Amtrak hits freight car on michigan line

[amtrakwolverine]

heard on the news the Wolverine hit the back of a abandon freight car on the Michigan line. No injury's passengers being bussed.

 

[Michael061282]

in the immortal words of Soledad O'Brien from a few years ago (after the Pere Marquette accident in Chicago) "Were any passengers on the freight train hurt Jim?"

 

[PerRock]

Detroit Free Press:

http://www.freep.com/article/20110904/NEWS06/110904011/1001/rss01

peter

 

[afigg]

Detroit Free Press:

http://www.freep.com/article/20110904/NEWS06/110904011/1001/rss01

peter

Thanks for the link. So instead of the Wolverine hitting a "freight car" which leads to all sorts of questions, what actually happened was the Wolverine hit an empty shipping container that had blown onto the tracks by strong winds. The first premise would lead to a major investigation because of serious error in safety and track equipment procedures. The empty shipping container leads to, ok, who was the idiot that did not properly secure empty shipping container left near the tracks?

 

[PerRock]

unless of course there were two accidents on the Michigan Line today... although more likely ClickOn just saw a big metal box on the tracks and said "freight car".

peter

 

[jdcnosse]

although more likely ClickOn just saw a big metal box on the tracks and said "freight car".

Kinda like when the news reports first picked up the semi hitting the train out in Nevada and just assumed that that had to be the wrong info, it had to have been the train hitting the truck because well, who runs their car into a train?

 

[amtrakwolverine]

If the container is metal shouldn't it have shorted out the track circuit and changed the signal to red?

 

[Amtrak839]

29 passengers onboard? This must be the train that all these Teabaggers are referring to when they say that no one rides Amtrak - because it seems most of the other trains are packed.

 

[amtrakwolverine]

Since it was in ferndale I say it was close to the end of the line next stop royal oak then Birmingham then finally Pontiac. So the train was just about empty at this point. I ride this train allot. Its full when it leaves chicago.

 

[jdcnosse]

Since it was in ferndale I say it was close to the end of the line next stop royal oak then Birmingham then finally Pontiac. So the train was just about empty at this point. I ride this train allot. Its full when it leaves chicago.

I'm gonna agree with you on this one. lol Never rode the Wolverine or Blue Water but I know that when I was in CUS waiting for the Pere Marquette, seemed like tons of people were boarding.

 

[PerRock]

If the container is metal shouldn't it have shorted out the track circuit and changed the signal to red?

the container could have only been touching one rail.

peter

 

[jis]

An empty container by itself is not heavy enough to complete a track circuit even if it was touching both rails.

 

[George Harris]

If the container is metal shouldn't it have shorted out the track circuit and changed the signal to red?

It is not that easy to short a track circuit with anything lighter than a train. That was a problem with single diesel cars. They would not consistently complete the circuit due to a combination of their light weight which was about 15 tons per axle, only four axles, and disc brakes. Tread brakes would scrub dirt off the wheal tread, making for better electrical contact.