Trains.com

Amtrak pull apart Locked

1705 views
10 replies
1 rating 2 rating 3 rating 4 rating 5 rating
  • Member since
    May 2003
  • From: US
  • 25,292 posts
Posted by BaltACD on Saturday, November 24, 2018 10:41 PM

243129
 
BaltACD
We know no one employed by Amtrak since your retirement is up to your standards so everything that happens on Amtrak is a employee failure that your methods would have prevented. 

Absolutely. Had you ever been in the field instead of tethered to a desk you would understand that.

Good Efficiency Testing weeds out your kind.  Legend in your own mind.  I've watched them come and go.  There has never been a perfect employee in the history of rail transportation, and that includes you and me.

Never too old to have a happy childhood!

              

  • Member since
    May 2015
  • 1,836 posts
Posted by 243129 on Saturday, November 24, 2018 9:29 PM

BaltACD
We know no one employed by Amtrak since your retirement is up to your standards so everything that happens on Amtrak is a employee failure that your methods would have prevented.

Absolutely. Had you ever been in the field instead of tethered to a desk you would understand that.

  • Member since
    May 2003
  • From: US
  • 25,292 posts
Posted by BaltACD on Saturday, November 24, 2018 4:36 PM

243129
 
BaltACD
Guess there has never been a broken knuckle or a defective knuckle lock within a coupler. 

You cannot shake the sarcasm can you? I said "probable" and discounted nothing.

prob·a·ble
/ˈpräbəb(ə)l/
adjective
adjective: probable
1.
likely to be the case or to happen.
"it is probable that the economic situation will deteriorate further"
synonyms: likely, most likely, odds-on, expected, anticipated, predictable, foreseeable, ten to one;

Probable is probable - all possible failures are a part of probable. 

We know no one employed by Amtrak since your retirement is up to your standards so everything that happens on Amtrak is a employee failure that your methods would have prevented.

Never too old to have a happy childhood!

              

  • Member since
    June 2009
  • From: Dallas, TX
  • 6,952 posts
Posted by CMStPnP on Saturday, November 24, 2018 3:23 PM

243129
Crane's car was one of the two to break off." "She said she credits the man who pulled the emergency brake on the cars for the safety of everyone. She identified him as Reuben Clarke, a student at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. "He saved our lives tonight," Crane said. "Our car broke off from the rest of the train and was picking up speed. There was no Amtrak personnel in our car. Reuben calmly went into action and pulled the emergency brake at the front of the car." Given these statements it is virtually impossible to draw a conclusion but were I to venture a guess it would seem that employee error would be probable.

This does not make any sense to me because the air in the car keeps the brakes off the wheels it does not apply them.    So therefore, if the air hose connection with the locomotive is broken then the air is lost via broken hose and the brakes are applied.

So from what I understand about an air cock if it is turned off the air doesn't pass through the rubber hose but remains in the pipe with the brakes still released?    Then what would pulling the emergency brake do?   Dump the air from the car reservoirs directly?   Seems to me even with the air cocks closed at both ends of the train that without a resupply of air.......air pressure would still gradually drop via leaks.....and the brakes would apply at some point.

  • Member since
    May 2015
  • 1,836 posts
Posted by 243129 on Saturday, November 24, 2018 2:57 PM

BaltACD
Guess there has never been a broken knuckle or a defective knuckle lock within a coupler.

You cannot shake the sarcasm can you? I said "probable" and discounted nothing.

prob·a·ble
/ˈpräbəb(ə)l/
adjective
adjective: probable
1.
likely to be the case or to happen.
"it is probable that the economic situation will deteriorate further"
synonyms: likely, most likely, odds-on, expected, anticipated, predictable, foreseeable, ten to one;
  • Member since
    May 2003
  • From: US
  • 25,292 posts
Posted by BaltACD on Saturday, November 24, 2018 2:49 PM

243129
From CNN:
Amtrak on Thursday said Train 68 was operating with one locomotive and six passenger cars; the separation occurred between the first and second passenger cars.

"Following the separation, the train's safety systems functioned as designed and immediately stopped both sections of the train at a safe distance."

"Crane said two cars were added to the train when she boarded in Rensselaer, New York, and that she and her son were told to sit in the first of the additions.

Crane's car was one of the two to break off."
"She said she credits the man who pulled the emergency brake on the cars for the safety of everyone. She identified him as Reuben Clarke, a student at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
"He saved our lives tonight," Crane said. "Our car broke off from the rest of the train and was picking up speed. There was no Amtrak personnel in our car. Reuben calmly went into action and pulled the emergency brake at the front of the car."
Given these statements it is virtually impossible to draw a conclusion but were I to venture a guess it would seem that employee error would be probable.

Guess there has never been a broken knuckle or a defective knuckle lock within a coupler.

Never too old to have a happy childhood!

              

  • Member since
    May 2015
  • 1,836 posts
Posted by 243129 on Saturday, November 24, 2018 12:08 PM

From CNN:

Amtrak on Thursday said Train 68 was operating with one locomotive and six passenger cars; the separation occurred between the first and second passenger cars.

"Following the separation, the train's safety systems functioned as designed and immediately stopped both sections of the train at a safe distance."

"Crane said two cars were added to the train when she boarded in Rensselaer, New York, and that she and her son were told to sit in the first of the additions.

Crane's car was one of the two to break off."
"She said she credits the man who pulled the emergency brake on the cars for the safety of everyone. She identified him as Reuben Clarke, a student at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
"He saved our lives tonight," Crane said. "Our car broke off from the rest of the train and was picking up speed. There was no Amtrak personnel in our car. Reuben calmly went into action and pulled the emergency brake at the front of the car."
Given these statements it is virtually impossible to draw a conclusion but were I to venture a guess it would seem that employee error would be probable.
  • Member since
    July 2010
  • From: Louisiana
  • 2,310 posts
Posted by Paul of Covington on Saturday, November 24, 2018 10:25 AM

   In a car full of panicky passengers, you're going to get all kinds of reports.   That someone pulled the emergency may be true, but I would think that the the cars were already in emergency.  If not, wouldn't it take just a few seconds for the disconnected cars to crash into the forward section?

   They smelled smoke--could that have been hot brakes?

_____________ 

  "A stranger's just a friend you ain't met yet." --- Dave Gardner

  • Member since
    December 2004
  • 707 posts
Posted by tdmidget on Friday, November 23, 2018 10:26 AM

There is also a story that a passenger stop the rear section by pulling an emergency brake. That would seem to indicate that the angle cock was closed.

  • Member since
    June 2009
  • From: Dallas, TX
  • 6,952 posts
Posted by CMStPnP on Friday, November 23, 2018 5:14 AM

243129
Could this be more Amtrak ineptitude?

I don't think you can prevent that 100%, even with inpections.  I believe the coupler failed.

  • Member since
    May 2015
  • 1,836 posts
Amtrak pull apart
Posted by 243129 on Thursday, November 22, 2018 8:54 PM

Could this be more Amtrak ineptitude?

https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/22/us/amtrak-cars-disconnected/index.html

Join our Community!

Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.

Search the Community

Newsletter Sign-Up

By signing up you may also receive occasional reader surveys and special offers from Trains magazine.Please view our privacy policy