# 9/30/13 CTA Blue Line Crash



## The Davy Crockett (Sep 30, 2013)

The Huffington Post is reporting an accident with injuries on Chicago's Blue Line. Two trains collided at the Harlem stop in Forest Park according to this article.


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## the_traveler (Sep 30, 2013)

So what? :huh: You're still more likely to get into an accident driving to the train station!


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## The Davy Crockett (Sep 30, 2013)

the_traveler said:


> So what? :huh: You're still more likely to get into an accident driving to the train station!


And THAT is exactly why this is news.  Which, taken together, is a good perspective on this. Society seems to tolerate carnage on our roads, streets and highways... Check out these sobering numbers at the US Census Bureau.


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## AmtrakBlue (Sep 30, 2013)

Well, something had to happen before my trip. It runs in our family.

My parents went to the Canary Islands not long after the on ground plane crash.

My first LD trip was in Nov 2011 - after the fatal #5 accident.

These things never scare me off.


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## The Davy Crockett (Sep 30, 2013)

AmtrakBlue said:


> Well, something had to happen before my trip. It runs in our family.
> 
> My parents went to the Canary Islands not long after the on ground plane crash.
> 
> ...


I pity the folks riding on the Card and Cap with you! Oh, wait a minute! :giggle:


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## AmtrakBlue (Sep 30, 2013)

The Davy Crockett said:


> AmtrakBlue said:
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> > Well, something had to happen before my trip. It runs in our family.
> ...


You mean, passengers on those trains BEFORE I'm scheduled to ride.

You're safe TDC.


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## The Davy Crockett (Sep 30, 2013)

AmtrakBlue said:


> You mean, passengers on those trains BEFORE I'm scheduled to ride.
> 
> You're safe TDC.


Phew! :giggle:


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## the_traveler (Sep 30, 2013)

AmtrakBlue said:


> The Davy Crockett said:
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I'm not!


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## The Davy Crockett (Sep 30, 2013)

the_traveler said:


> AmtrakBlue said:
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> > The Davy Crockett said:
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LOL!!! :giggle:


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## jis (Sep 30, 2013)

the_traveler said:


> AmtrakBlue said:
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> > The Davy Crockett said:
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Isn't the Penthouse completely collision and derailment proof?


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## the_traveler (Sep 30, 2013)

jis said:


> the_traveler said:
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It is, but it's not "Betty-proof"! :giggle:


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## fairviewroad (Sep 30, 2013)

the_traveler said:


> So what? :huh: You're still more likely to get into an accident driving to the train station!


Small comfort to the dozens of people who were injured.


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## Ryan (Sep 30, 2013)

fairviewroad said:


> the_traveler said:
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> > So what? :huh: You're still more likely to get into an accident driving to the train station!
> ...


Yeah, that response seems somewhat odd. It's a noteworthy event that folks here would be interested in knowing about and discussing.
Doubly so now that the story has been updated that the area has been treated as a crime scene and discussion of the possibility of the striking train being stolen from the yard...


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## AmtrakBlue (Sep 30, 2013)

the_traveler said:


> jis said:
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h34r:

I think Jim has more to worry about than you Dave. You're only going to be on the CL a short distance....


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## jis (Sep 30, 2013)

So the traveler will now probably analyze the chances of being injured in a crash involving a stolen car  and rejoice that it is less common on trains. But then feel bad that it is even less common in planes or some such. Very complicated this


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## AmtrakBlue (Sep 30, 2013)

jis said:


> So the traveler will now probably analyze the chances of being injured in a crash involving a stolen car


And if you watch the new often enough, you'd probably conclude the chances are high.


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## Bob Dylan (Sep 30, 2013)

Hopefully we'll hear more from our Chicago Members about the "Stolen Train/Crime Scene" part of the Story! This has happened lots of times but usually the "Wanna Be" Engineer gets caught before he Wrecks the Train or Injuries anyone! :help:


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## SarahZ (Sep 30, 2013)

the_traveler said:


> So what? :huh: You're still more likely to get into an accident driving to the train station!


