Freight Derailment disrupts Capitol Limited 2/3/23

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‘Evacuate Us!’ Fear and Anxiety Boil Over as Residents Confront Train Company on Derailment

While the company’s chief executive, Alan H. Shaw, separately made a trip to meet with local officials and some railroad employees last month, some residents were disappointed to not be able to confront him on Thursday.

At one point, someone in the crowd could be heard asking, “Where’s Alan?” Another person passed out T-shirts mocking the company’s logo, rebranding it as “Nofolk sufferin” and replacing the logo’s horse with a broken train.

Ms. Shore also said the agency was working to approve a plan that would remove the railroad tracks, as well as the contaminated soil underneath.
How would that impact the CL, and for how long?
 
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https://abcnews.go.com/US/norfolk-southern-unveils-safety-plan-after-ohio-train/story?id=97649481
In Monday's press release, Norfolk Southern said it "will immediately begin" to enhance the hot bearing detector network; pilot next-generation hot bearing detectors; work with industry on practices for hot bearing detectors; deploy more acoustic bearing detectors; accelerate our Digital Train Inspection program; and support a strong safety culture.

"Reading the NTSB report makes it clear that meaningful safety improvements require a comprehensive industry effort that brings together railcar and tank car manufacturers, railcar owners and lessors, and the railroad companies," Norfolk Southern President and CEO Alan Shaw said in a statement. "We are eager to help drive that effort and we are not waiting to take action."

Shaw is set to testify Thursday on the East Palestine derailment before the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.
 
So this is what has happened to our society, we want to live in complete safety. Of course we don’t trust the government to tell us what is safe. Less government red tape they say, so less rules and of course less enforce of those rules.

I don’t get the end game here. Do we evacuate these folks? Where is safe. Sure the railroad could easily buy out the town, they got the money. But what happens the next time? What happens when a truck rolls over, spill it’s load. What about all those households chemicals we use that is know to California to cause cancer.

What the end game here?
How would that impact the CL, and for how long?
There leaving one track in place while there removing the soil underneath the other track. So yes it’s going to be a operation headache, but the type of headache that occurs ever year while they maintain the track.
 
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This is why CEO’s need to let railroaders run the railroad and not tell them how to save money.

The CEO of Delta can’t tell the FAA to let planes take off in dangerous conditions and the CEO of Norfolk Southern (and managers under him) should not be able to instruct anyone on matter of safety in order to save a few $$$ and “increase efficiency.”
 
This is why CEO’s need to let railroaders run the railroad and not tell them how to save money.

The CEO of Delta can’t tell the FAA to let planes take off in dangerous conditions and the CEO of Norfolk Southern (and managers under him) should not be able to instruct anyone on matter of safety in order to save a few $$$ and “increase efficiency.”
Oh, you don't think the CEOs of airlines (through lobbyists) don't pressure the FAA to develop regulatory policies about takeoffs in dangerous conditions that will "save a few $$" and "increase efficiency?"

One thing that might help indirectly is having a truly progressive tax code with people in the stratospheric income ranges having marginal tax rates of 90% of so, just like they used to have before the 1980s. When managers and investors realize that there are limits as to how much person wealth they can squeeze out of a company in the short haul, they'll be more willing to put that money back into the operations of the company, thus ensuring its long-term prosperity and viability.
 
Why would they not put the heat detectors on the train cars for continuous detection? I applaud the sound detection! Im sure the faulty bearings make god awful noise.
 
Why would they not put the heat detectors on the train cars for continuous detection?
I'm no railroader by any means. But I would presume there would have to be:
1) a heat detector for each and every axle, or maybe even one on each wheel if the bearings can heat up on one side and not the other, and
2) a reliable method of relaying the signal from each of those sensors to the engine controlling the train, either lots and lots of wire or hundreds of wireless devices per train.
 
Why would they not put the heat detectors on the train cars for continuous detection? I applaud the sound detection! Im sure the faulty bearings make god awful noise.
The sound system for detecting bearing failure is a bit touchy. When it first came out private railcars owners were complaining about how sensitive they were. Almost to the point they could not determine why the bearing was swapped out. Then there the whole quality of the bearing or wheels that the railroad would swap in. There was a fight about give up a high end wheel set for a low tread replacement. Not sure how that ended.
I'm no railroader by any means. But I would presume there would have to be:
1) a heat detector for each and every axle, or maybe even one on each wheel if the bearings can heat up on one side and not the other, and
2) a reliable method of relaying the signal from each of those sensors to the engine controlling the train, either lots and lots of wire or hundreds of wireless devices per train.
1) You would need a sensors on each bearing, IE two per axle.
2) Not sure if the electric brakes system could do feedback. But even if it can’t, add one wire for brakes, then adding a second for communication should not be much more of a cost.

The whole issue would be maintenance of the system, and of course the false alarms. It could be done, I just don’t see anything that indicates that it’s going to happen.
 
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