Amtrak vs. Car near Battle Creek. Minor injuries.

Anything pertaining to railfanning in Michigan.
User avatar
Jochs
Iron Horse Whisperer
Posts: 7279
Joined: Sat Feb 13, 2010 4:52 pm
Location: On my laptop!

Amtrak vs. Car near Battle Creek. Minor injuries.

Unread post by Jochs »

Two people were injured when they ignored crossing signals and drove around gates and their vehicle was struck by an Amtrak train. They had minor injuries but refused treatment.
https://www.woodtv.com/news/calhoun-cou ... 7qMQji8Dew
Jeff O.
Celebrating 11 years dial-up free!

(18:36:45) MagnumForce: Railfanning is way more fun when you stop caring about locomotives and signals
(19:11:29) cbehr91: I can't believe I'm +1ing Brent but +1

User avatar
Doktor No
Railroadfan...fan
Posts: 1076
Joined: Wed Feb 04, 2015 4:49 pm
Location: Rockford, Michigan

Re: Amtrak vs. Car near Battle Creek. Minor injuries.

Unread post by Doktor No »

I know the reason but have to ask...why in the hell do they hold a train for FOUR HOURS when there are minor injuries and no damage to the locomotive???? Stupid IMHO of course. Screw the passengers for four hours? Missed connections? Dumb, dumb, dumb.
Curb Your Enthusiasm.

User avatar
justalurker66
Railroadfan...fan
Posts: 1964
Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2011 2:51 am

Re: Amtrak vs. Car near Battle Creek. Minor injuries.

Unread post by justalurker66 »

If you know the reason then say it. Crew change?

Hitting a car at a crossing can be traumatic. Even if there are only minor injuries. The extent of the injuries isn't known until after the impact. Crews have the right to be relieved.

coasterrider
Railroadfan...fan
Posts: 68
Joined: Fri May 06, 2016 3:10 pm

Re: Amtrak vs. Car near Battle Creek. Minor injuries.

Unread post by coasterrider »

heard there was damage to the air and plow....cant confirm since the train was able to continue.

Buster Manning
Railroadfan...fan
Posts: 674
Joined: Tue Aug 25, 2009 10:16 pm

Re: Amtrak vs. Car near Battle Creek. Minor injuries.

Unread post by Buster Manning »

there was......along with some damage to the front truck on the lead unit.....amazing what some zip ties and a chunk of rope can do to get a train across the road

and yes, a lot of time is spent waiting for a change of crews....good thing that Amscam shut down the BTL crewbase

User avatar
justalurker66
Railroadfan...fan
Posts: 1964
Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2011 2:51 am

Re: Amtrak vs. Car near Battle Creek. Minor injuries.

Unread post by justalurker66 »

Even with a crew base in Battle Creek there would be no guarantee that a rested crew was ready to call.
Even with a rested crew ready to call there is a response time. They can't call the crew and say "be there in 15 minutes".

Four hours is pretty good considering the logistics. (And that is assuming that the local authorities did not hold the train beyond the replacement crew's readiness to move the train.)

User avatar
Doktor No
Railroadfan...fan
Posts: 1076
Joined: Wed Feb 04, 2015 4:49 pm
Location: Rockford, Michigan

Re: Amtrak vs. Car near Battle Creek. Minor injuries.

Unread post by Doktor No »

I know all of the above kids. I did it for 30 plus years. But holding for 4 hours? Crews CAN be called, don't have to do it...but can be called for a show up ASAP. (if they have one of course).
Curb Your Enthusiasm.

PatAzo
Railroadfan...fan
Posts: 1368
Joined: Tue Feb 26, 2013 9:20 pm

Re: Amtrak vs. Car near Battle Creek. Minor injuries.

Unread post by PatAzo »

At the end of the day do the passengers care about crew bases and call times? No, they sat for four hours looking at the time thinking if they had driven they would already be there. What will they think about next time they travel?

chapmaja
Railroadfan...fan
Posts: 1261
Joined: Sat Nov 22, 2008 2:02 pm

Re: Amtrak vs. Car near Battle Creek. Minor injuries.

Unread post by chapmaja »

Doktor No wrote:
Sun Apr 02, 2023 6:14 pm
I know all of the above kids. I did it for 30 plus years. But holding for 4 hours? Crews CAN be called, don't have to do it...but can be called for a show up ASAP. (if they have one of course).
I think the problem is where the crew had to be called from. Where is the nearest crew to this location that could be called? Chicago?

