About the Author J. D. Santucci (a.k.a. "Tuch") began his railroading career in 1978 as a trainman on the Missouri Pacific. After a round of lay-offs in 1985, Tuch embarked on a railroad odyssey, working in many different situations for different roads. This column tries to explain some of the nuts and bolts of the job and also demonstrates what we have to deal with on a regular basis within and without the industry. Tuch currently works through freights out of Chicago for Canadian National/Illinois Central. ©1999, 2003-2007 JD Santucci. Logo ©2002 The Railroad Network. By J.D. Santucci

December 6, 2007
Many years ago on this little diatribe of mine I discussed equipment detectors and how one saved us from a major derailment by catching and alerting us to a serious defect in our train. Equipment defect detectors, also known more commonly as hot box detectors observe trains as they roll over the detector sites looking for one or more possible type of defects. Those defects include overheated bearings (hot boxes), overheated wheels, dragging equipment, loose wheels, excessive height cars, wide loads and excessive wheel impact. While no one single detector checks for all of these, many defect detectors check for multiple defects at one site, such as hot boxes, dragging equipment and hot wheels. Most of the defect detectors on the Canadian National’s former Illinois Central check for these three at single sites.

The defect detector has replaced human beings in the function of inspecting passing trains. In years past when there were towers located all up and down the railroads, the operators at these towers would give a roll-by, a visual inspection of a train as it passed the tower location. The operator would stand on the ground and observe the train as it passed observing for potential defects. With the towers pretty much a memory in most locations, those sets of eyes to watch trains for defects are gone.

The crews on trains stopped at meeting points are still required to position themselves on the ground and observe passing trains to check for defects. Maintenance of way crews are also supposed to observe passing trains for defects as well. There is one fact that is quite clear, nothing is better than human observation as no detector is infallible. Today’s lesson proves that very point.

We step back in time to January 2003. It was a bitterly cold evening and I was working train 281 with conductor John Palmore. We had delivered our train to the Norfolk Southern at Gibson City, IL and were now returning lite engine as train 539 to Markham. At Ashkum, IL we headed into the siding there to meet southbound train 397. About two miles north of the north siding switch at Ashkum is a defect detector located in the town of Clifton, IL. We rolled on into the siding and waited for 397 whose headlight was “shining on the horizon.”

We observed 397 as he passed by. As the train was rolling past us, John observed a great deal of sparks flying from under an approaching car. Being we were essentially in the middle of nowhere, well actually maybe the edge of nowhere, it was quite dark and aside from his lantern and my flashlight, there was very little light, so the sparks really stood out, almost like a fireworks display. As the car passed us it was also making quite the racket, the distinctive sound of wheels sliding on rail. We immediately contacted 397 and told them to bring their train to a safe stop as we had observed a very serious defect. I was able to catch the car number on the car as it passed. We climbed back aboard our single light engine and backed up through the siding chasing the defective car. 397 stopped and after communicating with them, John checked the car. He found sticking brakes and attempted to correct the problem. As he worked on the car he had commented that the brake shoes looked like they were stuck to the wheels. I got off to have a look and discovered a horrible mess. The wheels on the car had been sliding intermittently and developed flat spots. There was also brake shoe build up on the wheels. Brake shoe build up occurs when the brakes are sticking and both the wheels and the shoes overheat. The brake shoe material begins to melt and adhere to the tread of the wheel.

The brake shoes had actually begun to adhere to the car and could not be released. So what we had here was wheels with both brake shoe build up and flat spots, large flat spots; a very dangerous condition that would most certainly cause the car to derail. The car would have to be set out of the train right there as it was not safe to continue on in this condition.

Now think about the situation here for a moment; this train just passed a defect detector that reported “No defects” to the crew over the radio. Then just two miles later we spot this very same car with a dangerous defect.

We continue.

We concocted a plan with the 397 crew and the Desk Two dispatcher to assist them in setting the car out onto the siding where we would grab it and then set into the elevator track that diverges from the siding. It would save 397 a great deal of time. As they began to move the train, we observed this defective car, a tank car loaded with hazardous materials, began to bounce. The wheels were so damaged and slid flat that the car was literally bouncing up and down where the flat spots were making contact with the rail and then the remaining wheel tread all covered with build up then hit the rail. It was not safe to move even at a very slow speed. On to plan B as we all know that plan A never has a chance anyway.

