by atsf sp
I would assume they do but do engine/locomotive doors have locks on them? Secodly, to start an engine is a key needed or is it just a button to start it? I am speaking of diesel engines, not steam.
Railroad Forums
Moderator: John_Perkowski
Gadfly wrote:My initial reaction upon reading this thread was, "WHY does he want to know this"?Don't worry, I'm not a nut. I was just wondering because I have never seen anything that looked like a lock on a engine door or heard of keys. I just thought that in this time, there should be more security, and that with engines being able to pull a whole train, with many different forms of cargo, would be a prime thing to try to make more proctected.
Gadfly
10more years wrote:I'm surprised that rail security hasn't gotten tighter. Really, I don't think that issuing a new reverser or requiring a lock system on locomotives hasn't already been mandated.It has not been mandated. There are no rules regarding either at this time.
10more years wrote:Locomotives go in for inspection every 90 days. Changing a reverser assembly or adding a lock mechanism to the control stand should not be so troublesome. Easier than adding a electronic keypad, although that's definitely not out of the question.FYI, it's 92 days. That aside, It's not really about having the time to make modifications. Especially now considering every calss 1 out there is storing power. The issue is COST. That is and always will be the biggest factor in any changes railroads make. EVERYTHING is about cost. How to lower costs and increase profits. First off, there is no fully tested and proven system, nor is there any FRA criteria for what they want. Those two issues alone will keep it from happening now. No railroad is going to spend the money to install an untested system especially when nobody knows what the FRA will ultimatley require. And then you have the HUGE logistical issue of run through power. Whatever system is ultimatley chosen has to be standard across the board. Having unique systems or systems that require special keys will never work since railroads use each others power all the time. Look at how long EPIC braking and PTS is taken. It's all for the same reasons i am mentioning. Interoperability and what the specific requirements will be. Untill that is ironed out, nothing will happen.
10more years wrote:Railroads have, in my opinion, traditionally resisted change until it was forced on them. And yet, we're doing things now that just a few years ago would have been called impossible. And we've only touched the tip of our potential.Almost every industry out there resists change when change costs money. That's just the way things are.
NV290 wrote:As with most any secuirty issue, untill something bad happens, nothing will change. As soon as someone steals a locomotive and/or train and creates a disaster with loss of life, you will still see careless employees leaving doors and windows open and and unlcoked cabs. Sad but true.There have been a few fairly well publicized incidents of locomotive theft ... I can think of two here in the US and one in Europe right off the bat, and I'm sure a google search would turn up more.
litz wrote:Many railroads lock the doors to their locomotives ... it's a lot less to prevent theft, and a lot more to prevent vandalism.Here is a news clip of the Kendall incident:
Turning on a locomotive is much more complicated than turning the key on a car ... starting up a large diesel powerplant (even with autostart) is not a trivial task; if you don't know what you are doing, your chances of success are not great.
That being said, there WAS an incident a few months back where a couple of friends chanced across a lonely CSX locomotive down in florida (a GP-38, I think it was), broke into the cab, and did indeed figure out how to start it up, and then drove it down the track to a local bar that happened to be trackside.
The theft was discovered when the CSX crew showed up for a job, and the locomotive was no longer where it had been left.
The culprit was apprehended off fingerprints the police gathered at the scene of the crime (e.g. - in the locomotive).
Reverser handles are supposed to be removed from the control stand, but I don't believe there's anything that states they have to be removed from the locomotive itself. Most locomotives, in fact, have a little bracket on the side of the control stand for storage when it's not in use.
- litz