http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_COMMUTER_TRAIN_DERAILS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2016-03-08-06-03-53

SUNOL, Calif. (AP) -- A downed tree on the tracks reportedly caused a commuter train to derail in Northern California, sending its lead car plunging into a swollen creek and leaving nine people injured, authorities said.

Rescuers battled the creek's fast-moving currents Monday night to pull riders to safety from the partially submerged rail car, Alameda County Sheriff's Sgt. Ray Kelly said.

"It was dark, wet, it was raining. It was very chaotic," Kelly said. "This is an absolute miracle that no one was killed, no passengers or first responders."

Four people were seriously hurt, while five others had minor injuries, the Alameda County Fire Department said. The department had been saying in the first hours after the crash that 14 people were injured.

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BTW, on that map I mentioned, there is a track I can't identify at all. It runs absolutely straight from Hanover Park west-southwest until it crosses into Kane County, then curves northwest and north into Elgin. I am not aware of any railroads running there.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milwaukee_District_/_West_Line ???

No, this line is to the south of that and goes at a different angle. I checked the SPV atlas and there's nothing there that matches.

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David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

BTW, the Amtrak inspector general has issued a report on the much-delayed Viewliner II fleet. The builder, CAF USA, has unilaterally slowed down production, thus denying Amtrak the expected benefits of using the new cars. There are still problems with production of the diners, sleepers, and baggage/dorms. They now project the last cars to be delivered about a year from now, over two years behind schedule. CAF says it expects to lose about $41 million on the project.

Full report. (I haven't read it, just summaries.)

Whilst Amtrak must bear some of the responsibility it seems strange that a company with CAF's background cannot produce 70 baggage cars without major delays and faults.

CAF

Also how come CAF managed to enter a contract that will end up losing them $41 million!! Seems CAF USA are not on the same level as the parent company.

Even now there are still routes using the old baggage cars.



This was the City of New Orleans the day before yesterday.

It's only in the last 2-3 months that the CONO even has a baggage car. It's been sufficing with a Superliner Coach/Baggage. (Conspiracy to get $$$ for an extra engine out of Pullman if they restart service?)

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David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

Interesting situation I had not considered till today, what happens on the long distance trains when the clocks change, well apparently when the hour goes forward like today, the trains just automatically become and hour late. When the hour goes back then they wait an hour at the closest station!!

So today is not as good day to breakdown, like the Capitol did.



Especially when it take two freight engines to haul you to Chicago.

"Apparently 78 broke down on the Sand Patch grade east of Pittsburgh,;CSXT 602 added off train N73110 at Connellsville;NS 9628 added lead at PGH(Pittsburg) station (ran light from Conway to station) account no in cab signals on 602."

Also CSXT 602, is on the "heritage" roster,(as it is a "named" engine Spirit of Maryland) so the whole thing was a magnet for spotters.

It was also turned on the wye as usual.



Not often you see NS CSX and Amtrak onn the same train :-)

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Also how come CAF managed to enter a contract that will end up losing them $41 million!! Seems CAF USA are not on the same level as the parent company.

Bernie - could tell you, but I'm bound by a confidentiality clause.....



Anyhow, let's move away from yet more pictures of the same grey US stock to something with a a bit more colour to it, just a few of the locos and units I ave worked on.

Let's start with some narrow gauge (600mm) stuff withe the World's oldest Garret "K1"





And then with one of the last of the breed with NGG143 & NGG156:






(and a load more where that half dozen pics came from, with loads of mainline service stuff as well)

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Bob Smith
Member of Seti PIPPS (Pluto is a Planet Protest Society)
Somewhere in the (un)known Universe?

The whole Garratt family were some interesting looking beasts. Thanks for the pics!

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Amtrak's SW Chief derails in western Kansas this morning -- CBS/AP

CIMARRON, Kan. -- Five cars of an Amtrak train derailed in southwest Kansas early Monday, sending more than two dozen people to hospitals.

