NTSB Crash Files on Discovery Channel

LAST EDITED ON Oct-19-02 AT 07:06 PM (EDT)

Did anyone watch the NTSB Crash Files tonight on the Discovery Channel?I watched some of it at my Grandma's when she found something about trains when searching through channels and it had some train wrecks on it.I'll tell ya briefly about one that I thought was pretty nasty and a bit freaky....One SP engineer was told how heavy his train weighed in the wrong weight (2nd wrong weight this company has made since they do the math the "hard way" and he headed down a huge hill with no dynamic braking on the one helper loco and no one knew that. He was only supposed to be going 20 down that hill and he was going 30. There was a loss in brakes and the only thing the engineer decided to do was throw the train into emergency and that didn't help things, it made the brake pads turn into molten which they said actually lubricated the wheels more. They approached a 40 mph curve into town and they were going 120 MPH instead of anywhere near 40. Everyone beside the tracks heard rumbling, they came out of their houses. It was carrying a sand like material called trona. When the NTSB guys felt the wheels of some of the cars that were derailed, even many hours after the derailment the wheels were still very hot to the touch! The helper locomotives crew was not talked about but the brakeman and conductor died. After the derailment a week and a half later the gas pipeline that the train crashed over shot a big geiser of fuel out of the ground, they thought the pipeline was OK when cleaning up the derailment junk. Everyone thought it was raining but after a while a guy said he smelled gasoline and then there was a huge explosion and fire throughout the neighborhood. The fire department knew what happened as soon as they opened their department doors on their firehall. What was said is this one girl didn't want to go to school that same day because she had a bad dream that something bad was going to happen that day. A fireball just missed one kid's head that was scootering on the sidewalk when the explosion happened.
I have one question. Going down through the mountains with this freight between the freight cars and the two dash 9 diesels there was a caboose. What the heck is that use?Do any U.S. Freight Railroads use cabooses anymore or was this most likely a older derailment (I forget where it was)?How can cab videos of the train be shown in wrecks like other ones besides the one above on this show or is it just a recreation?What does a brakeman on a modern freight do today? They said the train had a conductor and a brakeman.Adam-------------------------------Operation Lifesaver Organization -- http://www.oli.org/
Striving to save lives at railroad crossings

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RE: NTSB Crash Files on Discovery, 3000_kei, Oct-19-02, 07:00 PM, (1) RE: NTSB Crash Files on Discovery, I_totally_love_trains, Oct-19-02, 07:04 PM, (2) RE: NTSB Crash Files on Discovery, 3000_kei, Oct-19-02, 07:12 PM, (3) RE: NTSB Crash Files on Discovery, SVTS, Oct-19-02, 09:40 PM, (4) RE: NTSB Crash Files on Discovery Channel, 3000_kei, Oct-19-02, 11:55 PM, (5) RE: NTSB Crash Files on Discovery Channel, Transcon, Oct-20-02, 00:24 AM, (6) RE: NTSB Crash Files on Discovery Channel, 3000_kei, Oct-20-02, 00:52 AM, (7) RE: NTSB Crash Files on Discovery Channel, mowshed, Oct-20-02, 03:27 AM, (8) RE: NTSB Crash Files on Discovery Channel, I_totally_love_trains, Oct-20-02, 08:29 AM, (9) RE: NTSB Crash Files on Discovery Channel, CSX_CW60AC_GregMarck, Oct-20-02, 07:09 PM, (10) RE: NTSB Crash Files on Discovery Channel, Transcon, Oct-20-02, 09:02 PM, (14) RE: NTSB Crash Files on Discovery Channel, Lone_Gunman_SG, Oct-20-02, 07:29 PM, (11) RE: NTSB Crash Files on Discovery Channel, I_totally_love_trains, Oct-20-02, 07:36 PM, (12) RE: NTSB Crash Files on Discovery Channel, CSX_CW60AC_GregMarck, Oct-20-02, 08:32 PM, (13) RE: NTSB Crash Files on Discovery Channel, I_totally_love_trains, Oct-21-02, 03:34 PM, (15) RE: NTSB Crash Files on Discovery Channel, I_totally_love_trains, Oct-22-02, 07:49 PM, (16) RE: NTSB Crash Files on Discovery Channel, shoskins, Oct-22-02, 08:09 PM, (18) RE: NTSB Crash Files on Discovery Channel, shoskins, Oct-22-02, 07:59 PM, (17) RE: NTSB Crash Files on Discovery Channel, I_totally_love_trains, Oct-22-02, 08:58 PM, (19) RE: NTSB Crash Files on Discovery Channel, Swisskid706, Nov-03-02, 02:13 PM, (20) RE: NTSB Crash Files on Discovery Channel, I_totally_love_trains, Nov-03-02, 04:17 PM, (21) RE: NTSB Crash Files on Discovery Channel, jlucero4, Nov-03-02, 10:01 PM, (22) RE: NTSB Crash Files on Discovery Channel, I_totally_love_trains, Nov-04-02, 05:37 PM, (23) RE: NTSB Crash Files on Discovery Channel, jlucero4, Nov-04-02, 09:31 PM, (24)

