"The train that derailed and spilled caustic chemicals that killed tens of thousands of fish in 35 miles of high quality streams in McKean and Cameron counties last month was speeding “well in excess” of posted limits, according to the Federal Railroad Administration.
“Warren Flatau, a spokesman for the railroad administration, which is investigating the accident, said the derailment of the southbound Canadian National Railroad train headed by a Norfolk Southern engine and operated by a Norfolk Southern crew occurred as the train was coming down a very steep, 2.6 percent grade.”
It’s hard to tell from the story if the train was speeding on purpose, or if the train got away from them. It didn’t appear that the engineer said “wheee! let’s see how fast this baby can go down this big hill”.
Yeah, it didn’t even mention the possibility of the train getting away from them. But then again, NS declined to defend itself for the press. So, it could go either way…
The 10 MPH down grade speed is consistant with what the NTSB recommended after a CSX runaway down 17 Mile grade back in 2000. Investigation of that incident determined that air brake systems on that 2.2% grade could only maintain 12 MPH without overheating the brake/wheel interface beyond it’s ability to brake the train.
The proximate cause of the 17 Mile grade incident was having Dynamic Braking effective on only the lead unit of a 3 unit consist. The crew was relying on Dynamic Braking to control the trains speed and with only 1/3 of the Dynamic Braking they believed they had the train got away.
I seem to remember that CN is one of the railroads that are not a big believer in equiping their locomotives with Dynamic Braking (I could be wrong). Engineers that are accutomed to operating a territory with the use of Dynamic Braking could be blind sided in train handling when operating a train that has little or no Dynamic Braking.
I had quite a debate with some others when this story first broke on whether NS should be responsible. It still isn’t too clear since we don’t know if it was engineer or equipment error.
IF it is engineer error, NS should fire the engineer (as if they had to be told) and be forced to pay for the damages, and then sue the engineer for the cost of the cleanup (which they’ll probably never get the entire cost of…)
IF it is equipment error, NS and the manufacturer of whatever part failed causing the excess speed should share the cost of the cleanup.
There are rules and laws that pertain to this occurence, with suitable investigation those rules and laws will aportion blame and the financial remedy.
Investigation to Determine Scope of Contamination at Train Wreck Site
MEADVILLE (July 26) – Norfolk Southern has submitted a conceptual assessment plan that outlines the methods its intends to use to identify precisely the areas of contamination at the site of a June 30 train derailment and sodium hydroxide spill in McKean County.
“An unknown amount of sodium hydroxide soaked into the ground in and around the derailment site, and it is this residual material that needs to be addressed to ensure a complete recovery of Sinnemahoning-Portage Creek,” said Environmental Protection Northwest Regional Director Kelly Burch, adding that the railroad’s plan generally is on target.
“The preliminary assessment by Norfolk Southern identifies contamination at the immediate accident site, the rail bed and nearby wetlands, meadows and forests,” Burch said. “In its report to us, the company indicates that it will use borings and probes to gather information about the soil below the surface and install numerous monitoring wells to collect information about groundwater to determine the depth and breadth of contamination.”
The sodium hydroxide, also known as caustic soda or lye, raised the pH of the water in Sinnemahoning-Portage Creek to a level that devastated aquatic life and fish from the accident site near the McKean County village of Gardeau to a point 7.5 miles downstream in Cameron County. The pH is a measurement for determining levels of acidity and alkalinity, with a higher pH indicating alkalinity.
As a temporary measure, Norfolk Southern is applying a citric acid solution at the spill site to neutralize the pH of the sodium hydroxide still leaching from the soil into the stream.
“The ongoing investigation, which DEP is monitoring, will provide the information we need to determine the best method of dealing with the contamination,” Burch said. “Norfolk Southern wi
Class Ones do not teach braking with air anymore like they used to.They emphasize dynamic braking due to the fuel and brake shoe savings. Engineers today are not as familiar with the air as engineers were 20 years ago.When I teach engineers,I focus more on air than dynamics because air is what stops you,dynamics slow you. Not knowing all the facts of the accident,I’m not going to speculate on whether it was a train handling issue or an equipment malfunction.Air has been bringing big trains off grades for more than 100 years,and once you learn to use both well,any train can be controlled if no mechanical issues are involved.