UP Runaway (seen on CBS)

Heh. I just saw this on the news, seems in idaho today there was a minor problem with a UP train. One locomotive (dash 9) that was working as a helper in a freight train, broke away from the train on a grade and began rolling downhill. The crew didn't notice it missing at first, and by the time they saw that it was gone, the thing had picked up speed to around 25 miles per hour, though sometimes it got as fast as 40 miles per hour at times.One enterprising trooper, seeing this thing rolling along hopped on board and asked how to stop it. (supposedly the thing had rolled 25 miles so far) The police dispatch said look for the emergency brake button. So punching around he pushed a button. "Is it stopping?" the dispatch asked.
"No, Now it's going backwards." the trooper replied.Because of his actions, train maintenece crews were able to catch up with the engine and stop it a short time later on, with the trooper being hearaled as a hero. He said he isn't, that he just figured this thing shouldn't be rolling around where a car might get in front of it and it not stop.

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RE: UP Runaway (seen on CBS), CGW409, Jun-06-03, 07:18 PM, (1) RE: UP Runaway (seen on CBS), ge44tonner, Jun-07-03, 00:05 AM, (8) RE: UP Runaway (seen on CBS), metraup, Jun-06-03, 07:50 PM, (2) RE: UP Runaway (seen on CBS), Magick_maker, Jun-06-03, 07:55 PM, (3) RE: UP Runaway (seen on CBS), CSX_CW60AC_GregMarck, Jun-06-03, 10:35 PM, (4) RE: UP Runaway (seen on CBS), Magick_maker, Jun-06-03, 10:42 PM, (5) RE: UP Runaway (seen on CBS), Adam3291, Jun-06-03, 11:23 PM, (6) RE: Remote Control, century242, Jun-07-03, 01:24 AM, (11) RE: UP Runaway (seen on CBS), metraup, Jun-07-03, 00:12 AM, (9) RE: UP Runaway (seen on CBS), shoskins, Jun-08-03, 09:40 AM, (15) RE: UP Runaway (seen on CBS), GMOF3A, Jun-07-03, 00:03 AM, (7) RE: UP Runaway (seen on CBS), BNSF4723, Jun-07-03, 00:30 AM, (10) RE: UP Runaway (seen on CBS), Magick_maker, Jun-07-03, 05:19 PM, (12) RE: UP Runaway (seen on CBS), AlphaMaster, Jun-07-03, 05:30 PM, (13) RE: UP Runaway (seen on CBS), cyberjim, Jun-07-03, 11:53 PM, (14) RE: UP Runaway (seen on CBS), century242, Jun-08-03, 12:20 PM, (16) RE: UP Runaway (seen on CBS), xlspecial261, Jun-09-03, 08:09 PM, (17) RE: UP Runaway (seen on CBS), BlakeTyner, Jun-10-03, 05:42 PM, (18)

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I heard Paul Harvey report on this today as well apparently the trooper was a bike cop and rode his cycle along side the runaway and tried to board ala cowboys in the old westerns,missed on the first shot got back on his bike and made it on the second attempt and then just started pushing buttons and pulling levers.
Hey officer! drop the humble act and take the well deseved bow,you are a hero.Gary S

"Some say this country's just out for a fight. After 9/11 man I'd have to say thats right"
"Have You Forgotten"
Darryl Worley

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I found several links to news reports on this incident. It seems to have occurred Thursday afternoon near Boise, ID.
http://www.2online.com/x5154.xml?ParentPageID=x5157&ContentID=x42766&Layout=KBCI.xsl&AdGroupID=x5154
http://www.idahostatesman.com/News/story.asp?ID=41483
Dan

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What button would make it go backwards?Thanks!
METRAUP

Chicago-Geneva Metra Line

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LAST EDITED ON Jun-06-03 AT 07:56 PM (EDT)

Best guess is he flipped the engine on. It had been in a pushing situation when it broke free, so he may have turned it over to manual control.CGW:
You're right though about him taking a bow. I love trains, but I don't think I'd have the guts to climb on one knowing that there's a train coming in the other direction. I saw the shot of him climbing on the second time, I figure the thing was going around 20 mph when he got to it.

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if the thing was a helper on a train, the crew should of noticed the train going into emergency, much less the loss of power. Right?

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Not nessecarily. It was as best I can tell, DP more than a helper. I think someone said that the pin inside the coupler which connects to the drawbar (modern couplers being basically link and pin with automatic connections *and no, I'm not going to explain that *) had sheared off. The engine in front of the lose rolling one then might have made up for the air, or just malfunctioned all around.Whatever the case, I saw a shot of the thing and I thought for once "Wow. Microsoft finally has a prototype for their trains with no engine crews."

