While visiting the Rochelle railfan park yesterday (9/1) in the afternoon I saw a BNSF “Z” train north/west bound on the C&I line go over the diamonds at about 35 mph and shortly afterwards I heard what I thought was a broken air hose between two of the cars and then the train went into emergency braking and stopped from 35 mph to zero faster than any train I had ever seen before. Shortly after that I heard the train crew talking to the C&I dispatcher on the scanner and saying that they had a red signal drop in their face at the next signal north/west of the diamonds and had to throw the train into emergency. About five minutes later they began to move again and picked up speed to clear the diamonds (all this time a few UP trains had to stop east and westbound to allow them to clear the diamonds). While the BNSF north/westbound train was clearing another intermodal came blasting through south/eastbound on the passing track. My question is whether this should have ever happened. My wife and I were with a number of other folks at the rail park and some of us commented on the danger of a train going into emergency braking so close to the park and the danger of a derailment on the diamonds. Comments?
I am concered about what kind of bottle necking would result with a derailment at such a busy junction.
Derailments do happen on or near the diamond…I think that’s how the city managed to acquire the property to begin with (somebody knows the whole story, I’m sure).
Yes, it would cause a bottleneck. No, I don’t think the danger there is greater than anywhere else along either line. And there is a bit of resistance built in to the pavilion area at the park.
In answer to your direct question, no, it shouldn’t have happened. No dispatcher would intentionally drop a signal in the face of a movement. The passage of a train in the opposite direction at speed would have told you that a derailment was not involved (the stopped train must have known that his train-line was intact and that he wasn’t derailed due to the emergency application itself). It would be interesting to know what caused it, or at least whether the signal cleared. If that was an ordinary block signal, I suppose the train could go through the block at restricted speed after stopping. If it was just a malfunction, I hope the signal department was out there quickly.
Just had another thought: weed-weasels. (You’d think they’d know better, too!)
I have heard of this happening before at Rochelle. A few years back the local was working past the park and seconds later you hear him start yelling at the dispatcher for dropping a red board in front of him. They really got into it on the scanner and the crew was warned by the dispatcher that acussing him is a serious violation. I woundn’t count on a derailment happening near the diamond. I’m sure they make sure everything goes right around a place like that with all the people there…a death caused by a train could be costly…but then again, is the park on railroad property? Anyways, it seems signals always seem to be a problem around Rochelle.
Brother Carl: Weed Weasels?
SJ
SJ
Company officers giving efficiency tests to crews, often secluded (“in the weeds”). On some railroads, they’ve been known to work with the signals.
BC
Really! Sounds like “dirty pool” to me…
Sometimes signal systems can go a little haywire as well. According to some Evansville crews… they have been sitting in sidings waiting for trains to pass them only to get a signal to come out of the siding with the oncoming train’s headlight staring right at them!!! This lead to a suspension of the signal system throughout the entire subdivision between Danviille, IL and Evansville, IN. I got to be a switchtender for a 12-hour shift at one of the sidings standing next to a dead, and rotting deer all night and storms every few hours while i manned the switch. And boy, it really gets dark out there in the middle of nowhere!!! I was actually happy there was lightning so I could see!!; I had my lantern of course, but that only goes so far. And then I get to run for cover as a train going 49 MPH blasts through down the mainline. Luckily i had a van all night and I’d just listen to the radio when a train got close I’d go hang out with the deer carcas.
Speaking of wacky things that can happen with emergency applications… A fellow conductor told me of a story one winter night about 5 years ago. The train suddenly went into emergency without notice. The engineer couldn’t get the air to come back up so the conductor started walking. They figured it was just an air hose or a dynamiter. It ended up that a drawbar broke, fell under the next car sticking up and hit the next cars axle causing it to jump the tracks with about 15 cars. Sometimes freak things happen. Sometimes there’s stretches of track that sink and the engines will bounce and almost feel like they jump off the tracks.
To CShaveRR, yes, the offending signal did indeed clear for the train in question shortly after the incident but I don’t know if it cleared up by itself or if the dispatcher had to manually clear it. In any event, the train in question got out of there very quickly as they were blocking several UP movements (all was quiet on the scanner from the UP crews, they may have heard the BNSF chatter).