This Just In: UP attacks Veterans...

Oh the irony. Weren't UP the people who dressed up a locomotive in Camo, and have a George H.W. Bush locomotive?
 
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The whole news artical seems to blame the train for hitting the float???? Those UP trains must be totaly evelutainary and be able to lay its own tracks just ahead of the train, surely people must have noticed some railway tracks going through their town... The blame totaly lies with the float driver who has a distinct inability to turn his head either left or right... The US needs to change its word for railway to railway prehaps people wont get confused into thinking railroads are for cars, trucks, busses etc.......

Andy
 
I see that newspapers seem unable to understand the very basic facts about trains worldwide...

I am especially appalled by this Line, following the statement of the UP spokesperson, who said that the train and the level crossing were both working:

Lange didn’t know if the train crew saw the float approaching.
Click to expand...

Sure... the engineer can stop a train of container double-stackers in a few feet!
 
sad.

Perhaps the train was early or late, people seem to get used to the times a train runs and take it for granted that it is safe at crossings any other time, probably the excitement being in a float played a distracting role too.
Lights seem to mesmerize people , some people go through a robot and when asked they can't remember what color the lights were when they went through.
They also seem to think a train has disc brakes and stops like a car.
 
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/11/1...obe-deadly-train-parade-float-crash-in-texas/

Disregarding the very poorly written story, the pictures shown at the above link in the video clearly show at least one crossing gate in place, and down. I suspect that the 1st truck to clear the crossing was still too close to the crossing to allow the second truck to cross, and it's trailer became stuck on the crossing as the gates came down on the flatbed. Whether the driver of the truck had room or not, he or she was probably panicked as the train bore down and the gates were bouncing up and down off the trailer behind and people were scrambling to jump off. It's horrible that those who were unable to save themselves were paralyzed and in wheelchairs, and that probably contributed to the truck driver's indecision, not wanting to "sweep" the vets off the trailer by gunning through the lowered gates.

It's only speculation on my part of course, but it seems plausible to me. The damn shame is the damage to life and limb may have been less if the truck driver had gunned through, provided the driver had the space to do so. It's really a heartbreaking story, and I'm sure many people involved will be second guessing their decisions for the rest of their lives. Of course the train crew has to be traumatized, I can't think of a much worse vehicle to hit other than a school bus.
 
It is a very unfortunate incident no doubt. I figured that the reports though would try and through blame onto the UP>
 
wilh said:
It is a very unfortunate incident no doubt. I figured that the reports though would try and through blame onto the UP>
Click to expand...

I agree with this too. The sad part is the crew will be reminded about this years from now as the case is brought to court. They'll have to testify, give depositions, and relive the incident all over again.

Isn't it a law to stop and look before crossing?

John
 
This seems to be almost epidemic lately. Here in Cali, there have been several Semi vs Loco accidents, and at least one was the Semi driving into the side of the passing freight train...

What the hell is wrong with these people?
 
Let me see if I get this...

So.. Someone drives a truck halveway over a crossing, too closely following the truck in front of him, not paying attention to signals and gates comming down. Then at some point apparently is surprised a train is comming, does not get his truck of the crossing.

In short...:
That person driving the truck just became responsible for the death of 4 people... and then people even bother to investigate the man on the train?

Are you only posting 1 side of the story or is this really looking as stupid as it is? Did they really not even bother to investigate the truck driver?
 
Let's kill some speculation

Another article with some more detail.
Texas parade honoring war heroes ends in tragedy

Focus: A key question for investigators is whether, after the speed limit was raised, the timing of the crossing gates was changed to give cars and trucks enough time to clear the tracks, Robert Chipkevich, who headed NTSB's rail investigations unit until retiring in 2010, said in an interview.

Investigators will also look at whether traffic lights in town prevented the flatbed truck in front from moving ahead, he said.

So focus is on:
- the timing of the crossing signals that may not be in sync with the new rail speed limits.
- the traffic lights (seen on both sides of the tracks in pictures in Ed's story link), personally I don't know why a parade would follow traffic lights, I am used to parades that have the path cleared so they just ignore the lights.
 
No they are investigating the driver, the company he works for (what training they gave), the parade runners (did they comply with all permit rules/restrictions), etc.

I'm no fan of "officials", but they sound like they are taking an even approach. Which in all honesty is what they should do, no matter how obvious fault may (appear to) be.

I also hear that the 70mph was a new limit set recently, the old one was like 40mph, and they are also questioning if the gates were updated to accommodate the new speed.

That's a tertiary issue at best.

Bottom Line: NEVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, allow your self to get into a "trapped" position at a grade crossing. Ever. Not even once.
 
I was talking to a retired railroader. He knew an engineer who was greatly impacted by hitting a vehicle on the tracks. The engineer saw a school bus approaching the crossing. The school bus tried to beat the gates. The school bus was straddling the crossing when the train hit.:'( Need I say more? If only drivers would learn to respect the railroad, none of this would happen.
 
Hi All
Please keep accusations down, discussions are fine, but flat out accusations such as "nobody did their job" and similar are not appropriate. We don't mind friendly discussion on it, as most posts so far have been, however flat out accusing people/groups is not appropriate. We would prefer to not have to remove any further posts...

Regards
 
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