I think it would have been better for Amtrak to rent a bus and bus those passengers on to their destinations than deal with waiting 4 hours.

chapmaja
Railroadfan...fan
Posts: 1261
Joined: Sat Nov 22, 2008 2:02 pm

Re: Amtrak vs. Car near Battle Creek. Minor injuries.

Unread post by chapmaja »

PatAzo wrote:
Tue Apr 04, 2023 7:00 am
At the end of the day do the passengers care about crew bases and call times? No, they sat for four hours looking at the time thinking if they had driven they would already be there. What will they think about next time they travel?
What's sad is they are thinking about this because of something the railroad actually had little control over, some punk driving around crossing gates and getting himself hit by a train.

If this had been an Amtrak issue (like the 12 hour disaster a few months ago), I would be much less sympathetic to Amtrak, but when this is caused by an idiot acting like an idiot, I find it hard to blame the railroad.

User avatar
Standard Railfan
Railroadfan...fan
Posts: 1800
Joined: Wed Jan 18, 2012 7:25 pm
Location: Marquette, MI

Re: Amtrak vs. Car near Battle Creek. Minor injuries.

Unread post by Standard Railfan »

How much of the 4 hour delay was for law enforcement to conduct their investigation?

NSSD70ACe
The Conrail Guru
Posts: 1084
Joined: Mon Mar 25, 2013 1:34 pm
Location: Bottom of Lake Mead

Re: Amtrak vs. Car near Battle Creek. Minor injuries.

Unread post by NSSD70ACe »

chapmaja wrote:
Tue Apr 04, 2023 9:41 am
Doktor No wrote:
Sun Apr 02, 2023 6:14 pm
I know all of the above kids. I did it for 30 plus years. But holding for 4 hours? Crews CAN be called, don't have to do it...but can be called for a show up ASAP. (if they have one of course).
I think the problem is where the crew had to be called from. Where is the nearest crew to this location that could be called? Chicago?

I think it would have been better for Amtrak to rent a bus and bus those passengers on to their destinations than deal with waiting 4 hours.
Probably a split either way: Chicago or Pontiac.
:roll:

the contents of the above post are my opinion and mine alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views of my employer.

User avatar
David Collins
Youtube Railfan Guru
Posts: 2757
Joined: Fri Sep 25, 2020 10:46 am
Location: Bloomfield Hills, Mi
Contact:

Re: Amtrak vs. Car near Battle Creek. Minor injuries.

Unread post by David Collins »

Buster Manning wrote:
Sat Apr 01, 2023 3:31 pm
and yes, a lot of time is spent waiting for a change of crews....good thing that Amscam shut down the BTL crewbase
Since when did they shut it down?

User avatar
tsinoms
Adult Gerber Baby
Posts: 1650
Joined: Thu Jul 13, 2006 3:56 pm
Location: Grand Rapids, MI
Contact:

Re: Amtrak vs. Car near Battle Creek. Minor injuries.

Unread post by tsinoms »

David Collins wrote:
Tue Apr 04, 2023 2:39 pm
Buster Manning wrote:
Sat Apr 01, 2023 3:31 pm
and yes, a lot of time is spent waiting for a change of crews....good thing that Amscam shut down the BTL crewbase
Since when did they shut it down?
Asked an engineer in BC when I was there Saturday. Supposedly it's been a couple years. Also it is just the engineer base not the conductor base.
This is my life. There are many like it, but this one is mine.

If this is a problem get used to it.

User avatar
Schteinkuh
Railcam Terrorizer
Posts: 685
Joined: Sun Oct 16, 2011 4:06 pm
Location: LansingRailFan’s Mom’s House

Re: Amtrak vs. Car near Battle Creek. Minor injuries.

Unread post by Schteinkuh »

tsinoms wrote:
Wed Apr 05, 2023 1:33 am
David Collins wrote:
Tue Apr 04, 2023 2:39 pm
Buster Manning wrote:
Sat Apr 01, 2023 3:31 pm
and yes, a lot of time is spent waiting for a change of crews....good thing that Amscam shut down the BTL crewbase
Since when did they shut it down?
Asked an engineer in BC when I was there Saturday. Supposedly it's been a couple years. Also it is just the engineer base not the conductor base.
Actually they just closed the engineer base about a month or two ago. There was only one or two engineers based there anyway, but still makes any recrew process an extra two hours longer.
According to all known laws of aviation, there is no way a bee should be able to fly. Its wings are too small to get its fat little body off the ground. The bee, of course, flies anyway because bees don't care what humans think is impossible.

Post Reply