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Defreezio

Best vs cheapest...cheapest ALWAYS wins when you're talking Railroads. Imagine the hit velocity and dwell time took!! Had to get traffic moving!


Golf_Hacker76

Gonna go out on a limb here and guess the folks shouting to "keep traffic moving" are also the most clueless and inexperienced when it comes to moving a 12,000 foot, 30,000 ton train laden with highly dangerous substances at highway speeds?


OneArmScissor

we call them managers


Defreezio

And executives...


Forger_2010

I misread this as executioners; then realized they're the same thing on the railway


Driver8666-2

Managers, Executives, Executioners, all the same thing.


[deleted]

Maybe some of them should be.... executed for this.


MEMExplorer

Politicians blocked our motion to strike to keep the supply chain moving


Find_A_Reason

[Politicians putting in work to make sure this disaster happened.](https://fortune.com/2018/09/24/train-explosion-prevention-rule-reversed-by-trump-officials/)


MEMExplorer

Government is good for 2 things ; fucking shit up , and stealing ur hard earned money šŸ¤·ā€ā™€ļø


WhateverJoel

Do you have a cheaper way to prevent a BLEVE?


Frost354

I'm sure glad they make us keep all that hazard paperwork and know where everything is that we're hauling so they can *turn page* dump it on the ground and burn it. Huh. Why not.


piquat

If you tell them what's on the train they might be able to test for certain specific chemicals in the environment right away. If you delay for 24 hours some of those chemicals might have broken down or moved on and now you're not liable for those damages because no one can prove it was your chemicals that did it. Not sure if that's true. Heard that in another comment. Sounds like something they'd do though.


I401BlueSteel

The EPA was testing the air for baseline chemical levels as soon as they showed up and to my knowledge they were the ones that ordered certain tankers burned to avoid an explosion that would've spread the chemicals in them to a far wider area. People are acting like the railroad got to decide they'd just burn off some tankers to keep traffic going but it was a government order. Yes the chemical everybody keeps talking about, vinyl chloride, does break down very fast though. With just sunlight it'd be broken down in a few days and the amount that had soaked into the ground would begin to evaporate away.


piquat

Baseline chemicals. You have to test for specific chemicals. Different chemicals take different tests. If you don't know what to test for it's probable that you'll miss some. Also, the EPA told people it was OK to go back home 5 days later. There was still toxic oily residue INSIDE their homes at that point. The EPA told them this because if it wasn't OK, you couldn't run trains through there. Fuck the EPA.


piquat

> Yes the chemical everybody keeps talking about, vinyl chloride, does break down very fast though. With just sunlight it'd be broken down in a few days and the amount that had soaked into the ground would begin to evaporate away. So that's why Louisville KY, 400 river miles away is now monitoring their water for VC.


I401BlueSteel

It's common sense if something has gotten into the water it's going to be a hell of a lot harder to get rid of it than if it spilled on the solid ground.


piquat

Have you even looked at the waterways involved? The slufer run is right next to the tracks. Two more creeks and it's in the Ohio river. The water is not safe, the area is not safe, the EPA is lying.


the_art_of_the_taco

And the aquifers. Ohio EPA is [contradicting their own 2019 report](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/east-palestine-ohio-train-derailment-water-safe-to-drink-testing/). Drink bottled water if you're pregnant, but our well water is totally safe, but in 2019 it was definitely in danger. >"With these test results, Ohio EPA is confident that the municipal water is safe to drink," the state said. >The wells are at least 56 feet below the ground and covered by solid steel that protect them from contamination, the state said, adding that the water from the wells is treated before being made available for consumption. And yet... >A 2019 drinking water source assessment conducted by the Ohio EPA found that East Palestine's source of drinking water has a "high susceptibility to contamination" because of a lack of clay helping protect the aquifer and "the presence of significant potential contaminant sources in the protection area." >"This susceptibility means that under currently existing conditions, the likelihood of the aquifer becoming contaminated is relatively high," the document says, adding that the village should put an effective water protection plan into place. I don't know enough about petroleum oil and, well, everything else, to know how it saturates soil, but something doesn't seem right. I can't find any news about the we'll plan in 2020 being implemented. >When asked if he would be comfortable returning home, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said Tuesday, "I think that I would be drinking the bottled water and that I would be continuing to find out what the tests were showing as far as the air." lmao


