The Dangers of Train Yards, Through the Eyes of Railroad Employees

Post by oh_sigh » Tue, Jul 03, 2018, 6:11 PM UTC

abduhl wrote: post #4

When I worked for BNSF I heard a story about a guy crushed between two cars in the knuckle because he lost line of sight with his engineer and they were using hand signals instead of a radio. They were able to keep him alive long enough to cover him with a tarp and bring his family in to say goodbye. He died immediately upon separation of the knuckle.

Post by code_duck » Tue, Jul 03, 2018, 6:13 PM UTC

bigjimmyk3 wrote: post #16

sandworm101 wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> 5mph would take nearly 1000' to bring to an "emergency" stop. That seems far fetched. 1000' is a long way at 5mph. The number of engines doesn't matter. Each car has its own brakes in an emergency. Cut pressure in the line and every car will brake itself. Perhaps they meant situations involving hills, not uncommon for ore trains heading from mines.

A train's emergency braking system is somewhat sacrificial (using it can damage engines, cars, etc.) so you're probably correct. I'd say that in either case, most people who are not "train people" will dramatically underestimate the required stopping distance. The mass of a fully loaded train is surprisingly large.

Post by adrianN » Tue, Jul 03, 2018, 6:19 PM UTC

TylerE wrote: post #12

lbriner wrote: post #6

Because of signal sighting rules in the UK, we experienced a lot of trouble upgrading lines to higher speed. All of a sudden, that signal that you could see for 10 seconds could now only be seen for 8 due to a bridge or whatever. Muchos dollars relocating signals and in some places not being able to increase the line speed at all. Boring but very real reasons why we "can't just update things"

Dunno why they don't just go ahead and bite the bullet and go to 100% in-cab signaling. The technology has worked for decades and has been deployed on many lines, including a few in the UK.

Post by pixl97 » Tue, Jul 03, 2018, 6:20 PM UTC

oh_sigh wrote: post #21

abduhl wrote: post #4

When I worked for BNSF I heard a story about a guy crushed between two cars in the knuckle because he lost line of sight with his engineer and they were using hand signals instead of a radio. They were able to keep him alive long enough to cover him with a tarp and bring his family in to say goodbye. He died immediately upon separation of the knuckle.

Do you get joy from just making up stories and pretending you were there? I've heard this story perhaps as frequently as I hear about people who go cow tipping. But then I ask and it back tracks 'Oh, did I say I went cow tipping? I meant I sat in the car while some friends went cow tipping. And no, I guess I didn't see any cows. And we were parked in a taco bell parking lot.'

Post by pmyteh » Tue, Jul 03, 2018, 6:28 PM UTC

lawnchair_larry wrote: post #5

abduhl wrote: post #4

When I worked for BNSF I heard a story about a guy crushed between two cars in the knuckle because he lost line of sight with his engineer and they were using hand signals instead of a radio. They were able to keep him alive long enough to cover him with a tarp and bring his family in to say goodbye. He died immediately upon separation of the knuckle.

This is an old urban legend. Feel free to Google it, and you will see everyone who has worked near trains knows a guy who knows a guy who this exact thing happened to. Edit: https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/the-last-kiss/