Re CSX 8888 The story

[Scooterb]

Copied from the following site.
http://www.nationalcorridors.org/df/df05212001.shtml

Nobody was aboard
47-car freight train strolls 66 miles

Americans were fascinated last week by a railroad episode that usually only plays out in movies - a runaway train; but this time, it was real, and with tank cars loaded with hazardous chemicals.
An unmanned 47-car CSX freight train hauled by a single six-axle, 3,000 HP SD-40-2 locomotive injured no one, nor did it derail. Two of the train's tank cars contained thousands of gallons of a hazardous material, molten phenol acid, a toxic ingredient used in paints and dyes. The chemical is harmful when it is inhaled, ingested or comes into contact with the skin.

There were heroics, a veteran engineer is most likely out of service, and the reason for the incident, at least, according to CSX, was simple: human error.

CSX said last week, after the train drew national media attention, it traveled 66 miles from Toledo, Ohio, to near Kenton, Ohio on May 15.

It so happened an Ohio railfan was out that day in the vicinity, and was able to post a first-person report on-line. He did not state his name.

He wrote he was "up north chasing the CSX Operation Lifesaver Special," which operated on the former Conrail Toledo Branch between Columbus and Toledo.

While he was driving back north on I-75 to Trombley to await the return southbound Operation Lifesaver train, "I heard some very unusual radio chatter, culminating in, 'Well, where is the engineer?"

"'Right here in the crew room!'"

The poster described what happened.

"A train had somehow gotten out of Stanley Yard in Toledo and was running southbound with no one aboard.

"I saw the train at North Trombley running at about 30 mph. It was a solo SD-40-2, No. 8888 (an ex-Conrail unit) with about 47 cars. It tripped the detector at North Trombley with dragging equipment, but none of the others further south."

He wrote he heard the CSX "IE" dispatcher "call the maintainers along the road that the train had run through the switches at CP-14 and were likely damaged. The pursuit by CSX employees, police, and myself began at this point."

He noted that because of the Operation Lifesaver Special, "there was a very high police presence along the railroad, which was crucial.

"Almost every grade crossing was protected when the train passed. Keep in mind, nobody was aboard to sound the horn and bell. The headlights were not on either. I caught up with the train again at Mortimer (North Findlay).

"Here, a CSX maintainer had placed a derail on the track to derail the train. Everyone was out of the way, expecting a horrific wreck. Amazingly, the train ran through the derail, kicking it out of the way. Now, the city of Findlay lay ahead.

"By this time, all police and emergency personnel along the line had been alerted. NS and other CSX dispatchers had been alerted to prevent any intersecting lines from passing traffic through railroad crossings at grade at Galatea, Mortimer, and Findlay. They were going to attempt to put the train in the siding at Whirlpool, just north of Findlay, but the fear of the hazardous material cars on the train nixed that move.

"It was then decided to put the train in the siding at Blanchard, south of Dunkirk. However, another idea arose. There was a northbound Q636 waiting at Dunkirk in the siding. Dunkirk has probably never seen so much excitement since a big wreck of some years ago.

"There was Q636 in the siding and an eastbound local on the PRR, waiting at the diamond with a clear signal. Thankfully, the word had gotten out.

"The train accelerated going down the hill from the U.S. 68 crossing to the diamond at Dunkirk. When the train passed, the great locomotive chase began.

The crew of Q636, in the siding at Dunkirk, had taken their lone SD-40-2 off their train, and through arrangement with the IE train dispatcher, prepared to pull out of the north end of the siding after the runaway had passed and begin a pursuit.

"The train got by at about 45 mph; the dispatcher immediately threw the switch, and 636's power got out on the main. After a few tense seconds, the switch was lined and the chase began.

"The crew on 636 was incredible.

"Gung ho, they wanted to catch that train by the sounds of their voices on the radio.

"They caught up with the runaway just south of Blanchard. The city of Kenton, with its sharp curves lay ahead. The lone SD-40-2, now coupled to the runaway, kicked the dynamic brakes on full and got immediate results, bringing the train down to a curve-safe 20 mph or less. The dispatcher then arranged for the Kenton local, with a single GP-38 and a covered hopper, to get in front of the runaway, if necessary, to pace, couple up, and buffer the train to a stop.

"The Q636's crew and Kenton local were placed in direct contact.

"Q636's engineer gave the train speed every few seconds, and the Kenton local got in a tangent where they could get a jump and engage the runaway as safely as possible under the circumstances.

"Finally, the runaway slowed to 12 mph. At State Route 31, a CSX trainmaster heroically swung aboard and shut the throttle off on the errant locomotive and train. The Kenton local was just ahead and did not have to couple to the runaway. The situation in the cab reported by the trainmaster was that 'the throttle was in run 8, 20 pounds reduction on the automatic [air], and full application on the independent.'"The railfan wrote he was "there for almost the entire pursuit, never being more than six miles away and always in radio range. No one lost his cool and everyone was on the same page. There was some great crisis railroading being performed by the men out there today!"

