I'm sure the vehicle was crushed but, even crushed there was probably enough height in material left under the wheel to cause 1 wheel to jump ship (so to speak). Once the momentum is there after the one wheel is off track, it's just a chain reaction at that point.

Some a$$hole wanted to commit suicide, so he parked his SUV on the tracks. Then, chickened out, got out of the car but left it on the tracks.

The death toll last time I checked was 10 dead and 200 injured. It was a bad accident.

posted 01-27-2005 09:02 AM         

quote:

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Originally posted by ALLEY CAT:
Geno - just recently, we talked about the weight of the locomotives moving down the track and hitting something. How did a parked vehicle on the track knock the commuter train off the track into another train? I'm having a problem with this one.

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1) Weight of freight train vs commuter... big difference..
(add several zeroes)...

As you can see from pics of this .... this is a 2-3 car commuter train.. these cars are very light-weight ... (LightRail is what they're called for good reason)......

posted 01-31-2005 12:01 PM         

Some folks ride the train of life
Looking out the rear,
Watching miles of life roll by,
And marking every year.

They sit in sad remembrance,
Of wasted days gone by,
And curse their life for what it was,
And hang their head and cry.

But I don't concern myself with that,
I took a different vent,
I look forward to what life holds,
And not what has been spent.

So strap me to the engine,
As securely as I can be,
I want to be out on the front
To see what I can see.

I want to feel the winds of change,
Blowing in my face,
I want to see what life unfolds,
As I move from place to place.
I want to see what's coming up,
Not looking at the past,
Life's too short for yesterdays,
It moves along too fast.

So if the ride gets bumpy,
While you are looking back,
Go up front, and you may find,
Your life has jumped the track.

It's all right to remember,
That's part of history,
But up front's where it's happening,
There's so much mystery.

The enjoyment of living,
Is not where we have been,
It's looking ever forward,
To another year and ten.

posted 01-31-2005 10:37 PM         

GLENDALE - Eleven people were killed and more than 180 injured Wednesday morning when two commuter trains collided after one struck a vehicle abandoned on the tracks by a deranged man in an aborted suicide attempt, authorities said.
In the nation's deadliest derailment since 1999, the collisions sent double-deck passenger cars tumbling from tracks and into a freight locomotive parked on a sidetrack.
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Alvarez's vehicle was struck by a southbound train traveling from the western suburb of Moorpark to downtown Los Angeles. Authorities said the train continued along the tracks for about a quarter of a mile before derailing.

A locomotive was pushing the train, so its first car carried passengers. That car rammed the Union Pacific locomotive parked on a side track.

The Union Pacific locomotive tumbled off the side tracks and spilled some 5,000 gallons of diesel fuel. Authorities said the locomotive and the passenger car atop it erupted in flames, which firefighters quickly extinguished.

A commuter train traveling in the opposite direction - from downtown Los Angeles to Burbank - struck the debris and also derailed.
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Seems like a combination of 'all of the above' might have been involved here!

posted 02-09-2005 05:24 PM         

Here is a picture taken by a friend of mine recently while driving a train down in Texas, not far in from the Gulf Coast, a 'typical' morning view. Imagine yourself sitting in the engineer's seat, running by 'signal indication'... looking for lights on the right-of-way, red/yellow/green... and you're driving along at 60 MPH in this fog... looking for THIS light! See the rails in front of ya... don't wanna blink, let me tell ya.. keeps you Right on the Edge of your Seat!