UP train collision yesterday north of Fort Worth

[Albert in N]

   Yesterday, 7PM Sunday 4-16-2023, a long UP train hit another train parked on a siding near Chico TX, about 50 miles north of Fort Worth on the old Rock Island main line.  Does anyone know how this happened?  The You Tube video has more questions than answers. 

[lock4244]

Working theory at present is that someone messed up. Video is grainey, but I can't see switch machines on those turnouts and since the hopper train was in the siding by the looks of it the covered hopper train would seem to have run into the siding. In normal circumstances the inbound would be crawling in with the conductor throwing switches as required. Want to say it was moving well above yard limit speed given the accordioned cars, so misrouted off main would be my guess.

[pedro]

Nothing like reading YouTube comments to reinforce your belief that people are pretty dumb. But I digress…

Generally speaking, and without knowing any details about this particular incident, you have to understand that it is possible and routine for a train to be lined into an occupied siding, yard, or occupied mainline block on a restricting signal, with PTC having no control over what happens once you pass that signal. It is entirely on the crew at that point to stop short of anything there. The only thing PTC does is to enforce the speed on a restricting signal (20MPH). It cannot stop you from running into something. A heavy train hitting something at 20 or even much less can be catastrophic. Inertia is a bitch.

We encounter restricting signals all the time, and while you can sometimes wait for a better signal, sometimes operating conditions (or the dispatcher) require you to take it. Maybe you’ll get information from the dispatcher, maybe not. Sometimes a restricting is the best you’re gonna get as a matter of normal operating conditions for that particular location. Maybe that track is normally clear, maybe today is the day it’s not.  Regardless, all eyes and attention have to be hyper-focused on train speed and having control of the train, looking out for anything ahead. This is even more critical as range of vision decreases and train tonnage increases. Crew fatigue could also be a factor. Short rest? Long night? Complacency? Poor communications? It all factors in.

I think it was Fred Frailey that dubbed the system we got as “PTC Lite.” It is an incredibly useful and important tool to have but there are upgrades that could be made. Maybe AI will fix it and replace us all soon…

[Rivet Miscounter]

This is not a PTC thing...this happened with yard limits.   The parked train was not on a passing siding.   

This area has massive rock quarries and they use that track to build trains coming off the (former TXI, not sure of ownership now) quarry on the west side.   Almost assuredly this was human error of not re-aligning a switch off the main after a move.   I suppose it could have been some bad actor doing bad actor things, but likely just a very costly mistake.

This is my old stomping grounds.   If you follow the main line south about a mile you'll see a very broad S-curve.   On the bottom curve of the S you'll see a series of shop buildings.   From 1979-1991 my dad owned the middle of the three and ran a steel yard there to support the oil field industry and adjacent rock crusher facilities.   This line was still Rock Island for a brief period, then eventually became part of the MKT-subsidiary Oklahoma-Kansas-Texas (OKKT) that denoted the former RI trackage that the Katy took over.   And then of course the UP took control toward the end of my dad's ownership of the business.   

Over the years I got good access to the quarries, but they were typically very strict with photography (and I was pretty young then and not understanding what a treasure of railroading history I could have captured) so I don't have a lot of pics of the quarries proper.   (and the configuration of the rail yards has changed/grown considerably over the years)   Gifford Hill (now Hansen or maybe even something else now) had a center-cab switcher--which I think was a GE of some type--at one point that I was able to see up close.  Anyway, I have a lot of great memories from Bridgeport Steel & Supply, even working there during the summers when I was in Junior High/early high school....driving the forklift!   

[Albert in N]

Local ABC (WFAA channel eight) notes:  "The train company said a locomotive engineer and a conductor were injured and are being treated. Their conditions are currently unknown.
According to the company, 15 grain cars and three locomotives derailed in the collision. Union Pacific added that there were no hazardous materials on the train."

