I would also hate to think that the engineer 'forgot' about the curve, Inthedetails. Do we know what kind of experience this engineer had? Surely he'd operated that route before last night.
I am going to sound like the older granny I am, but could the 'throttle whatchamacallit' have gotten stuck? The engine was not even a couple of years old yet. Barely broken in, IMO. Surely he knew with even the emergency brakes he wouldn't have had enough straight track to slow the train down to the speed limit and safely make the curve. Can you imagine what was going through his head knowing what was about to happen? He probably did everything he could.
IMO
I am going to sound like the older granny I am, but could the 'throttle whatchamacallit' have gotten stuck? The engine was not even a couple of years old yet. Barely broken in, IMO. Surely he knew with even the emergency brakes he wouldn't have had enough straight track to slow the train down to the speed limit and safely make the curve. Can you imagine what was going through his head knowing what was about to happen? He probably did everything he could.
IMO