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No such thing as an “automated engine” in US heavy rail. It was a remote control locomotive, or RCL, controlled by a box carried by conductor.

you’d be shocked at some of the crazy things I’ve seen working for them…

*sigh* yes, the FRA has inspectors, I talked to one on the phone two weeks ago for a hazmat issue. And also: fire the Mechanical Foreman. If I ever had a mechanical foreman tell that to their Carmen and it got back to me I’d go berate him then his boss. Put MY crews in danger for your metrics...

As someone who has dealt with numerous situations like this, it doesn’t sound like we’re getting the full story here. On our end, we frequently have cars that get picked up as “trending warm” but aren’t triggering critical alarms…more often than not the crew is told to proceed to an area where...

it’s CTC, they have propane switch heaters.

Directional running is not the norm for BNSF in regular operating conditions. When operating conditions deteriorate, directional running is established as a way to help keep traffic flowing and reduce meets/passes to ensure crews make it to HTs or AFHTs on the train, especially when vans are off...

Considering the entire state of North Dakota is under a blizzard warning, your claim of typical winter weather appears to be mistaken and BNSF’s forecast won out.

A7-10 and A7-11 will not be stopping at any stations between Minot and Fargo, account operating changes due to winter weather. This was mandated by BNSF, not Amtrak.

Jumping back on here… It amazes me that in all of the comments on social media and boards about this that so few people know the meaning and purpose of “restricted speed” and insist that the blame falls on whoever parked the equipment there, not the crew.

Jesus they really went all out with those copyright claims…

Happened today at Paradise. Smoke box door destroyed. Crew is entirely to blame here. Should’ve stopped short of the improperly lined switch and barring that, should’ve stopped short of equipment on the tracks. Just from watching the video there’s 5 or 6 GCOR violations leading up to this.

I don’t disagree. These issues seem to be happening more frequently ever since Gardner took over. I can’t say for sure it is because of him or his policies (correlation/causation etc) but Amtrak’s rep is being seriously damaged by these issues. If rumors are to be believed, the Chicago...

believe it or not, locomotives having issues isn’t always in the control of the railroad. If you have an unexpected breakdown of your car despite taking it in regularly to get service, is that your fault? No, it’s just unfortunate. Not a perfect comparison but it’s the same general idea. You can...

pretty sure they were talking about the medical emergency, NS dispatching incompetency, and the crew timing out as being “out of their control”…

The Southern Transcon is in chaos right now. Trains are parked everywhere, with the Southwest and California divisions having the most trouble keeping things moving. Just wait until the craft guys go on strike….

a thread was already started on this….

Major derailment in Palermo, ND. Both mains blocked. #8 trapped at Wolf Point per TransitDocs. No estimated time to reopen. It was a stack train.

Because the amount of vehicular traffic doesn’t warrant an active protection crossing. Trust me, there is PLENTY that the Class 1 railroads have done to skimp out on investments. This isn’t one of them.

The passengers died in a tragic accident caused by someone who either was too inexperienced to be driving a vehicle of that type alone (or at all) or who was reckless and ignored a traffic control device for who knows what reason. Under your logic, every road intersection should have a...

If it truly was stuck, then the driver should have 1) gotten OUT OF THE TRUCK and 2) called the number on the blue emergency sign on every crossing with the crossing’s unique identifier and this may have been prevented, if there was time.