FYI, UP (ex Rock Island line) and BNSF (ex Burlington/ FW&D line) run almost side by side in this area near Chico TX.  Since fortunately only two injuries and no hazardous materials spilled, there will likely be no news updates.  The only likely environmental event will be fat birds and other wildlife from eating spilled grain.  There are a lot of rail fans in the DFW area, so hopefully someone will share more photos and details.  Thanks for the three comments so far.

[Rivet Miscounter]

FYI, UP (ex Rock Island line) and BNSF (ex Burlington/ FW&D line) run almost side by side in this area near Chico TX.

The BNSF line is actually about 15 miles to the east of Chico travelling through Rhome, Decatur, and Alvord, whereas the UP goes through Newark, Boyd, Paradise, Bridgeport, and Chico.   They are parallel for about 10 miles from Saginaw to Avondale/Newark, (about 40 miles south of Chico) but then split for the next 60 or so miles north/northwest before an at-grade crossing in Bowie.   

From Bowie, the UP (ex-OKKT, ex-CRI&P) goes due North into Oklahoma and eventually Kansas.   The BNSF (ex-BN, ex-FW&D) continues to the northwest, generally following the Red River before eventually veering into the center of the Texas Panhandle at Amarillo and then points north/northwest into Colorado and beyond. (or the east-west Transcon out of Amarillo)

[Hawghead]

Turns out the train on the main track was operating in track warrant territory under an active track warrant.  The train, while proceeding down the main track encountered a mainline switch left open by a previous train.  As a result the train left the main track and collided with a standing train in the yard track.  This is why main line switches are not to be left unattended while open.  However with a two man crew the conductor of the train going into the yard, would have to walk ahead to line the train into the yard tracks, allowing for the possibility that the mainline switch gets forgotten to be restored when the train clears.

Scott 

[C855B]

That's something that bothers me about warrant operation. The whole process of issuing and releasing warrants has become rote recitation of a script, and "lined and locked" amount to words not necessarily in sync with actions on the ground.

[jagged ben]

I have a great idea!  Build some cars made to go on the end of the train that an extra crew member can ride in.  Then when the train enters the yard it can stop, and the crew member can hop out and line the switch back immediately after the train has cleared the main. 

[Hawghead]

I have a great idea!  Build some cars made to go on the end of the train that an extra crew member can ride in.  Then when the train enters the yard it can stop, and the crew member can hop out and line the switch back immediately after the train has cleared the main.

I'm going to guess you are making a joke, as what you describe would be a caboose and the extra crew member would be a conductor/rear brakeman.  A practice long ago abandoned by railroads as too costly.

Scott

[John]

I'm going to guess you are making a joke, as what you describe would be a caboose and the extra crew member would be a conductor/rear brakeman.  A practice long ago abandoned by railroads as too costly.

Scott

At the local yard here I often see a a RR employee drive over and line the switches back for the train crew when they depart  .. may just be a local thing

[jagged ben]

I'm going to guess you are making a joke, as what you describe would be a caboose and the extra crew member would be a conductor/rear brakeman.  A practice long ago abandoned by railroads as too costly.

Scott

Naww, really?   

[Hawghead]

At the local yard here I often see a a RR employee drive over and line the switches back for the train crew when they depart  .. may just be a local thing

Yeah a utility man.  An extra all purpose trainman to help crews make setouts, build trains etc.  They put one on at Albina yard about once every couple of years and then try to get them to do extra/free work they're not supposed to do and the union shuts them down or the company decides it doesn't want the cost of having them and shut it down.

Naww, really?   

As I thought.
Ben, I don't know everyone on here well enough to know when a particular person is may be kidding.  A young person who has never seen a train with a caboose might think they've hit on the greatest idea since sliced bread. 

Scott

[nkalanaga]

Scott:  We also have a few members from other continents, where cabooses, or similar cars, have never been common.  Looking at the length of North American trains, it might seem like a very good idea to some of them.