Emergency stop

I put this here since it happened on a Amtrak train

Yesterday while returning from Washington DC on a metroliner, our train hit what the conductor told me was a 55 gallon drum that was on the track. I knew it was something because i heard pieces of something bouncing around under the car. The conductor also stated that the train went into emergency stop. My question is would the train do that automatically when it hits something?

We also lost power to the cars for a while and when we did start moving again after 25 minutes the conductor stated that we had a problem with the brake pipes.

The air hose connection between two of the cars was probably broken, which would cause an abrupt, unplanned stop. Happened to me on a NY-Bos train seveal years ago in the Bronx. We hit a tie that someone had
place across the rails.

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I figured as much. Just curious if the engine would be sent into emergency if it just hit something, with or without damage to lines, etc.

what train were you on, # ?

MBTA, it was Train 126

An apply and release brake test is needed only if there is an unplannedemergency application. Example: if the engineer places the automatic brake valve in the emergency position, after he recovers his air, a brake test would not be needed.

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Sorry, I do not have or am I required to carry AMT-3. we are governed by NJ Transit TRO-4, which states:

11.0.6 (brake test) "it must be performed after any unintentional emergency brake application."

Strange that these books would have such a difference.

I had a simular situation back in the 80's near Philadelphia. Someone piled lumber in the middle of the track and stuck a stop sign in it. I think I was on the Montrealer heading towards D.C. I was several cars back and it was a racket with all the lumber bouncing around underneath. It was a bit scary to be honest. We broke the air hose. They had to seperate the train at my car to get it fixed. Some of the crew were a greasy mess when they got done crawling around under the train.

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Karl, for years our TRO-4 required the same as the AMT-3. Recently the change was made (why? who knows?). Alledgely it is because it minimizes train delay when the engineer's foot slips off of the 'instant deadman' pedal on the MU's. But the change is there, good? bad? who knows?

Anothr result of running over good sized debris can sometimes be damage to cab signal equipment under the loco.

In this situation it sounds like the train went into emergency becuase pieces of whatever it hit got chewed-up under neath and either seperated an air hose as someone mentioned earlier, or caused a break in the trainline on one of the cars undercarriage.

Mudvalve, I also believe you said the train lost electrical power, if this happened, it is possible that either the debris knocked a jumper cable out, or perhaps when the train came to a stop, it stopped in a dead section of the catenary, but I am guessing it was a loose or broken jumper cable.

csx, power went out just as we came to a stop. Orginally, there was no power what so ever and the conductor told everyone to use caution walking about the train. We had the usual lights in the center of the walkway.

Maybe about 10 minutes after we started rolling we regained power, but when we made station stops the power would go out again. I'm guessing the problem was fixed in philadephia..we were in station for a few minutes and the problem didn't occur at the next stop in trenton.

you probably had ALP-46 for power, they have jumper protection that leaves HEP on even with one jumper out, but when the train goes slower than 15 the hep drops out so nobody gets hurt trying to remove a dragging jumper cable.