The cameras are not in the cars, only in the locomotives.
Empire Builder accident (9/25/21)
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Through FaceBook I learned that the OBS crew was nearly all the same crew that my wife and I rode with from Essex (departed 9/11) to Chicago just a couple of weeks ago. I have learned that most and probably all were given extremely high praise from the passengers. My SCA Tashi, one of the waitress’ in the diner (I don’t remember her name but has beautiful red hair), and Alberto in the 27 sleeper were all mentioned to be safe and performed way above and beyond what’s expected. I really hope they are recognized by Amtrak and I hope to be able to do the same one day.
frequentflyer
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Looking at the ground you can see where the lead of the three cars dug into the ground the tight lock couplers let go or broke (cannot imagine the physics of 75 ton cars cutting dirt and decelerating in an instant).
As regards crimpled roofs, could be from the rescue operation. Here another closeup. Look at a Superliner roof up close on the numerous YouTube cams and one will see dimpled roofs on these cars. These cars are over 40 years old and have been through more hailstorms than we will experience in our lifetimes,
75 tons rolling over their roofs will do more damage than this. Be impressed the three cars stayed coupled together, that alone saved more lives.
As regards crimpled roofs, could be from the rescue operation. Here another closeup. Look at a Superliner roof up close on the numerous YouTube cams and one will see dimpled roofs on these cars. These cars are over 40 years old and have been through more hailstorms than we will experience in our lifetimes,
75 tons rolling over their roofs will do more damage than this. Be impressed the three cars stayed coupled together, that alone saved more lives.
I'm sure they all did an excellent job. Not sure if they went "way above and beyond what's expected" as they are all trained on what to do in an emergency, including derailments.
Yes, we had Tashi as our SCA when we took #7 from CHI to SEA on Sept. 2nd. Terrific service and great sense of humor. At extended stops he would lead the passengers in stretching exercises on the platform. Very glad to hear he's well.
NTSB spokesman in the video said they expect to be on site for a week, but when a reporter asked later if the tracks would be closed for a week, he said something like, "Oh no, not that long," but was not more specific. He also said the railroad has already staged materials for the track repair.
jis
Permanent Way Inspector
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Given that apparently today's 7 departure is slated to go through all the way, it would appear they have released the track already.
One thing NASA discovered way back during the Gemini program in the 1960's was how useful putting handles and handrails on everything is when you don't have stable gravity to hold you and things in place. It was only on the final Gemini flight that they put it all together and Buzz Aldrin (a hero of mine) was able to conduct the first truly successful EVA. He had lots of handles and rails (and places to put his feet) to hook onto and to grip. On all the previous space walks, the astronauts came literal close to death whenever they tried to do anything. Dangerously high pulse rates and blood pressure whenever they tried to move themselves to use any tools. Having something to hold onto made all the difference in the world. (Or all the difference out of this world!)
The same thing applies on any unstable mode of transportation, including trains on bumpy tracks, buses and boats. I've noticed the lack of places to grab in many of the older coaches and in the aisles in the sleepers. I hope the new VL2's and Amfleet replacements have many more of them, and when they refurbish the old Viewliners and Superliner, they add them wherever possible. It's pretty cheap and great for people with ordinary mobility, let alone mobility-impaired people.
The only time I've ever been sea-sick was on one of the older Boston-Provincetown ferries. It was the first trip after a storm the night before. The first 3rd (about half an hour) was fine as we sailed past the harbor islands to the entry to the harbor. Then the middle third was very rough until we got into the shelter of Cape Cod. I had missed lunch and got a snack, a bagel and a cup of coffee, from the snack bar. I had almost made it back to my seat, balancing the bagel on top of the coffee cup with one hand and trying to hold onto the seats of other passengers with the other, when we hit the open water and my bagel went flying! Most of the very hot coffee sloshed out onto my hand and the floor. (Why they didn't have lids, I don't know...) A few seconds later, I was too sick to eat or drink anyway. It got a little better when we reached the smoother water near P-Town, but I was still woozie. Then, 5 minutes ashore, I was totally fine, and my friends who picked me up there took me straight to Moby ****'s in Wellfleet for a terrific, enormous sea food late lunch/early dinner. (I know it's an AU requirement to always discuss food whenever possible.)
