They do a lot more than nothing. Maybe you should learn some things about how trains actually work and what the job involves before making judgments.
Here’s your chance to school us on the complexity of trains.
No, I have no interest in writing a dissertation all about train operation for you. If you have an actual question (as opposed to uninformed speculation) I will answer it, at least with regard to my knowledge of electric trains operating on the NEC. I am not a train engineer, but have a strong interest in the subject.
IOW, you’re an arrogant amateur with no actual training in the subject who can’t be bothered to condescend to share what you know or think you know, lest you be found to not be as expert as you trumpet yourself to be.
Got it.
Is there a dead man switch?
Most trains aren’t equipped with the classic “deadman’s” switch that operators must keep depressed constantly, with brakes auto-applied almost immediately upon release.
Instead they have “alertness” switches. Every couple of minutes the operator has to push and release it to prove they’re there and awake. There’s usually an accompanying audio alarm.
In this specific train’s incident they went from operating normally to derailed in well under a minute.
So almost regardless of what specific alertness monitoring system is actually installed, the whole accident sequence probably fit within the timeframe it wouldn’t detect.
The type of locomotives used on the NEC don’t have the classical mechanical dead-man’s switch, but they have an “alerter” which makes a beeping noise at various time intervals and must be reset by the engineer. If the engineer fails to reset the alerter in time, the train will go into emergency braking mode.
ETA: What LSLGuy said.
I also have a strong interest in them. I’m a borderline train spotter. I just don’t keep a log. I could show you videos of them in operation if you like.
But you’re the one who insists there’s a lot going on in the cab so I again give you the floor. Dispel the myth of why they installed devices to keep engineers awake or why Congress mandated override systems years ago. whether you like it or not not all jobs are Indy 500 exciting.
I have no idea what you’re talking about. What myth do you wish me to dispel?
The appropriate followup to this statement is to list the alternative hypotheses which would explain the data as we know them. What are they?
At the time I made that statement we knew less than we do now, so I don’t see how reciting what we know NOW is relevant.
At the time, I suggest possible sudden medical problem. I didn’t consider an object striking the train - which was later brought to light as part of the investigation. Now, it may be neither of those things were a factor but before we investigate we don’t know that. The point of an accident investigation is not to confirm a bias or guess it’s to find out what actually happened,
Yes.
So, uh, what exactly is there in the cab besides a switch to control power, a switch for the brakes, a radio, and a few light switches? Inquiring minds want to know.
Let’s say the train is ready to leave, and the engineer gets out to take a leak. A total amateur with the ability to read english jumps in the control cabin.
You’re saying he wouldn’t be able to get the train moving, then later safely bring the train to a stop. That it’s too complicated.
Why not? Contrast this with an airliner.
Updating this thread:
But the defense said Bostian was distracted by radio transmissions about trespassers throwing rocks at two nearby trains
“Teenagers throwing rocks at trains?! Better go at 106MPH to get by them faster!”
There was a lot unsaid in that article. The verdict was not a surprise to a lot of people, but they aren’t at all clear why. The feds and the city DA decided not to prosecute, but they don’t say why. Even one of the victims said that it was the driver’s fault but that he is not legally culpable.
I begin to think the general consensus is that the train driver was maybe incompetent in some way, but not specifically careless or negligent. And that they don’t want to further damage his life by saying so out loud. If that were the case (big “if”) it seems like the case for negligence should transfer up to the organization that hired him and kept him operating dangerous equipment.