Rod Nelson Wrote:
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> I couldn't agree with you more, Nudge. They
> probably meant he should have been going zero
> miles per hour prior to the derail. Apparently,
> the bridge tender jumped off the bridge and fell
> into the water.
>
> A further update:
>
> About 100 yards before the Chambers Bay bridge,
> the northbound passenger train passed a final
> signal that, when red, tells the engineer to stop
> because the drawbridge is being raised or lowered.
> The train then moved through a derail device that
> knocked it off the rails before reaching the
> bridge, Amtrak said.
>
> “The derail is there to keep trains from
> proceeding when the bridge is in the ‘up’
> position,” said Mike Elliott, Washington state
> government affairs director and spokesman for the
> Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen.
>
> Based on pictures, Elliott figures the train
> probably slowed to 10 or 20 mph by the time the
> derail device pushed it into the gravel alongside
> the tracks.
>
> Graham declined to answer questions about the
> accident beyond what was in her statement.
>
> Six railroad vehicles — the locomotive, baggage
> car and four passenger cars — went fully or
> slightly off the rails. Another eight passenger
> cars stayed upright, Graham’s statement said.
> Initial witness accounts said only four rail
> vehicles derailed.
>
> Signals are 1˝ to 2 miles apart. On most modern
> tracks, if a drawbridge is not locked in place an
> engineer would likely see a flashing yellow light,
> followed by a solid yellow light, and be
> decelerating before approaching the red stop
> signal a couple minutes later, Elliott said.

Don't tell everyone that Rod. You can get a lot of people in trouble. Shhh!