Looks Like you might be an NSer? Do you guys use trip optimizer? I'm a BNSFer, we almost exclusively use it, under penalty of investigation, so when you say "shitty engineer", i'll retort with shitty AI program to run the trains... and that train make up you cited that was a shitty engineer, maybe, if we were able to split screens and run manually, and had years of experience doing it, maybe... but our trainees come out the program with practically no hands on training running trains, fire up PTC and Optimizer and let'r run...
2-3 years ago, in a 13 month period we piled up 3 bargals/galbars between KCK and Galesburg, ILL, a lot of undulating track, all of them 8-10,000' long 10-14,000 tons, made up almost like you described with DP, Optimizer running and everyone with the DP in high throttle, descending grade, head end ascending grade in low throttle or idle, crazy run in, in middle of train with a bunch of emties.... BOOM, calamity...
So, your generalization of "shitty engineers" doesn't" quite cover everything/one and all situations...

Also, didn't the Palistine train get caught by a detector and they were told to keep moving to next station to set out car or inspect? don't recall exact details...

All that being said, these long trains are no good, and we/the RRs are getting lucky they haven't piled shite up in a major population area yet...

In my humple opin....

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Posted by AlterDWI

Durango, Colorado

Member since Nov 2012

2196 posts

Posted on 4/29/24 at 1:53 pm to finkle

quote:
Do you guys use trip optimizer?

If equipped, we have to use it 90% of the time.

quote:
Also, didn't the Palistine train get caught by a detector and they were told to keep moving to next station to set out car or inspect?

During the PSR phase, NS decided it took too long for a crew to stop & inspect for every defect message so their solution was to have people monitor the information from an office building & if the defect hit several detectors then they would inform the crew. The person working the "wayside desk" the night if E Palestine testified that, because of PSR cuts to manpower, he worked 12 hr shifts by himself from home with no breaks. One man for the entire system. IIRC he was tending to two other crews so he wasn't able to inform the E Palestine crew before they derailed.