by MEC407
Gilbert B Norman wrote:What has apparently been established is that Bakken is what goes boom; for Mt. Carbon has established that there can be "boom" in whatever car is used.Agreed, although it's worth noting that diluted bitumen (also known as tar sands) can also go boom in the new cars, as was the case with the recent Canadian National wreck.
Further back in this thread we've had a lot of discussion about MM&A's various problems, and it was suggested by some that the disaster might have been averted if the train had been operated by a competent Class I railroad. That's probably true, inasmuch as better-managed railroads might be less likely to have runaway trains in general... but as we've seen with the CSX and CN oil wrecks, Class I roads are not immune to the dangers of hauling these products, and in fact there have now been more oil-wrecks-with-explosions on Class I roads than on regionals or shortlines.
Edit: an additional observation related to the subject at hand: the Class I roads are expressing interest in one-man crews on mainline freights. That's not just "an MMA thing."
http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/railroads-wa ... ght-trains" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
MEC407
Moderator:
Pan Am Railways — Boston & Maine/Maine Central — Delaware & Hudson
Central Maine & Quebec/Montreal, Maine & Atlantic/Bangor & Aroostook
Providence & Worcester — New England — GE Locomotives
Moderator:
Pan Am Railways — Boston & Maine/Maine Central — Delaware & Hudson
Central Maine & Quebec/Montreal, Maine & Atlantic/Bangor & Aroostook
Providence & Worcester — New England — GE Locomotives