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Now, lets stop and think a minute. If you the UP plans on using remote-controlled units why do they think they can control them? Cause it shows that they can't control a unit without an engineer being on there by accident, but doing in on purpose, I don't want to imagine! LOLAdam

Norfolk Southern Piedmont Division, Linwood Yard, Linwood, NC

NCTM Volunteer

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I have mixed feelings about that. I thought that it was kind of neat that they are able to do switching operations with just two people instead of the 3 or 4 they used to have. BUT I wonder where this is going to lead. Are they going to attempt to completely do away with engineers? Operate the trains by satelite or some such thing? I have been talking to some railroad personel. They say that this remote operation may cost the RR's less in paychecks, but the productivity levels have dropped significantly. I was watching a local switcher last week that has recently switched to R/C, they were switching a paper recycler and it took the 2 men over an hour to do the job. Under the old arrangement it took them less than a half hour. Another point I have about R/C, what is the human cost to this? I have been doing some research on this lately and here are a few things I have snipped.September 5, 2002 REMOTE ACCIDENT HINKLE OREGON 0630 HOURSAt approximately 0600 hours this morning, an accident happened that involved remote control operations at Hinkle, Oregon. It has been reported that the accident involved a head on collision between two remote control assignments with extensive damage to unit UP 539. As a result of the accident, a switchman operating one of the remote jobs has been injured. It has been reported that he was riding on a car with his arm looped through the handhold operating the remote box. Reports indicate that the switchman may have shredded the ligaments and tendons in his arm possibly ending his railroad career. More later as news comes in….AND another one............March 23, 2003 REMOTE ACCIDENT NEY YARD IN FORT WORTH TEXAS At approximately 4:00 am on March 23, 2003 there was a accident at Union Pacific’s Ney Yard in Fort Worth, Texas involving remote operations. It has been reported that the RCO kicked a cut of cars down toward a track from the switching lead. The RCO foreman then crawls up on the fireman’s side of a 4 car cut riding the point down the lead. He set the locomotive on a 4 mph speed. The cut kicked into the track is still fouling the lead switch on the engineer’s side. The cut impacts the fouling cars and the “brain on the train” RC locomotive interprets the impact and slow down as request for more power and throttles up to maintain the 4mph speed set by the RCO. Either the collision or the subsequent automatic “throttle up” by the RC locomotive throws the foreman against the side of the car breaking his collar bone. The foreman subsequently injures his ankle when he fell from the cut of cars. His pull away vest ripped off and the belt back unit landed on the ground. Eventually the belt pack unit sends an emergency shutdown signal, but only after the built in delay in the tilt feature has timed out. Mean while, the RC locomotive continues to apply power and shove against the derailed cars. This is truly one of the fallacies of this technology. The “brain on the train” cannot distinguish between a collision and a coupling and will continue to apply power until it reaches the 4mph or whatever speed has been requested by the operator. THIS MAY BE CHEAPER… BUT ITS CERTAINLY NOT SAFER!!!!!!!!! These notes and a few others can be found at the BLE UP SOUTHERN REGION NEWS..
http://www.bleupsrgca.com/news.htmlAnd a few others (there are a few duplicate listings in the links)http://ble391rr.tripod.com/sixremotecontrolincidentsdoc.htmhttp://www.bleupsrgca.com/remoteinfo/UTU%20member%20killed%20in%20remote%20control%20accident%20%5BBrotherhood%20of%20Locomotive%20Engineers%5D.htmhttp://www.ble.org/pr/journal/story4.htmlMy vote is still out on the whole deal.
Regards,
Erik Pierson
Sacramento, CaSP_MSTS Member
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SP_MSTSwww.sacramentolocomotiveworks.com
Bringing the Southern Pacific to the digital age.

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One thing I don't get is where on the train the engine was! If it was on the rear, it would continue to push forward the rest of the train. If it was on the front, it would push the lead engine forward! Were they dropping it off? Was it at the very back and the train went faster than it but it still went?Thanks!
METRAUP

Chicago-Geneva Metra Line

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Strange things CAN happen.I remember once eons ago, when the Long Island Rail Road still had fleets of ping-pong coaches and the Century 420 locos. Their stuff did NOT have the now-reaquired tight-lock couplers. A train was heading west into Jamaica from out east, and there was a really bouncy section of track near what is now the Hillside MU facility. The engineer put on the brakes to slow for Jamaica and stopped like he hit a brick wall. He looked back, NO TRAIN!! The train uncoupled from the engine on the bouncy track, and it went into emergency with the air hose separated. The hose on the back of the engine, when it pulled apart from the train, snapped against the snowplow and kinked enough to hold the air into the engine, thereby letting it keep rolling!!!

