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| Re: Breaking NEWS! AT least 3 killed in MetroLink Crash! (609925) | |||
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Re: Breaking NEWS! AT least 3 killed in MetroLink Crash! |
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Posted by WillD on Wed Apr 30 17:44:02 2008, in response to Re: Breaking NEWS! AT least 3 killed in MetroLink Crash!, posted by JournalSquare-K-Car on Wed Apr 30 09:16:47 2008. Those cab cars are sensitive, and have a high center of gravity due to double decks.They're unfortunately out of date. According to the USDOT's Structures and Dynamics Division the assymetric transition between the middle and lower level of a multilevel car, such as the Bombardier Bilevels operated by Metrolink, create saw toothed deformation and jackknifing of the carbody even at relatively low collision speeds. The recommendation from the USDOT is that Metrolink procure new bilevel cab cars with crash energy managment segments built into the design to absorb energy before the trailing BBD Bilevels are adversely effected. Those new bilevel cab cars are now being ordered from Korean builder Rotem and will seek to absorb crash energy in the middle level before assymetric loading becomes a problem at the deck transition. Crush Analyses of Multi-Level Equipment 611 KB Had the loco been up front, this story wouldn't be news, the car would be completely smashed out of the way. Completely and utterly false. Freight locomotives weighing more than twice what a Metrolink F59PH weighs have been pushed off the track by collisions with cars lying on the tracks. Not only is full-time locomotive-forward operation infeasible, it is no safer than cab car-forward operation. Based on prior accidents the NTSB has concluded there is a far greater danger to cab cars from accidents between trains and thus has been recommending Positive Train Control systems like CBTC, ACSES, ACES, and so on since the 1996 Secaucus wreck. http://www.ntsb.gov/speeches/s050720.htm They should put plows on those trains to prevent that, like cow catchers. A plow is not going to do a damn thing but give the car something to get caught under and provide a point for the car frame to push up under the frame when it hits the grade crossing. Keep in mind that the car was up the railroad in the direction of the impacting train from the crossing, it wasn't nicely placed to impact the frame designed to take that force, it struck the pilot. For one thing a plow would try to push the car in two different directions with the result that it'd likely stay centered on the plow and probably still end up under the front truck. Secondly even if you catch a car with just half the plow and are able to push it aside eventually there will be some component on the underbody of the car which catches on the rail and prevents further lateral movement. Again the chances are good it ends up under the truck and the train ends up derailed. |
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