An Amtrak statement said the train was traveling from Los Angeles to Chicago when the passenger cars derailed just after midnight about 20 miles west of Dodge City.

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Amtrak's SW Chief derails in western Kansas this morning -- CBS/AP

CIMARRON, Kan. -- Five cars of an Amtrak train derailed in southwest Kansas early Monday, sending more than two dozen people to hospitals.

An Amtrak statement said the train was traveling from Los Angeles to Chicago when the passenger cars derailed just after midnight about 20 miles west of Dodge City.

Latest word is that possibly a vehicle on the parallel highway veered off and damaged the track. No such incident was reported, however (which is not surprising, if the driver managed to get out of the predicament unaided -- he wouldn't want his insurance rates to suffer for it). Engineer reported seeing a kink in the track, which seems unlikely to be related to heat at that time of night and in that weather. Cab video should confirm this.

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David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

Flying Scotsman attacked by drone
Trainspotters now armed with UAVs, it appears

Chilling evidence has emerged of trainspotters deploying drone hordes after a UAV collided with the rear carriage of the Flying Scotsman over the weekend.

The legendary locomotive - which recently steamed out of a £4.2m refurbishment - was travelling on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway (NYMR) last Sunday afternoon when passengers clocked a UAV "on the left-hand side of the train and thought it must be taking photos", as eyewitness Linda Wild put it to the Yorkshire Post.

She continued: "The next thing we knew there was an almighty crash - it sounded like it had crashed into the roof. It was such a shock and could have caused a major accident. What if it had gone through the window?"

A shaken Wild said "that the incident had scared her and left her with huge concerns about the use of drones and their safety".*

Liz Parkes, NYMR's head of operations, confirmed reports of a drone "grazing" the train, and said the matter "is currently being investigated by the NYMR and British Transport Police".

She added: "While no damage was caused, obviously drones are distracting to our drivers and could result in a criminal prosecution for endangering trains."

Drones permitting, the Flying Scotsman will again be plying its trade on the NYMR on Saturday and Sunday, before continuing its pretty well sold out UK tour. ®

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Amtrak's SW Chief derails in western Kansas this morning -- CBS/AP

CIMARRON, Kan. -- Five cars of an Amtrak train derailed in southwest Kansas early Monday, sending more than two dozen people to hospitals.

An Amtrak statement said the train was traveling from Los Angeles to Chicago when the passenger cars derailed just after midnight about 20 miles west of Dodge City.

For those of you that might be interested, the 4 (12) involved in that derailment arrived in Chicago today, under it's own power and with baggage car and all 9 superliners.



#153 and 152 which I understand did not derail



The dining car and cafe lounge with possibly some marks near the bogies.



And one broken window. I think perhaps the main damage is on the far side.
Overall with no serious injuries I have heard of, it could have been much worse.

---

Flying Scotsman attacked by drone
Trainspotters now armed with UAVs, it appears

Chilling evidence has emerged of trainspotters deploying drone hordes after a UAV collided with the rear carriage of the Flying Scotsman over the weekend.

The legendary locomotive - which recently steamed out of a £4.2m refurbishment - was travelling on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway (NYMR) last Sunday afternoon when passengers clocked a UAV "on the left-hand side of the train and thought it must be taking photos", as eyewitness Linda Wild put it to the Yorkshire Post.

She continued: "The next thing we knew there was an almighty crash - it sounded like it had crashed into the roof. It was such a shock and could have caused a major accident. What if it had gone through the window?"

A shaken Wild said "that the incident had scared her and left her with huge concerns about the use of drones and their safety".*

Liz Parkes, NYMR's head of operations, confirmed reports of a drone "grazing" the train, and said the matter "is currently being investigated by the NYMR and British Transport Police".

She added: "While no damage was caused, obviously drones are distracting to our drivers and could result in a criminal prosecution for endangering trains."

Drones permitting, the Flying Scotsman will again be plying its trade on the NYMR on Saturday and Sunday, before continuing its pretty well sold out UK tour. ®

Oh good god. Why does everyone have to have such a jones for drones?

