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Well what the hell happened? It sounds to me somebody forget to tie a binder on the little bugger so she rolled away. I have read the crew’s story on the UTU’s web site and they said the crew heard the engine dynamite when they cut away from the power. Well then it looks like the hogger and the conductor are going to hang for this one. Because at the start of there shift, the hogger should have done a quick pre-strip inspection. The only way a locomotive can roll away like that after it dynamites is 1 way, and 2 things must happen, 1. No one ties the handbrake and 2. The trucks were cut out. Because If the crew heard the engine go in the big hole, like they stated, the brake pipe vented to the atmosphere, but the air from the emergency reservoir never made it to the brake cylinders. Well you could say there was a major leak in the emergency reservoir, but the engineer would have know that because his airflow would have been trough the roof when he was charging the system or through the coarse of business if it happen after his pre-trip inspection. But the bottom line here is no mater what railroad you work for all unattended equipment must be tied down with sufficient number of handbrakes. Air must never be relied on to hold unattended equipment, no mater how long you plan on it sitting there. Obviously no one was left watching the open barn door, so regardless of how long they planned on leaving it there; somebody’s going to be doing some time. But I tell you what I think happened.
They crew cut away, didn’t feel like cranking the hell out of an EMD hand brake, it takes something like 23 pumps, and hell your coming back anyway. They closed the angle cocks on the locomotive and what ever it was tied onto. The paper said it was 2 other locomotives, but it really doesn’t mater if it was a locomotive or freight cars. But I believe it was freight cars most likely flats with M-1’s because I see no reason to close all the Main reservoir, Independent, and Actuating valves on both units just to come back and reconnect the glad-hands and play with the valves again. The bottom line is the independent was in the trail position and the automatic was in handle off, and if they didn’t want to dynamite the engine, because for whatever reason it always seems that when a locomotive goes in the big hole it never wants to reset until you tried for like fifty times and it always happens when your going for that big quit. Well after the crew cut away, someone must have went up to the engine to through on the independent but forgot to turn the MU-2A valve from” trail” to “lead-dead”. And there you have it, you think the brakes are set and their not. Because how many time has someone said to themselves,” I am not tying that binder, I’ll be back in 10 minuets the air will hold her. Well maybe someone who knows can answer this. I screwed up so many times running for quits, I pretty much can figure out what went wrong if I know the scenario. Not proud, just pretty thick headed. I first thought it was an NYA crew when I read the column, but they went out of their way to say it was a LIRR crew. And I know any Freight guy would know the sound of an Independent set cut in or out. When they’re cut out and you try to apply it, the Indy still makes a sound but it kind of flops over to the set position. Rather it does have some resistance when there cut in and applied. Well lets have the facts boys, and I’ll put my destructive reputation on the line to figure out what went wrong.
