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Pulled Tail
Pulled tail is the colloquialism referring to the act of a guard or conductor of a railway to apply the emergency brakes when something unexpected has been noticed. This could be an excess of speed in a section of line known to have a lower speed, or strange noises and shaking that might indicate that the train has derailed or something has broken. In the United States, local colloquialisms include pull the air or big hole as verb phrases describing this same action. In the UK, colloquially the guard would ''drop the tap'' and the passenger ''pull the chain'' to apply the emergency brake. Other uses In the days before modern electrical communications, applying the emergency brakes briefly was a way the guard could communicate to the driver that (for instance) a conditional stop was required at the next station. Accidents preventable Accidents preventable by pulling the tail: * Waterfall train disaster * Eschede train disaster – conductor fails to act quickly on passe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Conductor (transportation)
A conductor (North American English) or guard (Commonwealth English) is a train crew member responsible for operational and safety duties that do not involve actual operation of the train/locomotive. The ''conductor'' title is most common in North American railway operations, but the role is common worldwide under various job titles. In Commonwealth English, a conductor is also known as guard or train manager. The responsibilities of a conductor or guard typically include the following: * Ensuring that the train follows applicable safety rules and practices * Making sure that the train stays on schedule starting from the stations * Opening and closing power operated doors * Selling and checking tickets, and other customer service duties * Ensuring that any cars and cargo are picked up and dropped off properly * Completing en-route paperwork * Directing the train's movement while operating in reverse * Coupling or uncoupling cars * Assisting with the setting out or picking up of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Railway
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prepared flat surface, rail vehicles (rolling stock) are directionally guided by the tracks on which they run. Tracks usually consist of steel rails, installed on sleepers (ties) set in ballast, on which the rolling stock, usually fitted with metal wheels, moves. Other variations are also possible, such as "slab track", in which the rails are fastened to a concrete foundation resting on a prepared subsurface. Rolling stock in a rail transport system generally encounters lower frictional resistance than rubber-tyred road vehicles, so passenger and freight cars (carriages and wagons) can be coupled into longer trains. The operation is carried out by a railway company, providing transport between train stations or freight customer facilit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Emergency Brake (train)
On trains, the expression emergency brake has several meanings: * The ''maximum'' brake force available to the engine driver from the conventional braking system, usually operated by taking the brake handle to its furthest position, through a gate mechanism, or by pushing a separate plunger in the cab. * A completely separate mechanism from the conventional braking system, designed to stop the train as quickly as possible. * A handle or plunger which may be applied by a passenger in an emergency situation, either stopping the train directly or sending an alarm to the driver so that they can stop the train. The emergency brake applies considerably more braking force than the standard full-service brake. The engine driver or motorman will only use the emergency brake as a last resort, since it may cause damage; even with modern wheel slide protection, a train may develop wheel-flats, and the rails themselves can suffer profile damage. Possible consequences of operation Putting the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Derailment
In rail transport, a derailment occurs when a rail vehicle such as a train comes off its rails. Although many derailments are minor, all result in temporary disruption of the proper operation of the railway system and they are a potentially serious hazard. A derailment of a train can be caused by a collision with another object, an operational error (such as excessive speed through a curve), the mechanical failure of tracks (such as broken rails), or the mechanical failure of the wheels, among other causes. In emergency situations, deliberate derailment with derails or catch points is sometimes used to prevent a more serious accident. History The first recorded train derailment in history is known as the Hightstown Rail Accident in New Jersey that occurred on November 8, 1833. The train was traveling between Hightstown and Spotswood New Jersey and derailed after an axle broke on one of the carriages as a result of a journal box catching fire. The derailment resulted in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Waterfall Train Disaster
The Waterfall rail accident was a train accident that occurred on 31 January 2003 near Waterfall, New South Wales, Australia. The train derailed, killing seven people aboard, including the train driver. The accident is famously remembered by systems engineers due to the poorly designed safety systems. Incident On the day of the disaster, a Tangara interurban train service, set G7, which had come from Sydney Central station at 6:24 am, departed Sydney Waterfall railway station moving south towards Port Kembla station via Wollongong. At approximately 7:15 am, the driver suffered a sudden heart attack and lost control of the train. The train was thus travelling at as it approached a curve in the tracks through a small cutting. The curve is rated for speeds no greater than . The train derailed, overturned and collided with the rocky walls of the cutting in a remote area south of the station. It was reported that the rescuers had to carry heavy lifting equipment for m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eschede Train Disaster
On 3 June 1998, an ICE 1 train derailed and crashed into an overpass that crossed the railroad, which then collapsed onto the train. The crash occurred on the Hannover-Hamburg railway near Eschede in Lower Saxony, Germany. In total, 101 people were killed and 88 were injured, making it the second deadliest railway disaster in German history, after the 1939 Genthin rail disaster, as well as the world's worst ever high-speed rail disaster. The cause of the derailment was a single fatigue crack in one wheel, which resulted in a part of the wheel becoming caught in a railroad switch, changing the direction of the switch whilst the train was passing over it. This led to the train's carriages going down two separate tracks, causing the train to derail and crash into the pillars of a concrete road bridge, which then collapsed and crushed two coaches. The remaining coaches and the rear power car crashed into the wreckage. After the incident, a lot of investigations into the wheel fr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sutton Coldfield Rail Crash
