# The Amtrak train that derailed may have been struck by an object. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 16, 2015, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amtrak-train-that-derailed-may-have-been-struck-by-an-object/720154 "2015-05-16T02:18:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2015, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amtrak-train-that-derailed-may-have-been-struck-by-an-object/720154/1 "2015-05-16T02:18:37Z")
I didn’t know the train went through such a dangerous part of Philly. If a rock did shatter the windshield that could have distracted the engineer, but it still doesn’t explain why the train was driving so fast. > **[Yahoo News: Latest and Breaking News, Headlines, Live Updates, and More](https://news.yahoo.com/)** > > The latest news and headlines from Yahoo News. Get breaking news stories and in-depth coverage with videos and photos. > [@](#): > > National Transportation Safety Board member Robert Sumwalt said an assistant conductor aboard the train told investigators that she heard the Amtrak engineer talking over the radio with an engineer for a regional railroad just before the crash. > > The regional engineer, who was in the same area as the Amtrak train, said his train had been hit by a rock or some other projectile. The conductor heard Brandon Bostian, who was at the Amtrak controls, say the same had happened to his train, according to Sumwalt. > > The windshield of the Amtrak train was shattered in the accident but one area of glass had a breakage pattern that could be consistent with being hit by an object and the FBI is investigating, he said. > > Sumwalt declined to speculate about the exact significance of a projectile, but the idea raised the possibility that the engineer might have been distracted, panicked or even wounded in the moments before the train left the rails at more than twice the speed limit along a sharp bend. > [@](#): > > The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority does not yet know what caused the damage to its train that night, said Jerri Williams, a spokeswoman for the agency. > > SEPTA trains traveling through the area — including one of the poorest and most violent parts of Philadelphia — have had projectiles thrown at them in the past, whether by vandals or teenagers, she said. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2015, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amtrak-train-that-derailed-may-have-been-struck-by-an-object/720154/2 "2015-05-16T02:58:58Z")
It’s already being discussed in the other derailment thread - [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=18368876#post18368876](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=18368876#post18368876) ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2015, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amtrak-train-that-derailed-may-have-been-struck-by-an-object/720154/3 "2015-05-16T04:24:12Z")
I’ve avoided the Amtrak thread. The news reports of the carnage are depressing enough. This new line of investigation seemed interesting. It could be a contributing factor, especially if it was a big chunk of concrete thrown. We had a lady in a car killed here a several years ago by a chunk of concrete dropped from an overpass bridge. Stinking, rotten kids. I heard they arrested them. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2015, 9:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amtrak-train-that-derailed-may-have-been-struck-by-an-object/720154/4 "2015-05-16T09:52:15Z")
What I keep wondering is if any of the passengers reported that people were getting alarmed at the high rate of speed. Or were they just like “cool, making good time”? ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2015, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amtrak-train-that-derailed-may-have-been-struck-by-an-object/720154/5 "2015-05-16T17:02:48Z")
“Vandals OR teenagers”? I had not known they were mutually exclusive. ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2015, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amtrak-train-that-derailed-may-have-been-struck-by-an-object/720154/6 "2015-05-16T23:23:05Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I didn’t know the train went through such a dangerous part of Philly. If a rock did shatter the windshield that could have distracted the engineer, but it still doesn’t explain why the train was driving so fast. > > [http://news.yahoo.com/amtrak-ceo-railroad-takes-full-responsibility-crash-062049373--finance.html](http://news.yahoo.com/amtrak-ceo-railroad-takes-full-responsibility-crash-062049373--finance.html) Well the driver of the other train was talking… 1. talking slows the breathing, limits it … tends to cause issues with blood oxygen levels 2. the adrenaline of the talk, and perhaps the bang, caused a fast heart beat… 3. He may have been basically asleep when he was waiting for passengers, and when sitting still the blood flow to the legs is reduced… then when he starts driving he is mobile again and the low oxygen blood is released to the rest of the body… Seems it was brain fade… There were other staff on the train, why aren’t they watching speed and call the emergency ? (the network could too, they could install GPS units that alert to speeding… for example ) My passengers in my car watch my speed, why don’t crew watch on a train ? (passengers in air craft watch the speed, but the screens are turned off at take off and landing… perhaps because people may confuse the safe/required speeds for various planes and configurations, and panic …) My GPS in my car watches my speed, why not on a train ? