BNSF Coal train arrives with "only" part of train!

Trains Magazine General Discussion
1

This is from the Lincoln railfan club letter. 08/11/04.

At times citizens become so irate at times at having crossings blocked that they take the law into their own hands. A dog catcher crew was sent to Cheney road to bring in a coal empty. The crew got on the train,noticed that the EOT reading showed normal air pressure in the rear end of the train and started to pull it into lincoln,ne. They got their train into west F-5 and were in the crew van headed for the yard office than a call on the radio, “Did you bring in the whole train?” The crew answered in the affirmative and lincoln yard asked them to check when the Kansas City Line Dispatcher called to say he showed a train without any power at Old Cheney Road (a non-DPU empty).
The crew was “Sumbfounded” to find out they brought in “only” the engines and “only 40 cars”. Subsequent investigation revealed that a person or persons unknown had turned the angel cocks on both sides of the cut of the train,they pulled the Coupler pin then tied the hand Brakes on the rear of the train!!!
[bow]BNSF[bow]

2

Dear Readers,

A few years back a Unit Coal Train with Remote Slave Locomotives on the Bugaboo Subdivision was pulling up the Main at Siding for a Meet on Empties who were to Head In.

The Loads had a UDE ( Undesired Emergency ) Brake Application.

Could not recover Air, so assumed Train had broken Apart.

The Meet going down Siding saw where break was, and Changed Knuckle from his Unit and Backed Loads to Joint and Cut In Air, then Pulled down Siding and lined himself out on Switch, leaving it Lined for Siding as no Caboose.

Loads had had trouble with FRED and was Operating without him.

Recovered Air behind Slaves and Pulled Out North.

Etys got to Objective Terminal, and another Loads Pulled Out on his Arrival.

First Loads goes by Talking Scanner and is 120 or so Axles Short on Count.

Second Loads just Arriving at Red Switch at Siding and had to Stop to Restore Same to Normal to go up Main.

He hears Strange Axle Count on Loads ahead at same time as he Spots Cars on Main ahead in Headlight.

Having just restarted from Lining Switch Got Stopped in time.

First Loads had pulled apart in TWO places, and Air Flow from Slaves let Brakes Release despite Angle **** Open.

Track Speed Fifty.

3

BNSF SD70MAC,

Did the crew only get half pay?

Jay

4

[(-D]!

5

That is hard to believe. Great story, well worth hearing about it. That is a first for me.

6

i can only buy into it partly… to many things sound strange for me to belive it 100%… i can belive it being cut…but the air reading on the rear lives me questioning the story… the only way this could have been done without the engineer not knowing it would have been that someone closed the agle cocks at the cut befor the trian pulled…but after the brakes where released… becouse if the brakes where applied by the inbound crew that went on the law…the outbound crew would have to relese them… thus showing as a reading going up on the HTD…and second… after you get so far out of range of th EOT…you lose communication with it…you get a NO COM message…3rd thing is that no crews on any trains they passed didnt tell them that they had NO EOT on the rear of the train?.. 4th…even if the inbound crew didnt set the brakes… the NO COM and NO EOT might have tipped them off…
but it goes to show you that anything can happen if this story is true… always stop streched when you can… and i do an applicaion and releace of the brakes when i get on an outlawed train…if the inbound crew did not set any air…just to make sure i have a solid brakepipe…even though we are supost to set a min of 10lb not more then full service any time we stop…
csx engineer

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Wouldn’t the engineer and conductor realized something was wrong when they passed a detector announcing that their axle count was much shorter that upon departure?

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Methinks this is SW Lincoln which would be one of the main lines into the yards. Will have to go look and see, but if it is, it is one of the lines we watch on weekends. They do have a tendency to block crossings and if it was in the Salt Valley View area - it wouldn’t surprise me. Think there may be more than a few railroad people that live in that area. So could be very possible. At least from the standpoint of someone having the ability to do it. Not sure about the train response to it.

Hmmm

Mookie

9

I thinks the crew needs a refresher in doing a road test.
Randy

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CSXEngineer: ever see what happens when a train aiir line gets folded over and the gladhand gets stuck in the coupler/ pin lever rigging???

Witnessed one case of an RCE Set taking off in a yard going back and forth between the roundhouse derails with nobody on the RCE consist. Turns out a radioman working on a bad-order RCE radioset accross the yard in his office was the cause[:I][:I][:I]

Everybody sure there wasn’t a weed-weasel out there making an efficiency test and sought to prove a point ( a la Randy’s hint?)

11

Dear Readers,

Like most Railway Stories they get twisted in the Telling.

The Loaded Coal Train Pulling Apart on the Bugaboo Sub. is true, I spoke to the Conductor.

The Engineer is now called “Half-a-Train Wayne”.

The only reason they were not pulled out of service is that the FRED had been giving problems and they had received Authority to proceed without it to next major Terminal at the end of their run.

They did a Brake Test and their Change Off Crew Incoming watched him Pull Out and all was fine.

When the UDE happened, the train broke in Two places, the Rear Portion catching up to the Middle Portion and looked Coupled in Headlight when Meet passed it in Siding.

Meet had already changed Knuckle on Pull Apart closer to Head End, and no one never expected another in same Train.

Don’t know how far back from Slave the second Pull Apart was, but Release Air Pressure from Feed Valve on Slave did get some, if not all Brakes to Release despite Open Angle ****.

With Thirty or so Cars left behind on Main, Train now 3900 Tons Lighter, and lots of Power, so could Drag with some Brakes Set.

Second Loads was Restoring Switch when First Loads went by Talking Scanner and First Loads was discussing wrong Axle Count and wondered if Scanner Defective. Apparently Scanner did not indicate anything HOT like Sticking Brakes.

I understand the Second Loads Backed Up Clear of Switch, then using Lead Unit only, Pushed Loads on Main out over North Switch and then Backed thru Siding with Loads on Nose, cutting them off in North End of Siding.

Backed out onto own Train at South End and Departed.

Loads handled by another Train.

Remote Operation had all sorts of Thrills.

12

yes i have seen the problems that a pinched air hose can cause… now with someone saying that the EOT was having problems…that makes a little bit more sence…
csx engineer

13

Aren’t there usually leaks in the trainline? Once the back end of the train is cut off from the locomotives’ air compressors wouldn’t the pressure eventually drop to 0 psig in the isolated section?