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Re: Metrolink and freight train collision - Chatsworth CA
Author: Tom
Date: 09-12-2008 - 19:47
After viewing the photos on the LA Times website, I am astounded as to how severely the first commute car was telescoped into the Metrolink engine, and in the Pull mode no less.
Even though this was an engine-to-engine crash, I would agree with previous contributors that the Metrolink commute cars are too lightly contructed to provide some measure of protection for the riders, particularly when operated in the Push mode.
In 2002, I rode the front seat (railfan seat) in a Metrolink cab car operating in Push mode from Fullerton to Los Angeles Union Station, with my video camera recording nearly the whole trip. What an exciting ride! But I can also say that with ZERO frontal area, it is flat-out scary roaring through grade crossings and past other trains at speed. The engineer's concerns for their safety and the passengers are all too real. The sensation is that YOU are on the point of a battering ram.
Pray for the victims and their families.
Even though this was an engine-to-engine crash, I would agree with previous contributors that the Metrolink commute cars are too lightly contructed to provide some measure of protection for the riders, particularly when operated in the Push mode.
In 2002, I rode the front seat (railfan seat) in a Metrolink cab car operating in Push mode from Fullerton to Los Angeles Union Station, with my video camera recording nearly the whole trip. What an exciting ride! But I can also say that with ZERO frontal area, it is flat-out scary roaring through grade crossings and past other trains at speed. The engineer's concerns for their safety and the passengers are all too real. The sensation is that YOU are on the point of a battering ram.
Pray for the victims and their families.