The Ohio eyewitness added that because the derail at Mortimer did not work, a hazardous materials disaster was averted. It would have likely occurred in a semi-populated area, next to I-75. The cities of Findlay and Kenton have some significant track curves.

Later in the day and on into Wednesday, CSX reported the company "conducted an extensive investigation in conjunction with the Federal Railroad Administration that included interviews with all employees involved; an analysis of the data from the locomotive's event recorder, analogous to the "black box" in the aviation industry; and a re-creation of the events at the company's rail yard in Toledo.

CSX reported, "All mechanical equipment was found to be working as intended, but added, "The engineer on the train," whose name was not released, "told investigators that he had made an error in controlling the train. Before dismounting the locomotive to line a switch, he intended to engage the three types of brakes on the locomotive. He applied two brakes, but then inadvertently grabbed the throttle lever instead of the third braking lever. By the time he realized the error, he was already off the locomotive, and it was moving too quickly for him to climb aboard to stop the movement."

A spokesman explained, "The effect would be similar to pressing down on the brake and accelerator simultaneously in an automobile, but under much more complex circumstances," said Alan F. Crown, executive vice president for transportation.

Crown said the engineer "is a good employee, with 35 years of service and clean record. He acknowledged that he made a serious error in judgment, and he will be held accountable."

Crown said that despite the fact that CSX has never experienced a similar incident over literally millions of locomotive moves, the company plans to inform all operating employees of the circumstances surrounding the incident, as well as alerting others in the rail industry to heighten awareness.

Crown congratulated trainmaster Jon Hosfeld, engineer Jesse Knowlton and conductor Terry Forson, whose actions slowed and ultimately stopped the train. Hosfeld is a 31-year CSX veteran from Kenton, Ohio; Knowlton is a locomotive engineer with 28 years' experience; and Forson is a "newbie" conductor, with one year's service.

"I can't praise these employees more highly," said Michael J. Ward, CSXT president. Knowlton and Forson said later they coupled their locomotives to the rear of the runaway train "at about 25 mph, and applied braking pressure to slow the 47-car train set." Hosfeld boarded the locomotive, then traveling at about 10 mph, and turned off its power plant.Hosfeld works out of CSX's Toledo yard facility; Knowlton and Forson are from the Columbus area.The three railroaders described their actions to CNN."We caught up with the train and tried to judge it as best as we could to tie on and... first hit, we tied on," said locomotive engineer Jesse Knowlton, who was piloting the rescue engine. "All I know is what I had to do. I was instructed - or asked - to catch that train, and that's what I did."

After the train had slowed to about 10 mph, it was trainmaster Jon Hosfeld's job to jump aboard it at a railroad crossing in Kenton, Ohio.

"I had one try," Hosfeld said.

"It was my only attempt to do it. We had gone through - I think about three or four other crossings - and the speed was too great; I knew that no way humanly possible could I mount the equipment, so I had to wait until it was down to a speed to where I had the comfort zone ... that I could get on and isolate the power." "The public was never really in jeopardy, other than we had a train that was sort of out of control for about two hours," Hosfeld said.

Forson, who managed to couple the second engine to the runaway, had been a conductor for just about a year when faced with catching the runaway train.

"They never said nothing about this during training," Forson said. "It was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime thing. It was just a weird feeling to see that thing go by with nobody on it and then have to come out and chase it down. It was an intense moment."

Railroaders around the country were wondering how accurate CSX's explanation was of what happened.

Despite CSX's statement explaining the human error cause of Tuesday's runaway incident in Ohio - understandably expressed in simple terms that the media and public could understand - railroaders today questioned how a veteran engineer could have made such a mistake.According to a published report, a reporter spoke to engineers who had intimate knowledge of how an SD-40-2 operates."The engineer set the automatic and independent brakes, then notched out the throttle but failed to set the dynamic brakes. On the control stand on the (former Conrail) engine, one lever controls the independent brake, and one that controls the automatic brake. The dynamic brake lever sits above the throttle. The dynamics are engaged by pushing the lever forward. The throttle is engaged by pulling it toward the back of the cab."

An engineer explained, "If you wanted to use full dynamics, you'd want the throttle in Run 8, but you'd also want the dynamic lever all the way forward, as well."It remains unclear why the engineer would want to use the automatic brake, however, since the train's air was not cut in.

"I don't even see why he'd use dynamics in that situation,'" said one CSX engineer. It still confounds me the way that would happen."CSX's chief mechanical officer was skeptical, too, spokesman Dan Murphy said. "But he said you have to understand the circumstances," Murphy explained.

Some railroaders wondered how the engineer could mistake the sound of the locomotive revving up for the telltale whine of dynamic brakes.

