In the latest Trains there was mention of the juvenile delinquent who released the brakes on a train in NY that subsequently crashed into a steam locomotive on display and another train in a station. Then it said no charges would be filed. WTF? Is vandalism and destruction of property, let alone endangering people, not a criminal offense? Valuable life lesson for some punk kid here.........do anything reckless you want and there's no penalty?Roger Huber
Some times police are crazy.(ive experianced it) My grandpas golf clubs got stolen and they found them at a sell it again sports(a sports shop for resale items) and they said that he had to buy them again!!
oldline1 In the latest Trains there was mention of the juvenile delinquent who released the brakes on a train in NY that subsequently crashed into a steam locomotive on display and another train in a station. Then it said no charges would be filed. WTF? Is vandalism and destruction of property, let alone endangering people, not a criminal offense? Valuable life lesson for some punk kid here.........do anything reckless you want and there's no penalty?Roger Huber
1st question - how old was the vandal? Someone that is 15-18 doesn't have the same understanding of right and wrong as someone in the 10-12 range and younger. What good does locking away a 12 year old do - makes him a more skilled criminal when he 'graduates' from Juvi at the age of adulthood.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
Kid was 13.
And there is a lot of blame going around. From: http://www.twcnews.com/nys/central-ny/news/2015/07/31/whos-to-blame-for-utica-train-crash.html
"Why wasn't it locked down better, why wasn't it secure? Why weren't there wheel chucks or something that would hold that car in place if something liked that happened?" said Picente.
...
Fenno said all the rules had been followed and a safety device called a de-rail was in place, but it failed and the car went through. They are currently looking into why that happened.
Utica police say the boy who accidentally put the car in motion is not being held responsible. Police say they could not charge him with trespassing, because the closest no trespassing sign was about a mile away.
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
zugmann ... Fenno said all the rules had been followed and a safety device called a de-rail was in place, but it failed and the car went through. They are currently looking into why that happened. ...
I wonder if the derail in place means that it was set for the derail position; or if the location was equipped with a derail (device). If it was the latter, was such device left and locked in its derailing position?
If the derail was set for derailing, and if it failed to do so, that is something that needs to be explained.
BaltACD oldline1 In the latest Trains there was mention of the juvenile delinquent who released the brakes on a train in NY that subsequently crashed into a steam locomotive on display and another train in a station. Then it said no charges would be filed. WTF? Is vandalism and destruction of property, let alone endangering people, not a criminal offense? Valuable life lesson for some punk kid here.........do anything reckless you want and there's no penalty?Roger Huber 1st question - how old was the vandal? Someone that is 15-18 doesn't have the same understanding of right and wrong as someone in the 10-12 range and younger. What good does locking away a 12 year old do - makes him a more skilled criminal when he 'graduates' from Juvi at the age of adulthood.
Absolutely correct.
C&NW, CA&E, MILW, CGW and IC fan
EuclidIf the derail was set for derailing, and if it failed to do so, that is something that needs to be explained.
(1) Steam engine with rigid axles, no lead or trailing truck and blind middle drivers won't work with a flopover or portable derail. (minor bump in the road, would not be surprised if it pulled the 4 set spikes on the way by and ripped it off the tie)
(2) If it was the wrong size for the rail it won't work on much of anything.
The brat is now gonna be tagged for life, regardless. Parents too.
mudchicken(1) Steam engine with rigid axles, no lead or trailing truck and blind middle drivers won't work with a flopover or portable derail. (minor bump in the road, would not be surprised if it pulled the 4 set spikes on the way by and ripped it off the tie)
I believe they wre referring to the covered hopper that was released, not the steam lokie.
mudchicken Euclid If the derail was set for derailing, and if it failed to do so, that is something that needs to be explained. (1) Steam engine with rigid axles, no lead or trailing truck and blind middle drivers won't work with a flopover or portable derail. (minor bump in the road, would not be surprised if it pulled the 4 set spikes on the way by and ripped it off the tie) (2) If it was the wrong size for the rail it won't work on much of anything. The brat is now gonna be tagged for life, regardless. Parents too.
Euclid If the derail was set for derailing, and if it failed to do so, that is something that needs to be explained.
It was not a question of the steam engine failing to be derailed. It was the runaway covered hopper that failed to get derailed.
De-rails are not reliable in my expirience. I've seen several cars go through at both high and low speed.
As a result, I have come to distrust de-rails. Don't get me wrong, they have their uses, but you shouldn't rely on just one (Or even two) devices to prevent an ancident or stop one. It is better to over-protect than under-protect. Always.
Safety first, no matter the cost of time or money. It isn't worth somebody getting hurt over. Fortuanately, nobody was in this case. And both parties involved learned from the expirience, hopefully enough to prevent a similar incident later on. Too bad only the kid learned a lesson (I hope he learned one, anyways), and not the whole city, or state, or country!
I hope everyone relises with this accident that:
A) This stuff is not a joke. Railroads can become very dangerous really quick if you don't know what you're doing. And you can't stop a train easily. Even if it's only one car.
B) You can't stop stupid, so put safety measures in effect to protect against it. If in doubt, over-protect, rather than under-protect.
Happy (SAFE) railroading,
When you can't prosecute the juvenile offender because of his age, you often ought to be able to go after the parents for lack of supervision. Don't know about this case, but the hour at which some of these crimes are committed is absolutely ridiculous.
When you were a kid -- what time did you have to be home for the night?
The only 100% effective derail is the split rail type - the flop over type can be 'jumped' by moving equipment.
BaltACD The only 100% effective derail is the split rail type - the flop over type can be 'jumped' by moving equipment.
The runaway container flats at Fort Drum a few years ago resulted in the installation shortly thereafter of a split rail derail.
A skate probably would have prevented the hopper in Utica from taking off, too. And the kids would have a really difficult time taking it out.
I'm sure a part of the whole situation involved "we've never had a problem there before."
The NYC switcher ended up being a big bumper, after the hopper ran through two regular bumpers. The mass of the loco prevented the hopper from running through the tower, which might well have resulted in the bridge over the CSX mains coming down.
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...
One thing not discussed was the young offender's attitude toward the result of his actions. Hands in pockets; "Gee, I didn't think it would do that." versus hands over face, "God, what did I do? Is anybody hurt?" between sobs. The latter is more likely to gather sympathy, and leniency.
If the youngster already figured out the lesson to be learned he doesn't need more teaching.
Chuck
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