Just saw this myself. Sad when someone is killed or injured by a train.

'Midnight Rider' is a film about Allman Brothers lead singer Gregg Allman that had started filming in Georgia.  Read the piece - interesting....

Any time is train time.

After that disasterous wreck on the parade in TX, one would think to ask the railroad permission to be on the tracks.  Or the production crew thought the tracks belonged to the same owners as the forest.

I can see where the crew was totally involved in the filming and oblivious to the train.  What a tragedy!

Art

Very sad to read that the young lady was killed.  I believe that many

people do not understand how powerfull a train is.  I recall telling

a friend a few years back about the power of a mile long freight

train being pulled by three SD 70 engine's at 50 to 60 MPH. I 

informed him it would take five miles for that train to stop.

He looked at me with disbelief.  I told him, whatever you do,

do not try and find out if I was wrong.  I am pleased to report

he never tried to find out.

Many thanks,

Billy C 

I agree with you.  Never ran a real train, but did run one in UP's mobile training unit.  Your lower set of lips start to pucker when you start moving the brake lever, and your speed is NOT going down!  One way to give respect to train crews and train mass.

Once living on a depot lane, and being warned by the station master not to get out

on the trestle down past the water tower, my brother and I learned early not to

get onto the track without looking both ways.  We would go down to the trestle

abutment where you could sit on it right under the tracks and overpassing trains,

later learned to not be recommended due to possible falling objects.  I don't know if these are myths, but I understood you could hear an oncoming train by putting your ear down to the rail, AND that a train can outrun its sound, which might have happened to this film crew.

No train can outrun its sound. Sound travels at 1125 ft/s or 767 MPH in air.

Now that would be high speed rail.

Today's locomotives are much quieter than those of the previous generation.   

The SD40-2 was the last great howler IMHO. Starting with the 50 and 60 series and their GE contemporaries they've been incorporating more and more sound reducing technology.

I thought that SD40-2 models came out with exhaust silencers. Besides, what does all that have to do with people making a movie on a busy CSX main line, without proper protection from the CSX? IF they did indeed "have proper permission", then a Form B would probably have been issued, which would include a trackside CSX Forman to control the site and train movements. Something is very, very wrong with this whole situation, sad as it may be.

I'm not sure if all SD40-2's had silencers.  I know the later versions did, as well as Q-fans, but the SD40-2's Conrail used in helper service in the '90s were indeed "screamers".  You could hear them loud and clear long after they were out of sight.  By comparison, the "SD40E" rebuilds NS now uses are very quiet, even in Run 8, unless they're basically right in front of you.

And you're right, something is/was very wrong with this situation.

True, no train can out run its sound but the majority of the train sounds occur behind the train. A moving train, not blowing its horn, coming straight at you is nearly silent. Even if you hear something but cannot see the train you may not be able to discern its exact position and direction.

This link demonstrates the experiment:

http://www.fastcocreate.com/30...rail-safety-campaign

“People assume that trains are loud, but that assumption is based on the fact that when a train’s gone past them in a station it’s noisy. That’s because the noise a train makes is mainly projected to either side. When trains are moving directly towards you they are barely audible--until it’s too late.”

Some of the sound energy is caught up in the slip stream and a train heading into the wind can have the sounds diminished/delayed, especially if it is a strong sustained wind.  We live about three miles from one of the main csx lines that go through Plymouth.  Depending on the direction and strength of the wind the sounds of the the trains can be quite clear or almost totally muted (there are a series of grade crossings that require the horns to be activated).  East wind, very clear.  West wind, almost no sound.

Yet another reason that the public needs more education on trains.  As an amateur photographer I read several photo blogs.  Not too long ago there was a big push to educate photographers about the danger to having shoots around rails due to a rash of incidents where the photographer or clients got hit, or nearly hit by a train (UP was the main railroad helping with the push.).  And the thing that really got me was how many people would post comments on how these hit or almost hit were morons because trains are so loud that it's impossible not to hear them coming, therefore it was totally safe to go have shoots on train tracks because they make for awesome photos.

Another example of proof that we are surrounded by idiots!!!!

If you are stuck on the tracks in a car or truck, I thought you are to GET OUT, and run 45 degrees IN THE DIRECTION OF THE TRAIN so to get away from the debris field.

(Un)Common sense cannot be taught, this has never been so evident as it is today.