The Sutton Coldfield train crash took place at about 16:13 on 23 January 1955 in Sutton Coldfield, Warwickshire (now within Birmingham), when an express passenger train traveling from York to Bristol, derailed due to excessive speed on a sharp curve. Accident circumstances Headed by a London, Midland and Scottish Railway, LMS LMS Stanier Class 5 4-6-0, Black Five steam locomotive No 45274, the 12:15 York to Bristol express, consisting of ten coach (rail), carriages, approached Sutton Coldfield railway station at about 55-60 mph (88-96 km/h) — twice the permitted speed of 30 mph. When it reached the sharp curve immediately before the station, the train derailed, colliding with the platforms. The carriages, engine, and station buildings were severely damaged. The first carriage was crushed between the engine and the second carriage. The fourth carriage was knocked into the air causing it to drag along the station roof, damaging both the roof and the platforms to either side. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2008 Chatsworth Train Collision
The 2008 Chatsworth train collision occurred at 4:22:23 p.m. PDT (23:22:23 UTC) on September 12, 2008, when a Union Pacific freight train and a Metrolink commuter train collided head-on in the Chatsworth neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. The scene of the accident was a curved section of single track on the Metrolink Ventura County Line just east of Stoney Point. According to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which investigated the cause of the collision, the Metrolink train ran through a red signal before entering a section of single track where the opposing freight train had been given the right of way by the train dispatcher. The NTSB blamed the Metrolink train's engineer, 46-year-old Robert M. Sanchez, for the collision, concluding that he was distracted by text messages he was sending while on duty. This mass casualty event brought a massive emergency response by both the city and county of Los Angeles, but the nature and e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Railway Gazette International
''Railway Gazette International'' is a monthly business magazine and news website covering the railway, metro, light rail and tram industries worldwide. Available by annual subscription, the magazine is read in over 140 countries by transport professionals and decision makers, railway managers, engineers, consultants and suppliers to the rail industry. A mix of technical, commercial and geographical feature articles, plus the regular monthly news pages, cover developments in all aspects of the rail industry, including infrastructure, operations, rolling stock and signalling. History ''Railway Gazette International'' traces its history to May 1835 as ''The Railway Magazine'', when it was founded by Effingham Wilson. The ''Railway Gazette'' title dates from July 1905, created to cover railway commercial and financial affairs. In April 1914 it merged with ''The Railway Times'', which incorporated '' Herapath's Railway Journal'', and in February 1935 it absorbed the ''Railway Engine ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1948 Winsford Railway Accident
On 17 April 1948, 24 people died when the 17:40 Glasgow to London Euston train hauled by LMS Princess Royal Class 4-6-2 No 6207 ''Princess Arthur of Connaught'' was stopped after the communication cord was pulled by a passenger (a soldier on leave who presumably lived near Winsford and was seen to leave the train after it had stopped). The stopped train was then run into by a following postal express hauled by LMS Coronation Class 4-6-2 No 6251 ''City of Nottingham''. The collision happened at between and was so severe that only five of the ten passenger coaches could be pulled away on their wheels and only the rear eight of the 13 Postal coaches could be pulled back. 24 passengers were killed. The signalman at had, in error, reported the passenger train clear of the section and accepted the postal train. The person who pulled the emergency cord was a railway employee who worked as a signalbox lad in Winsford Junction, but was currently serving in the army having been called up ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Norton Fitzwarren Rail Crash (1940)
The Norton Fitzwarren rail crash occurred on 4 November 1940 between Taunton and Norton Fitzwarren in the English county of Somerset, when the driver of a train misunderstood the signalling and track layout, causing him to drive the train through a set of points and off the rails at approximately 40mph. 27 people were killed. The locomotive involved was GWR King Class ''GWR 6028 King Class King George VI'' which was subsequently repaired and returned to service. A previous significant accident occurred here on 10 November 1890 and the Taunton train fire of 1978 was also within 2 miles. Overview The house of the driver, Percy Stacey, had been bombed the previous night. He had gone to work as usual. Further bombing on the night of the accident and other disruptions had made the train an hour late by the time it reached Taunton. The crash occurred at a point on the railway where four tracks were reduced to two. On the four-track section, the up and down fast lines were in th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Violet Town Railway Disaster
The Violet Town rail accident, also known as the Southern Aurora disaster, was a railway accident that occurred on 7 February 1969 following the incapacitation of the driver of one of the trains, near the McDiarmids Road crossing, approximately 1 km south of Violet Town, Victoria, Australia. The crash resulted in nine deaths and 117 injuries. Background The ''Southern Aurora'' was an overnight express service between the two largest Australian cities, Melbourne and Sydney. The service began in 1962 with the opening of the North East standard gauge line in Victoria, which enabled direct rail traffic between the two capitals for the first time. Owned and operated jointly by the Victorian Railways (VR) and New South Wales Government Railways (NSWGR), the ''Southern Aurora'' ran in both directions each night with first-class sleeping carriages making up the entire train. Disputes between VR and NSWGR during the design and construction phase of the passenger carriages had ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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