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Man killed by dump truck while repairing Colorado flood damage
Join the discussion on the following article:
Man killed by dump truck while repairing Colorado flood damage
Another tragedy. Truck airbrakes are not all that different from train brakes- ya set them whenever you get out of the truck. If something needs attention with brakes off, get another person to help. This is just a general comment- without specific details it is difficult to know the conditions under which it happened.
I saw a ballast train cross the fill on Monday morning, the ballast machine was on its way to the fill. The road into Plainview has a guard so you have to take pictures from Highway 93, I only have a 300 MM lens.
Actually truck brakes are very different from train brakes. Trucks and trailers have two air brake cans per axle, a railroad car has one per car, and depending on the locomotive, two or more per locomotive truck. When the air bleeds off a truck brake, there is a spring inside that keeps the brake set, on the rear axles of the truck only. Most train brakes, when the air draind off, the brakes release, unless mechanically set by a brake wheel or some other manual braking device like the cranks on the locomotives.
We do not know the circumstances that resulted in the fatality.
Whatever happened is history and a man is dead. Prayers and thoughts for his family are in order now. I’m sure the railroad and the contractor will have plenty of time and things to say about what happened, exactly, and why.