I suppose we could ask our government for help since "we don't know any better". Its likely they won't be there to let us know when its safe to cross the tracks.

On top of that is "human error" poor judgement" etc.

When we visit my brother in CA, my wife and I run along side the BNSF tracks on an access road near his house.  This is a quite zone (?) and no train horns are used unless there is an emergency.  I guess we are far enough from the tracks that we are not a problem for them (lots of runners use this road).  Many times, especially with the AMTRAK engines, we do not hear them until they start passing us.  They make very little noise!  The freight trains are just a little louder.  We definitely stay clear of the tracks.

Ron

People truly don't appreciate the actual danger.

"People truly don't appreciate the actual danger."

You got that straight.  With railroads being virtually invisible to the general public for the last several decades, there is a real disconnect as to what it is that is barreling toward them.  My usual observation is that people who wouldn’t dream of stepping in front of a city bus will walk out on front of our trains without a second thought.

This is an unfortunate disaster. Care must always be taken around railroad tracks.

Bob C.

CSX was aware of the filming and and had provided some scheduling info.  The film crew knew about two previous trains and those passed without incident.  The crew had also been informed that they were SUPPOSED to get a 1 minute warning from any train approaching the bridge.  They knew about the third train but too late to do much of anything about it.  

The bridge did have a safety walkway.  The injuries were a result of the mattress on the tracks exploding and the crew running into the debris could instead of away from it.  The young lady that was killed was struck by debris and then fell onto the tracks.  What is not clear at this point in time is if the film crew had permission to be on the bridge itself?  

That rail line is pretty active as it is a primary feed into Savannah.  A choice of a less active line may have been safer.

I defer to you on the question of exhaust silencers on the SD40-2s, Jack. You've forgotten more about EMD than I ever hope to know. I can only say for sure that the Conrail SD40-2s/GP40-2s that I witnessed on the grade west of Altoona in the '80s, were significantly louder than the 50/60 series units that were replacing them at the time. 

As to what this has to do with the incident in Georgia, I was merely talking about how today's units can sneak up on you unexpectedly because they are relatively quiet.

I don't know why a "dream sequence" on the tracks has to be filmed on an active main line in the first place. The average moviegoer isn't going to know the difference if it is filmed on some museum trackage or on a studio set somewhere.

Something is indeed, very, very wrong.

Regarding the noise/sound of EMD diesels, it was in 1980 that the EPA mandated noise reduction on diesel locomotives.  So EMD started putting "Q" fans an the radiators, and both EMD and GE introduced revised exhaust manifolds to reduce the noise.  So only those SD40-2 and GP40-2 locomotive built starting in 1980 would have those components.

Stuart

Thanks, Stuart. 

All of Conrail's SD40-2s and all but the last eighteen GP40-2s were delivered by 1979, so that explains why they were loud units. The former EL SD45-2s, used as manned helpers in those days, were built in 1972. 

It doesn't help that organizations like BMW show a full speed passenger train come screeching to a halt in 100 feet to allow the latest car to cross the tracks out of "respect" in their latest commercial.  No wonder people think trains can stop on sight.

Absolutely no way is this correct...

If there was a film crew shooting on or around the tracks with proper authorization, CSX would have had people there, ON SITE. As required by both the CSX Operating Rules and Federal Rules regarding the protection of On-Track Workers:

1. A "Work Area" would be set up to protect the people working on the tracks.
2. The limits of the work area would be very clearly defined by milepost. 
3. A specifically named employee would be assigned to be in control of the work area.
4. That employee would be on-site, watching what was going on around the tracks.
5. Train crews would be required to get verbal permission via radio from the employee in charge before they could enter the work limits.
6. The employee in charge of the work area has the authority to stop trains, if his work area is not clear.
7. Information about the location of the work area and the employee assigned would be contained in the bulletins given to the train crews that would travel that section of track.

Obviously none of this happened here.

I don't know how to post a link to the on-line article that appears in Variety.com, which is written by "Senior Editor" Ted Johnson. The way the article is written, it is fairly obvious that the "Senior Editor" has no clue! There are also multiple comments, most of which are VERY interesting. It is definitely worth a read.

I have no doubt that Rich's assessment is correct. I have worked on features and at no time on location has there not been a representative of the property present. securing proper permits for shoots can be a Pita. My guess that this is a low budget production where cost cutting measures are desirable. Sadly, accidents may result with shortcuts.

