I have read through alot of these post concerning train accidents, and I will start off by saying that I am a certified locomotive engineer with a RR and there are safety features in place to prevent runaways. If any of the cars, or locomotives had come apart anywhere it would have put the train into emergency and all brakes would have locked up. The only way for a cut of cars or locomotives to runaway is if there is no air at all on the system. When leaving a train unattended you always apply a full brake pipe reduction and set hand brakes on all locomotives and enough on the cars to hold train in place, you never shutdown all locomotives in a consist, you leave at least one running to keep air on the entire system. With all that being said,and without going into details..... there are ways to cut cars from a train and have them roll away without affecting the rest of the train. I am not saying this is what happened because I don't know, but even with all the safety features intact,all it takes is someone playing around on cars or locomotives to cause an accident. I have come across people, a lot of them kids, playing on cars setting in a siding, usually don't have to much trouble when you let people know that it is federal trespass violation. :shocked:
It sounds like maintenance with MMA was lax enough that fires were common on those locomotives. If I recall correctly, the FD that responded shut down the locomotive, following their standard protocol for dealing with engine fires - as a layman, that makes sense to me - if I was fighting a fire, I'd want whatever is pumping fuel shut the ______ OFF. If the protocols aren't clear (between what the RRs want to happen, and what the FDs need, to protect their people), then better practices need to be hammered out ASAP.
I was amazed to learn a few things, following this account.
1) Unlike OTR trucks, train brakes are not fail-safe.
2) How lax the federal laws are concerning trains (speaking of Canada specifically), and how little real enforcement of exisiting laws is performed.
3) That something like the minimum # of parking brakes to be set is discretionary.
Don't get me wrong, I have a lot of respect for the skilled engineers who do pilot these massive trains safely every day. Once they are properly trained and have enough operating hours under their belt, then obviously the Rule of Thumb they follow works, most of the time.
As many people have posted here, the fly-by-night RRs do NOT want their employees to spend time setting and releasing brakes. BIG problem, obviously - see # 2 above.
With all the technology we have around today, there is no excuse for
not having a computer program in every locomotive that calculates the minimum # of brakes to be set, based on local conditions. The physics calculations involved (train mass, grade slope) are something any 2nd year university Engineering student should be capable of handling.
I'd expect most if not all train stations or yards to be fairly level. Where I can see a problem coming up is if a train has to park in an unplanned area - if the grade slope is extreme, the # of parking brakes may be underestimated when you are relying just on seat-of-the-pants feelings.
Rgds, D.
