SC - Two killed, dozens injured in Amtrak collision, Cayce, 4 Feb 2018

[Jax49]

Fatalities identified.

[h=1]Orange Park man dies in Amtrak train crash[/h][h=2]2 dead, 100-plus injured in Amtrak train collision with CSX freight train[/h]https://www.news4jax.com/news/orange-park-man-dies-in-amtrak-train-crash

An Orange Park man was one of two men killed and over 100 injured early Sunday when two trains collided in South Carolina.
Amtrak conductor Micheal Cella, of Orange Park, and Amtrak train engineer Micheal Kempf, of Savannah, were killed when Amtrak Train 91, traveling between New York and Miami with 147 people aboard, collided with a CSX freight train in Cayce about 2:35 a.m., derailing the lead engine and some passenger cars, Amtrak said in a statement.

 

[Spellbound]

Crash could have been avoided:

http://www.thestate.com/news/local/article198380144.html

— A railroad switch that was apparently locked in the wrong position is being blamed by federal investigators for a train collision early Sunday

— no evidence of foul play

— Sumwalt said the accident could have been avoided if a federal safety system, under consideration for years, had been in place. The system is supposed to slow down trains when a problem lies ahead on a track. He called the damage to the trains “catastrophic.’’

— CSX is responsible for maintaining proper track position. CSX is the owner of the track but Amtrak uses the line

— A switch was aligned and padlocked to divert the Amtrak train onto a side track, where the CSX freight train was parked. The train, estimated to be traveling at more than 50 mph but within the 59 mph speed limit, then slammed into the line of two locomotives and 34 freight cars, officials said. Sumwalt said there was “no way” the Amtrak train could have stopped to avoid a collision.

— , a Columbia resident in town when the accident occurred, said a safety system known as “positive train control’’ could have saved lives in the accident, as it could with other train wrecks across the country. The NTSB has been trying for more than 40 years to have such controls implemented, he said.

According to the Federal Railroad Administration, Congress required some railroad mainlines, including those with commuter rail passenger service, to fully implement positive train control by the end of 2015. But Congress extended the deadline by at least three years to December 31, 2018, according to the FRA.
Such technology acts similar to a braking system, to prevent crashes. If signals ahead indicate a problem, the positive train control is supposed to slow down the locomotive remotely.
“Everyone of these accidents, in fact, could have been prevented’’ by positive train control, he said. “How many years have we been calling for PTC?’

 

[Spellbound]

Seems like there are far too many accidents happening to Amtrak lately. Heads need to roll over this.
How could they have been rerouted to the WRONG track ??
:moo:

Off-topic : What's going on with the forum, "Crimes That Should Be In The News" ?
No posts are allowed ? Will it change to allow info ?
Some of the topics on there are unknown to me. Just speculating.

OT ... I don’t know why that one is locked , but we do have Crimes in the News at https://www.websleuths.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?7-Crimes-in-the-News

and Crimes in the News/ Media Refrences and Timelines (no-discussion) at https://www.websleuths.com/forums/f...s-In-The-News-Time-Line-Media-Reference-Forum

does this help? [I suspect you already know these are there, but worth posting, I guess]

 

[Betty P]

Ive never been on an overnighter or in a sleeper car. I wonder if those lines may tend to go faster than daytime travel. I suppose it depends on the particular lines and what routes they travel.

I've traveled in a sleeper car on the Empire Builder, going west to Seattle. It was very nice. Great views. The only problem I had falling asleep was when passing through grade crossings. You would quickly hear the crossing bells ringing as you passed through. Otherwise it was very quiet. When going up the mountain pass, you can hear the engines, as they run constantly. Once you get over the top to descend, the engines no longer accelerate and it becomes very quiet until you get to a level grade again.

I worked for a railroad for many years, so the sounds and movement of the trains doesn't bother me. I know what they are and what's normal.

I just reviewed the PC on the latest Amtrak crash in SC. From what they mentioned so far, that a switch was thrown and locked guiding the Amtrak train from the thru line to a siding was a big screw up on someone's part. Not Amtrak's, but someone at CSX. That's a very bad and rare mistake to leave a local switching train in a siding with the switch open when Amtrak is coming up the road.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

I just reviewed the PC on the latest Amtrak crash in SC. From what they mentioned so far, that a switch was thrown and locked guiding the Amtrak train from the thru line to a siding was a big screw up on someone's part. Not Amtrak's, but someone at CSX. That's a very bad and rare mistake to leave a local switching train in a siding with the switch open when Amtrak is coming up the road.

That's human error, the equivalent of an ATC error allowing two planes into the same airspace.

And yes, automated safety systems would have prevented this accident.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

The first difference someone will notice as compared to other forms of travel is they can be a little noisy. You will hear different types of noises throughout the ride that you havent heard before. And when cruising at cruise speed there becomes a methodical rhythmic sound as the trains wheels go over the tracks. That part can be rather soothing and can put you to sleep when you get used to it. I actually liked that sound.

