From: nilknocgeo@earthlink.net

"Glen Labah"  wrote in message
news:gl4317-615994.22375619052014@mx05.eternal-september.org...
> In article
> <112139247422239739.708898dpeltier-my-deja.com@news.aioe.org>,
>  wrote:
>
>> I didn't say it's fatal, I said it's not safe. The risk of injury is
>> unacceptable by today's standards. Whether it was safer then (shorter
>> train
>> lengths, lower speeds, people who were experienced at dealing with the
>> situation, etc.), or whether our tolerance for the risk has just
>> decreased,
>> I cdon't know. Probably a combination of both.
>
>
> The situation is most unsafe when the train goes into emergency.  From
> the descriptions I have read, the crew used to be able to figure out
> that was going to happen by the noise the train was making.  They hear
> the air get dumped, and they have maybe 2 seconds to brace themselves
> thoroughly against the wall or lie down on one of the beds with their
> legs braced against the wall.  The actual slack impact then hits the
> caboose just slightly after the noise is heard, but it is usually just
> enough time to prevent serious injury.
>
> --
> Please note this e-mail address is a pit of spam due to e-mail address
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Based on the time I was on the Crescent and the air was dumped, I told my
wife, in the dining car, to brace herself.  I did.  She did know what I was
talking about or why.  It was a sudden stop, but from only about 25 mph or
so.  But the sound of the air being dumped is quite dramatic and impossible
to miss, even on Amtrak. Now, at Flatbush Avenue, every train dumped its air
at the end of the line, so it is known to all the passengers.

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