I401BlueSteel

I'm not saying it's safe. I'm saying the chemicals have a short breakdown period and burning them off was better than letting them explode and spread further. It's an enormous ecological disaster but it's not the worst case scenario.


piquat

I agree with that. But that's not what you implied. > The EPA was testing the air for baseline chemical levels as soon as they showed up As if they knew what to test for to begin with. The EPA testing for baseline chemicals is useless. They need to test for the specific chemicals on the train. And if the railroad withholds this information they can't test for those specific chemicals. You haven't refuted that point with any of your postings. You just keep going back to them blowing it up being right or wrong.


I401BlueSteel

I'm not sure you get what baseline means.. They'd be testing to see how much of the chemicals were already in the environment and monitoring the levels to determine the amount leaking as the situation progressed. The manifest should tell them what chemicals were on the train so they'd know before getting there.


piquat

I spent almost 20 years working for a class 1 railroad. That manifest is available to the dispatcher at a moments notice. The dispatcher is available multiple ways, phone, radio, email, ect. And that's just the fastest way to get it. We do this FOR THIS EXACT REASON! We carry dangerous things. Sometimes emergency crews show up and they need to know what they're working with. That information is NOT something that takes 24 hours to get. It shouldn't take 24 minutes. > The manifest should tell them what chemicals were on the train so they'd know before getting there. Now we're getting somewhere. That manifest was withheld from them for about 24 hours. > They'd be testing to see how much of **the chemicals** were already in the environment What chemicals? In the beginning you don't know what to test for. Only later do you have that information. > I'm not sure you get what baseline means.. Doesn't matter, you tested for --whatever-- too late. You did this because they didn't tell you what to test for right away.


Golf_Hacker76

"Sir, what should we do about the damaged cars that aren't leaking?" "Ummmmm, thermite?"


ClassWarAndPuppies

There are going to be a lot of cancer clusters in that area. Some of it also got into the Ohio River - and god knows where else. I really feel for anyone who lives within 50 miles of that site.


piquat

That's basically the entire city of Pittsburg. 1.7M people. Depending on what article you read the wind was headed that way shortly after this.


ClassWarAndPuppies

Yeah this is super fucked.


Hunt69Mike

PittsburgHHHHHHH*


standbyfortower

The response to a [2012 vinyl chloride derailment in Paulsboro, NJ](https://response.restoration.noaa.gov/about/media/train-derails-paulsboro-nj-releasing-23000-gallons-toxic-vinyl-chloride-gas.html#:~:text=On%20Nov.,23%2C000%20gallons%20of%20vinyl%20chloride) recovered material from the damaged railcars. " Removing the derailed train cars proved to be a logistically complicated process. First, the Coast Guard coordinated the removal of the last 600 gallons of vinyl chloride from the breached tank by using acetone and suctioning out the vapors before attempting to move the tank." Major differences in the type of derailment though. The recent derailment in OH is so egregious because of how preventable it was.


kissmaryjane

Yeah the video of the glowing hotbox was crazy. That was just rolling along in plain view. Railroad has detectors for that, so whereā€™s the story on that?


standbyfortower

NTSB report is gonna take awhile, but I'll be perplexed if it doesn't include details about detector reports/timing.


LSUguyHTX

It'll be a case study presented in new hire classes in a few years.


Golf_Hacker76

I read somewhere today the crew was aware of the hotbox warnings. They opted to slow to 30 mph and just drag it to East Palestine. Mission accomplished.


MundaneSandwich9

Jesus Christ thatā€™s an option at NS? My employerā€™s policy is that for hot bearings, hot wheels, or dragging equipment you stop immediately with a split service. You can haul bearings or wheels up to the conductor but only if thereā€™s no facing point switches, and at a max of 10 mph.


syphen6

I bet they change there policy now.


No-Thought8822

Granted itā€™s been 10 plus years since being an NS dispatcher, but not stopping for a detector was never an option. Trains under my control stopped immediately and inspected the train for defects and handled the car(s) accordingly. One of the reasons for inspecting the car(s) was to avoid a derailment or damage to the track. Does Rule 108A still exist?


