@EscapeRocks posted:I think you may have missed the sarcasm on this one as indicated by the
@Steaming Jon posted:It wouldn’t be bent, it’s cast iron. It just breaks. I believe that Strasburg used a brazing procedure with filler rods specifically made for cast iron based on their Facebook post…
That makes perfect sense. Clearly, with all the cast iron they have to maintain around there, this can't be the first time a cast iron welding issue has come up. 
@Steaming Jon posted:It wouldn’t be bent, it’s cast iron. It just breaks. I believe that Strasburg used a brazing procedure with filler rods specifically made for cast iron based on their Facebook post…
It’s a bronze alloy flux coated rod. used with oxygen & acetylene wit a small rose bud tip. It’s a dying art form, you have to heat the cast till it’s almost at a state of fluidness, then introduce the bronze, ….the bronze flows into the iron casting and fuses to it,…knowing when to shove the rod in, and making those beautiful stack of dime welds is a true art form,….clearly the SRC techs got it down to a science…you can see the flux trails in some of the pics, ….cool stuff, real talent there,….
Pat
@superwarp1 posted:
Thanks for posting this Gary. I had to rewind to 14:40 area to catch #475 coming back in to the station. Around 14:45 and change is a great close up to the new(repaired) smoke box. Looks great.
Last year on my birthday, I got there bright and early. The staff do an excellent job getting the equipment ready for the days work. Reminded me of one of the films(videos) I saw from one of the New York Central promos. They take pride in their railroad.
Given that the 475 is back in service now, does that mean that only the smokebox door was damaged? I would presume if the blast pipe or other piping in the smokebox got damaged, it would have taken longer to repair and inspect. Though Strasburg is excellent at repairing locomotives so maybe not. I also wonder how long the FRA takes to inspect damaged locomotives? I suppose nowadays shop workers could just take some photos and email them to investigators, do the rules require an in person inspection?
It’ll be interesting to see the conclusion of the report on this. The statement posted was interesting in revealing how the accident occurred. It sounds like what happens next is in the FRA’s hands.
@Redshirt214 posted:Given that the 475 is back in service now, does that mean that only the smokebox door was damaged?
Pretty much, yes.
I would presume if the blast pipe or other piping in the smokebox got damaged, it would have taken longer to repair and inspect.
The 475 is a saturated steam locomotive, i.e. NOT superheated. Thus, it doesn't have "all that stuff", such as a "petticoat pipe", etc. in the smokebox.
Though Strasburg is excellent at repairing locomotives so maybe not. I also wonder how long the FRA takes to inspect damaged locomotives?
If an FRA MP&E Inspector did show up, It wouldn't take him/her very long to inspect the 475, especially since boiler work was not necessary. Remember that the Strasburg has an EXCELLENT working relationship with the FRA.
I suppose nowadays shop workers could just take some photos and email them to investigators, do the rules require an in person inspection?
Only if boiler work, i.e. repairs to the pressure vessel, would require a personal inspection. Also, the annual boiler inspection generally involves an FRA personal inspection/witness.
It’ll be interesting to see the conclusion of the report on this. The statement posted was interesting in revealing how the accident occurred. It sounds like what happens next is in the FRA’s hands.
Since there was no personnel injuries, and the dollar amount off the damage to 475 was very low, I doubt if the FRA will even get involved.
@harmonyards posted:In 30+ years of running a garage, I can completely align myself with Brendan, …in those 34 years, I’d be lying to your face to say we were incident free,….I’ve had employees by the dozens of dozens over that time frame, …..I’ve never fired a single soul based on an accident,….not to say we didn’t do our due diligence to analyze the event, figure out the root cause, and remove the variable that caused it. Through safety meetings, and appointing a different safety officer every year, we’ve kept incidents very low over the years,…I’ve had many a tech standing in my office on the verge of tears over an incident they either caused, or indirectly caused,…..sure, if it were a deliberate action, they’d been gone, but I fully believe educating, making folks aware of the surroundings, making safety a priority, & never letting people get complacent, made good crews great crews,……yeah, the fender benders, and the dings cost me out of pocket initially, but the investment back in the employee ALWAYS paid off 10 fold,……take care of your people, and the people will take care of you,….incidences will happen, it’s how a group rallies around, identifies the roots, and makes the necessary changes to move forward,….the arm chair analysts I’ve seen on here, and on social media sites, don’t have a clue about the real world, should stay in the easy chair, and never venture outdoors,…..that’s the best place for them…..as been mentioned, Kudos to Brendan Ziegler, that’s how you rise above, overcome, and come out on top,…
Pat
Some companies used to be like that. Then many companies decided to please the stock holders instead. That's when things went to H**l for the employees.
Latest and greatest news from Strasburg
@superwarp1 posted:Latest and greatest news from Strasburg
Super detail in that article, thanks for posting.
A great ending to an unfortunate incident. Talk about a quick turn-around, that's amazing. I like the comment about leaving the scars to remind the crews that .... happens.
Maybe it's time to have more visible signals for the switches...
@gunrunnerjohn posted:A great ending to an unfortunate incident. Talk about a quick turn-around, that's amazing. I like the comment about leaving the scars to remind the crews that .... happens.
Maybe it's time to have more visible signals for the switches...
