the tracks again.
Back in the 70's, some friends were taking train photos of the BN in Chillicothe, Iowa. They saw a flat car derail and it sheered every other bolt at rail joints. They ran. They did not know the hotbox signal to give the crew in the waycar. Nobody in town would come to the door when they tried to find a phone. They jumped in their car and took off for Ottumwa and ran up the stairs in the division offices (which were still there) and told the first person they saw. The train was almost out of town and was immediately stopped. The flat car rerailed itself, but was damaged and set out. The track was inspected and shut down for repair. The next train that would have passed would have been the east bound Amtrak. Days later, they were called by the railroad and asked for their social security numbers and were told they would each get a $25 savings bond. They showed up and were told they would not get the $25 bonds. They were each given a $100 bond and had their picture taken. They did not have photos of the derailment since they ran, but they retrieved a tape recorder and had the sounds of it.
Things are different today with cell phones that did not exist when this happened.
BaltACD You partially correct. Not all switches have latches. The NS yard in Raleigh NC has 'no latch' switches on the ladder tracks. We called them "run through" switches. The railroad did not like that term but they were designed for the points to move without breaking the spindle in the event of an accidental move the wrong way on a trailing movement. Saved a lot of time having the MOW department come and fix it before operations could continue. Things did tend to loosen up occasionally though so you have to be vigilant about properly checking the switch points every time you threw it. Unfortunately, in the video you can't see the latch, or lack of, but in didn't appear to me that he stepped on anything before he threw it. One other nit-picky thing, which I do, just ask my wife. We were taught that you can't properly check if the switch points fit up correctly on the rail opposite the switch stand unless you physically step over and look. Sometimes it may look right from the other side, but better to make absolutely sure. Too many lazy people take the short cuts. tree68 Flintlock76 I'm also surprised there was no way to lock it in place, but what do I know? There is, and it appeared to me that he did make sure the lock/latch was in place. It also appeared that he verified the position of the points. The bounce in the lever is not unusual. Odds are one of the cars picked the switch - perhaps a case of too sharp a profile on the flanges. Sharp flange or a worn switch point. There are keepers on 'switch ties' either side of the switch machine to secure the switch 'ball' and its activation bar. Brakeman steps on the treadle on the left to release the switch ball and rod and observes that the rod and ball are secured on the other side when completing throwing the switch. In the 2nd video it appears that both these things were done properly as well as the brakeman observing that the points did actually throw and mate against the stock rail.
You partially correct. Not all switches have latches. The NS yard in Raleigh NC has 'no latch' switches on the ladder tracks. We called them "run through" switches. The railroad did not like that term but they were designed for the points to move without breaking the spindle in the event of an accidental move the wrong way on a trailing movement. Saved a lot of time having the MOW department come and fix it before operations could continue. Things did tend to loosen up occasionally though so you have to be vigilant about properly checking the switch points every time you threw it. Unfortunately, in the video you can't see the latch, or lack of, but in didn't appear to me that he stepped on anything before he threw it.
One other nit-picky thing, which I do, just ask my wife. We were taught that you can't properly check if the switch points fit up correctly on the rail opposite the switch stand unless you physically step over and look. Sometimes it may look right from the other side, but better to make absolutely sure. Too many lazy people take the short cuts.
nsecbuengineerYou partially correct. Not all switches have latches. The NS yard in Raleigh NC has 'no latch' switches on the ladder tracks. We called them "run through" switches. The railroad did not like that term but they were designed for the points to move without breaking the spindle in the event of an accidental move the wrong way on a trailing movement. Saved a lot of time having the MOW department come and fix it before operations could continue. Things did tend to loosen up occasionally though so you have to be vigilant about properly checking the switch points every time you threw it. Unfortunately, in the video you can't see the latch, or lack of, but in didn't appear to me that he stepped on anything before he threw it. One other nit-picky thing, which I do, just ask my wife. We were taught that you can't properly check if the switch points fit up correctly on the rail opposite the switch stand unless you physically step over and look. Sometimes it may look right from the other side, but better to make absolutely sure. Too many lazy people take the short cuts.
The Run-through switches were also known a Racor Switches. While they can be trailed through without need of having the points lined for the movement - when used in a point facing direction the switch must be lined by use of the switch throwing mechanism, with the switch handle being latched in postion when it is thrown.
Scuttlebutt is that CSX removed Racor switches from the property because they weren't getting enough run through switch e-test failures.
We run an old Reading branch that has switches without latches. We use the switchlock as a poor man's keeper.
The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer, any other railroad, company, or person.
I have the impression that "run through" switches are also known as "spring"switches; after the points are forced over by wheels the points are moved back by a spring. As I recall, wherever they are used the ETT has words about them.
Johnny
DeggestyI have the impression that "run through" switches are also known as "spring"switches; after the points are forced over by wheels the points are moved back by a spring. As I recall, wherever they are used the ETT has words about them.
Different beasts. Run through switches aren't always spring. Some just flop over to the other side and stay there.
And always remember: EVERY switch can be a run through switch once!
Thanks, Zug. So, one that just flops over has to be lained back and locked after going throough it?
zugmann Deggesty I have the impression that "run through" switches are also known as "spring"switches; after the points are forced over by wheels the points are moved back by a spring. As I recall, wherever they are used the ETT has words about them. Different beasts. Run through switches aren't always spring. Some just flop over to the other side and stay there. And always remember: EVERY switch can be a run through switch once!
Deggesty I have the impression that "run through" switches are also known as "spring"switches; after the points are forced over by wheels the points are moved back by a spring. As I recall, wherever they are used the ETT has words about them.
Just don't reverse the move's direction after running through it.
zugmannDifferent beasts. Run through switches aren't always spring. Some just flop over to the other side and stay there.
I'm old enough to remember when streetcars rode the inclines in Cincinnati. They used a spring switch plus a trail and stay switch to route the streetcars onto the incline cars. When the desending car reached the bottom of the trip, it would pass through the trail and stay switch onto a short piece of single track and then go through a spring switch to the outbound street track. The arriving car would go through the spring switch to the single track and then the trail and stay switch would route it to the down car to go up. At the top of the incline was a similar arrangement. At the Fox River Trolley Museum, we use a trail and stay to route cars back to the track they originated from when running one car at a time. When we are operating two cars, we have to manually throw the switch when returning. We have spring switches on our siding just like many interurban lines did so meets don't need the conductor to throw the switches.
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