On Sunday, I took mine out to the museum because word was out that the first of the stored coal trains was leaving. UP sent out a pair of light engines, and they sent another crew by cab to pilot our crew dragging the train out onto the main (they used CB&Q 504).

Shortly after I launched, and before the train went through the interchange, the UP supervisor got on the radio and said "be advised that a drone is operating in the area." Yeah, so? One of his crew answered "ok." Someone else adopted a falsetto voice and said "better call the FAA!"

I want to do a bit of editing with this video before I post it. I sent it far enough out that the video being sent back sometimes broke up, so my movements were not always smooth. Then there was also the moment when I looked up from the phone screen to see where it actually was. "Oh $#!^, it's about to hit the village water tower." (It didn't.)

The really dramatic part is when it's coming through the interchange and also emerging from the shadow of a cloud.

---

David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

On Sunday, I took mine out to the museum because word was out that the first of the stored coal trains was leaving. UP sent out a pair of light engines, and they sent another crew by cab to pilot our crew dragging the train out onto the main (they used CB&Q 504).

The really dramatic part is when it's coming through the interchange and also emerging from the shadow of a cloud.

The following are not my video. Our General Manager, and head of the Diesel Dept., put his GoPro on top of 504, facing back over the train.

Starting from the Karstens crossing, stopping next to the diesel shop.

Starting at signal 91 (across from the depot), going through town. You will see me with my drone controller in this one. Also several other foamers, most of them museum members.

---

David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

Holy cow! Lots of major new announcements in the Illinois Railway Museum blogs. I may finally start doing some restoration work, if I can physically handle it.

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David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

The line was out of use, but it is still sad to see it go. These old wooden trestles are being filled or replaced, one by one, but this one got missed.

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Kaboom!
http://www.fox9.com/news/113543425-story

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Holy cow! Lots of major new announcements in the Illinois Railway Museum blogs. I may finally start doing some restoration work, if I can physically handle it.

I emailed the guy in charge of Silver Pony, offering to come out and help Wednesday, but he said that's his business day, when he goes around talking to people about things that need to be done. I stayed home and slept.

This Sunday is the Straight Out of the 70s CTA charter. I am not dressing in my 70s garb, because I don't have any.

METX 99 made another foray out of the shop this week. If I understand correctly, it ran outbound Monday (when I got pictures of it) and back Tuesday, then broke down again on the next outbound trip. Fortunately, it had an MP36 with it for just such a contingency.

---

David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

St. Louis Zoo train crash.

I have two questions:

1. What was the other set of cars doing there?
2. What was the engineer doing that he didn't even try to stop?

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David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/04/03/amtrak-train-derails-after-striking-backhoe-on-tracks-south-philadelphia.html?intcmp=hpbt1

Two construction workers were killed when an Amtrak train traveling from New York to Savannah, Ga., Sunday struck a backhoe that was on the tracks about 15 miles south of Philadelphia, Delaware County officials said.

The crash, which occurred around 8 a.m., derailed the lead engine of Palmetto Train 89, according to a statement by Amtrak.

Of the 341 passengers and seven crew members on the train, 35 people were hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries, according to Chester County Fire Commissioner Travis Thomas.

"We have the situation under control now," Thomas said.

Reports from witnesses on the train indicate the Amtrak conductor blew the train's horn, but construction workers were unable to clear the tracks in time.

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While looking for something else, stumbled on some video of a track cleaner in New Jersey.

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Not a good day for Amtrak
http://chicago.suntimes.com/news/amtrak-train-strikes-vehicle-in-somonauk/

A man was killed when an Amtrak train struck a vehicle in far west suburban Somonauk on Sunday afternoon.

About 3 p.m., the 28-year-old man at the wheel of the car drove north around lowered gates at the Green Street crossing and was struck by westbound California Zephyr Train No. 5, according to Somonauk police. The village is about 25 miles southwest of Aurora.

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