[PRCo] Re: #1727 Accident

[James B. Holland]

Fred Schneider wrote:

>He became somewhat of a hero in the press.  But he ran a car all the way in
>without brakes ... rolling past stop after stop and didn't have a clue that
>the dynamics were not functioning!  He was a relatively new man which may
>say something for the quality of the training.
>
             The Operator was told that he had new wheels on his car, 
fresh from the lathe, which leaves tiny score marks all the way around 
the wheel  AND  THUS  the wheels would be slippery on open, wet / frosty 
T-Rail - operator had 6-months on rail - slippery wheels = sliding past 
stops.     More actual experience is needed to discern  more than this - 
textbook training won't cover it all.

             We have been thru this countless times before!

>   Question #2 ... because the
>track brakes will stop a car almost as fast as dynamics (dynamics are 4.75
>mphps and the total with track brakes is 9 mphps, were they also not
>functioning?
>
Good question  --  have often pondered this as well.     Track brakes 
won't do alot for the car at high speed but should prevent it from 
running away when all else fails.     Wonder if the shorting of the 
motor leads might have an effect on circuitry elsewhere.

>  And who was the idiot who decided that the derail at South
>Hills Junction ... put there after previous run aways ... should be
>removed?  I'm not sure anyone should have any awards in that fiasco unless
>it should be a collective Darwin honorable mention.
>
>"Dietrich, Robert J." wrote:
>
>  
>
>>Wasn't this the accident that started at the "top" of the tunnel - the
>>car had no brakes.  The motorman became somewhat of a hero by getting
>>all the passenger in the rear of the car and braced for a collision.
>>
>>-----Original Message-----
>>From: pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementia.org
>>[mailto:pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementia.org] On Behalf Of
>>James B. Holland
>>Sent: Tuesday, May 11, 2004 5:40 AM
>>To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
>>Subject: [PRCo] Re: #1727 Accident
>>
>>No, it was:
>>
>>          '''New wheels, motor leads not secured on truck, motor leads
>>drag and short out wiping out dynamics.'''
>>
>>Derrick J Brashear wrote:
>>    
>>
>>>On Mon, 10 May 2004 macmarka at netzero.net wrote:
>>>      
>>>
>>>>Anyone remember this? Anything to do with loss of brakes? It is dated
>>>>10/28/87. Any injuries occur?
>>>>        
>>>>
>>>That was the "new trucks, brakes not set up properly" accident, yes?
>>>I started high school in fall 1987, and I only started riding the rail
>>>system around then.
>>>
>>>No fatalities.
>>>