What you're hearing is the train wheels going over the joints in jointed track. It's rather old fashioned these days as there has been an ongoing switch to continuous welded track for decades, at least in Europe. The track is still laid in sections though the sections are much longer and the joints between them are welded in situ by a track based high powered welding device. It's not only much cheaper for ongoing maintenance but also makes the ride much quieter and smoother.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzbcS1odZbE

In fact a journey in an electrically powered train over continuously welded track can be almost silent.

Apparently the earliest train safety system was that implemented by the UK's Great Western Railway in 1906.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automatic_train_control#United_Kingdom

 

[Betty P]

What you're hearing is the train wheels going over the joints in jointed track. It's rather old fashioned these days as there has been an ongoing switch to continuous welded track for decades, at least in Europe. The track is still laid in sections though the sections are much longer and the joints between them are welded in situ by a track based high powered welding device. It's not only much cheaper for ongoing maintenance but also makes the ride much quieter and smoother.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzbcS1odZbE

In fact a journey in an electrically powered train over continuously welded track can be almost silent.

Apparently the earliest train safety system was that implemented by the UK's Great Western Railway in 1906.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automatic_train_control#United_Kingdom

Yes, the new automated systems will reduce those types of errors, but they're extremely expensive. Unlike the trucking industry, where the you and I pay for the roads and bridges they drive on, railroads have to pay to build and maintain their own systems. They also own and pay taxes on all the real estate upon which the tracks sit.

 

[ATasteOfHoney]

As an aside, my short daytime train rides (ex. CT to NYC) have been numerous, pleasant, and uneventful.

What I described as being scary and profound were the train experiences that were overnight. Train going ultra fast through GA and SC at lightning speeds.....swaying & bouncing.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

Yes, the new automated systems will reduce those types of errors, but they're extremely expensive. Unlike the trucking industry, where the you and I pay for the roads and bridges they drive on, railroads have to pay to build and maintain their own systems. They also own and pay taxes on all the real estate upon which the tracks sit.

Then the government and rail companies should get together and thrash out a tax deal whereby the rail companies pay less tax in return for agreed investment.

 

[CARIIS]

Wow. Another accident involving a train.

JMO
Looks like it was around a curve. And It looks like two tracks close together and at this point it appears they were on separate tracks and going around a curve. Just a guess at this point. I dont think they were on same track. I think the tracks being so close together and the curve may have caused one train to sway and shift enough to touch the other train triggering the accident. If that happened the way I think it did then it means speed of one train was likely too fast for the curve.

I have ridden Amtrak on numerous occasions and I was always amazed when we passed another train going in opposite direction how close the tracks were. There was very little room between the tracks and it always scared me as I looked out window and saw another train zooming past in opposite direction.

Again I am not sure that is what happened but it does look like two separate tracks going around a curve. So the only thing I can think of is speed and the curve caused one to touch the other.
JMO of course.

Train memories!

Every summer we shipped off to camp so the adults did not have to deal with us. !

Trains are very boring to a person of my makeup!

I discovered , between each car a cute little button that either turned on or off the power doors between cars.

He he.

Best way to describe it is think of a giant elevator button on each door that one hits to open the door between cars!

I experienced much joy in watching human behavior and response when they would casually slam the button , anticpating the door to immediately open.

But I had cut the button off. He he . And the button was in view of the problem I was creating. Tranlation I could see the peoples reaction and then make decision if I would turn it back on quick or after several tries.

It was a bit more thrilling to lock them out of the car when in they were in between cars in that generally got a bigger reaction.

Little did I know I was creating my own Candid Camera all by self, and spent much of the ride up and then back watching human behavior!

he he

 

[ATasteOfHoney]

My friend just texted me that there was another incident with Amtrak today.....some sort of decoupling at a really high rate of speed!

Any news on this?

 

[Jax49]

My friend just texted me that there was another incident with Amtrak today.....some sort of decoupling at a really high rate of speed!

Any news on this?

Amtrak train breaks apart at 125 mph


https://nypost.com/2018/02/06/amtrak-train-breaks-apart-at-125-mph/

A photo shows the connector between two coupled trains broken and separated. Only the air hoses remained connected between the two cars, which both had passengers in them, said the source.

“There was a lot of sparking and smoking at the head of the train and a lot of bouncing around,” the source said.

 

[ATasteOfHoney]

Amtrak train breaks apart at 125 mph


https://nypost.com/2018/02/06/amtrak-train-breaks-apart-at-125-mph/

Wow! Thanks, Jax.

This is total insanity!!

 

[Jax49]

Orange Park train conductor's widow sues CSX, Amtrak over S.C. crash

14-page wrongful death complaint says both companies were negligent

https://www.news4jax.com/news/local...onductors-widow-sues-csx-amtrak-over-sc-crash

The widow of an Amtrak train conductor and Orange Park man who was killed in a weekend collision with a CSX freight train in South Carolina is suing Amtrak and CSX, court records show.

"Ms. Cella and her children are coping as best as one can imagine. This is a tragic time for her. She’s a young mother of two young children. They lost their breadwinner, father and husband," attorney Howard Spier, who's representing Cella's family, told News4Jax on Thursday. "Naturally, it’s very difficult for her.”

The 14-page complaint states that the track was locked in the wrong position because of negligence by CSX employees. It also states that CSX switched off or suspended the track side signals in the area, meaning that segment of the track was not controlled by signals.