Western Railroad Discussion > UP Tears Up North Idaho

You might recall back at the start of December, UP had a tankcar that burned off a axle leaving Spokane and tore up a bunch of crossings in north Idaho around Post Falls. Well it happened again!
Almost exactly a month and a half after the last time, southbound METSK was climbing Shilo Hill between Deep Creek and Shilo, ID around 2pm when a car burned off a axle. The photos show the messed up crossings at Deep Creek, ID. In fact the derailed truck carried the crossing panels from the first crossing into the second crossing. Haven't heard yet just how far the car was dragged like that or what kind of car it was.

Ted Curphey
Ontario, OR

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Too big to fail...

So who is resposible for the problem UP or the tank car owner?  Short question who owned the car and how could it have been preventee. Saw this only once on the BNSF coming south out of Pasco  WA heading down river and crossed it every day two or more times on my route to and from my house.

If the carrier accepts the car in interchange it is responsible while it is on the property. They should perform an inspection before moving the car.

BAB Wrote:
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> So who is resposible for the problem UP or the
> tank car owner?  Short question who owned the car
> and how could it have been preventee. Saw this
> only once on the BNSF coming south out of Pasco 
> WA heading down river and crossed it every day two
> or more times on my route to and from my house.

It should fall to the car owner, but it depends who exactly was reponsible for maintenance of the car which can vary depensing on specific lease terms, if leased and interchange rules and so on.....it can just as often be the railroad has to take full repsonsibility. Railroads also are largely self insured because problems like this are exhorbitantly expensive when you consider that on a nationwide basis a lot of little problems add up to not being able to buy insurance at any price. Ther railroad is going to fix the track....that's a given...they may also have to absorb the cost of repairing the car. But at the end of the day, the way the railroad prices it's services, there should be enough padding to cover things like this.....and still railroad remains the cheapest way to move large quantities of whatever. 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/17/22 08:42 by engineerinvirginia.

engineerinvirginia Wrote:
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.... But at the end of the day, the way the railroad prices it's
> services, there should be enough padding to cover
> things like this.....and still railroad remains
> the cheapest way to move large quantities of
> whatever. 

And they can always furlough another engineer or conductor to cover the expense.  (just kidding,,,I think)

Cole42 Wrote:
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> engineerinvirginia Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> .... But at the end of the day, the way the
> railroad prices it's
> > services, there should be enough padding to
> cover
> > things like this.....and still railroad remains
> > the cheapest way to move large quantities of
> > whatever. 
>
> And they can always furlough another engineer or
> conductor to cover the expense.  (just
> kidding,,,I think)

You are not kidding...this is exactly what happens. 

Where were the dragging equipment detectors or hot box detectors?  Perhaps the railroads should install more and have more employees to maintain the detectors.

Mike Root
Madras, OR

cabooses?

dan Wrote:
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> cabooses?

That's what I say, Bring back the cabeese!

Jim Baker
Riverside, CA

Again it was a tankcar that burned off a journal....pretty much a copy of the december incident.

Ted Curphey
Ontario, OR

funnelfan Wrote:
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> Again it was a tankcar that burned off a
> journal....pretty much a copy of the december
> incident.

Overloaded?

PHall Wrote:
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> funnelfan Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Again it was a tankcar that burned off a
> > journal....pretty much a copy of the december
> > incident.
>
> Overloaded?

How would a tankcar be "overloaded"?  Roller bearings do occasionally fail.

When the UP accepted the car in interchange from the CP at the border, the condition of the car is now the UP's issue.  The UP should inspect all cars upon interchange.  Every time we received cars in interchange, we inspected and air tested the cars before accepting the cars.  So did our interchange partner.

Mike Root
Madras, OR

HotWater Wrote:
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> PHall Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > funnelfan Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > Again it was a tankcar that burned off a
> > > journal....pretty much a copy of the december
> > > incident.
> >
> > Overloaded?
>
> How would a tankcar be "overloaded"?  Roller
> bearings do occasionally fail.

Filled with a liquid that allowed the car to exceed its maximum weight?

portlander Wrote:
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> HotWater Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > PHall Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > funnelfan Wrote:
> > >
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> >
> > > -----
> > > > Again it was a tankcar that burned off a
> > > > journal....pretty much a copy of the
> december
> > > > incident.
> > >
> > > Overloaded?
> >
> > How would a tankcar be "overloaded"?  Roller
> > bearings do occasionally fail.
>
> Filled with a liquid that allowed the car to
> exceed its maximum weight?

And that liquid would be??????   Water, which is one of the heaviest liquids, is about 8 pounds per gallon, so,,,,,,,,,,,was water being shipped in that tankcar?

There are other liquids that have a specific gravity heaver than water.  Acids fall into this group.  

Just a note about a hot journal. Went by the DD at Canoe, Al on CSX and got a no defects readout. Went by Waubeek and a Signal Maintanier report smoke. Got stopped and inspected the car, roller bearing journal was hot within 3 miles of the DD. Shop Foreman advised it only takes about 7 miles at track speed to wring it off. Most DDs were around 15 miles apart on the territory I ran on. Had this happen with another crew north of Cottage Hill, Fl after the Quintette DD reported no defects. Amazing they don't fail more often.

Steve Panzik

fbe Wrote:
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> If the carrier accepts the car in interchange it
> is responsible while it is on the property. They
> should perform an inspection before moving the
> car. 
Yep,hire car-tonks."

rantoul Wrote:
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> Do you check your car tires pressures every time
> you set out on a drive? 

For long trips, definitely yes. Otherwise I check them weekly, on both vehicles (my wife's car, and my Corvette).

Or, immediately stop and
> add/subtract air from tires when the car's
> computer idiot indicates a tire pressure issue?

Absolutely yes! When the computer indicates "low tire pressure", which seems to be around 10 psi below the recommended cold pressure of 35 psi, you damned well better stop and add air (I'm not aware that the computer EVER warns about high pressure).