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Discussion relating to the PRR, up to 1968. Visit the PRR Technical & Historical Society for more information.
 #1455739  by shlustig
 
Dola was on the Ft. Wayne Division between Ft. Wayne and Crestline. Between Ada (home of Ohio northern University) and Dunkirk (DK Tower at the NYC's T&OC Xg.) a 3.3 mile long siding for eastward traffic was controlled by DK Tower with a home signal and powered switch.

Extra 6462 East with 102 cars + caboose entered the siding at about 3:10 AM and stopped with the rear-end about 600' in the clear. Extra 6919 East with 44 cars + caboose entered the siding on a Restricting Signal at about 4:30 AM and hit the rear end of X 6462 derailing the caboose and rear car and lightly damaging the 6919. The caboose caught fire and the Conductor and rear Brakemen were killed.

Given that the Head Brakeman of the X6919 was riding in his doghouse on the tender, one has to wonder whether a 3rd set of eyes in the cab of that train would have prevented the accident.
 #1456946  by ExCon90
 
Most sidings on the Fort Wayne were non-track-circuited, so the signals governing entry to the siding could display nothing better than Restricting; if the siding was clear for all 3.3 miles you got a Restricting, and if the siding was full you got a Restricting. It seems possible that the engineer just assumed the siding was clear, as it no doubt was on many previous occasions, and forgot what Restricting really means. If the Head Brakeman had been in the cab he would probably be the junior man there and might have just thought it better to keep his mouth shut and not comment on the engineer's train handling. I sometimes wonder how many collisions and near-misses take place because the junior man in the cab didn't want to risk getting his head bitten off by an irascible engineer.
 #1456982  by Allen Hazen
 
Unwillingness of juniors to speak out, and of seniors to listen, has been cited many times as a contributing factor to air and marine wrecks, so I suppose I shouldn't be surprised to hear it suggested as a factor in railroad accidents.
 #1457037  by Wayside
 
Allen Hazen wrote:Unwillingness of juniors to speak out, and of seniors to listen, has been cited many times as a contributing factor to air and marine wrecks, so I suppose I shouldn't be surprised to hear it suggested as a factor in railroad accidents.
This is one of the behavioral syndromes addressed by the crew resource management (CRM) process. It's a real thing that deserves attention.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crew_resource_management