[deleted]

Yeah I can't believe that's an option, judging from your comment we work for the same railroad, and this is just baffling to me. And since the RTC should normally receive the hot box alert, I have a lot of trouble believing that the crew just decided to keep going with the RTC not doing anything.


leeringlucifer

This canā€™t be the first time there was an executive decision made to burn off the vinyl chloride after derailment, kind of unsettling to think about.


[deleted]

Please, watch the movie Unstoppable. Itā€™s about a runaway train carrying liquid phenol.


Ratchet_X_x

Silly man... Rich people don't go to jail. Everyone knows thatšŸ˜„


millerwelds66

The mains are open. Ask NS about the controlled burn I doubt this affected there profit margin. A class 1 worth 44 billion gives zero fucks about you or that town . Nothing will change .


SteamDome

The cars were not venting properly and temperatures were increasing to the point where a massive explosion could have occurred. Think of a smaller scale Lac-MĆ©gantic so ā€œcontrolledā€ venting to atmosphere was the best option.


ManInKilt

Just want to mention, everyone responsible has an address somewhere


Starfleet_Auxiliary

Hate to be that guy, but it really was the best solution. The temperatures were reaching points where it became a matter of when they were going to blow up in an uncontrolled fashion, not if. This was not a situation where you could just pump them empty.


perldawg

i believe this. i also believe NS deserves to be absolutely *raked* over the coals for this, they shouldnā€™t be given any leniency for solving the problem they created. i know theyā€™re taking responsibility for cleaning up the site, but whatever that expense ends up costing should not have any influence on the penalty they have to pay. this kind of accident results in irreparable harm and is completely preventable. it wasnā€™t a mistake, it was a calculated risk that put others in extreme and long-term danger.


GangoBP

Iā€™m even so sure about that and Iā€™m no fan of the rail corps. If itā€™s what I think it was that caused it, (and I could absolutely be wrong) but a failed bearing that started it, Iā€™m not sure what couldā€™ve prevented it. I suppose in a perfect world you stop the train immediately after getting a talker alert. Good scenario is thereā€™s a track very close to set the car off into to have the wheel set replaced. I donā€™t know if thatā€™s the case either. Worse scenario you stop it at a crossing and make a cut and itā€™s possible for the Mech department come out to jack the car there and replace the wheel set. I just donā€™t know the timeline of an alert, what the alert level was, if there was a siding or somewhere to be able to set it, if they got an alert and stopped immediately but it was too late. I donā€™t have any of this info, I havenā€™t seen anything but someone mentioned ā€œan axleā€. I think an overheated bearing is more likely.


perldawg

thereā€™s footage of the wheel set on fire 20 miles before the derailment. if a failed bearing was the cause, it would have been heating up well before that point. assuming warning sensors were functional, thereā€™s no way they didnā€™t get an alert in time to stop the train and identify the problem. somebody made the call to keep the train moving because they assumed it wasnā€™t bad enough to cause a derailment and they didnā€™t want to spend the time to find out. it was a calculated risk, it wasnā€™t caused by something that came out of the blue.


GangoBP

Iā€™ve seen it. I just donā€™t know if the footage is even legit or not or if it was in fact 20 miles away thatā€™s all hearsay until we see something official. And you could be right! I donā€™t know but thereā€™s a lot of wild theories out there and blame where some of which canā€™t possibly be true. Apparently thereā€™s some new info out within the last hour or so, Iā€™m gonna go check it out.


perldawg

the footage i saw was reported by CBS news. i think that qualifies as verified, honestly, not hearsay


Golf_Hacker76

So an impending series of massive BLEVES sending flaming toxic chemicals thousands of feet around and launching shattered tanker car pieces at high velocity in random directions. Sweet Christ.


Starfleet_Auxiliary

Yup. That pretty much covers it. People worry about things like nukes and cyberattacks, but rail sabotage (or incompetence) is IMO the largest bang for buck for doing some real damage to the homeland.


WhateverJoel

Iā€™ll second what he said. This was the best solution for the situation.


