The idea of posting a security guard at the location of the stopped train was the first thing that came to mind when I heard about this runaway. But there are just so many different versions coming out right now, that it is hard to understand exactly what happened. Bottom line: The railroad is the source of the disaster, if not the cause, and will get blamed for any damage done to life and property.
Even with the "fire on the locomotive" scenario that seems to be emerging, it appears that somebody had to have uncoupled the tank cars from the locomotives. If so, and at that point, an appropriate number of cars' handbrakes should have been set.
And . . . YES . . . on my railroad, the crew would have had to be sure the entire train was secure from ALL hazards before packing it in for the night.
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. . . blogging at railroadpassengers.blogspot.com
While this has mostly nothing to do with Passenger Rail, it kinda sorta does when you think about how many routes today that are hosting passengers are also hosting oil tank trains. With the uptick in this kind of business, safety must be at the top of everyone's list.
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