Posted on 01/26/2005 6:42:20 AM PST by Pikamax
I got to witness the news media vulture helicopters all hovering above the scene. I can see them from where I work.
Why not? If he's illegal, he gets free health care.
Any time. I live in LA and wrestled with the pronunication when I first moved here, so it stuck in my head.
Guys, I have always seen trains leaving Union Station (outbound) to have the engine at the front (in the direction of travel), and the trains arriving at Union Station (inbound) have the CAB car at the front(again, in the direction of travel).
General rule is going towards LA the CAB car leads, going away from LA the engine leads.
However, nothing is set in stone and every once in awhile you will see this reversed. That being the case and since it appears that I may be causing more confusion then actual help, I'll just shut up for now and wait for more "official" information.
Sorry for any confusion I may have caused.
Best Regards
Sergio
Thanks to each of you for clarifying the orientation.
Heck, he may have got on the tracks from the Costco parking lot, or crashed through the fence from the open lot to the north of Costco.
You didn't cause any confusion, Sergio. I think you helped. Granted we are all discussing details regarding orientation of the wreck, and, in my case, relying on early news accounts which often are not accurate. But we are all in agreement as to the basic facts.
The locos were facing outbound in this case. Just like you have seen. The train on the track closest to San Fernando Road was loco first, heading toward Burbank. The train on the middle track was cab car first, heading toward Union Station.
Earlier live coverage showed investigators checking a crossing north of Costco (if I have the orientation correct). Closed the crossing and erected a tent. Also showed a tire on the tracks between the crossing and the wreck. Is that Chevy Chase Blvd? (Too lazy to do Yahoo maps).
Thank goodness it's nothing like what we had a few short weeks ago.
That's probably Chevy Chase.
The KNX (1070 am) business hour had an interesting discussion (I was listening about 12:15-12:45) with a guy who worked for the UP (I'm pretty sure that was who he was...they had so many folks during the day...but I know he was a guy who had been with the railroad for years and did accident investigation type stuff for them).
Anyway, he was very interesting talking about what his thoughts were from previous investigations, his knowledge of how things work being in LA and with his background, etc. Additionally he was talking about how near this same time in January (between the 28th-30th, sorry, don't remember the date) there was a crash of ONE of these same metrolink trains (same route/number, not necessarily the exact train) within miles of this same point where the red jeep was left (he started to say exactly how far he thought it was but then backtracked and said 'miles'...but he inferred initially closer...) and the crash happened about 5:54 am...so talking about how it was almost the same week (a few years back), one of the same trains, and a few crossings away, and how different the results were, and then went into all those reasons (the push/pull thing) playing into his discussion.
For anyone who's office bound in the SoCal area or in the car much, I think he's still going to be on for this next hour, as well. They'd bring him in, go to the scene, then go back, etc.
And they also seemed to be really amazed at how light freeways were at this point, after obviously the huge impact on all the roads after this morning, and then factoring in the rain in various parts of town...hopefully they'll be some amazingly different 'spreading' out of traffic due to the various factors and it won't cause even more problems.
So, for anyone interested in hearing the speculation of at least this one train expert, though I'd pass it along.
Here is the current dispatcher's display. You can see where the three trains are lying "north" of Glendale. The siding the Union Pacific train is in, is called the "Glendale Slide" They normally park freight trains there so they can be picked up by a Coast or Valley crew to take them northbound. The middle track, or track two, is usually eastbound (or southbound) running.
http://maps.yahoo.com/maps_result?ed=5tO5.ep_0TodvKfah0SwOJ4t6AN0736hfec-&csz=Glendale%2C+CA&country=us&new=1&name=&qty=
The next crossing north is indeed Chevy Chase. You are correct.
All details of train orientation aside, the scum who did this deserves to fry. I don't care what his mental angst is.
That accident happened at Doran street I believe. the crossing near the 134 freeway. That guy has his trains confused. Train 901 was involved in an accident in 2000.
Remember, they said yesterday was "the most depressing day of the year"
Fatal Collision Between Metrolink Train And Car
Third Commuter Train Wreck In January
POSTED: 2:55 p.m. PST January 31, 2003
UPDATED: 3:56 p.m. PST January 31, 2003
Story by nbc4.tv
LOS ANGELES -- A Metrolink train hit a pickup truck in San Fernando Friday, killing the driver -- the third fatal crash involving a commuter train this month, including one authorities say was a possible suicide.
The latest occurred at San Fernando Road and Brand Boulevard about 2:20 p.m., said Bob Collis of the Los Angeles Fire Department.
It was unclear why the truck was on the tracks. The driver was declared dead at the scene, Collis said.
Two train passengers complained of pain and were taken to Providence-Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills to be examined, he said.
The track at the site of the accident was expected to be shut down until at least 5 p.m., slowing train service between downtown and Santa Clarita, said Joanna Capelle of Metrolink. Buses will ferry passengers around the area, she said.
Train number 209 was headed north from downtown to Sylmar and ultimately to Santa Clarita when it hit the pickup truck, Capelle said. About 100 people are usually on board the double-decker cars at that time of day, she said.
On Jan. 6 a man was killed when a Metrolink liner struck the truck he was driving in Burbank.
On Jan. 23, a woman got out of her red Jeep Cherokee in Glendale before it was destroyed by an Amtrak train going about 50 mph carrying about 300 passengers. No one was hurt. The woman apparently tried to "beat" the train and the SUV got caught behind the lowered crossing arms, police said. That crash occurred at San Fernando Road and West Doran Street.
On Monday, a man was killed when the SUV he was driving was hit by a Metrolink train at another Glendale crossing.
Witnesses reportedly said the driver made a U-turn and appeared to wait for the train to crash into the vehicle.
"The crowded southbound train, headed from Moorpark to Union Station hit the Jeep at 6:11 a.m., then derailed into a northbound commuter train, which was headed to Burbank." So if you reverse my directional info in #493, the rest is accurate as to impacts.
So rather than drive through the arms and chance breaking the windshield, she leaves it on the tracks. Go figure.
Urban Buzzards.
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