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BNSF Head-on Collision in the Texas Panhandle

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Posted by ROBERT WILLISON on Thursday, June 30, 2016 1:51 PM

Just responding to certain poster referring to knowing a certain dispatcher who is not qualified.

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Posted by Paul of Covington on Thursday, June 30, 2016 1:51 PM

   It has been said that this area was CTC controlled.   I was wondering: even with CTC, aren't there also track circuits that would prevent conflicting signals?   If so, and if an engineer was given clearance and sees a red signal, wouldn't he double check with dispatcher?

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Posted by Norm48327 on Thursday, June 30, 2016 12:24 PM

tree68
Clearly, something went wrong. It remains to be seen what that might have been.

Agreed; could have been human error, mechanical failure, computer error, ad infinitum.

OTOH, there are some who have already, in their minds, decided the cause and continue to wildly speculate.

Norm


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Posted by tree68 on Thursday, June 30, 2016 11:59 AM

ROBERT WILLISON
Who really thinks talking about a certain person performance on here is any where near appropriate.

Unless I've missed something, we're discussing a person in the abstract at this point - not a specific individual.  As such, I would opine that it's little different than discussing track bolts.  

This could also be a case of an inadequate shift turnover, or a very large area of responsibility, or a problem with the support system (computer programs, paper copies, etc).

Clearly, something went wrong.  It remains to be seen what that might have been.

LarryWhistling
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Posted by ROBERT WILLISON on Thursday, June 30, 2016 11:44 AM

Who really thinks talking about a certain person performance on here is any where near appropriate. Let the railroad  and the feds do the investigation in private and on site. This kind of speculation is never a good thing, making the site into a tabloid.

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Posted by ROBERT WILLISON on Thursday, June 30, 2016 11:43 AM

Who really thinks talking about a certain person performance on here is any where near appropriate. Let the railroad do the investigation on private and on site. This kind of speculation is never a good thing, making the site into a tabloid.

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Posted by schlimm on Thursday, June 30, 2016 10:47 AM

So, the 64 dollar question is: Were there questions about the qualifications of the  dispatcher involved with the W. Texas head-on?

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Posted by My Shadow on Thursday, June 30, 2016 9:51 AM

daveklepper

ED, how possibliy could BNSF put a dispatcher in charge who was not really qualified?   BNSF seems to me one of the most heads-up rarilroads around.  I sm really puzzled.   There must be something more. 



Accident occurred on the BN in 1984.  The dispatcher involved was working only his second shift as a qualified train dispatcher.  Ten days before the accident, one of the dispatchers who had been training the dispatcher in question recommended additional break-in time and expressed concern that he was not yet ready to be marked up as a qualified dispatcher.  The Chief Dispatcher nonetheless marked up said dispatcher.  Further, the BN's Dispatcher selection and training program came under considerable scrutiny following this accident.  BN's dispatching practices and oversight again came to the forefront on the heels of the head-on collision at Ledger, MT in 1991.

Official NTSB Accident Investigation can be read in full here

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Posted by daveklepper on Thursday, June 30, 2016 12:17 AM

ED, how possibliy could BNSF put a dispatcher in charge who was not really qualified?   BNSF seems to me one of the most heads-up rarilroads around.  I sm really puzzled.   There must be something more.

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Posted by NP Eddie on Wednesday, June 29, 2016 4:58 PM

sfbrakeman:

Please call me on my cell. 763-234-9306 (No I'm not crazy--railroaders stick together!) I knew the dispatcher involved in the Motley, MN head-on. He was not qualified for the job---plus about three other things were not in his favor.

Ed Burns

NP-BN-BNSF from Northtown.

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Posted by SFbrkmn on Tuesday, June 28, 2016 9:23 PM

Eb LACLPC ran red block east end M1 to make meet w/wb CHISBD @ 0817am. Engr on wb jumped. Other  three workers are missing. This took place about 3/4 mi east of depot which serves as city hall...One of the missing workers I have worked with in the past on the western end of the Lajunt Sub. This is hard to take. Out of being thoughtfull to the families involved,  I would  suggest not to  spend much time on "this or that" and let it be for now.          

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Posted by samfp1943 on Tuesday, June 28, 2016 8:30 PM

cefinkjr

Heard a report earlier that "mangled box cars were piled up".  Didn't think the reporter knew what he was talking about; pictures prove it.

Bombing in Turkey has pushed this off of Fox News though.  They can't seem to handle more than one news story at a time.  ADD?

 

Just a short time ago, the first Westbound (domestic Stacks, and TOFC) of the day, passed here headed to Wellington(Ks.) and beyond...

   The last train through here was late Monday night.  A Stacker with mostly domestic cans.  That seems to be the train that was stopped near Panhandle,TX., and was hit by an eastbound container train.

   From the photos it appeared to be mostly Import/Export containers (?).. One of the film clips, that was amongst the early reporting seemed to be taken(apparently, by a passing motorist(?) from the area adjacent,and parallel to US Hwy 60... The brief clip seemed to show the eastbound train continuing to pile cars, and containers, as it continued forward to the point of collision with the other train, and into the area on fire(?)  

There have been no further reports of the three missing crew men; only of the one survivor, who apparently jumped from his train, at some point. And is hospitalized ?

 

 


 

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Posted by cefinkjr on Tuesday, June 28, 2016 6:27 PM

Heard a report earlier that "mangled box cars were piled up".  Didn't think the reporter knew what he was talking about; pictures prove it.

Bombing in Turkey has pushed this off of Fox News though.  They can't seem to handle more than one news story at a time.  ADD?

Chuck
Allen, TX

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Posted by Norm48327 on Tuesday, June 28, 2016 5:59 PM

Mr. Travis will be along directly to tell us who was at fault and how this could have been prevented.

Norm


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Posted by rluke on Tuesday, June 28, 2016 4:47 PM

Report says that 3 crew members are missing.  One jumped. He is the injured crewman.

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Posted by BaltACD on Tuesday, June 28, 2016 11:50 AM

Somebody didn't have authority to be on that track at that time; or if they had authority it was improperly given by the Train Dispatcher.

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Posted by ChuckCobleigh on Tuesday, June 28, 2016 11:27 AM

beaulieu

This morning two BNSF trains collided head-on on the Panhandle Sub. No word on the condition of the two crews. The Panhandle Sub. is Two Main Tracks with CTC. It is not yet equipped with PTC. 

News10 video at crash site

Gobs of stills as well on the KFDA site.  Two stack trains on north track, right at east end of Panhandle.  Big mess. One injured person transported to an Amarillo hospital in stable condition.

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BNSF Head-on Collision in the Texas Panhandle
Posted by beaulieu on Tuesday, June 28, 2016 10:58 AM

This morning two BNSF trains collided head-on on the Panhandle Sub. No word on the condition of the two crews. The Panhandle Sub. is Two Main Tracks with CTC. It is not yet equipped with PTC. 

News10 video at crash site

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