Empire Builder on the Ground in MT

It is not a good idea to put a cart before the horse. "Deploys crossing gates"? Some sort of automatic system that stops at lesser protected crossings, blocks the road without blocking the track and then undeploys when the train is past? Might as well suggest flying trains.

Yeah, still not sure why we're discussing insoection drones or carts. The line where this happened sees 20 + trains a day. That isnt exactly an unused branchline.

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I know we're getting antsy for answers from the NTSB, but we got to wait for that report. That will have all the details.

As probably mentioned before, the details I'm looking for is what happened between the train before the Empire Builder and the accident. Did that train knock the rail out or did it sunkink afterwards? Evidence so far leans to sudden rail damage or deforming.

It will be hard to say. The NTSB should have head end video from both trains but there is no FRED video available to show the state of the rails behind the freight train. So if there is damage or deformity noted on the Amtrak head end camera it will be an educated guess whether that occurred after the train ahead or because of the train ahead. There could be damage or deformity seen on the freight head end camera that that freight train somehow survived. There could also be no damage or deformity seen on either camera.

Three months after the incident. Perhaps we should have asked for a little more patience for Christmas? When there is an obvious issue there is usually a preliminary release. Nothing obvious about the cause in this incident. Just the facts - train somehow lost contact with rail. Details to be determined. Still.

Any sign of the Final from the NTSB?

After all, there are "a couple of other "headliner RAR's" - Clarendon Hills and Mendon - "in the works".

It normally takes 12 to 24 months for a final report to come out. If you throw in factors such as the pandemic slowing down investigative work and analysis, it's still probably too early to be expecting this one to be in a final state.

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Gilbert B Norman wrote: ↑Wed Jul 27, 2022 7:32 am Any sign of the Final from the NTSB?

After all, there are "a couple of other "headliner RAR's" - Clarendon Hills and Mendon - "in the works".

Here's the NTSB investigation page for the Joplin accident. It includes a link to the associated docket, RRD21MR017, but following that link leads on to a statement that "The docket for this investigation has not been released."

So, no, no sign of the final just yet.

I didn't see anything said about what the engineer could see; IOTW what was on the forward looking camera. They did say that the emergency brakes were activated, as I recall. And if I read correctly, that the truck was stuck on the tracks.

eolesen wrote: ↑Wed Jul 27, 2022 8:37 amIt normally takes 12 to 24 months for a final report to come out.

Agreed. Expecting a "final" report in less than a year is optimistic. Expecting one in only a few months is not rational.

https://www.ntsb.gov/tda/family/Pages/tda-rail.aspx
Due to the possible complexity of railroad accidents and the extensive nature of the investigation process, a railroad accident investigation often requires 12 to 24 months to complete.

Example:
"​WASHINGTON (June 24, 2019) — The National Transportation Safety Board published its final report Monday for the agency’s investigation of the Dec. 18, 2017, fatal, Amtrak train derailment in DuPont, Washington."