We had to make a cut on the main track and have 397 pull away from this car. They pulled south of the siding switch and signal at South Ashkum and backed their train into the siding. We came out at North Ashkum, got permission to pass the stop signal and down the main there to couple onto the tail end of the portion of the train 397 left on the main. We then pulled it away from the defective car and swung it into the siding where we married it up to the head end of his train and then sent them on their merry way.

The car was not safe to move so the car department had to send a truck out with a couple of car inspectors from the RIP track at Markham to make quick repairs just to allow the car to be moved to the elevator track at Ashkum safely. After it was placed there all the wheels, the brake rigging and the control valve that controls the air brake operation on the car all had to be replaced before the car could continue its journey.

We were later told the damage to the wheels was so severe; it was likely the car would have most likely derailed within the next five to ten miles. Talk about dodging a bullet. Being that it was a load of hazmat; the consequences would likely have been significant, like perhaps lead story on the national news as the result of the fire and evacuation that could have followed.

The other episode again involved me, only this time it was another crew spotting a defect in our train after the train cleared a detector reporting no defects. We were heading north on train 337. Owing to the clearance restrictions north of Markham, no cars higher than seventeen feet are supposed to move on tracks one, two or three at the MoPac overhead, and at all under any of the other bridges on any of the other tracks north of there. Excessive height cars will fit under the MoPac overhead on track four as it was undercut back in 1988 to allow Norfolk Southern trackage rights trains to operate on the line between here and the connection to their railroad at 95th Street in Chicago.

There is a high car detector located on track one at Homewood and track two a little north of there. These detectors are not radio talkers, but instead will display a signal to inform you of a possible high car in your train. If there are no defects, a signal with two white lights displayed vertically will be illuminated. If there is a high car detected, the two white lights will illuminate in a horizontal pattern. You observe the signal as your train is passing the detector, if it displays the horizontal white lights signal that a high car has been detected you must stop your train and inspect it for high cars. This particular day we passed the detector and it indicated no high cars.

Vertical, not to be confused of course, with vertigo.

As we rolled north through Harvey, we passed a crew there on one of the yard tracks awaiting their turn to enter the yard. They observed our train as we passed. We refer to such inspections as a “roll-by.” The engineer on this assignment contacted us on the radio and informed us of an excessive height car in our train, towards the very tail end. So the train was brought to a stop and Markham contacted for instructions. For whatever reason, they didn’t seem to believe the news. Instead of inspecting the train where I stopped we were instructed to take it north a couple more miles to the MoPac overhead bridge and have the conductor drop off there and observe to make certain this car would clear the bridge. Apparently according to what they showed in our train in the computer, there were no high cars. Our paperwork indicated the same. Of course paperwork has been known to be wrong and computers do indeed lie on occasion so….

We complied and took the train north and the conductor dropped off to ascertain the situation. As the car in question came closer to his viewpoint, he had me reduce the speed of the train to a crawl. As the car closed in on the bridge he ordered me to stop the train. The car would not fit. I was informed it was eighteen inches too high to even fit under the bridge. The car in question was a flat car piggybacking a damaged boxcar. Such moves are common; a damaged car is loaded onto either a car specially equipped flatcar for such moves or loaded and secured on a standard flatcar to move it to a point where it can receive the required repairs. In the case of this particular loaded car, our paperwork did not indicate anything other than a loaded flatcar.

The detector did not indicate a problem. Had it not been for that crew being in the right spot at the right time, we would have kept right on rolling along. That excessive height car would have hit the MoPac overhead at 25 MPH. I can just imaging what a mess that would have resulted from such a hit. There would have certainly been a derailment and most likely we would have blocked and possibly torn up some of the rails and catenary that carries the 1500v DC power for the adjacent Metra Electric line.

Proof positive that machines are not always better than man, no matter how well tested and high tech the technology that replaces him is supposed to be.

For those of you that do not subscribe to TRAINS magazine, I would suggest you pick up a copy of the February issue of this magazine when it shows up on the newsstand. You’ll discover why when you read it.

And don’t forget the Santa Train this weekend, 8th and 9th. If you’re in the neighborhood, come on down and say hello.

I would like to take the time from to wish from our house to yours a very Merry Christmas, a Happy Hanukkah and safe, healthy and Happy New Year. We’ll see you all back here in 2008.

And so it goes.

Tuch

Hot Times on the High Iron and the HTOTHI initials, ©2005 by JD Santucci.