[LoneRangerMassachusetts]

That engine caught fire, the fire department came and put the fire out, and the engine was shut off. When the brakes released, the train rolled downgrade into Lac Megantic.

Don't know squat about railroads. But, isn't their something like chocks that can mecanically lock railcars. Leaving an unattended engine seems nuts to me.

[okie01]

But, isn't their something like chocks that can mecanically lock railcars. Leaving an unattended engine seems nuts to me.

Each car has a set of hand-operated mechanical brakes. The policy is to lock down enough cars to keep the train from moving, even if the air compressor on the engine fails.

In this case, the engineer who was responsible evidently failed to lock down enough cars.