Several years ago when the NYCSHS had their convention in INDY, we visited Avon yard (NYC BIG FOUR). They told us that at the East end of the yard was an open ended track similar to a run away truck sand pit that you might see on a steep mountain grade, where they could switch a cut of cars if they indeed had a runaway. It is obvious that they did not detect the runawy in time to switch the cut to this track.
“Indiana Department of Environmental Management spokeswoman Amy Hartsock said that 69,700 gallons of soybean oil, 21,000 gallons of lubricating oil, 2,500 gallons of diesel fuel and 2,000 to 3,000 gallons of fertilizer leaked into soil, a drainage ditch and a small creek after the crash Sunday.”
That’s about 3-4 whole tank cars worth of product spilled out, based on a quick glance at the UTLX lineup.
Specifically, about three carloads of soybean oil at least partially emptied, one carload of lube oil, and the fuel tank of one locomotive. Fertilizer from one car, most likely, but hardly a full load.
Dunno why they humped 112 or how many cars, the numbers around here change. But the NAptown club came up with a logical idea that the retarders (the brakes on the hump) failed. and runaways have in the past gotten away without the emergency brakes setting. so if they failed, and no airbrakes, it makes sence. And any number of loaded cars could have the momentum to span 15 or so miles.
It depends on if making every tank more spill resistant costs less than the occasional clean-up and fine for spillage. You’d have to probably double skin or significantly thicken the wall, which wouldn’t be cheap. As far as new units? Probably wouldn’t hurt.
It was not a Humped cut. It was a train that had its power taken off in the Recieving Yard. What man failure actions were taken, and by whom, to permit the brakes to release and the cut to roll out of the Recieving Yard is
For that matter, there is a north-south track crossing ABOVE the mainline east of the yards. Depending on which track the cars rolled out on (and if they even knew about it), the runaway cars could have been diverted to either one of the inclines up to the north-south line…
Now we’re getting somewhere! I don’t know what sort of slope the Avon receiving yard has, but I’d be willing to bet that there is some sort of order, bulletin, or whatever-CSX-calls-them giving instructions on how many hand brakes are to be applied to a track of standing cars in that yard. Our rules (not CSX’s, but I’ll bet they have something similar) specifically say that air is not to be depended upon to hold standing cars. Sometime between the power being cut off in the receiving yard and the cut being humped, somebody would be bleeding off the air (probably during the inbound inspection, if that yard’s anything like ours). The inspectors would not take off the hand brakes required to hold the track in. Sorry, folks, I’ve just drawn my own conclusion–we’ll see whether the facts match it in due time.
Last I heard, they had in fact been humped. the plot thickens… Though, I can’t see how a standing train on a siding got enough oomf to roll that distance.There’s gotta be a catch
Tank cars: As far as I’veheard from other train crews, tank cars are often at the discretion of the owners. not the railroads. The majority of spills that are blamed on the train companies, when in fact they have nothing to do with the cars aside from moving them. the owners of the cars (The companies making the products) are in charge of maintenece. (could be wrong too. things change)
Most main yard leads do not have derail protection, nor should they. This case might be different though. While talking to some of the former Conrail people that work in the office, and I know this will break the heart of the Conrail kool-aid drinkers that are so quick to bash CSX, this happened a couple of times in the 90’s when Conrail was in charge. Now things worked out a little differently as there where no trains in the area and the cut of cars was able to stop on its own.
Well if the shoe fits. When you get such brilliant posts as “If Conrail could be back and take over the CSX… FRA loves CSX!!!” even though Conrail did the exact thing MORE THAN ONCE, it gets a little old. So to those that think that this was a thing that happens only on CSX, enjoye your drink of that blue kool-aid that you all must love soo much.
It is a figure of speech. As in where someone likes something so much that they do not see anything but the good. BTW I should have followed your advice with TJ’s brilliant post “screw NS/CSX.”
