If he were interested in his job he would have been interested in following the rules, and he would have been interested in noticing signals on his route. And the UP conductor would also have shown some interest in follwoing the safety rules of his employer. I've stated nothing unfair here...these dodos are responsible for what happened. Period.
Ulrich Maybe had a railfan been in the cab on that fateful day at least SOMEBODY would have been alert enough to see the signal. As it was..we have apparently have an engineer who wasn't interested in doing his job or in following the rules and we have a conductor on the UP train of the same low calibre. Maybe the rails should hire railfans... people who have at a least a passing interest in their work tend to have fewer accidents...that makes sense.
Maybe had a railfan been in the cab on that fateful day at least SOMEBODY would have been alert enough to see the signal. As it was..we have apparently have an engineer who wasn't interested in doing his job or in following the rules and we have a conductor on the UP train of the same low calibre. Maybe the rails should hire railfans... people who have at a least a passing interest in their work tend to have fewer accidents...that makes sense.
I think that's a really unfair statement. There are thousands of workers out there every day that do their jobs and do them competently whether they are fans or not.
Pointing a finger at this engineer and making the statement that the industry would be a lot safer if railfans were employed in his place is just silly, too. For one thing, it seems to me that he had more than a passing interest in the railroad as more than just a job. If it were just part of the daily grind, I have a feeling he wouldn't have been going to the lengths he was to get people in the cab and such.
-ChrisWest Chicago, ILChristopher May Fine Art Photography"In wisdom gathered over time I have found that every experience is a form of exploration." ~Ansel Adams
There has been a lot of talk about all the text messages. I always kind of wondered if what was said in those messages might reveal something. Yikes.
karldotcomdid you read those text messages? good grief. http://www.ntsb.gov/Dockets/Railroad/DCA08MR009/414046.pdf
did you read those text messages? good grief.
http://www.ntsb.gov/Dockets/Railroad/DCA08MR009/414046.pdf
Wow... Now I know why railroads don't like to hire railfans, or more specifically, those classified as "foamers" by some people...
My train videos - http://www.youtube.com/user/karldotcom
I'm listening to it right now... Interesting stuff.
Also regarding the crash, it is now being reported that the conductor of the UP train tested positive for marijuana.
Like that had anything to do with the crash!
I don't know how long this will be vaild:
http://www.capitolconnection.gmu.edu/ntsb/live/ntsblive-cc.htm
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