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Do you know when they will play it again?Pavlov

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Not sure, they may still replay it tonight yet as they do with many shows, I think the videos are still on but they aren't about trains right now. They repeat most shows on most channels quite often so just keep watching, I don't pay attention to cable at home because I don't have it so I can't let you know. Good luck...Adam-------------------------------Operation Lifesaver Organization -- http://www.oli.org/
Striving to save lives at railroad crossings

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K, thanks
Pavlov

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If you miss it tonight, they normally play them once a month. In addition to the SP crash in California, they also have 2 other episodes, on the Mobile Ala Amtrak crash, and the Sunset Limited derailment in Arizona a few years back.ChrisIt's not a game, it's a way of life.

http://groups.msn.com/tehachapi

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LAST EDITED ON Oct-19-02 AT 11:55 PM (EDT)

Is this the one that talks about crashing trians, cars, planes, etc?
If so it's On now and I'm watching it.Pavlov

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Same here.They don't seem to be showing the NTSB Crash Files show, however; I've seen it a billion times.What they have shown tonight is...Something about explosions, I saw the last 20 min. of it about nukes...
The Secrets of Air Freight (watched that)
Crash Tests (watching that)------------------------------------------------------------I'll never let go of the railroad that inspired me to be involved with trains, the Union Pacific!John Ekhoff
14 yr. old Train Sim Reskinner from Abilene, Texas.A member of the Yonder Locomotive Works.

AOL IM - FlightSimPilot02
E-mail - FlightSimPilot02@aol.com

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I love Discovery Channel. I got cable 3 months ago for the 1st time
and I watch Discovey Channel way lot more than any other ones.
TLC is pretty good too. History channel has some good stuff as well.
I think the $30 is worth only for those 3 channels. I wish I could
get TechTV but the greedy Cable company wants me to pay extra
$20 and get 20 more channels even I want only TechTV.
Pavlov

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>I love Discovery Channel. I got cable 3 months ago for the
>1st time
>and I watch Discovey Channel way lot more than any other
>ones.
>TLC is pretty good too. History channel has some good stuff
>as well.
>I think the $30 is worth only for those 3 channels. I wish I
>could
>get TechTV but the greedy Cable company wants me to pay
>extra
>$20 and get 20 more channels even I want only TechTV.
>Pavlov
----------
*Sadly turns and cries*Wish I had cable*
---
Please Visit
MOWhsed.com
The Ultimate Roling Stock Reasource
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3000_kei and Transcon, since I posted this thread after the train part of the show was over you missed it. As others said though cable channels often repeat shows quite often so just watch for a show called NTSB files, the two train crash files were toward the very beginning of the show. The plane crash files were after it so you must have turned the show on late.Adam-------------------------------Operation Lifesaver Organization -- http://www.oli.org/
Striving to save lives at railroad crossings

