Amtrak crash 04/03/16


There is a 30-40 mile section of track in Calif with no towns, no people, no roads, nothing, and Amtrak still does maybe 60 MPH. I can't imagine a train doing 100+ through inhabited areas! I guess you guys on the east coast are in more of a hurry than we are. What a shame no matter what the fault was.
 
My friend Gordon like me have been retired for 7 years. He's been out of the loop for a long time. I'm not sure why he made the comment about the O/T. My brother said, maybe it's like the NH and Harlem. Track 1 on the NH is track 4 on the Harlem & Hudson. So when you work all 3 lines you sometime get mixed up about what track your on.

George
 
Originally Posted by WJLI26
George:

One further question, where were the watchmen. Amtrak employees watchmen equipped with paddles, whistles and air horns to alert track men that a train is approaching. Most other railroads don't do this any more, Amtrak does, because of the high train speeds. Where were they???

More questions, not enough answers.
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NYC_George said:
Today at golf I asked my friend Gordon who was a project manager for all the construction on the Harlem & Hudson lines for the last 30 years about what you said in the above quote. He said, that was a Saturday they probably didn't want to pay them the O/T.
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There are many types of protection for track crews. I don't work for Amtrak, so I can't speak for them. The railroad I do work for calls that sort of protection "Watchman/lookout" and they sound an alert when the train is coming. You can only use that type of protection when you'll have enough time to safely clear the track and to make it safe for the train to pass. Basically, we use it on 10 mph track for things like tightening bolts, or when we're working on one track, but the crew is walking back and forth on another track (fouling it) and they can easily and quickly step out of the way.

Again, I don't know the specifics of Amtrak rules, but I cannot imagine there's any way they're rely on the flaggers for protection where the train speeds are so high. Are they simply an added layer of protection? Used when trains are on adjacent tracks maybe?
 
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Bob: The watchmen date back to the PRR era. When the PC came along, the watchmen were eliminated, in favor of bulletin order s describing work zones and proceedures for passing them, mostly as George described earlier in this thread. After Amtrak took over, and a few fatal accidents occurred, Amtrak revived the Watchmen along with other new methods of protection. They are not the only layer of protection, but are effective, especially along curves. Usually, the foreman in charge owns the out of service track, and gets fouling time authority to obstruct adjacent tracks, for a specific time, after which he must report clear.

I brought up the absence of the Watchmen because they are another set of eyes that are focused on oncoming trains. Working on or about tracks on the NEC is significantly more dangerous because of the high speeds involved, along with the nature of the quieter equipment. It should be noted, that each workday, numerous track maintenance employees perform their duties in a safe and efficient manner. This accident was a preventable, and likely caused by bad judgement on the part of individuals who knew better. If true, a sad situation indeed.
 
WJLI26 said:
Sherrel: It is a shame, and the deaths were unnecessary.
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Joe: I agree with you, that is tragic and totally unnecessary, all just to save a few bucks.
I'm also sorry for the loss your feeling too, loosing a friend is hard.
 
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