The Amtrak crash

[Rick in PA]

I found these two items interesting:

A route map-

And the fact that it was a fairly new locomotive.

A straight stretch of road, just don't forget to slow down for the curve at the end...

 

[philipp10]

someone was sleeping (or texting) on the job I'll bet. If Google can make a self driving car how hard would it be to make a system that would over-ride or at least alert a train going 100 mph in a 50 mph zone?

 

[Joe_Power]

Isis or Al Qaeda......

 

[dmproske]

How fast do amtraks usually run on wide open tracks? Good Lord. Even if texting he had to have known he was hauling the mail.

 

[kozanoglu]

It is the aliens!

 

[DuckRyder]

Is this an "acela" train with a top speed of 165mph?

I thought the whole purpose was for it to be a "High Speed Rail"?

 

[skyactiv]

I don't think he was texting, but I bet you a 5 qt jug of Castrol 0W40 he was playing on his smartphone.

 

[HerrStig]

Originally Posted By: DuckRyder
Is this an "acela" train with a top speed of 165mph?

I thought the whole purpose was for it to be a "High Speed Rail"?

The only chunk of roadbed where the Acela" can go over a buck and a quarter is in Rhode Island, of all places. Longest straight in the NE corridor.

 

[simple_gifts]

Originally Posted By: philipp10
someone was sleeping (or texting) on the job I'll bet. If Google can make a self driving car how hard would it be to make a system that would over-ride or at least alert a train going 100 mph in a 50 mph zone?


This is already installed on parts of Amtrak. Part of the investigation is to determine why this area was overlooked.

 

[Trajan]

Originally Posted By: Joe_Power
Isis or Al Qaeda......

An engineer who was doing 107mph......

 

[jorton]

I think the orange box records data. Sounds a little like the airliner that flew into the mountain.

 

[Trajan]

http://6abc.com/news/engineer-of-derailed-amtrak-train-cant-remember-crash-details/720730/

Brandon Bostian, the engineer driving the Amtrak train that derailed in Philadelphia Tuesday night, has no recollection of the crash itself, his attorney told ABC News.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Bostian has worked at Amtrak for nearly nine years, the first half of which he spent as a passenger conductor before he became a passenger engineer in December 2010.

 

[friendly_jacek]

Originally Posted By: Trajan
Originally Posted By: Joe_Power
Isis or Al Qaeda......

An engineer who was doing 107mph......


it's a long shot, but it could possibly be a premeditated act. just like pilots committing suicides/homicides.

BTW, why they call them "engineers"? aren't they just glorified drivers/operators?

 

[JHZR2]

The stretch north of Fairmount park can be pretty fast... Up until the Trenton bridge. Ive clocked >90 MPH on the runs south and north of Philadelphia. North of New Haven is where Acela gets into the 130+ speeds. Youll see 110+ elsewhere on Acela. But judging by the pics and train number, this looks like a regional train.

 

[Astro14]

Originally Posted By: friendly_jacek
Originally Posted By: Trajan
Originally Posted By: Joe_Power
Isis or Al Qaeda......

An engineer who was doing 107mph......


it's a long shot, but it could possibly be a premeditated act. just like pilots committing suicides/homicides.

BTW, why they call them "engineers"? aren't they just glorified drivers/operators?


The 107 MPH might have been perfectly within standards for the previous track section.

But the failure to slow for a corner that was rated at 50 MPH is the root cause of the crash.

Wonder why he failed in that?

As far as why they're engineers - go look at the controls of an old steam engine.

 

[DoubleWasp]

Beyond that, in the days before a crew was a short call away,,the engineer was responsible for anything that went wrong. Conductors, stokers, and brakemen knew little or nothing about mechanical maintenance or repair of a locomotive.

 

[Turk]

Possibly distracted driving.
People are WAY too distracted by their little video screens now-a-days.
The monkey wrench in this is he has no recollection, apparently.

 

[The_Eric]

Lot of people making assumptions and playing the blame game already but nobody knows squat.

As for the quip about engineers... I agree with Astro. Heck even try running a modern diesel electric.

 

[morepwr]

I was surprised that one of those Amtrak trains could even go that fast. That is moving for one of those things.

 

[zzyzzx]

This whole thing reminds me of the Exxon Valdez.