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2015, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amtrak-train-that-derailed-may-have-been-struck-by-an-object/720154/7 "2015-05-16T23:35:23Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > What I keep wondering is if any of the passengers reported that people were getting alarmed at the high rate of speed. Or were they just like “cool, making good time”? In the other thread they quote a news article quoting an investigator saying they were accelerating beyond the normal speed for something like 20-30 seconds before the derailment occurred. So while some attentive folks might have noticed something unusual, the majority of passengers were probably unaware of anything abnormal before the derailment started. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2015, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amtrak-train-that-derailed-may-have-been-struck-by-an-object/720154/8 "2015-05-17T01:53:27Z")
That’s so fast, though. I have ridden Amtrak many times, and I’m fairly certain we were never going more than 70 mph at the very most. I just think that over 100 would feel different and sound different, but I don’t know. If no one has said anything to that effect, then maybe not. And it’s true, a lot of people are fairly unobservant when they are traveling. I remain convinced to this day that a plane I was on that landed at O’Hare at night in a storm nearly crashed, missed doing so by very few feet of clearance between the wildly yawing wings and the onrushing runway; but I looked around and I was the only one who was at all alarmed. (I had taken many flights before that and this was very different, just FWIW.). I think maybe a lot of people just assume everything is normal until the point at which things totally fall apart. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2015, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amtrak-train-that-derailed-may-have-been-struck-by-an-object/720154/9 "2015-05-17T01:59:02Z")
The Northeast Regional regularly reaches 110mph. Including in the section immediately after that curve. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2015, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amtrak-train-that-derailed-may-have-been-struck-by-an-object/720154/10 "2015-05-18T03:23:41Z")
> [@Isilder](#): > > My GPS in my car watches my speed, why not on a train ? My phone GPS tells me I’m speeding and it updates for traffic jams. It was a free program. If a free program can do this what is the technological challenge? Thoughts on the idea of something hitting the train. It happens fairly often. Unless it breaks through the windshield and hits the engineer It’s not an explanation for what happened. from the pictures it didn’t appear to enter the cab. I suspect the passengers would hear the noise if the windshield was struck. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2015, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amtrak-train-that-derailed-may-have-been-struck-by-an-object/720154/11 "2015-05-18T12:03:42Z")
I’m puzzled as to why this would be a factor. How many times have we all had a stone hit our windshield on the freeway without wrecking our cars? Sure, the engineer could have been rattled for a moment, but why would that cause him to accelerate? ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2015, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amtrak-train-that-derailed-may-have-been-struck-by-an-object/720154/12 "2015-05-18T13:03:09Z")
“Crikey, let’s get outta here!” Okay, that doesn’t make much sense. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2015, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amtrak-train-that-derailed-may-have-been-struck-by-an-object/720154/13 "2015-05-18T13:46:40Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > My phone GPS tells me I’m speeding and it updates for traffic jams. It was a free program. If a free program can do this what is the technological challenge? I have a GPS watch that will tell me my speed. That’s easy. What you’re talking about is someone building a database to compare the current speed to allowed speed in a given location. The next step is if the train is speeding to actively take control & slow/stop it. This is what Amtrak has been working on & they are required to have by the end of this year. They are on schedule (& ahead of many other railroads who have requested a delay until 2020) but hadn’t yet done the work on _this section_ of track. > [@Magiver](#): > > Thoughts on the idea of something hitting the train. It happens fairly often. Unless it breaks through the windshield and hits the engineer It’s not an explanation for what happened. from the pictures it didn’t appear to enter the cab. I suspect the passengers would hear the noise if the windshield was struck. Unless one of the passengers is [Jamie Sommers](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaime_Sommers_(The_Bionic_Woman)), I highly doubt it. The noise isn’t \*that \*loud, especially if you’re dozens of feet away, in a different train car. