Rear-end collision near Belfountain, Ohio Feb. 1

CSX S364 collided with the rear of a Q116 on a restricted proceed signal at 31mph Tuesday morning. Miraculously there were no injuries, although three intermodal cars on the 116 were derailed. Until just a few months ago under Conrail/NORAC rules, the signal would have been a stop & proceed.

Perhaps if you were required to stop, and then proceed at Restricted Speed as opposed to just slowing down to Restricted Speed, the train may have been going just a bit slower and it's crew may have been able to comply with Restricted Speed which would mean they would be able to stop in half the range of vision.

I don't think that the "Restricted Proceed" signal is better than the Stop & Proceed.

CSX Conductor wrote:Perhaps if you were required to stop, and then proceed at Restricted Speed as opposed to just slowing down to Restricted Speed, the train may have been going just a bit slower and it's crew may have been able to comply with Restricted Speed

A little long distance speculation here....

What it comes down to is that the crew was most likely not in compliance with the requirements of restricted speed. My guess is that the change in the rule had little or nothing to do with this collision. You're either in control of your train or you're not, as I see it.

Restricted speed means what it means, whether there was first a stop or not. If you hit a rear end at 31 mph, you were not even close to being in compliance. No ifs, ands, buts, or excuses.

I would also guess (just speculation, here, of course) that this particular operating person was in the habit of exceeding restricted speed when running on stop & proceeds. One doesn't just start operating that way because they changed the indication of a fixed signal. This time the gamble didn't pay off.

No one getting hurt was a gift from Providence (and I don't mean Rhode Island).

Heavy fog may have been a factor in this accident as well.

catfoodflambe wrote:Heavy fog may have been a factor in this accident as well.

So then we may have an engineer going at least 31 mph in heavy fog when required to go at restricted speed.

...prepared to stop within one-half the range of vision...?

Again, I admit, this is all speculation. It could be something other than operator error. Missed the signal perhaps? I recall nights in the soup when you had to struggle to see every one of them. This is when really knowing exactly where you are all the time is vital to safety.

there's no rational explanation for running this hot especially in fog, but i believe had the crew been forced to stop first, this accident would not have occured. it's psychologically counterintuitive to run through a red board, goes against everything you're taught. perfect illustration of a draconian, dinosaur mentality on the csx. go to investigation for opening a knuckle without 3-step, but don't stop at the stop signal if it has a number plate attached...

catfoodflambe wrote:Heavy fog may have been a factor in this accident as well.

There was heavy fog up on the Garrett Sub (ex-B&O main) that same morning, trains were running at restricted speed in the pea soup.

LC, I agree that they were not in compliance and am far from trying to make excuses for them. When I mentioned the new rule about not needing to stop, what I was getting at was this: Had the train crew stopped at the signal and then began to proceed, when the marker of the other train came into view they might not have been going as fast and possibly able to avoid what happened.

As for 34MPH.........that is ridiculous!! I would hope someone that reckless would hae their license taken from them, for our safety's sake.

Little formula for you: Put train into emergency + collide with rear of train ahead = no compliance with Restricted speed.

The fog is no excuse in this situation, if the fog was that thick should have been crawling....afterall, they were supposed to be able to stop in half the range of vision. Perhaps fatigue was an issue?

Anybody know what type of signals? I assume no cab signals.

Any photos or news links?

I believe this line has wayside color light signals. This train would have had an approach at the signal prior requiring the crew to reduce to medium speed (30mph) and be prepared to stop at the next signal. (Which was the "restricted proceed", former Norac "Stop and proceed") Somebody missed something here, not once but twice if they were doin 34 by the red.

Sounds to me like he missed the signal, could have been following the train ahead on approaches, entered the last block on an approach and missed the next signal. Might explain the 30 + mph speed before throwing it in the hole. Possible case of micro sleep / brain fade and not knowing where your at. I run in cab signal / speed control territory 99 % percent of the time and love it.

That's right Zeke, cab signals are great. Especially when heading right into the setting or rising sun, when it is often hard to see signals....nice to know the cab signals are there.

Yeah, I wish, I get to enjoy squinting into the sun praying to see that light.

How far was this collison from the junction with the other Big Four line to Springfield? Also, is that tower still there?

On the old IC portion of the CN you're allowed to pass an all red intermediate signal, at restricted speed, without stopping. I'm not positive it's a good practice......?

jg greenwood wrote:On the old IC portion of the CN you're allowed to pass an all red intermediate signal, at restricted speed, without stopping. I'm not positive it's a good practice......?

Same thing on CSXT lines now................I too disgaree wth the rule. Fortunately, many jobs still operate under NORAC Rules when on foreign lines around here.