FTA:"…The train derailed near the Spuyten Duyvil station, in the Bronx, with at least four cars off the track, including two cars on their sides, according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Police.
The New York Fire Department said there were “multiple injuries” in the derailment, but the extent of the injuries is unclear. The fire department says 130 firefighters are on the scene…"
The above link contains the photo that BROADWAY LION,
PROVIDED AND ADDITIONAL PHOTOS OF THE SCENE.
The last photo show the AMTRAK (correction: Metro-North P-32 Diesel> Thankx, Nariig01)) on its side. I am no expert by any means, but it makes one wonder if speed was nt a contributor to the way the equipment derailed.
The train information: Train was the 05:54 from Poughkeepsie due at Grand Central @ 07:43AM
Samfp1943 locomotive was a MetroNorth P-32. MetroNorth bought a bunch as add on to Amtraks order many years ago. Also does anyone know if they had dynamic brakes? Just a question. Looking at weather last nite and this morning in Poughkeepsie, the low was +29f for about 4 hours. I would not think that it was cold enough long enough for that to have effected equipment. Additionally the train is scheduled to make numerous stops between Poughkeepsie and Tarrytown and then runs express to Grand Central. Rgds IGN
I don’t think the cold should have had an effect on the equipment as it had gone an hour and a half and about 50 or so miles with brake applications, etc. Tracks may have gotten slippery, iced over or something there coming into the interlocking and speed restriction. So, we await a reading of the black box and further investigation into the happenstances before and during.
On the news tonight (think it was NBC) they interviewed some of the survivors who said they thought the train was going unusually fast around that curve just before the derailment. They have already recovered the event recorder.
If only the NTSB can convince the Native American to process the required 27000+ radio antenna applications faster they might get PTC before the 22nd Century, not only getting the antenna locations built but getting the FCC to allocate the radio bandwidth for the PTC to operate. [sarcasm] I am surprised that the NTSB hasn’t requested operating personnel use their personal cell phones to record ‘selfie’ videos of operating personnel in action![/sarcasm]
About the only thing that does’t seem to be implicated is the interlocking north of Sputen Duyvil where Amtrak’s West Side line diverges. If it had been the Empire Service trains would probably still be suspended. As it was Amtrak was authorized to operate through the area at restricted speed as of 3 PM Sunday Dec 1.
Some years ago, about the time I hired out, a study was released showing the length of service of the most at-risk group of railroad employees. The most at-risk were those with less than 5 years’ service. The next group was those with 20+ years.
The reasons given was that the first group 0-5yrs) was inexperienced. The second group because they were thought to become complacent.
Seems as if the " Monday Morning Quarterbacking" has commenced.
Or as it could be called : “The Blame Game”. PTC? Or rather the lack of such, on Metro-North ; Operator or Equipment failure? Has reared its ugly head. The use of the “Push-Pull” seems to have the ‘Talking Heads’ wagging. Then the final authority; NTSB; which is on the scene. That Authority will make its official incident report, off in the future. ( Against the push of the 24 hour news cycle.)…
The ‘optics’ of this are amazing. There was the incident in New Mexico ( Bayard ) the rialroad was the Southwestern RR and apparently the Locomotive "fell’ into an arroyo some thirty to forty feet deep. The string of eight cars continued on to a derailment in a curve several miles down track. (paraphrased). The incident killed the three employees on the locomotive, [Out in the count
I am somehow reminded of NYC’s “Gulf Curve Disaster” wherein the steam-powered “Lake Shore” piled up in a similar manner after the engineer shut down the throttle as he came into the curve.
One might wonder if the reason the brakes weren’t taking was because the trainline was somehow blocked (ice?). If the engineer dumped the brakes and only the first car or two actually applied, that would certainly challenge the laws of physics, with the end result looking a lot like this incident.
Also saw this article this morning. http://thebea.st/1cU7fOo Amazing Grace in the Bronx: Inside the Metro-North Train-Wreck Rescue Four were dead and dozens injured in an early-morning New York City train derailment, and firefighters needed help extricating the wounded. What followed was remarkable. Rgds IGN
