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News Wire: Rock Island streamliner appearance in Chicago cancelled

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Posted by Brian Schmidt on Thursday, September 6, 2018 1:19 PM

CHICAGO, Ill. — An appearance at LaSalle Street Station by two historic streamlined Rock Island diesels — E8 No. 652 and E6 No. 630 — during Nickel Plate Road 2-8-4 No. 765’s Joliet Rocket event Sept. 15 and 16 has been cancel...

http://trn.trains.com/news/news-wire/2018/09/06-rock-island-streamliners-appearance-in-chicago-cancelled

Brian Schmidt, Editor, Classic Trains magazine

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Posted by Savage Tunnel on Thursday, September 6, 2018 3:49 PM
Fail to plan: plan to fail. I suppose it would have been wiser to check the units mechanical condition before again promising something that can't be delivered?
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Posted by GERALD L MCFARLANE JR on Thursday, September 6, 2018 4:31 PM

Savage Tunnel
Fail to plan: plan to fail. I suppose it would have been wiser to check the units mechanical condition before again promising something that can't be delivered?

The story actually leaves a lot of information unanswered.  It specifically states 1 of the 4 carriers involved found defects that precluded moving the units to Chicago as repairs couldn't be made in time.  What of the other 3 carriers involved, did they find the same defects or did they determine the defects didn't hinder towing 2 dead diesels to Chicago.  IF the other 3 carriers had no problems with the units, why not just cut out the 4th carrier that did and route via the 3 or find another carrier that doesn't have a problem with them.  Those questions are not answered in the article provided.

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Posted by CMStPnP on Thursday, September 6, 2018 10:39 PM

GERALD L MCFARLANE JR
The story actually leaves a lot of information unanswered.  It specifically states 1 of the 4 carriers involved found defects that precluded moving the units to Chicago as repairs couldn't be made in time.  What of the other 3 carriers involved, did they find the same defects or did they determine the defects didn't hinder towing 2 dead diesels to Chicago.  IF the other 3 carriers had no problems with the units, why not just cut out the 4th carrier that did and route via the 3 or find another carrier that doesn't have a problem with them.  Those questions are not answered in the article provided.

Don't you think thats going to impact METRA's reputation on safety just a little bit via public perception, if something goes wrong?

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Posted by Overmod on Friday, September 7, 2018 4:39 PM

If I remember correctly, at least one railroad (I think CSX) now has a restriction in place against handling Hyatt roller bearings, for what they consider 'safety' reasons.  I don't have my notes accessible but seem to recall this had to do with how they handled end thrust.

Other railroads may not have the same technical objections about Hyatt detail design, so I suspect this is not a "critical safety issue missed by railroads" as some here and presumably elsewhere seem to be trying to muckrake up.

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