Even so, wouldn’t it have been more journalistically even-handed if that release had used a term such as "corrosion- (or "rust’-) accelerating bacteria (or “microorganisms”)?
“Steel-eating bacteria” is just too close to “flesh-eating bacteria” that the writer should have hesitated a moment and gone with a – well – more scientific explanation. Why scare the public needlessly?- a.s.
Even so, wouldn’t it have been more journalistically even-handed if that release had used a term such as "corrosion- (or "rust’-) accelerating bacteria (or “microorganisms”)?
“Steel-eating bacteria” is just too close to “flesh-eating bacteria” that the writer should have hesitated a moment and gone with a – well – more scientific explanation. Why scare the public needlessly?- a.s.
At first glance, it would appear that either the train was going too fast for the switch, (operations) or that the switch points split (Possible maintenance issue).
Or, they were testing a new runaway train halting device…like the ones for trucks that you always find at the bottom of the hill, when you dont need them any longer…
p.s. You dont suppose he’s gonna get a ticket for blocking that crossing, do you?
How much were we spending in Homeland Security (HS) funds to prevent people from ramming container ships into the Bay Bridge?
They just got a 25% increase in July bringing annual HS funding for the Bay Area to $34.13 million.
Accidents are going to happen (and they’re far more frequent and more deadly than terrorism) so it’d probably be a good idea to spend that HS funding in a way that both reduces every-day accidents and prepares the responders to deal with toxic shipwrecks and derailments. [Better yet, don’t waste any federal tax dollars on it and have the container line pay for responder costs and cleanup.]
It won’t be long before some congresscritter gets the idea that maybe the problem is that the Bay Area needs more of our money. Way to reward failure!
I’d imagine if it were rust they’d say that it was oxidization. While as far as I know it’s not possible for bacteria to consume steel in a nutritional sense, it is possible that bacteria created acidic byproducts that “ate away” at the steel.
Anyone have a link to the 2006 Closure Report - or at least a direct quote where the “steel eating bacteria” are described?
tell me…do you have anything better to do than insult me?
there were no injuries or casualties whatsoever. i DO have a heart. why do you think i didnt post this image in the thread about the conductor being crushed between 2 freight cars?
You are using that photo as an example to belittle CSX, without any real thought as to whether CSX is to blame or not. That’s not quite right. For all you know this could be a NS train crew, using CSX run through power, on BNSF tracks, being dispatched by KCS, having problems with a section of track that could have been washed out by an excavator building a new Walmart. To simply say “neener-neener! Look what CSX did” is somewhat childish-don’t you think?
According to the Washington Post on November 10 and 11 CSX said the cause of the derailment of the hopper cars into the Anacostia River was the brakes on the cars in the yard were not properly set. Since the brakes were not set the cars rolled out of the yard and on to the track of the weak side of the bridge which was being repaired thus causing the cars to derail. One of the problems in pulling the cars from the river is possibility of dredging up material that has been on the bottom for years and adding to the pollution of the Anacostia River which has been badly polluted for years.
For some time now, there has been a proposal to ban hazmat loads from the Washington area in order to protect that most valuable national asset, Congresscritters and their precious staff. Regardless of what actually happened in this case, this accident is going to increase that pressure. Not much is ever said about much more economically valuable cities, such as Chicago, that handle hundreds of hazmat cars each day.
I am reminded of that recent State Department town meeting in which some department functionary was lamenting that we were considering assigning non-volunteers to Iraq. Didn’t we realize that we might get them killed? What would happen to their spouse and children? I wonder how members of the Army or Marines reacted to that one.
Here’s the thing, Atmo. Generally speaking, your posts seem to criticize railroads for, IMHO, some pretty stupid reasons. Also generally speaking, most of us are here because we like railroads and railroading. Given the nature of human interaction, that’s a recipe for confrontation.
I’m sure that all of us are now well aware of the following:
That you hate the UP for taking over the CNW. (Thank you for laying off of this one lately, though).
That despite the fact that they represent the end of the CNW, you hate the “Crash” 9’s and would much rather have an unpatched SD60 running around.
That Union Pacific 844 does nothing for you because the UP has decided to spite you by never sending her to Altoona.
That you dislike noselights and think that drawing cartoon mouths in their place serves to enhance the aesthetics of any locomotive with such design faux pas.
That you are incredibly amused and entertained by any misfortune that befalls the CSX for reasons that I have yet to fully comprehend.
The things is, those are your opinions so you are completely entitled to them. However, from the perspective of someone who enjoys ALL aspects of railroading, it just gets a little old hearing about all of the above in every thread you post in. So I would advise that if you wish to keep posting such responses that you be ready to be “insulted” by the rest of us. After all, we have opinions, too. Are we not equally entitled to them?
Welll, since you grant all of us are entitled to an opinion, IMHO the two of you should stop waging this war of attrition via words and, if you absolutely have to f