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2015, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amtrak-train-that-derailed-may-have-been-struck-by-an-object/720154/14 "2015-05-18T14:36:08Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > I’m puzzled as to why this would be a factor. How many times have we all had a stone hit our windshield on the freeway without wrecking our cars? Sure, the engineer could have been rattled for a moment, but why would that cause him to accelerate? Because the stone hitting your windshield isn’t 5 pounds of concrete. It used to be quite the risk to trains, so much so that they installed protective screens. Maybe he got hit in the head, and momentarily stunned. [Amtrak with screens, circa the 80s.](http://hebners.net/amtrak/amtF200_229/amt200.jpg) Apparently, the windshields are tougher now, and screens are no longer needed. At least, until now depending on the outcome of the investigation. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2015, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amtrak-train-that-derailed-may-have-been-struck-by-an-object/720154/15 "2015-05-19T02:31:41Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Because the stone hitting your windshield isn’t 5 pounds of concrete. It used to be quite the risk to trains, so much so that they installed protective screens. Maybe he got hit in the head, and momentarily stunned. well sure that would be a problem except for one tiny detail, there’s no hole in the windshield. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2015, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amtrak-train-that-derailed-may-have-been-struck-by-an-object/720154/16 "2015-05-19T12:30:20Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > My phone GPS tells me I’m speeding and it updates for traffic jams. It was a free program. If a free program can do this what is the technological challenge? Were I using a GPS as I was driving a train, when it said “At the next intersection, turn left…” I’d be a bit worried. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2015, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amtrak-train-that-derailed-may-have-been-struck-by-an-object/720154/17 "2015-05-19T12:47:17Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > And it’s true, a lot of people are fairly unobservant when they are traveling. I remain convinced to this day that a plane I was on that landed at O’Hare at night in a storm nearly crashed, missed doing so by very few feet of clearance between the wildly yawing wings and the onrushing runway; but I looked around and I was the only one who was at all alarmed. (I had taken many flights before that and this was very different, just FWIW.). I think maybe a lot of people just assume everything is normal until the point at which things totally fall apart. Depending on conditions, the “wild yawing” might have been perfectly normal maneuvers to compensate for conditions. I suspect one reason the airlines turn the screens off on take-off and landing is because the average person doesn’t really know what “normal” looks like. > [@Magiver](#): > > I suspect the passengers would hear the noise if the windshield was struck. I was on an Amtrak that hit someone once at 80 mph. Didn’t hear a damn thing. Between the normal noise of travel and whatever ambient noise in the train car no, you probably will not hear a thing. You’ll hear luggage/people/whatever falling after an emergency brake application (that knocked me entirely off my feet). You’ll certainly hear your train car derail if it does so like in the recent accident, or if it hits something while derailing. But a small object hitting the windshield? Nope. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2015, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amtrak-train-that-derailed-may-have-been-struck-by-an-object/720154/18 "2015-05-19T14:06:03Z")
The news this morning was saying that the train only accelerated up to 100 mph shortly before the derailment. That’s got me wondering. Is it possible that something hitting the train might have damaged the controls? ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2015, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amtrak-train-that-derailed-may-have-been-struck-by-an-object/720154/19 "2015-05-19T14:13:15Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > The news this morning was saying that the train only accelerated up to 100 mph shortly before the derailment. That’s got me wondering. Is it possible that something hitting the train might have damaged the controls? In the movies, whenever anything affects the driver he collapses and slumps forward, jamming the accelerator to full throttle. That’d do it. ---
**Author:** ![Randolph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Randolph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Randolph)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2015, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amtrak-train-that-derailed-may-have-been-struck-by-an-object/720154/20 "2015-05-19T14:53:05Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > well sure that would be a problem except for one tiny detail, there’s no hole in the windshield. Maybe he was resting his forehead against the windshield when the rock hit the other side of it. You don’t know, man. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amtrak-train-that-derailed-may-have-been-struck-by-an-object/720154.md?page=2)