A question for my fellow engineers?

Question

I know this isn't something some engineers like to talk about due to bad experiences but i'm curious.An earlier question about train noise had a video link of a close call at a crossing.The crew almost hit a truck and they plugged it before they got there.My question is...how do you handle close calls or actual hits?Do you bighole it prior to the incident or after?Myself,i won't pop it til i know it's gonna be a hit.I'm not going to risk a derailment due to poor train make up when plugging it before hand is not going to change the outcome.We all know by the time we see them it's too late to stop.My worst close call was a gasoline tanker truck.I missed him by a foot.My conductor was going to pull the air and i yelled at him don't do it while i was diving for the floor.He thought i was crazy til i explained to him that if we had hit it our only chance at survival was not stopping in the fireball.So what's your thoughts on it?Wait for the clang or plug it first?

Answer 1

If there is really no chance of stopping or slowing down enough before impact, I wouldn't plug it.  We have several junk trains with inhalation hazards, explosives..etc. I'm not going to risk derailing one of those cars that could potentially wipe out a whole town for one idiot that wasn't paying attention.  There is absolutely no reason to ever get hit by a train in a vehicle.  NONE.  The tracks didn't jump up and move over all of the sudden.  Even if the engineer and conductor are asleep, drunk, or even dead on a runaway train, people in vehicles should pay attention enough to look down the track before crossing them.  I may sound a little harsh but it's just common sense that people seem to overlook that gets them in a collision with a train.

Answer 2

I never plugged a train before impact.  The chances are greater for a derailment and as we all know the train isn't going to stop short anyway.  When we had the old SP locos with the red mars light on the nose, we'd flip it on immediately.  That way, any witnesses could testify the mars light was going, even though the emergency application hadn't happened yet.  Lawsuits, ya know?  Idiot gets clobbered, hogger could get sued, cited or criminally charged.

In the case of a fuel truck, I have never heard any survivors speak on the subject, because there are none.  But to my way of thinking, if there's a chance in h**l, better not to have any more friction around than necessary.

And to the non engineers who happen upon this question, I have a hunch it'd be a good idea to read the answers closely.

Good safety questions always get a star.  Heeeere's one for ya...

Answer 3

If I knew without a doubt I was gonna hit it ( say someone hung on the tracks or a truck stuck on the tracks), I'd dump the air....but if I  dont have that knowledge  I would wait until impact ( theres always a slim chance they will slip by).  As for derailing, if you have your train stretched or bunched, and good track under you, I doubt you would derail....

Answer 4

I have dumped the air a couple times early in my career to avoid an accident until I realized the futility of it.

I came within a couple feet of missing a log truck one time, all I could imagine was the cab filling with broken logs.

I am like you now, I don't pull the air until I know beyond doubt it is going to happen.

We have all heard the horror stories of the scenario you describe, or ones equally horrendous. A very good friend of mine hit a car that burst into flames on the front of the locomotive and he literally watched a woman burn to death on the front grab irons. Twenty five years later and he can't hardly talk about it.

To someone who isn't in the cab it sounds horribly callous and uncaring but it is just reality, I wait for impact before I pull the air, unless it is obvious a vehicle is disabled and will not be able to move.

I was on a train where a guy was stopped, and just before we got to the crossing he lurched ahead through the gates and we hit him at 55 MPH. His brother came along shortly after and said he was certain it was suicide from the way he had been acting recently.

You don't get that kind of thing out of your mind easily.

Keep 'em on the rails guys, it is a good job but there is a lot of stress at times. Everyone copes with it in their own way, I'm laying off for the weekend lol.

Answer 5

Hi Guys,

I'm from the UK, so things will be a little different. However, I'm curious to know why dropping the brake would risk a derailment. I may have misunderstood the answers so far, but at face value it doesn't sound like a very safe method of working. Perhaps I'll start a new question about this.

Anyway, unless I knew for certain that the person/vehicle would be clear of the line before I got there, I would be inclined to drop the brake. This is for a number of reasons.

Firstly, it buys time. It gives extra time for the person/vehicle to get clear and gives me an extra few seconds to get out of the chair and find somewhere safer. (I drive multiple unit passenger stock not locomotives, so can always run back through the train if it looks like it might be a big one.)

Secondly, if there is going to be an impact, a lower speed means a reduced chance of damage to the train and death and injury to myself. The design of the trains I drive means that I'm right up there in the crumple zone and, quite frankly, I don't want to die just yet. There was an incident in the UK last year where a train of similar design and construction struck a footbridge that had been dislodged. The driver was trapped in the cab with injuries to his legs and pelvis and needed to be cut free by the emergency services.

Thirdly, when you're having "tea and biscuits" with the manager after the incident, they are going to want to know what happened and your reasons behind the choices you made. They will have already downloaded the data recorder and will see exactly what you did. Not dropping the brake could be considered negligent and might potentially lead to disciplinary action and possibly even criminal charges.

So, for me at least, it's hit the anchors first and worry about it later.