This is kind of a callous comment. I was on the Blue Line all weekend. What if I'd been on that train and gotten injured? What if one of our forum members was on that train and simply hasn't responded yet because they're resting? What if a guest sees this while searching for news online?


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## MikefromCrete (Sep 30, 2013)

It looks like a four-car set of cars in the Harlem Avenue yard got loose and went through at least three safety devices designed to stop trains, headed out on the west bound main and hit a westbound revenue service train stopped at the Harlem Avenue station. Bunch of injuries but nothing serious. CTA officials at a loss at to how the whole thing happened. It doesn't look like some unauthorized person gain access to the train, opened the operators cabin door and started the train (both of which require separate keys). There were several trackside safety device as well as the "deadman's throttle" on the car which all failed. Two of the cars had been in yard for several days awaiting movement to the Skokie shops for repairs. It's quite a mystery.

I'm quite mystified by the early comments in this thread. Accidents happen, even on rail lines. All the yucks about the Penthouse Suite seem inappropriate.


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## WhoozOn1st (Sep 30, 2013)

SarahZ said:


> What if a guest sees this while searching for news online?


They might well (and rightly) assume that AU is a clique of clowns that together with apparent leadership gets yuks out of accidents and other mishaps.

CTA: Video shows no one at controls of train before collision - http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-two-cta-trains-crash-on-blue-line-in-forest-park-20130930,0,1375440.story

"Video shows no one at the controls of an out-of-service train as it barreled head-on into a Blue Line train stopped at a station in Forest Park this morning, injuring dozens of people, CTA officials said.

"The agency said it was still waiting to review other video along the line and at the Forest Park train yard, where two of the four cars had been awaiting repairs. But it was at a loss to explain how the train rolled out of the station and down the line to the Harlem Avenue stop, where it collided with a train headed toward the station shortly before 8 a.m.

"The train passed at least two switches that should have stopped it and was going about 20 mph when it hit the other train, crumpling the fronts of both and jolting passengers to the floor. The CTA said 33 people were taken to nine hospitals but there were no serious injuries.

"'We do have fail-safes in place, however they didn't function the way that they should have in this particular case,' said CTA spokesman Brian Steele."

Includes photos and links to video.


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## SarahZ (Sep 30, 2013)

What I haven't been able to find is how the driver of the other train was able to escape injury. I'm not sure how close the drivers are to the front end itself, but those trains look pretty crumpled. Is he far back enough that the "crush zones" would have protected him?

(I don't know if they're called "crush zones" on trains; I'm thinking in car terms.)

When I first saw those images, before I read that people suffered minor injuries, I was prepared for a horror story similar to the Disney World monorail incident several years ago.


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## MattW (Sep 30, 2013)

Probably the operator saw it, hit the brakes and fled back into the car. Not much else they could have done.


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## SarahZ (Oct 1, 2013)

MattW said:


> Probably the operator saw it, hit the brakes and fled back into the car. Not much else they could have done.


That's what my boyfriend suggested as well.


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## The Davy Crockett (Oct 1, 2013)

WhoozOn1st said:


> They might well (and rightly) assume that AU is a clique of clowns that together with apparent leadership gets yuks out of accidents and other mishaps.


But I can never remember... Are you Abbott and I'm Costello, or is it vise-versa? :giggle:


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## Ryan (Oct 1, 2013)

SarahZ said:


> MattW said:
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> > Probably the operator saw it, hit the brakes and fled back into the car. Not much else they could have done.
> ...


From the quotes I've read, it sounds like the train may have been unoccupied and just started rolling... This one will be curious to follow.


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## AmtrakBlue (Oct 1, 2013)

Ryan said:


> SarahZ said:
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I think she's talking about the occupied train.Was the occupied train at a stop? If so, perhaps the engineer/driver was not in the cab or if s/he was, had time to move.