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Yup..that's the only way..it must have been set up in D.P. and somehow missed the comand from the primary, and the train took off and the D.P. unit broke free still in DP mode, less a "forward" movement comand, and rolled in "forward", with no amperage applied to the traction motors, back down grade. When the officer started punching buttons..I'm sure that's what he did..released from D.P. to "independent" (the box on top of the console on the engineer's side has many program buttons)Makes me wonder...did someone kick the units air off at the anglecock?..How else could the train continue forward without bighole-ing, and the D.P. unit roll backwards without going into emgergency...Knowing U.P..we'll never find out what really happend...my therory..FWIW.

Paul...
www.mstsgmo.com

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> One locomotive (dash 9) It was actually an AC6000. Look at the pics, the radiator flare is extended at the back of the hood, unlike a C44-9W. It can be very hard to tell from the head end though.Looks Like a Pony RUNS LIKE A STALLION

September 11th, 2001: I stand united! Peace to those who perished... R.I.P

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Ah. I couldn't tell.

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OK, I saw this last night.
The train was stopped, and the engine got un-coupled somehow. It started rolling, and in some places topped out at 40+MPH. There was a police officer on a motor-cycle, and he managed to pull up besides the engine and jump onto it. He got into the cab and the dispatchers told him to look for a red button (Emergency Brake I guess). He found one and hit it, and the train started to go in reverse. It slowed it down enough so that yard workers could jump onboard and shut the engine down. Noone was hurt.I saw that last night on TV. Was interesting to see the video though.

Danny - Pittsburgh
There's a light at the end of every tunnel, just pray it's not a train.
If you come to battle bring a shotgun.

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Yeah, I saw it on the CBS News too. It was C60AC #7566. Looked like it was in nuetral coasting away from the train with the cab facing backward, so as it coasted away from the train, it looked like it was going forward. The bike cop got ibto the cab through the nose door and must have hit the throttle and the reverser was already in reverse, so it started moving backward back toward the direction of the rest of the train some 25 miles away. the video showed 3 emplotees running down the long hood walkway into the cab and stopping the engine. UP's been having a bad week. 2 T-bone collisions here where I live in D/FW with 18 Wheeler trailers and now a runway helper. Sounds like some poor maintenance or supervision on this class 1. The real problem is no one maning the helpers on the rear. If there were a real person in the cab, this might happen only once in a couple a 1000 trains if ever. Jim

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Well you can not blame the train vs Semi T-bone accidents on the railroad. The truck drivers made a concious decision to go around the gates and/or race the train to the crossing.
Like the one of the three posters on my wall state
"Maybe you can beat the train, maybe you are DEAD WRONG"Regards,
Erik Pierson
Sacramento, CaSP_MSTS Member
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SP_MSTSwww.sacramentolocomotiveworks.com
Bringing the Southern Pacific to the digital age.

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LAST EDITED ON Jun-09-03 AT 08:11 PM (EDT)

>OK, I saw this last night.
>The train was stopped, and the engine got un-coupled
>somehow. It started rolling, and in some places topped out
>at 40+MPH. There was a police officer on a motor-cycle, and
>he managed to pull up besides the engine and jump onto it.
>He got into the cab and the dispatchers told him to look for
>a red button (Emergency Brake I guess). He found one and
>hit it, and the train started to go in reverse. It slowed
>it down enough so that yard workers could jump onboard and
>shut the engine down. Noone was hurt.
>
>I saw that last night on TV. Was interesting to see the
>video though. I haven't seen anything on this so I shouldn't opine, but I will. Sounds like vandalism. Someone turned the angle cocks and pulled the pin while the train was stopped.This happens in Chicago fairly often. (With regular freights. I haven't heard of it with a DP unit but it is something I often expected to happen one day.) When ever I stop a train in Chicagoland, I stretch brake it. When there is tension on the couplers, you cannot pull the pin. And, by setting the air, you will know if someone closed an angle cock when you release them. Fred won't show the air going up on the rear.This sounds like a classic example.I have no idea what big red button they are talking about.(The old style Locotrol stuff on our SD's have a big red button, but not the newer stuff. btw-I don't have any Locotrol experience, so I can't say much concernign the operation of it.) I'd guess they mean the big red handle. IE; The automatic brake. Even when cut out for trail, the automatic will initiate an emergency application if moved to the position.What Idon't get is why the head end crew couldn't dump the air on the unit.Something is screwy here.Edit-I just reread the first post and saw that the crew didn't know it was gone at first. Maybe it was out of range by that time. Still, the unit should initiate a brake application if it loses contact with the controlling engine after a period of time.Todd
CP hogger

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My guess about the big red button was either A) the radio dispatcher thought there was an emergency brake "button" rather than the handle or B) he was referring to the emergency fuel cutoff button...which is big and red. *Shrug*Blake Harris
Engineer/fireman, Jefferson and Cypress Bayou Railroad

Vice Dean, Limbaugh Institute for Advanced Conservative Studies

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