PL42 4020 Accident Damage

ApproachMedium wrote:Frame is shot. Also total cost of repair probably exceeded the total overall value of the locomotive.

Seems a consequence of poor design if the type of grade crossing damage that many a GE P40/P42 have had repaired time and again will render this expensive and relatively young locomotive totaled.

Matt Johnson wrote:

ApproachMedium wrote:Frame is shot. Also total cost of repair probably exceeded the total overall value of the locomotive.

Seems a consequence of poor design if the type of grade crossing damage that many a GE P40/P42 have had repaired time and again will render this expensive and relatively young locomotive totaled.

Its not a poor design, its a consequence of crash energy management. The locomotive did exactly what it was designed to do. If a GP40 hit the same, very heavy truck, it certainly could have been repaired but would have killed the engineer and possibly hurt passengers. Everyone walked away from this incident. They also have not repaired every single GE genesis passenger engine that has had a collision. Put a Genesis up against the same truck, or even a loaded dump truck and lets see how it fairs. I really doubt it would make it out alive.

ApproachMedium wrote:

Matt Johnson wrote:

ApproachMedium wrote:Frame is shot. Also total cost of repair probably exceeded the total overall value of the locomotive.

Seems a consequence of poor design if the type of grade crossing damage that many a GE P40/P42 have had repaired time and again will render this expensive and relatively young locomotive totaled.

Its not a poor design, its a consequence of crash energy management. The locomotive did exactly what it was designed to do. If a GP40 hit the same, very heavy truck, it certainly could have been repaired but would have killed the engineer and possibly hurt passengers. Everyone walked away from this incident. They also have not repaired every single GE genesis passenger engine that has had a collision. Put a Genesis up against the same truck, or even a loaded dump truck and lets see how it fairs. I really doubt it would make it out alive.

I'm thinking of that wreck between the City of New Orleans and a truck in Illinois back in 1999.

Yea thats a great example. Both units were scrapped the 807 and 829. The PL42 was also at about 35mph vs the P40s being at 68 and hitting two parked railroad cars.

ApproachMedium wrote:

Matt Johnson wrote:

ApproachMedium wrote:Frame is shot. Also total cost of repair probably exceeded the total overall value of the locomotive.

Seems a consequence of poor design if the type of grade crossing damage that many a GE P40/P42 have had repaired time and again will render this expensive and relatively young locomotive totaled.

Its not a poor design, its a consequence of crash energy management. The locomotive did exactly what it was designed to do. If a GP40 hit the same, very heavy truck, it certainly could have been repaired but would have killed the engineer and possibly hurt passengers. Everyone walked away from this incident.

What do you say to the people who die in auto accidents because transit it unaffordable or unavailable due to increased rolling stock prices? Oh wait, I forgot, cars cost 10 times as much now because we have to fill those with airbags too. Safety isn't free and usually the costs are carried by those least able to afford them and that in turn has a large impact on life expectancy.

Our society is now fundamentally incapable of making "people's transport" like the Fiat 500, a PCC or an RDC.

BTW speaking of occupant safety I didn't see any police forces in a rush to give up their Body-on-frame Crown Victorias and I also don't see traditionally designed locomotives being especially dangerous to their crews in grade crossing accidents. P40/42 are unibody and in most cases are able to be repaired. If they weren't Amtrak would have run out of diesels by now and with the state of Congress they probably wouldn't be getting any new ones. But hey...NJT is made of locomotives. I'm sure the PL42s will be replaced with something new in a year or two.

My first thought was just that I remember photos of not just P40s/P42s with significant front end damage being repaired, but also AEM-7s (remember the Bronx head on collision?) and even one of the Rohr Turboliners. Just seems a shame if a young and expensive diesel is totaled based on that damage, but then I guess today's cars are more easily totaled too.

Ah, here's the Turboliner that was in a collision and later repaired...

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... id=2007217" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

And in fact, that very Turbo car is among those that still exist, albeit wasting away in the Bear, DE storage yard. (And in fact, I believe 155 is the one that got renumbered to 2135, in which case I have ridden in that very car!)

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... id=2007218" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Cars VS locomotives is two different things. I worked in an autobody shop writing estimates between my two railroad jobs, but I wont get in to that. Look at the crash data for newer modern wide cab locomotives. There is a good reason the road trains on class 1s usually have wide cabs and crews prefer this. They fair much better in any type of collision than older types. And its not always the difference of frame vs unibody design as freight engines are not built with unibody designs.

Yes there has been P42s that have been repaired, they were designed to be repaired much like newer cars were designed to be repaired also but it depends on the severity of the accident. 3 have been scrapped so obviously there is a point of no return. I dont know why this has to be argued on here, someone whos paid alot more than all of us are, and who is a professional on metal fatigue and total cost of repairs has deemed this locomotive a non repairable item.

If we left everything to the experts and had no banter, there'd be no forum!

Shame, will it be replaced?