A sentence of about twenty years breaking rocks on a chain gag for the director, the assistant director, and the locations guy, would help push the industry inn the right direction. I worked professionally in the movie industry for years and trying to correct a safety issue is like pushing your finger in a bucket of water. (1) the directors don't give a tinker's **** about safety (2) the rest of the crew doesn't hive a **** about safety (3) nobody gives a **** about safety. The exception is the SAG union rep, who makes idiotic complaints such as there being no fire extinguisher on the wall, or the extras got wet in the rain. One time we were shooting on a busy four-lane highway. I placed out many road flares and flashing strobes and was ordered to remove them because it made the case "excessively conscious of danger where there wasn't any" and "it might cause a lawsuit if someone was hit because it shoed the company recognized the danger."

Variety article on film crew accident 

The Variety story was absolute self-serving nonsense.  I think back to the Vic Morrow helicopter incident. I have flown helicopters back then and objected since then to dangerous sequences and was told to shut up. Speak out for safety and you get fired. I have filmed with "professional" film crews. Think of a flag-person, red flags in the middle of the track and in the hands of the flag person, on the track on a mile on either side of the filming, with two-way radios and road flares across the tracks. That is WITH a track warrant. Plus telephonic communication with the train dispatcher of that segment in real-time. "Professional" oftens means you are the son in a father-son in a union and you may or may not have the common sense of a moth. I hope there are criminal indictments. Not that I hate anybody, but the industry and those who work in it simply "does not get it".

The person who chose location did not consider that there are tourist railroads and abandoned stretches of railroads that still have bridges that would be much safer to work around and upon.

Choosing a highly active Class 1 railroad for such a conceptual scene means that location scout was in too much of a hurry to make this movie or tried to pick the most dramatic spot possible without thinking of the danger.

Andrew

Tommy

I too have worked film crews for decades and I will corroborate what you have said. 

Just like most folks don't know railroading, most folks don't know movie making.

Tommy and I can tell you it's not all bright lights, movie stars and money, money, money.

There is the dark side where it's all about power and not letting other people get a dime more than possible. Mostly safety is observed but what happened in Georgia was is the result of it not happening a 999 times before.

One could also get clear pics of the bridge using the property they had permission to film on, and use CG in the computer studio.

I worked as a Transportation driver for railroad crews for CSX here in Hinton West Virginia.  Rich is absolutely correct for CSX to Follow procedure.  IF Procedure is not followed there is He double Hockey sticks to pay including the removal of the crew from service and a host of other issues just starting. 

including a Federal investigation into the Issue as well

It just got more "complicated."

It appears there is evidence that CSX permission was denied to this production company.

PLEASE learn how to post links! Don't just paste web addresses here. I fixed this one.

A quote from that article:

"In the incident report, released  to local reporters on Monday, Wayne County Sheriff Sergeant Ben Robertson writes that he witnessed a conversation between executive producer Jay Sedrish and and employee of CSX. “In my presence, Mr. Sedrish was asked by an employee of CSX if he had permission to be on the trestle or tracks and Mr. Sedrish replied, ‘That’s complicated.’

Horse hockey.

Either they had a permit or they didn't...period. It is NOT complicated.

Allowing non-employees on the property to do ANYTHING is a BIG DEAL to every railroad.

CSX Operating Rules and Federal Rules (49 CFR Part 214) regarding the protection of On-Track Workers come into play here. This is NOT a casual, handshake kind of thing. There is a specific, formal process that must be executed in order to secure permission to be on railroad property. Once that formal process has been completed and the application approved, the following takes place:

1. A "Work Area" is set up to protect the people working on the tracks.
2. The limits of the work area are very clearly defined by milepost numbers.
3. A specifically named employee is assigned to be in control of the work area.
4. That employee is on-site, watching what is going on around the tracks.
5. Train crews are required to get verbal permission via radio from the employee in charge before they can enter the work limits.
6. The employee in charge of the work area has the authority to stop trains, if his work area is not clear.
7. Information about the location of the work area and the employee assigned is contained in the bulletins given to the train crews that would travel that section of track.
8. A Safety Briefing is held on-site between the railroad personnel and the non-employees, outlining what can and cannot be done. These briefings are repeated throughout the day as the situation changes.

Obviously none of this happened here.

The irresponsible people from this Hollywood production company are doing what has become so typical of that industry...blame someone else for things that go wrong.