I've ridden other. newer B-P (and other) ferries since and noticed the seats usually have handles in the upper corners of their backs, which I now truly appreciate. I hope the new Amtrak coaches, diners and observation cars have the same. (I took a train once or twice with a new VL2 diner (being used as a sleeper lounge), but didn't notice whether it had hand-holds on the seats or partitions.)
Wow, that was fast. I wonder if the derailed cars have been moved also or if they will be further examined in situ. Would be a bit eerie to ride through the area with the derailed cars still there.
Except one important question that non-short people don't think of asking. What was the distance between the window and the ground, given that it was on an embankment? Would a short person have had to jump down?
I was also on the #7 from CHI to SEA that departed on Sept 2. Our SCA was Yonis, who I have seen in a few of the pictures floating around on the news, but we also met Tashi and he was a super nice and helpful guy!
I've ridden with Tashi a couple of times. Most recently in July CHI to MSP on #7. Agree, hi is nice and helpful.
Bierboy
OBS Chief
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That’s not unusual. Wife and I were on the EB a few years ago and passed through an area where some freight cars had derailed. There were quite a few still on the ground in the area. Granted, not passenger carriages…
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I've ridden by two accident-sites where cars (grain hoppers) were on the ground. I didn't find it too eerie.
Amtrak Apple
Train Attendant
I see the first lawsuit has been filed. Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't you sort of turn over some rights to the travel vessel (train, plane, auto) when you buy a ticket? Sounds like a pretty terrible situation to go through though.
https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.tow...-50da-8542-2c7e496ceab2/6153692da1451.pdf.pdf
https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.tow...-50da-8542-2c7e496ceab2/6153692da1451.pdf.pdf
I found it quite eerie to be pulling away from my own sleeper car in the dark after it derailed last spring on the Texas Eagle.
"This accident and the death and destruction it caused was entirely preventable. Sadly, the September 25, 2021 derailment of Empire Builder Train 7/27 is but another in a long list of devastating and fatal train derailments caused by the negligence and carelessness of Defendants Amtrak and BNSF. "
The cause of the accident hasn't been released yet. :/
Qapla
Engineer
At this juncture, it is a bit too early to say that this derailment was "entirely preventable".
Not saying that this is the case, but, what if it is determined that a freak wind blew the train off the tracks or someone had placed a foreign object on the tracks or even removed bolts from the rails and ties after the freight went by ....
Seems to me it would have been better to wait until the cause was released.
Not saying that this is the case, but, what if it is determined that a freak wind blew the train off the tracks or someone had placed a foreign object on the tracks or even removed bolts from the rails and ties after the freight went by ....
Seems to me it would have been better to wait until the cause was released.
Dakota 400
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I noted that in the gentleman's interview. To have crawled through a broken window of the SSL between the car and the ground in order to escape, could I/would I have done so? Was this the best decision one could make at that time? Would it have been better to wait for the emergency responders (or Amtrak crew) to give me directions as to what to do?
Obviously, the decisions he made were to his benefit.
That's tai chi, I think. He was the SCA on the EB when we took it earlier this summer, and I was amused to see him doing tai chi on the platform. (This reminded me to do my exercises in my room in the mornings...)
Here's a Czech First Class car that I rode in 2018. I appreciated the handholds, although the ride was much smoother than my usual Superliner experience. On Amtrak I usually end up grabbing some guy's head.
There are a number of errors in their filing, probably caused by the rush. Note that one of the firms is in Philadelphia. They probably cut and pasted from the lawsuits in the NEC crash.
Possibly the biggest error is stating that the train was on the BNSF all the way from Chicago as a justification for suing the BNSF in Illinois. Another serious error is their claim that PTC failed to prevent the accident, as there is no sign that this had anything to do with PTC. Instead, that's a clue that this is a cut and paste from the NEC overspeed accident.
