ALL:
Train Orders.com has a video of the Heartland Flyer hitting a hungup auto carrier in Oklahoma. The one van on the trailer went flying! The auto carrier trailers are close to the ground and get stuck easily. Any damage to the lead loco and cars?
Ed Burns
More than one van. Just amazes me this even happened because you can see on approach to the crossing the grade up to it is rather steep and since the RR roadbed is raised. Fairly reasonable to expect there is a steep descent on the other side.
Probably good that there is an engine at both ends of the train. I can’t imagine what would have happened to a cab-car.
Midland Mike:
You are correct that the cab car and its engineer would not have fared well.
Are there two locomotives on this train so it does get turned at OKC?
Ed Burns, retired class 1 since 2004.
Yes, great that it wasn’t a cab car.
I’m sure it has to do with not wanting to turn a single engine. But it seems ridiculous to have two units on a two-car train.
That one SUV really flew. I wonder how much time there usually is from when the signals start flashing to when the train arrives. I don’t know if the train was in emergency or not; it was still going quite fast at impact.
I ‘believe’ the FRA requires crossing protection to begin activation 30 seconds prior to the time the train enters the crossing. I have no idea what the sight lines for the Engineer in this situation were. In many geographical configurations road crossings aren’t visible to the train crew until it is much to late to take any form of evasive actions (putting train into emergency prior to impact).
Balt is correct. At minimum, the train whistles for the crossing at a minimum of 1320 ft. (1/4 mile) out from the crossing and that increases as the speed increases.(whistle posts and gate circuits move further out as the speed increases.)…Oddly the FRA record says “20 Second Warning” instead of the normal 30.
(1) Another violation of the joint AASHTO/AREMA rule on approach grades to grade crossings. The road agency will have fun explaining why the approach grades (their responsibility) were so bad.
(wonder if the road signage even had the humped crossing warning yellow W10-5 diamond sign?)
(2) Was there any attempt to call the 800 number on the blue ENS panic number sign? (irony here is is I watched OLI reps in Colorado “sell” the safety lesson about ENS signs in Colorado yesterday for four hours to people that were mostly ignorant that the sign even exists. Hope OLI gets the rights to that video)`
020-687A Addington Bend Rd (north of town on BNSF) has a history with high centered trucks. Add one more.
At least one on the one side. Looks like the back of one on the other (if they were still there).
There were 110 passengers on board so the train is being used. There were 4 injuries among the passengers but no mention of their extent.
Amtrak keeps spare equipment at the Fort Worth terminal, usually a spare locomotive and a spare Superliner Coach or Sleeper or both. So if the locomotive were not on the other end of this train it would just be sitting parked in Fort Worth, TX. In my view makes sense to use it vs turning the train which they used to do.