What could have been more visible, right there on the Engineer's side? But then, both he and the Fireman were waving to the passengers on the train.
Yep, they weren't exactly paying attention. 
I was there today for the 611 photo charter. The marks from the welding are quite interesting to see. 475 was running as good as it ever had.
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I am just glad there are a few places like Strasburg, and their staffing with those skills, that can preserve what is living history. Waving to passengers is necessary public relations in that business.
@colorado hirailer posted:I am just glad there are a few places like Strasburg, and their staffing with those skills, that can preserve what is living history. Waving to passengers is necessary public relations in that business.
Without looking ahead?
"Waving to passengers is necessary public relations in that business."
You forgot to say "Sarcasm On" before your post...or were you being serious?
I can think of nothing less important than waving to a group of already-boarded customers. I'm sure they, if asked, would say that being waved at is far less important than being assured of a safe journey conducted by alert, professional and safety-minded crew members.
Some of the videos of the accident have been taken down off of YouTube due to copyrights by the original feed I believe it says. There are still a number of videos out there, most probably offering their opinions on the accident but there are a few that really ridiculous. While looking on the Tube, I saw someone who "meme'd" the footage to take it to a place that they shouldn't. The preview shows #475 moving and the point of contact it goes into a cartoon. Bad taste. I won't go into the rest of what I saw as it is ridiculous.
Well there's nothing good about the whole accident, and I'll agree that there is no need to worsen it. Social media meanness, no matter how clever, will certainly not help with that effort.
It was entirely caused by human failures to comply with operating rules, both in contributing causes and in the direct cause, and there is absolutely no excuse for any of it to have occurred. Strasburg, and particularly the employees involved will live with the shame of this forever, but it is up to them to decide how to rise from it and become a better, safer, operation, and we should all let them go forward with that. Other railroads have done it.
One positive -- the only one, from my view -- is that the shop forces at Strasburg were skilled and prepared to repair unexpected damage to the locomotive, quickly. I tip my hat to the Strasburg Mechanical Department.
@Number 90 posted:Well there's nothing good about the whole accident, and I'll agree that there is no need to worsen it. Social media meanness, no matter how clever, will certainly not help with that effort.
It was entirely caused by human failures to comply with operating rules, both in contributing causes and in the direct cause, and there is absolutely no excuse for any of it to have occurred. Strasburg, and particularly the employees involved will live with the shame of this forever, but it is up to them to decide how to rise from it and become a better, safer, operation, and we should all let them go forward with that. Other railroads have done it.
One positive -- the only one, from my view -- is that the shop forces at Strasburg were skilled and prepared to repair unexpected damage to the locomotive, quickly. I tip my hat to the Strasburg Mechanical Department.
Yeah, the shops there really know what they do.
On having to live with what happened, yeah, last place I worked we took pride in our no recordable accidents, lost time incidents. We had that for almost my entire time with that company, 18 years. What happened was a rush right before Thanksgiving and what could be viewed as a work around or a cheat. What happened resulted in our coworker falling on his own behind. It was a big stupid mistake on his part, and he hurt himself which he probably still has some issues. Granted he had always had some issues with his back to begin with, but that made it worse. To make matters worse, most of us or all of us had no idea he fell. Our boss had come down just after and we found out just before it was time to leave.
Investigation began next week, all sorts of things were asked, new policy on working the machine and the procedure of what to do and what not to do with that type of job. Not exactly the thing any of us wanted to see happen to any of our fellow employees, just lucky there wasn't any serious injury other than falling.
Back to Strasburg, when I was there in 2019 filming a bunch of stuff during York week there was a person who was not following the rules. The staff were yelling at him to get off the siding tracks because that is not a place to cross period. I gave a hollar and he looked up, the staff repeated what they were saying and the guy then saw the locomotive coming on the main track into the station. He should have paid more attention to everything around him, but he was too up in his head trying to get to the other side, maybe get tickets, I don't know.
In 2021 I was there again and there was an issue with a person trying to get some pictures. They really let him have it because again, the person wasn't listening. A bunch of us other people were discussing about our safety and making sure we were where we were allowed to be. One of the guys had brought up an incident they saw elsewhere. I don't remember the details, just that the person they had seen was lucky not to get hit.
Perhaps the maintenance of way crew was in fact temporary employees who also work at the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company in Scranton.
Andrew
@TheRambles posted:I was there today for the 611 photo charter. The marks from the welding are quite interesting to see. 475 was running as good as it ever had.
Wonder why they didn’t grind down the welds?
Steve
@RideTheRails posted:Wonder why they didn’t grind down the welds?
Steve
Read the article:
"The result is a door with visible spiderweb-like scars where the sections were rejoined. Zeigler addressed the question of why those braze marks weren‘t ground down to restore a smooth appearance: “I elected not to have them do that,” he said, “to leave it as a ‘witness mark’ to remind our crews” of the need for vigilance."
@hokie71 posted:Read the article:
"The result is a door with visible spiderweb-like scars where the sections were rejoined. Zeigler addressed the question of why those braze marks weren‘t ground down to restore a smooth appearance: “I elected not to have them do that,” he said, “to leave it as a ‘witness mark’ to remind our crews” of the need for vigilance."
Very smart man ….no??……oh to be a fly on the wall,…..” y’all take a good look at this ( add your own exclamatory) “
Pat
