Train derailment sparks major fire in Quebec's Eastern Townships

reply to post by Montana


Montana, as the only ( train) knowledgeable poster on this thread, may I ask a few questions?

Can a train be hacked?

What about the proverbial dead-man switch in the movies?

Just releasing the breaks on a down hill enough?

Could the two men have stopped it or warned down liners? It's not like a car and speeds off no mater what it takes time to get rolling? They may have been too far away or occupied, but?
(Found one answer in story engineer checking into hotel nearby.)

Thank you, just trying to figure it out for myself.

Originally posted by Montana
You know, folks, the more I think about this I seem to remember a conversation I had with an engineer a month or so back. He was saying that he was stopped waiting to meet a train when the train brakes suddenly seemed to release and the train started rolling. He said he had to use the emergency brake feature to keep the train from rolling away. Something to do with the feed valve if I remember correctly. I don't know, it was in passing and quite a few trips ago, but something is ringing my bell right now....

Wow, that's important info, Montana. I hope you will pass it on to all others concerned. Transport Canada and the RCMP might well be interested in knowing this.

After today, I know I won't hear a train without sending a good thought and prayer your way. They're tearing up the tracks in my town, but I still hear them every now and then.

Originally posted by donlashway
reply to post by Montana

 

Montana, as the only knowledgeable poster on this thread, may I ask a few questions?

Can a train be hacked?

Modern trains are run by computer controls. It's a computer that uses satellite communications.... You do the math.

What about the proverbial dead-man switch in the movies?

They are called alerters now. an electronic system rather than a physical switch

Just releasing the breaks on a down hill enough?

Absolutely! Obey gravity... It's the the LAW!!!

Could the two men have stopped it or warned down liners? It's not like a car and speeds off no mater what it takes time to get rolling? They may have been too far away or occupied, but?

Okay, i'm estimating the train weight at about 8500 tons (7300 tonnes) depending on the grade, and just how much of a death wish the crew had they MIGHT have been able to slow it down a little. Probably not enough. This would be seriously dangerous.


Notify who and with what? Trains stop in the most out of the way places. There likely was no phone, no houses, no anything but trees and a whole lot of dark at 1 am. Railroaders are not allowed to have cell phones turned on or carried on their person, so no cell either (assuming there was even cell service at that location. It is amazing how many areas are out of range even today.). I guess they could yell very loudly, but so what? This is just a guess on my part, but an educated one.

Thank you, just trying to figure it out for myself.

Happy to help!

Originally posted by aboutface

Wow, that's important info, Montana. I hope you will pass it on to all others concerned. Transport Canada and the RCMP might well be interested in knowing this.

You would think so, right? But the way the railroads work is that I would just be accused of trying to blame the equipment for 'human factor' mistakes because that problem is impossible to happen.

That's the truth according to the rails execs!

I have seen locomotives on trains idling on siding south of Mojave calif many times. no one in them or around.

The trains would pull in and a van would pull up and the crew would leave in the van.

2 to 6 hours later and van would pull up with a crew and and anywhere from a 1/2 hour to a hour later the train would pull out.

I have even heard stories of a couple guys that would steal diesel from locomotives through a long plastic line and pump they had hidden in the desert off the tracks.
One had a railroad master key that he had got by picking railroad locks and reading out the master pins.

I could see a ex employee or a lone wolf terrorist with training by passing safeguards and sending a train on a trip.
What better then a oil train bomb.

Trains that are left "unattended" are secured by other means than just the air brakes. That's why they don't leave for a half hour after the new crew gets there. It takes time to remove them and get the train ready to move.

reply to post by Montana


Watched new update video and checked google earth. Happened at major road crossing, 4 lanes on a curve with a siding switch.

Interesting google picks posted; train at switch, church, cinder rock labeled death all by one guy, bet someone asks about them.

reply to post by Montana


I know you speak the truth, but if there was criminal activity involved in this somehow, it goes well beyond punishing a railroad company. TV network said the gradient on the Nantes-Lake Megantic line is supposed to be over 5 degrees in a couple of spots.

