So far, they say nobody’s hurt. Let’s hope it stays that way.
Nevertheless, CSX is really dropping the ball on safety lately:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/03/12/train.explosion.ap/index.html
The mental comparisons to Penn Central’s maintenance/operational standards are hard to avoid. Yet CSX isn’t broke the way PC was. Where does the money go? Certainly not into programs designed to keep trains from exploding…[%-)]
Dave,This may come as a shock to you but,rail traffic is at a all time high thanks to highway congestion…ALL railroads are asking for a tax break so they can have massive track upgrades to include double tracking.
Who would have thought that back in the 60s when railroads began to down size?
So when do they open a routine track maintenance window?
Well, this is what happens if you don’t run big steam engines. How else are you going to find marginal track work if you don’t run a big steamer over it? C’mon, any model railroader knows that. What are these guys thinking? CSX, you need a Big Boy.
Fair enough, but it seems like all the bad news has been CSX lately.
I just rode Amtrak last week to and from New York from Cary, NC. You’re right about traffic congestion on CSX. Plus, I saw plenty of track crews out there. We were 4 hours late northbound. Of course, once we got on the NEC we flew like a rocket and made up a little time.
Is it that the other Class Is are doing a better job safety-wise, or are they just luckier?
Dave,I think the other roads are just luckier even though NS has had their share including a ka boom that lead to a town being evacuated. NS had a 10 car derailment here in Bucyrus.We was lucky…2 loaded haz mat tank cars derailed with a minor leak.Then we know about UP’s rash of derailments.
With rail traffic at a all time high and still growing its only going to get worst until ALL railroads rehab their track.
CN and CP, particularly the former, are having their share of hair clumps to clean up. This is worrisome, that there seem to be so many more derailments everywhere. So, far, in Canada, it is just the waterways that are taking the hits, no populated areas have been endangered too much…so far…
Dave, I will tell you where the money is going! It’s all going back to Jacksonville, FL to the headquarters where the CEO and other suites are making millions and paying out to the stockholders rather than reinvesting in the system, equipment and PEOPLE. It’s a double edge sword for CSX right now because they are making more money then ever before but Wall Street is demanding that it continue at it’s growth rate and the only way to IMMEDIATLY do that is to just stop spending and reinvesting (like they should for a rainy day) to increase their ability to haul more traffic safely and reward their employees. [soapbox]
How much of this derailment could be caused by the weather? I know NY has been nailed hard in a couple of areas with horrible snow and cold. Could that be causing some problems? And really all American business is the same pay the board of directors millions and bleed the company dry and then you send its business overseas.
…and so I come back to the Penn Central comparison.
PC inherited a badly deteriorated infrastructure from PRR. Why? PRR insisted upon paying dividends to the stockholders even while deferring maintenance. Even as PRR’s passenger traffic disappeared everywhere but the NEC and its freight moved to trucks, the executive board paid themselves and the stockholders like it was still the roaring 20s. So when merger and then bankrupcy came, the PC was left with 10-15 years of erosion of track and equipment to deal with. I understand things faired a little better on NYC territory. NH track, though, was also in bad shape.
Is CSX heading down the same road? I hope not. I think the difference is that traffic around 1970 was spiraling downward while today we’re in a boom.
Dave, as a scholar in human conflict studies, this subject is very interesting to me. I can see the cycle, and probably the only thing that will force an adjustment in focus will be something like a class-action lawsuit. It will be something that forces shareholders to sit up and take notice because they will have to acknowledge, to themselves if not to their peers, that they share ownership of a corporation that is being short-sighted and perhaps irresponsible. Stock prices plummet, and we get the picture.
Dave,Let’s divide fact from fiction…I worked on the PC in 68(started on the PRR in 68) and was laid off in 69…I can assure you that CSX track is in FAR better shape then PC ever was.
Before you guys jump to the conclusion the track was at fault we need to take in other factors…How about faulty equipment? A broken wheel? A broken axle? A broken rail from the cold? Dragging equipment?
Apparently you haven’t seen CSX track up close? Its just as good as NS track in this area and NS rolls the freight as does CSX on the old B&O North of here…
If we are to discuss this then let’s do it with FACTS and not personal opinion pointed at needless CSX bashing.
Do you have facts to back this claim up? Are you a CSX employee of high office? Are you a disgruntle ex-employee?
I can definatley say the prototypical CSX derails WAY MORE than my CSX line! (AND THATS SAYING SOMETHING, LOL!) Granted, my version is only a eighth of the line and is 1/87 of the size! Lol I hope they get their act together soon!
-beegle55
The CSX main through Apex, NC is missing lots of spikes or has spikes sticking out. Few of the ties have been replaced lately. I volunteer at a local railroad and have some minor experience with trackwork, and while CSX’s track certainly meets FRA standards (which are pretty lenient), it doesn’t look as solid as the nearby NS track.
But clearly, this thread h
Dave,That was PC biggest problem as far as track not only from the PRR but,the NYC as well.Both railroads suffered from deferred maintaince on engines(including the passenger units and the newer units)track and just about everything else including their cabins and cabooses.Sadly the passenger cars didn’t fair any better…Why this merger was alllowed will always remain hidden…
No there is NO WAY you can compare CSX with PC.PC was in its own class.
I think CSX track could be compared to E-L track under Dereco…
BTW…I started on PRR in 66 not 69.
Granted I’m no railroad employee, however I do know from observation that CSX seems to maintain certain trackage more often than others.
For example, I live in Columbus down the street from where CSX has 1 track laying next to a NS double track. NS uses this double as a main and you will see on average of about 20 or more trains a day (I’m not kidding either). Where as the CSX
I don’t have any particular ill-will aimed at CSX (although many’s the day I’ve spent stuck on an Amtrak train on CSX track)…
In fact, I take my young boys railfanning on CSX since it’s the main carrier through Apex.
I don’t need to bash CSX anyway. They’re doing a good job of it themselves via the headlines.[:-^]
These would be empty forums indeed if only fact and not opinion were allowed!
Dano,I have seen those rail inspection cars…However,that didn’t stop a derailment back on December the 16th here in Bucyrus…
I don’t think ANY railroad keeps their secondary mains up to par.
If that NS track is the track that goes by the Train Station hobby shop on Indinaloa Ave then your a little off…There is 60-65 trains a day on that line.Thats the Sandusky line…But I’spect you know that.[:D]
Dave,That’s one problem with forums…Opinions worded as facts.
CSX here on the x CRR around Bostic NC and the x SAL from Bostic to Charlotte NC has great track.
Yea the CSX line that runs up the Ohio is pretty reliable. In Charleston and points south, not so good.
-beegle55