Is that feature still operational these days? Many years ago there were many discussions on the old CNW regarding the desireability of this feature. It was concluded that having it active is a really bad idea; consequently, the PCS was disabled on our locomotives.
That was awesome. When I took Southwest Chief a few years ago across Kansas, we were on a slow or stop order a good part of the night. I’d wake up in my sleeper and could tell we were barely moving or had stopped. The next day, my car attendant said there had been high winds and tornados all around us. When the wind gets above 60 mph, Amtrak has to run very slow or stop. I don’t know if freight railroads are restricted that way or not. I wouldn’t want to be in a Superliner car up high and get blown over. They sway more than the old coach cars anyway. The only time I can remember a lot of swaying was coming back with my parents on NYC from New York and the sleepers had been taken off, so the diner was the last car. As we ate, the car kept swaying without it’s rear anchor, like a mild crack-the-whip. And I saw a large freight wreck from the windows of the UP City of St. Louis somewhere in Calif, the porter had told us to watch for it and we did. Cars were smashed and spread out all along the track as we crawled past.
Here is a little follow up. Turn down the speaker volume first. The music is loud and obnoxious. Scroll down and read the text.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aB08ASei28
Rich
Here are some other tornado train meets many years ago.
http://www.islandnet.com/~see/weather/history/tornadotrains.htm
Rich
Amazing Video, Thank You!
They just showed the last portion of this video on the local news. No explanation except that this is “what happens when a train and a tornado collide.” They got the location correct.
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Well, some things I just can’t answer… Nevertheless of the diffrence of thought, don’t you agree that it’s a good thing that that hopper was in the way? I mean, it would have just plowed into the locomotive. Sure, the hopper did too, but it was coupled.
Here’s a YouTube of the actual tornado, but not near the Lawrence train scene. BTW, they just showed the YouTube of the derailment of WGN, Chicago on the news.
Every engine I’ve been on has it functional. Even UP engines on rock trains, and the ones WSOR bought at the UP scrap sales. One of our customers had a SW1 that seemed to predate the PCS feature. They would try to drag around empty boxcars that were dumped. Many other things they would do out there. [:O]
Thanks for activating my link. The Harvard tornado shown was just after passing Lawrence. Harvard is my hometown and i grew up 2 miles north of the tornado’s path. My mother lives in a house that was 2 miles south of the tornado. The police cruiser seen by the overturned semi was driven by my nephew, a Harvard policeman. He was pulled from the semi scene to help with the hazmat evacuation at the Lawrence derailment. The storm chasers had the highway wrong. Highway 23 doesn’t go north of Harvard. They were actually on highway 14.
There are many things mortal man cannot (yet) answer; but it does one’s soul good to just contemplate the questions.
Yes, I do agree that it was fortunate that the hopper was in the way of the locomotives.
Well, it has been many years since I was running; they must have had a change of philosophy. Back then the thinking was that the risk of the rear of a train running into the front part after a separation was more of a safety risk than whatever safety reason anyone could come up with for having the PCS active.
If the emergency is initiated back in the train, many UP engines now have a 20 second delay before losing power when the PCS opens.
Jeff
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You can also do that with 24RL brake valves. As recently as only 3 decades ago CNW’s E8s and F7s had 24RL brakes (before the locomotives were rebuilt for Metra with 26L brake valves).
Some of the 24RL brake valves had a ‘full release’ feature on the opposite side of the ‘emergency’ portion. This feature would put ‘straight air’ directly into the trainline, causing a much faster release; however there was always a danger of overcharging the trainline by doing this, as main drum pressure (~130psi) was sent through.
There is also the story of a stalled freight in the first Cascade Tunnel. After some time of running, the headend crew thought that they should have long been out into the open (fixed speed)–and when they stopped and got down, they found that the drivers had ground through the head down into the web.
I have often wondered: just how do you get the engine and train out? Jack sufficient wheels up to give working room, remove the damaged rails, and put new rails in?
Johnny
I thought the US Weather Service would have giving the warning to the R.R. and able to stop the train. Like everyone say’s “January”. oh boy!
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Even though the tornado was on the ground in Poplar Grove, IL (15 miles to the SW) the sirens didn’t sound in Harvard until the tornado had passed. So, residents didn’t get a warning. But a January tornado in northern IL is extremely rare.
How many cars are required to be separated between a tanker car carrying haz material and the locomotive(s) when strung together? I thought six was the minimum although I seen only maybe 5 cars between the locomotives-it was hard to see or maybe the tanker WAS the 6th car. Maybe they should up that to 8 after that tanker sliding.