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>I have one question. Going down through the mountains with
>this freight between the freight cars and the two dash 9
>diesels there was a caboose. What the heck is that use? Could you describe the situation a little more. Because if those were really Dash 9s I dont think there were cabesse on Trains still.>Do any U.S. Freight Railroads use cabooses anymore or was
>this most likely a older derailment (I forget where it was)? Older. I think the caboose died in the late 80's. The only time I've seen cabooseses were on locals or MOWs. In fact, I've>How can cab videos of the train be shown in wrecks like
>other ones besides the one above on this show or is it just
>a recreation? Has to be a recreation, as far as I know SP, nor anyother RR, equipped their trains with onboard cameras. The do, however have information recorders similar to the black box on an airplane.>What does a brakeman on a modern freight do today? They
>said the train had a conductor and a brakeman. There is no brakeman on frieghts today. It's only the conductor(paperwork) and the engineer.
Greg
HighV0lt6ge - AIM/AOL
gregoryis411@hotmail.com

'No matter how far we've come, I can't wait to see tomorrow.' Linkin Park - With You

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The caboose is not entirely gone...I remember in 1992 or 93 when I was four or five, my dad and I was going back to Clovis, NM from a train show in Amarillo and I saw a Burlington Northern coal train... it was one of those black and green Bethgons and I saw a green BN caboose at the end of it! So they're not entirely dead.I also think there's a BN caboose on every "Boeing Train". The "Boeing Train" is the train that hauls the aircraft parts from the huge Boeing plant in Whichita to the assembly plant in Seattle. This train as far as I know goes over Marias Pass.------------------------------------------------------------I'll never let go of the railroad that inspired me to be involved with trains, the Union Pacific!John Ekhoff
14 yr. old Train Sim Reskinner from Abilene, Texas.A member of the Yonder Locomotive Works.

AOL IM - FlightSimPilot02
E-mail - FlightSimPilot02@aol.com

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I always see a SOO caboose in my town (i swear its the same one every time). Just last week it was on a MOW train. Guess they were doing some trackwork.
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LAST EDITED ON Oct-20-02 AT 07:40 PM (EDT)

They said about the blackbox in the cab.I get about the caboose now because the helpers usually only stay on for a little while and then drop off so it would be hooked to the rear end of the train which would be the caboose. They looked like Dash 9's but I guess they aren't but they were some modern day diesels.In the back lower vents on each side of the loco you could see straight through them. On some locos is there no engine there?
By the way, try going to www.discovery.com for maybe a schedule or information about when this show will be on next.Adam-------------------------------Operation Lifesaver Organization -- http://www.oli.org/
Striving to save lives at railroad crossings

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>In the back lower vents on each side of the loco you could
>see straight through them. On some locos is there no engine
>there? Sort of, there a 'Road Slugs' which supply Traction, but no HP. But you're proally refering to Tunnel Motors, were you can see throught the vents. This is so the engine can 'breathe' in the tunnels.Greg
HighV0lt6ge - AIM/AOL
gregoryis411@hotmail.com

'No matter how far we've come, I can't wait to see tomorrow.' Linkin Park - With You

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Since this was the second time with a weight fault, this being a very bad fault that caused a very bad accident I'm sure the company got sued big time. The guy in the yard office even knew the cars weren't loaded right just by looking at the train cars so he estimated numbers on the rosters he thought were close.What kind of train engineer wouldn't know that the brakes on the one helper loco isn't working?Also when a helper's nose is facing the cars then how do they go back to the yard? They can't drive backwards.Isn't a helper in the middle of a train formed from two trains coupling?Adam-------------------------------Operation Lifesaver Organization -- http://www.oli.org/
Striving to save lives at railroad crossings

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After looking at some CONRAIL SD80 MACS over the weekend I think the locos in the derailment on this show were SD80 MACS. Sound old enough?Why is the windshield on the SD80's down along the down slant on the nose. Is that to help the crew see down over and around the nose better without getting up from their seat?Adam-------------------------------Operation Lifesaver Organization -- http://www.oli.org/
Striving to save lives at railroad crossings

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>After looking at some CONRAIL SD80 MACS over the weekend I
>think the locos in the derailment on this show were SD80
>MACS. Sound old enough? No, they weren't SD80MAC's....the locomotives involved were SD45's, SD45T-2's and an SD40.
>Why is the windshield on the SD80's down along the down
>slant on the nose. Is that to help the crew see down over
>and around the nose better without getting up from their
>seat? Yes.

