Re: Train Hits Parked Car in Grand Haven
Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2018 12:33 pm
A couple of years ago the Michigan Shore hit a pedestrian just north of Holland - it was non-fatal but the engineer didn't know it even happened cause it was on the conductor's side. Somebody saw the guy laying there and called the cops and eventually the CSX RN was able to get them to stop just after they hit West Olive.
Running with only the engineer in the cab and having a roving conductor works wonders for runs like the Michigan Shore with switches to throw and bridges to close, but it leaves the train with a rather large blind spot.
I am not surprised that the engineer didn't notice and didn't try to stop. He's in his seat on his side of a curve. He's focused on blowing the horn and unless it was fouling by a lot, it isn't likely that he'd think anything of it. He's not gonna get up to see if he hit it, when he has to keep on blowing the horn and watching for pedestrians on the track - something GH is known for.
As long as that blind spot exists incidents like this will be possible. But they're still rare and the time saved by having the conductor up ahead to close the Grand Haven bridge and throw the West Olive switch and drive around Waverly yard definitely adds up.
And ultimately, these incidents are not caused by the railroad, but by somebody else failing to yield the right-of-way. The question of leaving the scene aside, the railroad is never at fault for these sorts of incidents.
Running with only the engineer in the cab and having a roving conductor works wonders for runs like the Michigan Shore with switches to throw and bridges to close, but it leaves the train with a rather large blind spot.
I am not surprised that the engineer didn't notice and didn't try to stop. He's in his seat on his side of a curve. He's focused on blowing the horn and unless it was fouling by a lot, it isn't likely that he'd think anything of it. He's not gonna get up to see if he hit it, when he has to keep on blowing the horn and watching for pedestrians on the track - something GH is known for.
As long as that blind spot exists incidents like this will be possible. But they're still rare and the time saved by having the conductor up ahead to close the Grand Haven bridge and throw the West Olive switch and drive around Waverly yard definitely adds up.
And ultimately, these incidents are not caused by the railroad, but by somebody else failing to yield the right-of-way. The question of leaving the scene aside, the railroad is never at fault for these sorts of incidents.