Northeast Regional 188 - Accident In Philadelphia

whatelyrailfan wrote:Northbound Vermonter just passed behind my condo in Holyoke, MA at exactly 5pm, an hour or so late, but I wasn't sure I'd be seeing it at all. The train originates in Washington DC, so does it take a separate route that would take it around the crash site?
Peace,
Jonathan

No. There are no *easily* accessible detours, and the *difficult* detour routes are currently not being considered. There would be too much required to send it up the CSX High Line in Philly and then up through the CSX Trenton Line, and then up and over through the NS Morrisville Cutoff.

That train likely originated in NYC.

The NTSB 5pm Press Conference is just starting - Watch @ http://abcnews.go.com/live?stream=1

pumpers wrote:

whatelyrailfan wrote:Northbound Vermonter just passed behind my condo in Holyoke, MA at exactly 5pm, an hour or so late, but I wasn't sure I'd be seeing it at all. The train originates in Washington DC, so does it take a separate route that would take it around the crash site?
Peace,
Jonathan

No detour route exists. Perhaps it left from NYC today, but maybe they had to scrounge up some equipment. JS

Per Amtrak service alerts, that's correct. Vermonter originating/terminating from NYP today.

Per the NTSB: there was an Engineer induced - emergency brake application. Train was traveling at 106 mph, 3 seconds later, the loco slowed 102 mph at termination of collecting data.

My heart goes out to those involved.
I agree with a previous poster about plainly labeled speculation being part of a forum discussion.
I don't think anyone should be surprised at the damage to the cars, even if the speed was lower than reported. If the locomotive sheared off a tough old catenary pole, leaving a very durable two-foot stump for the undercarriage of the next car to hang up on, the speed and mass of the rest of the train piling up on that car could cause the damage seen. There are other plausible scenarios. When you set a lot of mass in motion, and send it off the rails at speed, the laws of physics and the freakishness of happenstance allow for a great many unfortunate potential results.

Just saw a westbound Keystone go by as I was on the P&W at Radnor, same time it usually does, so keystones must be running on their normal schedule, obviously terminating at 30th. Did a double take, as ACS-64 #610 was pushing, I almost thought it said 601 for a second.

I hope the death toll doesn't keep rising but I fear it might. Was the car that is destroyed the quiet car on this train? If so Id hate to think that it wouldve been fairly crowded.

"termination of collecting data", presumably in this case would be loss of power?

(there was obviously some battery power on that locomotive, as the headlights were still on in some of the accident photos, but was that also able to power the event recorder? apparently not, in this case ...)

I also noticed that for quite some time afterwards, the rear marker lights were still on, in many photos and videos, as well as interior emergency lighting (Exit signs, etc).

It would appear these emergency power systems were functional when needed.

(think about it ... from an operations standpoint, if the train loses power, one thing you absolutely do NOT want to fail is the rear marker lights, which exist so any approaching traffic from your rear, can still see you ... and not hit you ...)

(and from a human-factors standpoint, yeah ... in an accident, or when needed ... yes, you DO want to be able to see where the exits are ...)

34thStreet wrote:Just saw a westbound Keystone go by as I was on the P&W at Radnor, same time it usually does, so keystones must be running on their normal schedule, obviously terminating at 30th. Did a double take, as ACS-64 #610 was pushing, I almost thought it said 601 for a second.

I hope the death toll doesn't keep rising but I fear it might. Was the car that is destroyed the quiet car on this train? If so Id hate to think that it wouldve been fairly crowded.

The completely obliterated car was the business class car. The quiet car was the second car in the consist and the second most severely damaged.

CNBC reported the engineer refused to make any statements after the crash and requested a lawyer be present before any questioning takes place, draw your own conclusions.

A prudent precaution in any case; I don't think any conclusions should be drawn from that.

It's common practice, and I don't hold it against him. However, whether he has his lawyer or not, he looks to be in pretty deep doo-doo.

From the NTSB at the last news briefing,the track as been released to Amtrak for repairs,2 tracks might be open
some time tomorrow depending on work can be done on the track and catenary.

F-line to Dudley via Park wrote:Not to mention the same PRR cab signal tech was also there in 1943 when that Frankford wreck happened.

After the 1950 wreck in Woodbridge, N.J., the PRR added Automatic Speed Control to the "cab signal tech'' that was existing in 1943.

JimBoylan wrote:

F-line to Dudley via Park wrote:Not to mention the same PRR cab signal tech was also there in 1943 when that Frankford wreck happened.

After the 1950 wreck in Woodbridge, N.J., the PRR added Automatic Speed Control to the "cab signal tech'' that was existing in 1943.

Not to mention, that frankford wreck wasn't caused by overspeed so it wouldn't have helped anyway.

Since the news reports were referencing the 1943 Congressional wreck in the same area, I decided to read up on it because the news has been conveniently leaving out the cause of the 1943 accident.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1943_Frank ... rain_wreck" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Scroll to the bottom of that page and there is already a link to a wiki page for the 188 wreck.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2015_Phila ... derailment" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The ignorance of the media regarding the details and facts of railroading is mind boggling.
The sensational reporting getting side tracked with funding cuts, aging infrastructure , accident statistics, and file footage of 601 showing the cab door being slammed shut like there is something to hide, mention of the 1943 wreck with no further mention of the cause leading those who don't know or have the curiosity to do their own research, to jump to conclusions.

As a career transit employee, it makes me want to throw things at the TV.

Prayers to all those involved and their families.

Now we wait to find out the cause....