Rusty
Original Post
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YIKES!!
Well, that's one way to make the cars open topped. 
George
Notice one autorack is already decapitated while going under. Makes you wonder if they backed up and tried again.
Think someone's gonna lose their job over this...
Rusty
OK, when the train crew gets the paperwork for the train, does it not get info on oversized cars?
@Dominic Mazoch posted:OK, when the train crew gets the paperwork for the train, does it not get info on oversized cars?
But,,,,,,,,,are those auto racks really "oversized"?
Wow. That bridge opened those like a tin can. Reminds me of the 11 foot 8 YouTube channel.
Presume the employees who checked clearances have been banished....... But, quite Precise Railroading!
@Hot Water posted:But,,,,,,,,,are those auto racks really "oversized"?
OK, the cars would not clear a particular underpass? Or a track of an underpass? Or all the tracks.
Could this have been a train dispatcher's mistake? Was there, in the early days of double stack trains, there was multi main track route out of Chicago. At the time only one main was lowered so the stacks could clear. A stacker came through. On the wrong main. The freight train version of 11'8".
WOW! Those new cars are instant convertibles!
Some cheap autos for sale.
That’ll buff right out...
Wait til they get the bill for inspection and replacing that bridge.
@Trussman posted:Wait til they get the bill for inspection and replacing that bridge.
If you look closely you see the railing vibrating as the crunching happens. Pretty strong iron to stand up to the car tops peeling. Wonder how fast they were going and when did the crew realize they were in deep do-do?
@rrman posted:If you look closely you see the railing vibrating as the crunching happens. Pretty strong iron to stand up to the car tops peeling. Wonder how fast they were going and when did the crew realize they were in deep do-do?
At .55, you can see the rails on the bridge deck move. Any time a bridge has any type of impact, traffic is stopped from using the bridge until an inspection is done. That bridge looks to be old and chances are it'll be replaced. (cha-ching )
@Trussman posted:At .55, you can see the rails on the bridge deck move. Any time a bridge has any type of impact, traffic is stopped from using the bridge until an inspection is done. That bridge looks to be old and chances are it'll be replaced. (cha-ching )
That bridge may be old, but it won that encounter.
Kind of a remote location - wonder how those guys happened to be on that railroad bridge at that time. (Should say, trespassing on that railroad bridge.)
Looks like it's in the Memphis area - South Memphis, Mallory Heights, Riverview. There's a CN facility off to the right, and a Valero refinery to the left.
David
@Hot Water posted:But,,,,,,,,,are those auto racks really "oversized"?
Although considered the norm on most routes, auto racks are excess height cars. If you notice the ends of the cars, the top couple feet is painted white and there should be labeling in that space to the effect of them being excess height.
@breezinup posted:Kind of a remote location - wonder how those guys happened to be on that railroad bridge at that time. (Should say, trespassing on that railroad bridge.)
The "trespass" is between the railfan and the railroad (Who Cares). I'm here "enjoying" the footage, it's not like we're watching a snuff film.
Was the train making a detour move by any chance? In the event it was making a detour over a foreign road there should be a pilot on board to assist the crew moving through unknown (to them) territory. The crew should have a copy of the manifest which would have been handed to the pilot to determine if there are any high and/or wide loads that may prevent the train from making a detour to begin with, right?
Since leaving my career as a switchman/brakeman with John Santa Fe in December '76, many new rules and regulations have been put in effect on the railroads in America that I'm not familar with. I'm still against the one crew member on through freights decision that was made the management of class one railroads and approved by the FRA. It should be required to carry two crew members at least on extremely long trains. I recently watched a video of a CSX train running in Virginia that is one of the longest trains I've ever witnessed in the USA.
What about Europe? The length of goods trains don't come anywhere close to the trains in N. America. Also, the infrastructure isn't set up as it is in the States. The lack of automatic couplers for example is another factor to prevent heavy long trains due to weight factors. This includes many bridges that aren't cleared to safely handle heavy trains or any that may include oversized loads.
I'm sure there are railroaders here at OGR who can better explain this than I. Your comments and feedback are more than welcome!
@Trinity River Bottoms Boomer posted:Was the train making a detour move by any chance? In the event it was making a detour over a foreign road there should be a pilot on board to assist the crew moving through unknown (to them) territory. The crew should have a copy of the manifest which would have been handed to the pilot to determine if there are any high and/or wide loads that may prevent the train from making a detour to begin with, right?
Since leaving my career as a switchman/brakeman with John Santa Fe in December '76, many new rules and regulations have been put in effect on the railroads in America that I'm not familar with. I'm still against the one crew member on through freights decision that was made the management of class one railroads and approved by the FRA. It should be required to carry two crew members at least on extremely long trains. I recently watched a video of a CSX train running in Virginia that is one of the longest trains I've ever witnessed in the USA.
What about Europe? The length of goods trains don't come anywhere close to the trains in N. America. Also, the infrastructure isn't set up as it is in the States. The lack of automatic couplers for example is another factor to prevent heavy long trains due to weight factors. This includes many bridges that aren't cleared to safely handle heavy trains or any that may include oversized loads.
I'm sure there are railroaders here at OGR who can better explain this than I. Your comments and feedback are more than welcome!
That's a good assessment and questions. I have heard it was actually a train being assembled and that the locomotive was actually on the tail of the train. That is why the one car carrier was damaged before the video started. Its possible the crew didn't realize they had assembled the train to be too long at that point. That is just speculation based on hearsay.
That's what I would call a 'Resume Generating Event'
In the words of the honorable Will Geer as he jumps out of the back window..."Skin him Pilgram"!!!
"Tinplate" railroading in 1:1 scale!
From combing through the comments:
This happened in Memphis, TN on an industrial track leading to a Valero refinery. The only freight cars that should be passing under this bridge are tankers. A frequently cited Google Maps link: https://goo.gl/maps/KBwB8KPBrnbvZ8pe8
The train in question obviously wasn't headed for that facility, probably was supposed to be shoving on a different track pointed somewhere else, or at least nowhere near as far down on that particular track as they did.
---PCJ
Good thing it’s a corrugated roof. At least it folded pretty neatly.
Train gets the 11'8 underpass award!
Somewhere in the Special Instructions or Superintendent Bulletins, locations with impaired overhead or side clearances are identified.
It's impossible to tell whether this was a train or a cut of cars. It makes a difference, because, if it was a train, there would have been a Train List, which should have identified this location as one having insufficient clearance for these cars, identified by their reporting marks and known height. These are not high/wide cars, but they do exceed Plate C, which means that they exceed 15'6" in height. Computerized dispatching equipment should have alerted a Dispatcher who tried to run these cars under this bridge. Yardmasters, if involved, should have known better, as should Switchmen. Perhaps a computer programmer failed to identify this location in the data base.
Most likely, this movement was unusual in that -- for some reason -- auto racks were moved on a track upon which they are restricted from running. Since all we have is the video, there is no way for us to determine if this was solely the responsibility of the crew, or whether a Dispatcher or Yardmaster directed that the movement take this route.
Yes, there is some kind of a human factor failure, but just where it would be placed is unclear from mere video. And dismissal is not necessarily the best answer. Maybe yes, maybe no, depending on how many employees and/or supervisors had part of the responsibility and their individual past records of good or poor performance. We can be certain that all who had a direct hand in this mishap, plus a number of others who are aware of it, will not make this mistake for the rest of their days at the railroad.
Aside from the train itself, an observation I had was that the videographer was a very religious chap because he said "Jesus" at least once while viewing the damage. 😇 😜
Looks like someone let my wife drive the train again....