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## MikefromCrete (Oct 1, 2013)

The occupied westbound train was stopped at the Harlem Avenue station. Apparently the operator (the correct term for a CTA motorman/engineer) had closed the doors and was ready to depart when he saw the oncoming unoccupied east bound train. He reportedly yelled "stop, stop", and abandoned the cab. He may or may not have opened the doors before the crash. A passenger was quoted as saying he used the emergency exit button to open one of the doors. The injuries were caused by people being knocked around by the impact and the rush to get off the train. The oncoming train was traveling at about 20 mph so the impact with the stopped train wasn't as bad as it could have been. The ends of both trains took the impact as seen in photos. The interior of the cars were reportedly in good shape with the seats remaining in place.

The whole incident is quite a mystery. Apparently two of the runaway cars had been in the Forest Park yard for several days awaiting movement to the Skokie shops for some work. Two separate keys are needed to get into and start the train and the train passed two switches which should have stopped the train. In addition, there's a "deadman's" device on the controller that should have stopped the train. Nobody was seen on the train when it passed workers in the yard and at the Forest Park platform. It will be interesting to see if the NTSB can figure this out.


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## The Davy Crockett (Oct 1, 2013)

Trains News Wire is reporting that police are investigating the possiblity the 'rogue' train was "hijacked."

IMHO seems like they need to be looking at that option, given the circumstances, if for no other reason, to rule it out.


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## Bob Dylan (Oct 1, 2013)

The Davy Crockett said:


> WhoozOn1st said:
> 
> 
> > They might well (and rightly) assume that AU is a clique of clowns that together with apparent leadership gets yuks out of accidents and other mishaps.
> ...


"Whos on First and Whats on Second!" ^_^


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## jis (Oct 1, 2013)

What is the gradient profile of the track between the yard and the station where the collision took place? Did the rogue train pass only through trailing switches on its way to the wrong main? If there is a general slope from the yard to the station and only trailing switches were passed, then it is completely plausible that the brakes got released somehow and it just ran away under gravity power.


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## SarahZ (Oct 1, 2013)

MikefromCrete said:


> The occupied westbound train was stopped at the Harlem Avenue station. Apparently the operator (the correct term for a CTA motorman/engineer) had closed the doors and was ready to depart when he saw the oncoming unoccupied east bound train. He reportedly yelled "stop, stop", and abandoned the cab. He may or may not have opened the doors before the crash. A passenger was quoted as saying he used the emergency exit button to open one of the doors.


Thanks, Mike. I was, indeed, talking about the operator in the occupied train.


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## Trogdor (Oct 2, 2013)

jis said:


> What is the gradient profile of the track between the yard and the station where the collision took place? Did the rogue train pass only through trailing switches on its way to the wrong main? If their is a general slope from the yard to the station and only trailing switches were passed, then it is completely plausible that the brakes got released somehow and it just ran away under gravity power.


I don't recall the grade between the yard and Forest Park station, but once you get north* of the station, there is a pretty decent downgrade that would probably be enough to let the train coast to Harlem.

*All CTA rail lines, except for the Pink Line, are designated as north-south.


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## WhoozOn1st (Oct 7, 2013)

This Tribune story says - among other things - that the moving train had been left in in the yard with power on, "for possibly days," before running almost a mile downhill, through mechanical train stops, and slamming into the stopped train.

NTSB: Blue Line 'ghost train' was left in yard with power on - http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-ntsb-blue-line-ghost-train-was-left-in-yard-with-power-on-20131004,0,1119559.story

"The runaway four-car train was parked in the yard, at the western terminus of the Forest Park branch, with power to the propulsion system, lights and other equipment activated for possibly days before the incident, said a source close to the investigation, speaking on condition of anonymity."


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## SarahZ (Oct 7, 2013)

> During the incident, the emergency brakes were applied and the train was momentarily stopped several times by the mechanical train stop mechanisms, called “trips,’’ as it proceeded to the Harlem station.“After each stop, the train started moving again because the master lever on the operator console had been left in a setting that allowed the train car brakes to recover and reset from the emergency brake application and proceed through a mechanical train stop mechanism after a momentary stop,’’ the NTSB report accompanying the recommendations said.


Is this human error? Is the "master lever" supposed to be moved to a specific position? Why wouldn't the "dead man" thing kick in?


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