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Dark Territory
Dark territory is a term used in the North American railroad industry to describe a section of running track not controlled by signals. Train movements in dark territory were previously handled by timetable and train order operation, but since the widespread adoption of two way radio communications these have been replaced by track warrants and direct traffic control, with train dispatchers managing train movements directly. Today most dark territory consists of lightly used secondary branch lines and industrial tracks with speeds ranging between and ; however, there do exist a small minority of main lines that fall into the category. In the UK and Australia the term applies to rail track where the signalling system does not pass the signal indications nor track occupancy back to a signal box. As such the position of trains is not visible to signallers, and so the track is "dark". Safety concerns The primary safety concerns with dark territory stems from the lack of any form of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Railroad
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 facili ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crude Oil
Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crude oil and petroleum products that consist of refined crude oil. A fossil fuel, petroleum is formed when large quantities of dead organisms, mostly zooplankton and algae, are buried underneath sedimentary rock and subjected to both prolonged heat and pressure. Petroleum is primarily recovered by oil drilling. Drilling is carried out after studies of structural geology, sedimentary basin analysis, and reservoir characterisation. Recent developments in technologies have also led to exploitation of other Unconventional (oil & gas) reservoir, unconventional reserves such as oil sands and oil shale. Once extracted, oil is refined and separated, most easily by Continuous distillation#Continuous distillation of crude oil, distillation, into innume ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Runaway Train
A runaway train is a type of railroad incident in which unattended rolling stock is accidentally allowed to roll onto the main line, a moving train loses enough braking power to be unable to stop in safety, or a train operates at unsafe speeds due to loss of operator control. If the uncontrolled rolling stock derails or hits another train, it will result in a train wreck. A deadman's control, if the brakes are working, can prevent unattended rolling stock from moving. A railway air brake can fail if valves on the pipe between each wagon are accidentally closed; the 1953 Pennsylvania Railroad train wreck and the 1988 Gare de Lyon train accident were results of a valve accidentally closed by the crew, reducing braking power. A parked train or cut of cars may also run away if not properly tied down with a sufficient number of hand brakes. Incidents Accidents and incidents involving defective or improperly-set railway brakes include: * Igandu train disaster, Tanzania (2002) â ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
North American Railway Signaling
Standards for North American railroad signaling in the United States are issued by the Association of American Railroads (AAR), which is a trade association of the railroads of Canada, the US, and Mexico. Their system is loosely based on practices developed in the United Kingdom during the early years of railway development. However, North American practice diverged from that of the United Kingdom due to different operating conditions and economic factors between the two regions. In Canada, the Canadian Rail Operating Rules (CROR) are approved by the Minister of Transport under the authority of the Railway Safety Act. Each railway company or transit authority in Canada issues its own CROR rulebook with special instructions peculiar to each individual property. Among the distinctions are: * The US has a much longer history of power operation of switches ("points" in UK parlance) and signals. * The US and Canada departed from UK practice wherein a semaphore blade is devoted to eac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Glossary Of Rail Transport Terms
Rail terminology is a form of technical terminology. The difference between the American term ''railroad'' and the international term ''railway'' (used by the International Union of Railways and English-speaking countries outside the United States) is the most significant difference in rail terminology. These and other terms have often originated from the parallel development of rail transport systems in different parts of the world. In English-speaking countries outside the United Kingdom, a mixture of US and UK terms may exist. Various global terms are presented here. Where a term has multiple names, this is indicated. The abbreviation "UIC" refers to standard terms adopted by the International Union of Railways in its official publications and thesaurus. 0–9 A B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
General Code Of Operating Rules
The General Code of Operating Rules (GCOR) is a set of operating rules for railroads in the United States. The GCOR is used by Class I railroads west of Chicago, most of the Class II railroads, and many Short-line railroads. Some railroads in northeast United States follow NORAC, while Canada and Mexico have their own set of operating rules that govern their railroad operations. Overview The GCOR rules are intended to enhance railroad safety. The rules cover employee responsibilities, signaling equipment, procedures for safe train movement, dealing with accidents and other topics that directly and indirectly affect railroad safety. Some railroads modify the GCOR rules to suit their specific operations. The GCOR is supplemented by System Special Instructions, Timetables, Hazardous Materials Instructions, Air Brake and Train Handling Instructions, and General Orders. These documents are issued by each individual railroad. System Special instructions, Timetables, and General Order ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rail Safety Improvement Act Of 2008
The Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 is a United States federal law, enacted by Congress to improve railroad safety. Among its provisions, the most notable was the mandate requiring positive train control (PTC) technology to be installed on most of the US railroad network by 2015. This was spurred by the 2008 Chatsworth train collision the month prior to passage of the act. After two delays, the technology was operational on all required railroads by the end of 2020. Background Starting in 1990, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) counted PTC among its "Most Wanted List of Transportation Safety Improvements."National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), Washington, DC (2010)"Modifications to NTSB Most Wanted List; List of Transportation Safety Improvements after September 1990."/ref> At the time, the vast majority of rail lines relied on the human crew for complying with all safety rules, and a significant fraction of accidents were attributable to human error. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Positive Train Control
Positive train control (PTC) is a family of automatic train protection systems deployed in the United States. Most of the United States' national rail network mileage has a form of PTC. These systems are generally designed to check that trains are moving safely and to stop them when they are not. A simplistic form of train traffic governance is ''negative'' train control, where trains must stop when issued a stop order and can move in the absence of such. An example of negative train control is Indusi. In contrast, ''positive'' train control restricts the train movement to an explicit allowance; movement is halted upon invalidation. A train operating under PTC receives a ''movement authority'' containing information about its location and where it is allowed to safely travel. As of 2019, the U.S. freight rail industry trade organization AAR claimed that the nation's largest freight railroads were operating PTC across 83.2 percent of the required route miles. The American Railwa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Transportation Safety Board
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role, the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and incidents, certain types of highway crashes, ship and marine accidents, pipeline incidents, bridge failures, and railroad accidents. The NTSB is also in charge of investigating cases of hazardous materials releases that occur during transportation. The agency is based in Washington, D.C. It has four regional offices, located in Anchorage, Alaska; Denver, Colorado; Ashburn, Virginia; and Seattle, Washington. The agency also operates a national training center at its Ashburn facility. History The origin of the NTSB was in the Air Commerce Act of 1926, which assigned the United States Department of Commerce responsibility for investigating domestic aviation accidents. Before the NTSB, the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA; at the t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Interstate Commerce Commission
The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) was a regulatory agency in the United States created by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The agency's original purpose was to regulate railroads (and later trucking) to ensure fair rates, to eliminate rate discrimination, and to regulate other aspects of common carriers, including interstate bus lines and telephone companies. Congress expanded ICC authority to regulate other modes of commerce beginning in 1906. Throughout the 20th century, several of ICC's authorities were transferred to other federal agencies. The ICC was abolished in 1995, and its remaining functions were transferred to the Surface Transportation Board. The Commission's five members were appointed by the President with the consent of the United States Senate. This was the first independent agency (or so-called ''Fourth Branch''). Creation The ICC was established by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887, which was signed into law by President Grover Cleveland. The cr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Train Wreck
A train wreck, train collision, train accident or train crash is a type of disaster involving one or more trains. Train wrecks often occur as a result of miscommunication, as when a moving train meets another train on the same track; or an accident, such as when a train wheel jumps off a track in a derailment; or when a boiler explosion occurs. Train wrecks have often been widely covered in popular media and in folklore. A head-on collision between two trains is colloquially called a "cornfield meet" in the United States. Train wreck gallery Image:Train wreck in Rainy River District, Ontario (I0002383).tiff, Train wreck in Rainy River District, Ontario in the 1900s. See also *Lists of rail accidents :*List of accidents and disasters by death toll *Classification of railway accidents :*Boiler explosion :* Bridge disaster :*Derailment :* Level crossing crashes :* Runaway :*Signal passed at danger :* Tram accident :*Wrong-side failure *The crash at Crush, Texas, an intention ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rail Traffic Controller
A train dispatcher (US), rail traffic controller (Canada), train controller (Australia), train service controller (Singapore) or signaller (UK), is employed by a railroad to direct and facilitate the movement of trains over an assigned territory, which is usually part, or all, of a railroad operating division. The dispatcher is also responsible for cost effective movement of trains and other on-track railroad equipment to optimize physical (trains) and human resource (crews) assets. History Charles Minot, a Division Superintendent on the Erie Railroad is credited with the first effort to control the movement of a train beyond the rule book and operating timetable, when, in September 1851, he sent a telegram to a railroad employee at another location directing that all trains be held at that point until the train Minot was riding could arrive. From that beginning, a system of train dispatching evolved. The operating rule book, later standardized for all railroads, contained the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
