http://www.bletdiv599.org/eventrecregs.pdf REALLY confusing: 1. The event recorder is not required to be located on the lead locomotive......, followed by: 6. Railroads shall have an in-service event recorder on the lead locomotive.
Well.... I have 31 years working for 10 or 11 different railroads including installing event recorders ( Datacord 5200s) on F40ph locomotives that were leased to NJT. I've personally installed many of the 256 recorders on the Wisconsin Central and throughout the years from 1983-2016 have worked on troubleshooting and installing event recorders and most recently PTC ACSES equipment. As a qualified locomotive engineer ( I was running engines beginning in 1988), an electrical engineer, enginehouse electrician, road foreman and supervisor I might know what I'm talking about too. Randy
Something in one of the articles referenced above piqued my interest. The conductor said that they had only 4 cars as opposed to the normal 5 cars. Now being a retired engineer(BNSF) and having worked METRA commuter trains as conductor,brakeman and engineer, I know for a fact how a train consist will affect operations. Each commuter train job(for pay purposes identified by the originating train number) has a static number of cars in the train consist. Normally you see the same cars every day. METRA does NOT operate with a large spare car backlog, so cars with defects are repaired as quickly as possible. If there is a difference in the train consist, that will be a matter of discussion at the morning safety briefing with the crew and you can be sure the trainmaster or RFE will let you know that your train consist is different. This needs to be discussed because the engineer may have to alter his "spot" on the platforms to maximize loading/unloading capability. The trainmen need to shuffle their ticket lift coverage. Many,if not most, of the METRA commuters are regular riders on the trains and get upset if their regular seat or car is not available.The service we provide is something our passengers have come to expect and for some of us, we made friends with a lot of our regular riders. It becomes one big family. So anyway I am wondering if this train consist may have, in some way, affected the operation of this train and its braking capacity. The conductor was puzzled as to why they were one car short. That should(and maybe it was)have been a topic of the job safety briefing for that crew prior to their first pull. Basically that is my question. I still need more info, not that I think I can provide an answer, but because I am interested in knowing why this thing happened. Charlie
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...dly-crash-hit-hoboken-platform-21-mph-n661251 NTSB (no "speculating"). 21MPH impact, over twice the allowed speed entering the station. Took engine off idle, caused train to accelerate, back to idle, then big holed it, then hit.
http://nypost.com/2016/10/06/hoboken-train-accelerated-before-fatal-station-crash/ 8 to 21 MPH.... "But roughly 38 seconds before impact, the throttle suddenly increased and “train speed began to increase and reached a maximum of about 21 mph,” the board said in a statement. The board offered no explanation for the sudden acceleration." The "board" meaning the NTSBoard.
Quoting from a Star Ledger front page article from Friday October 7: "...As reported Thursday by the National Transportation Safety Board. a commuter train accelerated from 8 mph about 38 seconds before the crash. The throttle had been in the idle position but moved to a No. 4 position as the train accelerated. Just before the crash, the throttle had been in the idle position and the engineer tried emergency breaking procedures." So now we now the engineer was alert just before the crash. This is what I had been wondering when I asked if he had dropped sand. To be fair, we do not now if he was temporarily incapacitated before that.
It's obvious NTSB has to do a lot more investigation before ANY questions can be answered. So all that can be said now are WAGs. Will anyone post here when the final investigation report is published?
All MOST here are doing is quoting the Gummint Sources...not speculating. I would hope in three years we can see the final report (if it is not damaging to unions, railroads, political parties..that sort of stuff) and if any of us are still alive, post it here.
Problem usually is that by the time a proper investigation is concluded, nobody is paying attention any longer. Whether it's a case of accident, crime or political shenanigans. So it doesn't hurt to discuss actual reports from the investigative bodies and get some input from those with insider knowledge, but it is worthwhile also to seperate what is factual from what is speculative or opinion.
which is precisely why I give actual links and quotes. If it wasn't for rumour and innuendo, the algore would wither up and blow away.
All I know is what I see on television news. And that, as Will Rogers said, is my alibi for my ignorance.
Ignition coils for diesels. Sounds like the kind of thing Lucas Electric would jump into. Do they offer ignition coils for steam engines too?
