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News :: Labor |
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Remote-control Trains: 5 Accidents In 8 Days |
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by RRESQ
(No verified email address) |
28 May 2003
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An Oregon rail yard owned by Union Pacific has remote controlled trains that have led to several incidents in the past 8 days, including an amputated arm and a near environmental disaster. |
A witness that works in the Hinkle round house tells RRESQ that around 8 PM on the 27th of May, the RCO hump set was pulling a train out of the receiving yard and onto the hump pull back to hump when it made a rather quick stop. If you don't know the lay out of the Hinkle yard the track onto the hump pull back goes at a rather steep grade once it leaves the receiving yard. With the rather quick stop there was a good run in of slack from the cars that were being pulled. everything was fine until the slack ran out and when it did run out it snapped the train in two pieces. The witness stated that the break was in the middle of a string of "TANK CARS". With the hump being on a grade the cars that weren't attached to the locomotives started to roll back into the receiving yard with no brakes. Apparently there were enough workers to jump onto the cars that were rolling back into the receiving yard and get them stopped before they rolled out of the receiving yard and over the derail at the east end of the Hinkle yard. There was the potential for a catastrophic event at Hinkle. It is not known for sure whether there were any hazardous material in any of the cars/tanks but there was a high probability that there was. The remote operation of locomotives doesn't allow the operator to feel of feather their train to a smooth stop and was responsible for the break in two........................ 5 major mishaps in Hinkle in 9 days!
MEMBER LOSES ARM IN YARD ACCIDENT
HERMISTON, Ore. -- UTU member Tim Gettman of Local 473 in La Grande, Ore., lost his left arm in a switching accident yesterday afternoon (May 20) in the Union Pacific Railroad's Hinkle Classification Yard, according to UTU's Oregon State Legislative Director Delmer E. Hanson.
Brother Gettman was injured around 3 p.m. yesterday, and was taken by aircraft at about 6 p.m. to a hospital in Portland, Ore., about 180 miles away, where his left arm was amputated just below the shoulder, Hanson said.
Remote control operations are in place at the the Hinkle
Classification Yard. According to Hanson, the tilt feature on the remote control stopped the train movement.
A 30-year employee, Gettman is married and has three sons, Hanson said.
An investigation is pending.
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