Major Failure on Inaccessible PV Car - What Is The Protocol?

[Devil's Advocate]

What happens when something important is damaged or fails on a PV car while being hauled by an Amtrak train without a functioning pass-through connection?

For instance, your PV car develops a problem serious enough to require immediate assistance while actively being hauled behind Superliner equipment.

Maybe it's an electrical fire. Or a heart attack. Or a botched undercover police raid or assassination attempt while passing through Dallas.

Can you just pick up a radio?

Is there an active intercom connection?

A flag you're supposed to wave?

A whistle you're supposed to blow?

A hammer to pound against the next car?

A spotlight with signal filter?

A megaphone?

Smoke signals out of the stovepipe?

What is the protocol? Inquiring minds want to know!

 

[Ryan]

This will answer many of your questions (and many more):

link

I don't think that they'll haul a private car that they can't get to (I think that they'll move the Trans-Dorm to the back to accommodate this):

4. Privately owned rail cars on Amtrak trains must be accessible to Amtrak operating crews and supervisorypersonnel responsible for Amtrak operations.

Edit: Going digging for pictures, I've found a bunch with PV behind a Superliner with a high level diaphragm, so I guess that just means that you have to allow Amtrak personnel on your car if you're attached to their trains.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

This will answer many of your questions (and many more):

link

I don't think that they'll haul a private car that they can't get to (I think that they'll move the Trans-Dorm to the back to accommodate this):

4. Privately owned rail cars on Amtrak trains must be accessible to Amtrak operating crews and supervisorypersonnel responsible for Amtrak operations.

Edit: Going digging for pictures, I've found a bunch with PV behind a Superliner with a high level diaphragm, so I guess that just means that you have to allow Amtrak personnel on your car if you're attached to their trains.

Absolutely! I've peered at many private cars from out of the "railfan's window" and there was no way I could see to get in there while at speed unless you were doing some sort of risky daredevil act.

 

[Just-Thinking-51]

PV are allow to carry and use a Radio in emergency. The PV is required to have one person in charge, or Amtrak will assign a Conductor to the car.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

PV are allow to carry and use a Radio in emergency. The PV is required to have one person in charge, or Amtrak will assign a Conductor to the car.

Do they also get a listing of frequencies per location and a primer on basic terminology? I presume the conductor would get on and reconfirm the situation before providing actionable instructions to the engineer?

 

[AlanB]

Actually it sort of depends on the emergency. For example a heart attack, the PV's designated "responsible" person would radio the conductor and they would then decide upon the best place to stop the train that still allows access to emergency crews. On the other hand, something like a fire if serious enough someone in the PV would just pull the emergency cord dumping the entire train's air and sending it into an emergency stop so that they could evacuate the car.

And yes, the "responsible" person would know what frequencies to use and where they change.

 

[Ispolkom]

On the private varnish trips I've taken, there has always been one employee who monitors the radio (with an earpiece), and switches frequencies as necessary. Since I've always been traveling with railfans, he'll usually announce the new channel, and pass on any gossip he hears.