The Wreck of Amtrak 188

The New York Times Magazine ^ | 26 January 2016 | Matthew Shaer

[Publius]

From 30th Street Station, the train glided northwest out of Philadelphia, tracing the arc of the freeway. Near the old Schuylkill River Bridge, it jogged right, gathering speed, bound for the New Jersey border. Had you been standing anywhere near the tracks, you would have heard Amtrak 188 before you saw it, in the hum of the rail bed and the metallic shiver of the electricity in the overhead catenary wires. And then you would have felt it, in the vibration of the earth: the combined weight of a 98-ton locomotive and seven 50-ton cars, carrying a total of 258 people, eight of them employees.

At the head end of 188, swaddled in a cushioned chair stitched with the Amtrak insignia, the 32-year-old engineer, Brandon Bostian, watched the apartment houses of North Philadelphia bleed into view, his boots resting on the corrugated metal floor. Around him, in a tight semicircle, were a series of square screens that displayed speed, brake-pipe pressure and the feed from the rear-facing video cameras. With his left hand, he slid forward a red-handled lever -- the master controller -- to send a surge of electricity from the catenary system to the traction motors that gripped the rails.

[Publius]

The official inquest will be published by the government next month.

[Blue Jays]

What a remarkably tragic event.
This country does need effective rail service to reduce the volume of short-hop flights that are needed.
Decent rail would "balance" travel volume and certainly improve both rail and air travel safety overall.
Curious to read what the final crash analysis determines is the cause.

[Robert A Cook PE]

Bostian’s personal life would be picked apart, his state of mind questioned. Theories would be floated and discredited: that there was some sort of mechanical problem with the locomotive, or the track, or the signals (none of the above). That Bostian was on his phone at the time of the accident (he was not). That he was using drugs or drinking (his blood was clean).

Finally, investigators would turn their focus on the section of track between North Philadelphia Station and Frankford Junction. Three miles of train travel: the distance it took for an otherwise unremarkable trip, overseen by an engineer known for his prudence, to go violently, impossibly wrong.

Yeah no prejudices here for (NYTimes-favored) homosexual union member.

[Pelham]

The accident could well have started right here:

“Without a functioning signaling device, Bostian was forced to reduce the top speed on the 2121, his eyes fixed on every wayside signal for indications of trouble ahead. It was an onerous task. He arrived at Union Station half an hour behind schedule. His actual break time — the time he would have to himself, to eat a sandwich or make a phone call — was all but obliterated, and an Amtrak colleague has since described a collective sense that Bostian was “frazzled” on arrival.”

[SaveFerris]

He was speeding, was he not? I thought that was the original claim.

[Publius]

Don Phillips took an early retirement from the Washington Post due to downsizing and moved to "Trains" magazine where he writes a monthly column. He was the chief transportation writer for the Post, and the government would often leak information to him in advance of an announcement.

Several months ago, Phillips was contacted by the STB about Amtrak 188 and told that the windshield showed the impact of a rock or bullet that would corroborate the theory of the train being "rocked" by someone trespassing on the right of way. The Northeast Corridor goes through Philadelphia neighborhoods that used to be Eastern European and Irish working class, but have changed drastically.

Phillips published this information in his "Trains" column, and this article follows the same path.

[Publius]

The question was why he was speeding.

[SaveFerris]

Yes, as I said, he was speeding. Thanks for confirming.

Yeah, he exercised extremely-poor judgement. Unless he was trying to depart the world........there’s obviously more to this story.

[Publius]

One theory is that when the train was “rocked,” Bostian smacked his head on the console and was stunned. That would explain a lot.

[SaveFerris]

I don’t know how much that locomotive weighs but it must be several, several tons.

It would take a rather large asteroid to “rock” a train’s locomotive like that.

He was drifting off from the boredom or having a relationship crisis. Admittedly, a guess, but there’s no way the “train was rocked” and knocked him goofy.

Until it tipped over.......

[Publius]

It's way way beyond "several tons." The article goes into the weight of the locomotive and the cars.

A rock can do a lot of damage when you're cruising along on a straight section of track at 115 mph.

[Blue Jays]

One would hope this also raises the opportunity that full shoulder/lap restraints will become standard in latest-generation train cars.
Even at that tremendous speed of 106 mph, one would imagine the sheer size of the cars coupled with being belted into a seat could reduce injuries and fatalities.

[SaveFerris]

Sure it can. Did it penetrate the windshield? Did he have fragments of rock embedded in his forehead?

What was the posted speed on the curve? So, he had to be hit in the head before that curve. No?

[SaveFerris]

Guess I don’t trust much from the gov’t when they tell me unemployment is 5% and the economy is booming.

[Publius]

Read the article again. It offers both a timeline and a map of the track and speed limits. Several trains were "rocked" in the same area near North Philadelphia Station within a short period of time, and a warning was issued.

The "rocking" occurred on the straightaway, not at the curve. He was speeding at the curve, indicating that he was in a daze of some sort as he left the area where trains were being "rocked."

[VTenigma]

This story reeks of BS to me.

[SaveFerris]

I’ll have to take a look. Does it require the log-in like other NYT stuff? I generally avoid them after having not gotten in after a Drudge link.

I never did the BugMeNot thing. Guess someday I will.

[SaveFerris]

Never mind. Just went there.

[Publius]

No login required. The link takes you straight to the article.

[Blue Jays]

The article relates in detail how the engineer might have inadvertently knocked himself out reacting to something that impacted windshield or side glass. That seems entirely plausible to me. The article also relates how criminals will launch railroad spikes harpoon-style at trains. That is frightening to consider.

I was in a car with my mother when I was in my mid-20s and some kids tossed a peach-sized rock off an overpass. It struck the windshield as we drove beneath at about 30 mph.
It sounded like a BOMB had exploded and the windshield completely spider-webbed. It was a miracle no other cars were struck as control was regained. My ears rang for hours due to the sound of the impact.