coast starlight north 8-9 hit truck

[bookie]

Hit truck on track several hours ago just south of Salinas. Fatality so had to wait for coroner etc. Now word that engine valve damaged - waiting for replacement engine from san Jose.

Apologize if this already posted but am on blackberry and browsing difficult.

PPC is in service today.

 

[bookie]

Update - power turned off for engine repairs. When repairs complete will continue to Salinas and leave damaged engine. Will pick up another engine in Oakland for push up the hills.

Power just came back on as I write!

 

[bookie]

Update - front engine brakes leaking air so must travel 30 mph max to watsonville then dump engine.

I must say that amtrack has been very good about giving us regular updates

 

[Cascadia]

Hey bookie, thanks for passing along news of this accident. Sorry to hear about it. You are good to post here and let us know what's going on, thanks.

 

[goodcow]

So, how does payment for both the engine and loss of time (overtime, extra employees called in, etc.) work out in a scenario like this? Does Amtrak go after the truck's insurance company to compensate all of this?

Also, these engines are old and can only be re-built so much... what happens if an accident occurs where the engine isn't salvageable? Would the insurance company have to spring for a brand new engine?

 

[bookie]

630 am and just left Oakland. That puts us about 8 hours late. No official update as they turn announcements off during night but word is we sat for 2 hours waiting for new engine last night. Fortunately for me I slept well in a roomette. Not a good time to be stuck in coach.

I'll take this over being held up in an airplane any day.

 

[GG-1]

we sat for 2 hours waiting for new engine last night. Fortunately for me I slept well in a roomette. Not a good time to be stuck in coach.
I'll take this over being held up in an airplane any day.

Aloha

Last month I slept in Coach on 2 separate nights with 3 nights of hotel rooms between them. I only wooke up once in a station stop, so the motion helped. I don't think though I will ever do multiple nights in coach though, but sometimes the cost of a room is the difference in going, and I would rather be on the train than not.

 

[-Jamie-]

Could you actually see anything when the accident occured?

 

[PetalumaLoco]

News link.

 

[amtrakwolverine]

they say he stopped on the tracks. could it have been suicide.

 

[Green Maned Lion]

So, how does payment for both the engine and loss of time (overtime, extra employees called in, etc.) work out in a scenario like this? Does Amtrak go after the truck's insurance company to compensate all of this?
Also, these engines are old and can only be re-built so much... what happens if an accident occurs where the engine isn't salvageable? Would the insurance company have to spring for a brand new engine?

The engines aren't old by any means. There are 40 year old engines in regular service on revenue lines (Metro North even operates a few EMD F10s). None of the P42 Genesis engines are any older than about 10 years. They have a lot of life left in them.

As for the insurance company, the driver has a maximum liability limit the insurance company won't pay above. This is an issue, because a new Genesis would cost well over a million bucks. The insurance won't cover that full amount.

 

[MrFSS]

So, how does payment for both the engine and loss of time (overtime, extra employees called in, etc.) work out in a scenario like this? Does Amtrak go after the truck's insurance company to compensate all of this?
Also, these engines are old and can only be re-built so much... what happens if an accident occurs where the engine isn't salvageable? Would the insurance company have to spring for a brand new engine?

The engines aren't old by any means. There are 40 year old engines in regular service on revenue lines (Metro North even operates a few EMD F10s). None of the P42 Genesis engines are any older than about 10 years. They have a lot of life left in them.

As for the insurance company, the driver has a maximum liability limit the insurance company won't pay above. This is an issue, because a new Genesis would cost well over a million bucks. The insurance won't cover that full amount.

As a retired insurance person I have seen tons of policies that had $25-50 Million in coverage on commercial accounts. Some also have reinsurance.

 

[bookie]

Final update - arrived Eugene 10 pm last night. Riders were informed that train would turn around in Portland and those going further north would be bussed. Some unhappy travelers with this news, but they also seemed to be the smokers that were missing nic fixes.

Overall I thought Amtrak handled the whole situation well - what happened was not their fault but they did everything they could for the passengers.

 

[Karl]

Then about 7:00pm Pacific, an Amtrak train (Cascade?) hit and killed a person sitting on the tracks in Clackamas, Oregon (10 mi south of PDX). Track was reopened about 8:30 so hopefully it did not affect the CS.

As always condolences to the families of those killed, and simpathy to the Train Crews and Emergency Responders who had to deal with the situationl.

 

[Karl]

That was Sunday 8/10.

 

[Green Maned Lion]

As a retired insurance person I have seen tons of policies that had $25-50 Million in coverage on commercial accounts. Some also have reinsurance.

I was operating under the assumption that the truck was privately owned.

 

[inspiration100]

Is there a news article about this?

 

[Joel N. Weber II]

As for the insurance company, the driver has a maximum liability limit the insurance company won't pay above. This is an issue, because a new Genesis would cost well over a million bucks. The insurance won't cover that full amount.

Is the cost of a new Genesis relevant? If someone else is at fault in an accident that totals your Mercedes, you are unlikely to get the full value of a new Mercedes unless the laws in New Jersey are different than what I've encountered in other states...

 

[eatmyvolts]

Is there a news article about this?

If you mean the Cascades hitting the person sitting on the tracks, right here Portland Tribune News Item

Sitting on the tracks, enjoying a beverage, how sad for everybody.

 

[Green Maned Lion]

As for the insurance company, the driver has a maximum liability limit the insurance company won't pay above. This is an issue, because a new Genesis would cost well over a million bucks. The insurance won't cover that full amount.

Is the cost of a new Genesis relevant? If someone else is at fault in an accident that totals your Mercedes, you are unlikely to get the full value of a new Mercedes unless the laws in New Jersey are different than what I've encountered in other states...

Naturally. Except accounting process would make me suspect they are on the books as being worth nothing. Or will be soon, since they are probably on a 10 year depreciation cycle. And there really isn't an established market value for P42 Genesis locomotives.