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The more we learn about Amtrak derailment the stranger it gets
The Hill ^ | 31 December 2017 | Russell G. Quimby

Posted on 12/31/2017 8:58:50 AM PST by oh8eleven

The National Transportation Safety Board investigating the accident, which killed three people and injured more than 50 others, is still trying to determine the probable cause and prevent such accidents in the future.

It appears that there were two people in the lead locomotive control cab of the train who were both injured and hospitalized: an instructor engineer, and another engineer who was learning the territory and qualifying to operate the train along the route.

(Excerpt) Read more at thehill.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: amtrak; ntsb; railroad; trainwreck; williegreen
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To: Jonty30

They did.


41 posted on 12/31/2017 9:42:30 AM PST by joesbucks
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To: UCANSEE2

“I can’t believe you didn’t already know this.”

I did know that! My comment was rhetorical. I don’t know if you’ve ever been to Japan, but the local trains there have flip charts in front of the engineer, and he has to physically salute each instruction on the flip chart after he has saluted the trackside speed signs. All of it is set up to make sure that every change in speed is acknowledged multiple times. But its been a few years since I’ve been there, so maybe it’s all run by robotics at this juncture. The only reason they wouldn’t make that change is the make work jobs the manual system creates.


42 posted on 12/31/2017 9:45:43 AM PST by vette6387
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To: Brilliant
What I got from the article was that they did not realize where they were until it was too late.

Do you realize what you just said? The WRITER of the article says THEY did not realize where they were (impossible to begin with). No one from the media has interviewed the 'engineers' who are in the hospital, so how would the author know what they 'thought' ?

Why haven't the engineers been allowed to talk to the media ?

Maybe it's because someone ordered them to keep the speed high until the very last second, in order to make the run ON TIME (and it was behind schedule and would have arrived LATE if it followed the speed limits).

That is why all we hear about this is 'crickets'. AMTRAK is covering up for someone (probably those who had the most money to lose) and to ward off the lawsuits against AMTRAK.

43 posted on 12/31/2017 9:48:59 AM PST by UCANSEE2 (Lost my tagline on Flight MH370. Sorry for the inconvenience.)
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To: ClearCase_guy
I used to take a subway to work, getting on at an endpoint. As such, it's a benefit to get on the last car inbound, as well as the last car outbound given the egresses. Otherwise first car outbound...

One morning the train would get up to speed, then stop. Kept happening a number of times, before the ride passed for normal.

I met a coworker getting off the same train, and he told me he was running late, so he headed to the second station down the line, to boarded there, at the front of the train. He said at a couple of stations down, an older subway worker joined the train operator in the cab, and there were no more unexpected stops.

We figured a newly authorized operator, tripping the speed limiter. Or at least unfamiliar with that line.

44 posted on 12/31/2017 9:50:21 AM PST by Calvin Locke
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To: UCANSEE2

Only an Affirmative Action hire would be so stupid as to do 70 around a 30 mph curve.

Black Woman driver is my bet.


45 posted on 12/31/2017 9:50:55 AM PST by Balding_Eagle ( The Great Wall of Trump ---- 100% sealing of the border. Coming soon.)
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To: Jonty30

The Amtrak locomotives have cameras that show what the engine sees — that is, a forward-facing one — and there’s another camera to monitor the crew.

NTSB has already said they’ve reviewed the camera videos and found the crew were NOT using cellphones at the time.

All that being said, the bottom line IMO is there is no excuse for that train to do 80 miles an hour on that section of track. Ultimately, I believe the NTSB will have no choice but to find human error caused the accident.


46 posted on 12/31/2017 9:52:40 AM PST by Sam_Damon
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To: Brilliant

Google Maps and GPS systems would not be adequate in detailing the forces that come into play. Hands on training, both day and night, is best way for engineers to learn the route. In this case it appears short cuts in training occurred. Not sure why the author of this article would think it “strange.” Most of us like short cuts.


47 posted on 12/31/2017 9:52:40 AM PST by Fester Chugabrew (Lock. Her. Up.)
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To: oh8eleven
Not to make light of a tragedy but there's an old Jesse Fuller tune about a train engineer and his pet monkey who one day takes the train for a joy ride when the engineer wasn't around and did a better job then he did driving it. Maybe Amtrak might look into something like that given it's disastrous record over the years.
48 posted on 12/31/2017 9:56:07 AM PST by jmacusa ("Made it Ma, top of the world!'')
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To: oh8eleven

Oh for petes sake! The line is mapped, you know your speed.
How hard is it to figure out your position on the line?


49 posted on 12/31/2017 10:00:31 AM PST by mylife ( The roar of the masses could be farts)
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To: UCANSEE2

Were they engaged in some Gay relations?


50 posted on 12/31/2017 10:01:43 AM PST by al baby (May the Forceps be with you Hi Mom Its a Joke friends)
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To: glorgau

I don’t know, if he or she are one of those with black privilege, they probably have one free derailment written into their employment contract.

“Don’t do that again or we’ll have to take serious action, like putting a stern warning letter in your file.”


51 posted on 12/31/2017 10:02:04 AM PST by Newtoidaho (Proud member of Trump's army of online trolls)
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To: Fester Chugabrew

Sure it’s best. But my point is that in an age of GPS it’s inconceivable that a train’s engineer would get “lost.”

GPS really makes location easy as pie these days.

I was watching a Netflix show the other day. Entirely fiction. Someone was kidnapped and buried alive. In the box she’s buried in she reaches her smartphone and calls the police. But she doesn’t know where she is. Has she ever heard of Google Maps?


52 posted on 12/31/2017 10:03:07 AM PST by Brilliant
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To: 60Gunner

My thought too taking it up the caboose


53 posted on 12/31/2017 10:03:17 AM PST by al baby (May the Forceps be with you Hi Mom Its a Joke friends)
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To: oh8eleven
From the article, "places the onus on those managing this operation and their judgment and experience, or lack thereof. The lack of competent oversight by management and/or policy may lie at the root cause of this accident."

Amtrak Sounder Service Fail - brought to you by the same "policy" and urban planning morons that want to install self-driving cars everywhere.
54 posted on 12/31/2017 10:05:56 AM PST by indthkr
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To: BobL

Cell phone check was made early on. They were not using any cell phones.


55 posted on 12/31/2017 10:06:06 AM PST by Cold Heart
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To: ClearCase_guy

Maybe they were arguing over which would get the curve’s pokemon go first.


56 posted on 12/31/2017 10:08:00 AM PST by bgill (CDC site, "We don't know how people are infected with Ebola.")
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To: mylife

Dead Reconiing hell my pop taught that to me before i was ten and that was on the ocean not some track ez pee ze


57 posted on 12/31/2017 10:08:10 AM PST by al baby (May the Forceps be with you Hi Mom Its a Joke friends)
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To: UCANSEE2
The cellphone activity was already checked and they weren’t using their cellphones

But the exact time frame was never specified, just "right before". FWIW, I want specifics.

58 posted on 12/31/2017 10:08:13 AM PST by mewzilla (Was Obama surveilling John Roberts? Might explain a lot.)
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To: UCANSEE2

You have absolutely no idea what you are talking about.

Your comments on this thread would give chuck schumer a run for his money.


59 posted on 12/31/2017 10:08:50 AM PST by NYleatherneck
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To: bk1000
Perhaps the two engineers were, um,...distracted.

When they loaded them into the ambulance....did they have their pants on?

60 posted on 12/31/2017 10:09:36 AM PST by ROCKLOBSTER (RATs, RINOs...same thing)
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