Recent content by ALC Rail Writer

You're right, he was sitting at a table in the cafe.

No, amongst the survivors of the BC car was former congressman Patrick Murphy.

Couldn't we wait and see what the NTSB has to say about this relatively new engine? Is it really implausible to consider there was a mechanical failure? I don't know this engineer, I can't speak for his character. I can say that a train is a complicated system with possibilities for failure that...

There's no sense blaming the engineer for anything unless facts emerge that prove he had something to do with the speed. While possible (even probable) there are other explanations. I don't see why people would be upset that he has a lawyer. Legal counsel is a prudent measure whether he's...

Very true, but I wonder if (as others have alluded) there is good to come out of this media blitz...Look at this thread and others like it; whenever an establishment political force mobilizes itself against something with grassroots support, the grassroots instinctively mobilize. At the end of...

They have the crew debriefed, they have the on board data, they have the wreck site, and they have whatever live data Amtrak had at the time of the incident. We should have an answer relatively soon, as in relative to drawn-out plane mysteries.

Amtrak does not go that fast through that area normally. Clearly last night something was abnormal. Logically, it could have been the speed.

Yes, and if you re-read my post you will find I used it correctly. I said 100% causality not 100% fatality.

Amtrak released this statement at 1:15 ET At 2:45 AM this statement was posted on the blog along with this addendum:

So 106 or not, if they are going about 80 and don't reduce speed coming out of that straightaway, they flip.

The curve is rated for 50, what is the speed limit prior to that one?

If we're entertaining random speculation, the first thought in my head was something involving the new engines. There were probably multiple factors involved so it's important to avoid too much rampant speculation. That being said one really has to hope it's not the new engines.

Mostly unconfirmed, but not 100%. A local news reporter claims Amtrak "source" confirmed that Amtrak knows how fast the train was going and that it was "very fast". https://twitter.com/AdamTuss/status/598336116786372609

lol, and oldie but a goodie!

Have they brought out any 3D simulations yet? You know those GPUs are grinding as we speak!