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>I have one question. Going down through the mountains with
>this freight between the freight cars and the two dash 9
>diesels there was a caboose. What the heck is that use? Used to be every freight train had a caboose on the rear end.
When railroads are around mountains as steep as Cajon Pass,
they sometimes tack on helper engines behind the caboose for power to get up the hill....or for dynamic braking coming down the hill.
Not sure where you live in relation to Altoona -- but the Pennsylvania Railroad, later Penn central, then Conrail and now either NS or CSX (I don't keep up with the eastern stuff much), used helper engines in the same manner on the line that traverses Horseshoe Curve.
>Do any U.S. Freight Railroads use cabooses anymore or was
>this most likely a older derailment (I forget where it was)? You had only one question. This makes two I'll answer sort of backwards....the wreck with the overloaded SP train happened in 1989....13 years ago.Cabooses are still used on many locals in our area on the BNSF (I live in southern California). You don't see them on road freights though. >How can cab videos of the train be shown in wrecks like
>other ones besides the one above on this show or is it just
>a recreation? That was a re-creation.
>What does a brakeman on a modern freight do today? They
>said the train had a conductor and a brakeman. In those days, a train would have had an engineer on the front as well as a "head-end brakeman"....plus a conductor and a brakeman on the rear end. Brakemen would assist with the manual switching duties when required. The conductor would do the paperwork back in the caboose, as well as the groundwork when switching. The head end brakeman would work toward the front of a train.What does a brakeman do today? Sit on their buns and keep the engineer awake. Not really, they also do the groundwork when cars have to be picked up or set out.

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Thanks shoskins!I live about 45 miles from Johnstown, Pennsylvania where there's a train station that has a CONRAIL/NS mainline going past it and that's where I railfan most of the time anymore. Me and my Dad were thinking about taking the 1 hour Amtrak trip from Johnstown around Horseshoe Curve to Altoona and back to Johnstown, the train isn't that late on that trip. I've been to Horseshoe curve before and as soon as them NS Freights get up the mountain you can hear them immediately back off the throttle but weird to say none of them have helpers on anymore that I've seen. I've also been to the Altoona RailRoad Museum which is beside the main line going into a rail yard in Altoona that I didn't get to see the day I was there, unfortunately. But at the museum they're restoring cars and locos so you can walk through them again. If I go to train school I'll probably be going to CSX RailRoad School in the middle of a train yard in Cumberland, Maryland because that's the closest to me basically.Adam-------------------------------Operation Lifesaver Organization -- http://www.oli.org/
Striving to save lives at railroad crossings

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i've been to horseshoe curve in summer and winter of 2000 and i can say "yes, there were helpers on some trains". on some trains there were actually front-end helpers because the rearend was not allowed to be pushed (for example the triplecrown roadrailers).

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LAST EDITED ON Nov-03-02 AT 04:24 PM (EST)

What are roadrailers?I saw on some flat cars around here of the NS's that said TrailerTrain on them. Is that a company or a car type?On my Amtrak Trip I took here (also posted about it on the General Forum) we passed a lot of freights with helpers on the back headed for Horseshoe Curve and at Altoona station we saw two locos chasing a train going toward Horseshoe Curve.Why does a freak squek so much as it moves from being stopped (even stopped for just a few seconds)?Adam-------------------------------Operation Lifesaver Organization -- http://www.oli.org/
Striving to save lives at railroad crossings

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<What are roadrailers?>http://www.trainweb.org/ns/3crown/3crown.htmlJordan L.
La Junta, CO

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LAST EDITED ON Nov-04-02 AT 05:39 PM (EST)

Aren't them called roadrunners?On the pictures you gave me on the website on the side of the semi trailer there's a NS decal and a CONRAIL decal. Is that just a static cling and what's the purpose of them?On the last photo are they talking about the decal design?Thanks for answers in advance and thanks for the answers so far!Adam-------------------------------Operation Lifesaver Organization -- http://www.oli.org/
Striving to save lives at railroad crossings

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<Aren't them called roadrunners?>
I've always known them as roadrailers.<On the pictures you gave me on the website on the side of the semi trailer there's a NS decal and a CONRAIL decal. Is that just a static cling and what's the purpose of them?>
If you read carefully you'll see that those decals are the reporting marks on the trailers.<On the last photo are they talking about the decal design?>
YesJordan L.
La Junta, CO

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