The Chicago derailment

[wabash1]

on a dwarf signal as stated before yes that could be seen as a clear. if it is a over head signal no mistake. he was not paying attention.

iron ken i can understand how you would take exception to the statement . I know all about the ble and the carrier fight on remotes we have had several mishaps with them and we have reported them to the fra. but because the carrier doesnt do anything to the employees operating them ( time off for rule violation) the fra wont follow up with the claim. in other words its going to take a very bad haz-mat spill with death and evacuations before anything will happen.

Ed you are right to a point. this dont haft to be the engineers regular run to be out there. the fra made a mistake ( in my opinion) when they said to be current on a territory up to a year. not 6 months like before. it might have been 11 months since this engineer made this run and he was leagle according to the carrier and the govermant..

There is other questions but i will wait til i see more information on this incedent.

[CShaveRR]

The conductor was probably busy collecting fares. I can't imagine that he was oblivious to the fact that they were on the "wrong" track and were going to cross over at 47th, but that's possible.

No cab signals on the ROCK.

The signals for 47th Street are on a signal bridge, if I read my CORA timetable graphics right. There is no way that a trained engineer could mistake a Diverging Clear with the top light out for a Clear, in broad daylight.

My suspicions are that the engineer was not fully attentive, and did not have the clear signal he claims to have had. as an "agreement" employee, I almost hate to have to say it, but it doesn't look good for him or his story.

I hope Metra installs a higher-speed crossover there, now that the original one was wiped out. Even a 20-mph (#15) crossover would be good.

[edblysard]

Was this the crews regular run?
If so, where was the conductor?
Both are responsible for keeping the train under control.
And if it was their regular assignment, they already knew the speed limit, on tangent track or through crossovers.
Stay Frosty,
Ed

[Mookie]

It sound like, to me, that no matter what signals were in use, the engineer was just plain going too fast! I can be so profound at some times! Any further word on engineer impairment? And where was the conductor?

Maybe like the NY ferry captain - and the Mookie on any car ride - couldn't stay awa....

[eolafan]

Wabash, I do believe METRA is on a cab signal system, and NO he was not in emergency when he went into the cross-over.

[Anonymous]

Oh c'mon Wabash......the carrier would never keep safety issues or malfunctions from the public. Look at the remote safety issue. The companies safety records differ from the BLE's. Of course we believe the company...............yeah right.
Ken

[wabash1]

2 more questions

1) is the metra on cab signal system?
2) what did the tapes read was he in emergency before he derailed. did the signal system show on the tapes and was the indication a diverging clear .

my previous statement is made due to the fact if the red aspect was out it would be interpited as a clear not diverging and it would be kept secreat from the public.

[wabash1]

it dont matter if it is a dwarf signal or a mast signal you can see the signal . either he didnt see the correct signal ( either a light burned out or interpted wrong) and the result was a derailment. from a distance you can see the signal on the ground or above. i would venture to say he had the wrong indication showing. not many engineers would run 50 mph over the speed limit on perpose.

[eolafan]

This derailment was on the old Rock Island line that paralells the Dan Ryan Expressway, and yes the train was doing 69 mph approaching a 10 mph crossover signal (red over green) and supposedly (according to the Chicago Tribune this morning) the engineer either did not see or ignored that signal (two signals actually). I had to wonder if the signal was a dwarf signal close to the ground or one on a signal bridge overhead. The locomotives in question seem to me to have the engineers seating position quite a bit further back than those on the EMD F40PH units, and also the nose of the units are much longer than the F40 and are sloped so that I could understand an engineer not seeing a signal close to the ground, especially at nearly 70 mph, but if the signals are on a bridge then this possibility is non existent.

[JoeKoh]

ouch!
stay safe
joe

[Anonymous]

Yes the train was speeding. The train was doing around 60 mph in a 10 mph. crossover. The two units were the new MP-36phi or something like that. The leading unit had some significant damage. Hope this helps.

[Anonymous]

How many of you were aware of the train derailment up in Chicago?I heard that the train was speeding