UPDATE
Fires are still flaring up

An elderly lady who is in an evacuation center says she is anxious about being disturbed by snoring in the center tonight. But, she says she will go out to her car if that happens as she has reclining seats.

The police cannot give an estimate yet of the number of missing. Some people reported missing do not live in the town and police have to go investigate to check.

The fire area is still inaccessible. It is 21 hours since the first explosion.

Firefighters from Maine and Sherbrook are helping. I hope some of them get a break. We wish them all well.

The town is now short of potable water because of a damaged leaking input pipe. As soon as they can turn it off, the water level will rise from the remaining 2 feeder lines to the reservoir. Fire services are getting water from the lake.

Believe it or not, police have arrested looters.

reply to post by aboutface


Thanks for the update.


Ugh, looters... never fail do they ?

Even in a small town of 6000 people.

*sigh*

reply to post by aboutface


Sorry, I had to go to work.

This is maybe my take on a conspiracy.

When the oil started to flow from Canada - people wanted to build the pipeline from Canada, through the US. The eco people wanted it stopped - in steps Warren Buffet with his train tracks - which went into overdrive through the US to carry the oil instead of the pipeline (which would be safer than trains) But Warren Buffet does trains (Like he needs any more money).

Pipeline is still on hold - but Susan Rice (the lying Benghazi person from the UN) husband is heavily invested in building the pipeline. She's recently been moved to a position in the NSA for her beneficial lying after Benghazi.

The President of the US has recently taken up the global warming hoax again --

Wouldn't it be convenient to have a huge ecological disaster right now to stop trains carrying oil, and start the pipeline - even though his base is still against it? Or/And against fossil fuels in general?

If this was a terrorist attack (muslim) they always take responsibility = even eco-terrorists generally take responsibility.

This is a horrible accident and I so feel for the victims and the environment - but it's really hard not to look at the US gov't when things like this "happen".

reply to post by aboutface


I saw about this incident earlier online. Very sad, so many people dying horrible deaths... This and the 41 kids and staff members in Nigeria that were burned alive by Islamic extremists...

this picture was taken 12km in a small community of Nantes by a woman( while the train was passing by) before it entered downtown Mégantic. It was already on fire before the deraillement. There is also a 8-10 degree slope between the two community. If it is a staged accident, it's perfect.

reply to post by aboutface


I asked the question the other day in another thread: 'Are there attacks happening in the US and Britain but the Authorities are playing it down?'

Its just that there has been quite a lot of "accidental explosions" happening in the US and Britain lately. I also remember there was an attempt to blow up a train traveling through Canada not long ago or at least there was a 'plan' to blow up a train! I'm thinking because that one didn't happen, maybe some other group of Terrorists went and did this one.

And that explosion looks huge.... I really hope this thing gets cleared up too as I read on skynews that some of the Fuel had gone into a nearby river!

"How many train derailments this year?"......"oh only 5 or 6" .........come on! I can't believe there has been this many train accidents this year across America and Canada, this can't be normal. Time for some cross referencing I believe...

reply to post by SSimon


Hi. I put up the same picture on page 1, and if you look at Montana's expert reply beneath it, there is an explanation for this type of engine diesel exhaust pipe fire. It is usually of short duration.

reply to post by TruthxIsxInxThexMist

I personally always like to consider all possibilities in such events as it's my nature. The problem with this type of event is that we don't know all the kind of factors that play into this. We know the political aspects but not the technical ones. So people tend to jump the gun and speculate. And I can't believe I'm saying this, but we really need to wait for the black box findings. We need to know if it was mechanically caused or humanly caused.
Right now we just don't know.

reply to post by haveblue


I haven't looked into those stats. However, we've had record rains this year and lands can and do shift, sometimes without warning, despite best efforts to watch for that..

Well, if we had pipelines going east to west up here in Canada, we wouldn't have to ship crude by train. I honestly think that oil spills are not as bad as the risk of trains derailing and catching fire like what happened yesterday.