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Trooper Drags Man From Car as Train Hits Car

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Posted by mudchicken on Thursday, October 17, 2019 11:28 AM

tree68

 

 
Overmod
There's a difference between 'legally permissible' flatting and noise and what the agency or its customers consider tolerable.

 

I was talking to someone just the other day who has knowledge of wheel condition requirements for passenger equipment.  

 

They're pretty stringent.  It's not often you notice any flat wheel noise out of Amtrak equipment.

 

(It's as much to protect the rail and castings as it is to protect the railcar wheels)

Mudchicken Nothing is worth taking the risk of losing a life over. Come home tonight in the same condition that you left home this morning in. Safety begins with ME.... cinscocom-west
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Posted by tree68 on Thursday, October 17, 2019 11:21 AM

Overmod
There's a difference between 'legally permissible' flatting and noise and what the agency or its customers consider tolerable.

I was talking to someone just the other day who has knowledge of wheel condition requirements for passenger equipment.  

They're pretty stringent.  It's not often you notice any flat wheel noise out of Amtrak equipment.

LarryWhistling
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Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you
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Posted by mudchicken on Thursday, October 17, 2019 9:01 AM

I wonder how that gets coded in the FRA crossing accident files...

 

One big atttaboy for the law officer.Wow Maybe Johnny can post the follow-up when it finally gets to the local papers on exactly what happened.

Mudchicken Nothing is worth taking the risk of losing a life over. Come home tonight in the same condition that you left home this morning in. Safety begins with ME.... cinscocom-west
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Posted by Overmod on Thursday, October 17, 2019 8:20 AM

Goodtiming
In An event like this when the train is locked and slid for a half mile, are the wheels checked to see if they are out of round?

It will be readily apparent if they are not, even if a careful visual investigation of the wheeltreads is made and shows no obvious damage, when the train is moved again.

Even if the antislide equipment worked correctly, the wheels may be re-turned before the equipment is put back in service.  There's a difference between 'legally permissible' flatting and noise and what the agency or its customers consider tolerable.

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Posted by zugmann on Thursday, October 17, 2019 8:10 AM

Euclid
It looks like the train stopped within 5 car lengths of impact; and likely no more than 7 car lengths from brake application.

I'm guessing he was in emergency long before 2 carlengths of impact.

It's been fun.  But it isn't much fun anymore.   Signing off for now. 


  

The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer, any other railroad, company, or person.t fun any

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Posted by CSSHEGEWISCH on Thursday, October 17, 2019 7:46 AM

This story made the national news on NBC and ABC and also showed up on local news in Chicago at 10:00 PM.  Lynn asked me if I knew the location and I saw enough of the paint job to recognize that it was in Utah before the newsreader mentioned that fact.

The daily commute is part of everyday life but I get two rides a day out of it. Paul
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Posted by Euclid on Thursday, October 17, 2019 7:29 AM

It looks like the train stopped within 5 car lengths of impact; and likely no more than 7 car lengths from brake application.  Appears to be moving 40-50 mph on impact.  It is not often that we get to see how much time it actually takes to stop a passenger train.

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Posted by tree68 on Thursday, October 17, 2019 7:18 AM

The wheels would not have been locked up, especially for a half mile.  Even with a full-on emergency application and the relatively light passenger cars, the wheels would have continued to turn.

Flats on wheels are more often due to a handbrake being left set.  Since handbrakes usually only work on one or two axles per car, it's not hard to move such a car, and not as noticable if it's on a longer train.

I'm kinda curious how the motorist ended up on the tracks.  

 

LarryWhistling
Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) 
Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you
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Come ride the rails with me!
There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...

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Posted by daveklepper on Thursday, October 17, 2019 1:02 AM

Sliding wheels do not stop a train as quickly as those that still rotate.  Read the air-brake article in November Trains.  The locomotive and the modern cars have anti-slide controt in the braking system, where if one axle starts slower than the other, brake pressur is reduced slightly.

Still, your answer is still yes, the probably did check, and perhaps one or two axles did have wheel slide.

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Posted by Goodtiming on Wednesday, October 16, 2019 11:27 PM

In An event like this when the train is locked and slid for a half mile, are the wheels checked to see if they are out of round?

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Posted by Paul_D_North_Jr on Wednesday, October 16, 2019 9:50 PM

Frontrunner commuter train.  Stopped pretty quickly - can't tell when the braking started, but the rear of the train stopped about where the vehicle was.  

"This Fascinating Railroad Business" (title of 1943 book by Robert Selph Henry of the AAR)
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Trooper Drags Man From Car as Train Hits Car
Posted by Goodtiming on Wednesday, October 16, 2019 7:08 PM

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