"The whole thing just doesn't add up," said one railroader familiar with Conrail motive power. "An SD-40 at Run 8 will blow your eardrums out.""If he jerked the throttle back on his way out the door, I would think he'd notice the engine revving up," another CSX engineer said. "They rev up pretty quick, and it would be wound up by the time he reached the steps. I would've known if I had done that."Power loads faster than the dynamics, so the engineer said it's conceivable that the 8888's engineer could have made his way down the steps still believing his locomotive was in full dynamics. It can take 15 seconds or so for the dynamics to kick in, which would be ample time for the engineer to make his way out of the cab and hustle down the steps, yet notching out the throttle also would likely produce noticeable slack action that would have indicated the train was under full power, not full dynamics, the CSX engineer said.

"There was no debate about why the 8888's alerter didn't stop the train. The 'alerter won't take action when the independent brake is in use," the motive power official said. The 8888's independent brakes were on, and its brake shoes were virtually burned off by the end of its 66-mile run along the former Conrail Toledo Branch.

Still, veteran railroaders expressed amazement at the runaway.

"The independent brake alone wouldn't stop the train. But still, to reach 50" mph running upgrade, one CSX engineer said, shaking his head. He wasn't surprised, however, that an attempt to stop the train using derails failed.

"Those portable derails aren't meant to derail a train at 50," he said.

Among the more bizarre incidents in the two-hour attempt to stop the train was the effort by police to activate the 8888's fuel cut-off switch by shooting it. CSX officials acknowledged today that they were aware of police attempts to disable the locomotive by firing upon it. Instead of hitting the red fuel cutoff switch, however, three shots hit the locomotive's fuel cap, which is also red, CSX said.

[Ypsi]

just for fun i'm bringing back this post ... no actually i was diging through old post (that is what bordem does ) and was amazed at this story so i found some old news reals on youtube about it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bb2OCVAi ... re=related

for any of us younger members who did't know about this incident

And I was also wondering if there is any truth to a runaway train story i have heard before. I have heard that in the 70's during an engineer strike, an enineer put an engine (or a train) in motion with no one aboard. From what I heard a boxcar was put over a dimond to stop it, or at least to prepare to stop it... My grandpa who was a firefighter told me this story, he described it as a radio call in which he was told to prepare for a train crash.

[cbehr91]

Anyone know who was the IE dispatcher on duty when this incident happened?

[Bellevue_Guy]

Thanks for bumping this. Very interesting in-depth article....much more informative than the news clips, which were all I had seen about this event previously.

[MagnumForce]

Cory, I have heard the audio from that day but I have no idea where it was that I heard it or who was on duty that day.

[cbehr91]

Oh really? This is the first I've heard of any audio of the event. That would be neat to hear!

[MagnumForce]

Figured out where I heard it, http://kohlin.com/CSX8888/x-play-by-play.htm

It was never put online, I heard it in Deshler.

[Ypsi]

Thanks for bumping this. Very interesting in-depth article....much more informative than the news clips, which were all I had seen about this event previously.

Oh anytime

[AC60CW]

Why wasn't Denzel mentioned in the article...

[Saturnalia]

Americans were fascinated last week by a railroad episode that usually only plays out in movies - a runaway train;

Yes, This does play out in Movies

Warning: There is a bit of PG-13-rated language

[TrainWatcher]

Ya know, its funny on the adaptaion of "Unstoppable", how many changes were made from the regular story... But I really would like to hear the actual audio and not a typed transscript.

[Ypsi]

I wanted to see the movie unstoppable, but never got around to it

[MagnumForce]

Next time you are in Deshler talk to Bill Shaffer and he should be able to pull up the audio for you.

[AC60CW]

Ok, sorry...gotta drop this one in here...

"...the size of the Chrysler building..."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noTbPFoTRjY

[ConrailDetr​oit]

Unstoppable was a good movie but when the engineer got out to throw the switch it was stupid how the throttles fell by themselves. They should have did what really happened where he thought he set the dynamic brake.

[Saturnalia]

Ok, sorry...gotta drop this one in here...

"...the size of the Chrysler building..."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noTbPFoTRjY

Yeah, that phrase was a good one. "Connie" was the best caracter in the movie in my opinion---always eipclly involved

[sd70accsxt700]

Unstoppable was a good movie but when the engineer got out to throw the switch it was stupid how the throttles fell by themselves. They should have did what really happened where he thought he set the dynamic brake.

They did if you watch it, it was in dynamic, and it magicly moved past idle to throtle.

[ConrailDetr​oit]

Unstoppable was a good movie but when the engineer got out to throw the switch it was stupid how the throttles fell by themselves. They should have did what really happened where he thought he set the dynamic brake.

They did if you watch it, it was in dynamic, and it magicly moved past idle to throtle.

Ok. It was still stupid how it magically moved.

[atrainguy60]

I've wondered why in the derailment scene the two loco's turned at the switch and derailed while the runaway kept going down the main line safely.

[Saturnalia]

I've wondered why in the derailment scene the two loco's turned at the switch and derailed while the runaway kept going down the main line safely.

For one, there are two scenes there. The first is the lashup and 777 going straight through, and the second one is a sheilded 777 going straight with the lashup being pulled over with a series of chains and pulleys. The best explaination to follow the movie is that 777's momentum picked the switch, but that's obvioulsy false