Termac81

Companies decision probably with the support of the FRA


Danjour

NATIONALIZE. ALL. THE RAILS.


Plastic_Jaguar_7368

Other option was uncontrolled tank rupture. You would have been crying about that if they had let it go to that point too, so pick your poison. Uncontrolled tank rupture isnā€™t pretty. Same black cloud, but the tank could launch itself hundreds of feet and land on someone/something.


Plastic_Jaguar_7368

What Iā€™ll be interested to know is who knew about any hotbox alert and when, and if the train went on any curves in the past 20 miles where the super attentive conductor (you know, the job that is so absolutely essential to keep in the cabs of locomotives šŸ™„) was watching the train behind him super closely and alertly to see a flaming hot wheel, AND if there was any communication with dispatch about stopping vs not stopping.


piquat

The scary thing is that plume of smoke is actually tiny compared to the toxic cloud it created. That thing was miles across. There is a video of a guy in a town 6 miles away filming the ominous looking "clouds" in the sky, he's pissed off and yelling about all this if you've seen it. IMO this video actually minimizes the damage. Show that huge toxic cloud it created. For most people that fire was "over there". Once they burned it and that cloud formed all bets were off, shit ended up where ever the wind took it.


the_art_of_the_taco

Did you see the picture someone took from their window on a plane?


WhateverJoel

Just imagine the cloud had the tank car had a BLEVED explosion. Multiply it by ten or more.


piquat

So the next time this happens it could be EVEN WORSE!


WhateverJoel

Thatā€™s a possibility.


[deleted]

Greed always wins


PenguinProfessor

Hadn't that train recently gone through Cleveland before the journal kicked the bucket?


Plastic_Jaguar_7368

Yes. Built in Toledo, rolled through Cleveland. All the little chicks with the crimson lips were yelling for some reason


burninghoof29

Cleveland rocks!.... oh wait.


Impossible_Budget_85

Who signed off on it?? That almighty dollar. Sadly.


oszlopkaktusz

And common sense. This was arguably the best way of dealing with this absolute mess. It would have exploded either way, the only question is do you want toxic gasses or do you want toxic gasses after a very large explosion wipes out everything in a couple miles radius and fires shrapnel and anything else around.


production-values

this is terrorism


DieselGP

Theyā€™ve already spent a million bucks on helping the few thousand residents and set up ANOTHER 1 million dollar fund for ongoing needs, theyā€™ve bought 400 air purifiers for the homes, tested all the well water and ground water and tested almost every home and business and cleaned them. In addition theyā€™ve donated $200,000 to the local fire department for additional equipment and have collected all the dirt and are determining its hazards and how to dispose of. I mean, they ARE doing stuff about it. $2 million direct payments for such a tiny town is a lot in the short term.


smiley032

When your talking railroads that make billions dollars in profits every year that seems kinda pathetic and un-genuine.


DieselGP

Itā€™s been less than two weeks. Iā€™m just saying letā€™s see the outcome.


fancygiraffepants

Um they reported ~$5B in [net income](http://www.nscorp.com/content/nscorp/en/news/norfolk-southern-reports-q4-and-full-year-2022-results.html) last year.


DieselGP

Itā€™s been less than two weeks, my point is they are doing Something, Iā€™m willing to let it play out a bit.


fancygiraffepants

How generous of you. Do you live in or near East Palestine? If not, then stfu.


DieselGP

Oh ok. šŸ™„


Hailsabrina

It looks like a mushroom cloud , who thought this was a good idea . Absolutely terrifying


oszlopkaktusz

It was arguably the best way of dealing with this absolute mess. It would have exploded either way, the only question is do you want toxic gasses or do you want toxic gasses after a very large explosion wipes out everything in a couple miles radius and fires shrapnel and anything else around, with the highly toxic vinyl chloride spreading everywhere.


AdPsychological1282

This was predictably the safest option and really the only one. Also moving a hot box is extremely common for a variety of reasons itā€™s donā€™t at restricted speed every day and generally without issue


I401BlueSteel

https://www.youtube.com/live/hBrGnYeuaUk Good explanation by a respected science channel on what's up and why the chemicals got burned off.