Passenger Trains > Two of Amtrak's biggest problems, yet again

Idiot dangerous truck drivers and ignorant headline writers:

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/amtrak-train-crashes-florida-1-dead-article-1.1210234?localLinksEnabled=false

The NY Daily News headline implies P42DC's got wings. :-)

"Train Hits Dump Truck; Truck Driver Dead" headline in the video is a bit more accurate. But why worry about things that won't get fixed, the increasing number of inattentive drivers and sloppy media coverage?

Let's hope the P42DC's are repairable. We can almost call the train vs. truck an epidemic, and at this pace, Amtrak's going to run out of locomotives sooner than later.

Great, and Im getting on 98 in JAX.

Well the article says the truck was dumping stone along the track-part of the work for Orlando commuter train?

David

Pretty violent collision. I think the writing is as good as train people could hope for as the train did hit the truck, but the truck certainly was in the wrong place. It was also made clear that the truck missed a stop sign, which pretty much makes it the trucker's fault.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/30/12 15:48 by a737flyer.

Wouldn't it be nice if they identified which train it actually was? Like a train name or number. They would never write "A plane crashed today" without giving the airline and flight nunmber. Basic journalism. Guess they don't teach it that way anymore.

I always wonder how the engineer is doing...no injuries for him?

andersonb109 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Wouldn't it be nice if they identified which train
> it actually was? Like a train name or number. They
> would never write "A plane crashed today" without
> giving the airline and flight nunmber. Basic
> journalism. Guess they don't teach it that way
> anymore.

Since it was a train en route to Tampa and Miami, one could surmise that it was 91.

andersonb109 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Wouldn't it be nice if they identified which train
> it actually was? Like a train name or number. They
> would never write "A plane crashed today" without
> giving the airline and flight number. Basic
> journalism. Guess they don't teach it that way
> anymore.


You keep raising this here on every such story. Maybe you should start writing to news organizations instead of us to press this case.

The fact is, in most of the country, there are so few Amtrak trains that you don't really need to know the train number to know which one it was.

In cases of major accidents involving passenger deaths or injuries, the train name usually is given, such as with the California Zephyr/dump truck collision last year in Nevada; the City of New Orleans wreck in Bourbonnais, Ill.; the Sunset Limited disaster at Bayou Canot, Ala., or, when the Northeast Corridor trains had names, the Colonial at Chase, Md.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/30/12 09:31 by toledopatch.

KV1guy Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Great, and Im getting on 98 in JAX.

Looks like you may have a late night tonight. You guys be safe.

Posted from iPhone

Tim Rich
S. Ogden, UT

TrainChaser Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> KV1guy Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Great, and Im getting on 98 in JAX.
>
> Looks like you may have a late night tonight. You
> guys be safe.
>
> Posted from iPhone

I have a lot of respect for the guys who get on trains AFTER the crash, or help remove the body parts from the front of the train, etc. It's grinding, thankless, sad work, but it gets done.

As with many occupations, any shift could be your last. Not much you can do about it, other than do your best.

The eng crew is in the hospital. For privacy and their protection, thats all i can say.

Tim, we'll be lucky to leave here by midnight.

Posted from iPhone

milkcow Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Well the article says the truck was dumping stone
> along the track-part of the work for Orlando
> commuter train?
>
> David


Wonder if there were slow orders in effect for this stretch of track.

No

Posted from iPhone

>The NY Daily News headline implies P42DC's got wings. :-)

No it doesn't. However, you are probably inferring it. Besides, it's just plain "P-42" with no "DC". The FL-9 replacements, on the other hand, are "P-32ACDM". Perhaps you got confused.

>Well the article says the truck was dumping stone along the track-part of the work for Orlando commuter train?

If the words "dumping stone" appear, I couldn't find them.

EtoinShrdlu Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> >The NY Daily News headline implies P42DC's got
> wings. :-)
>
> No it doesn't. However, you are probably inferring
> it. Besides, it's just plain "P-42" with no "DC".
> The FL-9 replacements, on the other hand, are
> "P-32ACDM". Perhaps you got confused.
>

Yup, thanks for the corrections, but I'm glad you understood my point.

10 miles below the speed limit let's me say the engineer on 91 saw the truck coming and quickly put the train into emergency! Sucks things like this happen all too often now!