Philly wreck.

[rogertra]

With so much technology in the world today it's rediculous that they don't have automatic systems that would slow the train to max speed limits based on the trains GPS position.

They are testing driverless cars in this country for goodness sake...

Sad that profits keep safety in the dark ages.

Nm-Jeff

North American railroads have always lagged behind other "first world" countries when it comes to railroad safety.  A lot of that lagging is due to the long distances that need to be travelled, the relatively slow speeds of the trains and the low frequency of trains over most lines.  Therefore, the argument goes, the sophisticated and let's be honest here, complex and expensive systems used on other 'first world' railways are not cost effective throughout the North American railroad system.  That's not to say they probably could and should be applied on certain busy, by North American standards, corridors but out in the middle of the plains on a line with say 12 or so trains per day?

Cheers

Roger T.

[jbrock27]

Obviously this crowd never saw The Taking of Pelham 123

Which one Joe?  The original or the remake? 
I preferred the original myself.

[richardl]

From the lates news report.

Investigators are trying to determine why the Amtrak train that derailed at a curve this week in Philadelphia sped up when it was supposed to be slowing down, the National Transportation Safety Board said Thursday.

In the minute or so before the crash, the train sped up from 70 mph until it reached more than 100 mph at a sharp bend where the maximum speed is supposed to be 50 mph, NTSB member Robert Sumwalt said.

It's unclear, Sumwalt said, whether the speed was increased manually by engineer Brandon Bostian, who grew up obsessed with trains.

Rich

[dasBM2-6-0]

Does anyone know if ANY section of track between DC and Philly is cleared for 100 mph speed?
The time frame of the speed increase is a real puzzler......What-other than human error-would cause "automatic" acceleration??

May your freight ALWAYS roll smoothly..and ON TIME!!

[jward]

yes, most of the line is 10mph or more.

[ACY]

There are several straight stretches with a 100 mph speed limit near Philadelphia.

[jward]

there was an article in trains magazine about a year or two ago which had a chart showing speed limits for the entire northeast corridor.

I was in Halethorpe, md back in February, and the trains there were fast and silent. if you weren't paying attention, they would pass you before you had a chance to raise your camera. 100+ mph is pretty impressive to watch.

[jward]

that's not just gov't. private industry is just as bad. every rule in the railroaders rule book is written in blood.

a good example of this is how we got green lights for clear signals. originally, white was the clear signal. that changed because of a bad wreck at jacks run, pa just west of Pittsburgh. a passenger train was running at night in typical river fog, and got what appeared to be a clear signal at jacks run. because of the fog, it is assumed the engineer didn't get a good look at the semaphore arm, which was in the stop position. the train plowed into the back of a stopped freight train with considerable loss of life including the engine crew. the accident investigation found that the red lens on the signal was broken, giving a false clear indication.

since that time white, where used, is a restricting signal which is slightly better than a stop signal. to paraphrase the rulebook, restricting means, proceed at a speed not to exceed 15mph, able to stop short of obstruction within half the range of sight. in other words, creep along prepared to stop at any time until you pass a signal with a better indication.

[RAM]

A lot of time the lens were broken to cover up the facts.

[jward]

do you have proof of that? there would be no need to break lenses after the clear signals were changed to green. after all, if you properly control your train on a restricting signal, according to the rules, you will not collide with anything.

[RAM]

Since I was not around when they used clear lens.  I only know what I read years ago the railroad mag.  I think  there were only a few railroads that  used the clear lens. 

[Joe323]

Obviously this crowd never saw The Taking of Pelham 123

Which one Joe?  The original or the remake? 
I preferred the original myself.

The original  of course

[jbrock27]

Yep, a true classic.

[Woody Elmore]

It is unfair to compare European trains, or Japanese, for that matter, to American railroads because the countries were destroyed. A lot of the rail systems have been rebuilt over and over while trains in the USA chug away on sections of track designed 100 years or more ago.

As for signal colors - the uncle of a friend of mine worked for the NYC. He couldn't be an engineer because he was color blind. That is why the Pennsy went to the position signals - many of which are still in use.

I feel bad for the engineer who caused that wreck. People should stop speculating until the investigation is done.

[rogertra]

I feel bad for the engineer who caused that wreck. People should stop speculating until the investigation is done.

But isn't that what you have just done?  Blamed the engineer before the investigation is done?

Cheers

Roger T.