98(2/20/14) Delayed Jesup GA-CSX train strikes trespassers-Doctortown

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It's also possible that the incident is being investigated as a negligent homicide. As one of many possible instances, someone may have blown off the responsibilty of telling the film crew that a third train had been added to the mix.

Homicide does not always involve murder.
 
This is indeed a tragedy. Greg Allman lives near me, and though I don't think he was on location at the time, I'm sure he's very distraught.

The information being slowly regurgitated inlcude the following:

There was a 20 person crew with permission by CSX and Rayonier to film a biopic about Greg Allman's life. They were advised by CSX that there would be two trains coming through. After the two trains came through, the film crew set up a bed and/or mattress on the trestle to film a "dream sequence". At that time, a third train that nobody on the crew seemed to know about, came through and 1 female camera assistant was killed, two more were critically injured, one being airlifted to Savannah, and 5 more injured that weren't quite as bad.

Rayonier is the landowner of most of that area - A papermill, if I recall correctly. Access to where they filmed would require permission from Rayonier, but that's the limit of Rayonier's involvment. The contact with the train was solely CSX and the film crew's responsibility. Why no one seemed to know a third train would be coming through at presumably 50 MPH is beyond me.

I think everyone here has it figured right - There was no tresspass, there was an accident, and unfortunately, there will probably NEVER be filming on CSX's track allowed ever again.

The trestle that they were on is in and of itself very interesting. It's a drawbridge, but only draws over a very small trickle of the river. I guess the river has rerouted since the bridge was installed...

I think a better place to have filmed would have been on the Shortline trestle over the Jerico River. It only sees one train, twice a day. A bit harder to get to, but with good coordination, they could have probably Hi-Railed it out there.
 
Aloha

Generally when a commercial "film" apply for a County film permit they are required to submit a record of all Private permissions receive for any access to private land before a county permit is done. If they failed to do this, including the supporting insurance, I feel real sorry for the injured as worker comp will not cover.

What a legal, stupid mess!
Eric - why wouldn't it be a work comp claim? Work comp does not deny based on stupidity! I handled WC claims in many states for 25 years. Everything I read here lends itself to being covered. Maybe Georgia has strange laws, but I would think the victims would be fully covered. Only thing that would keep them from being covered is if they were independent contractors and not employees of the film company. And there is case law around that sometimes even allows the independent contractor to fall under the WC policy of the business they work for.
Aloha

My concern about the work-comp insurance being valid is due to what I have seen on movie shoots I have been involved with. I also have been involved with Labor Payroll. Also I wrote sporting when I meant Supporting Insurance. I corrected My bad typing..

So the reason I am worry about the workers is the way insurance companies use technicalities to ad void paying claims. A friend was denied a claim when he slipped and fell on lava rock, he was 2 feet off the authorized path. Another time a Hollywood Camera operator died from a freak accident of a wave being larger than expected.

So that is why I am concerned. However the information now coming out, seems to say the were following all rules, so I am now less concerned.
 
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I think this can go here, in relation to the post about rails becoming more attractive for filming. This was posted on another forum and was apparently filmed not far from where I live on the same line that runs through my town.

http://www.mtv.com/videos/misc/958195/alexs-it-can-wait-stoy.jhtml

Regardless of any shooting permissions they may have gotten, the video basically says "hey don't do something dangerous" by showing someone doing something dangerous. I think with this latest incident, I may e-mail the local news agencies about this, not to embarrass or cause the girl to be charged (though personally, I'd like that), simply to see if one will run a PSA about not being on tracks, I'm seeing too much of it here lately.

[EDIT]

New article on Variety says they only had permission to be on the property around the tracks, but not necessarily the tracks themselves. I can see the railroad wanting to tell the crew about the trains as a courtesy so the crew can keep the trains and horns out of their shots. Though if I were the railroad, I would not provide such a courtesy, too much chance of something like this happening with people thinking they will always know when any train is going to come.

http://variety.com/2014/film/news/investigator-midnight-rider-crew-wasnt-supposed-to-be-on-tracks-1201115835/
 
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...and that is reiterated in this DailyMail.co.uk article:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2565388/They-did-not-permission-train-tracks-Investigators-say-film-crew-involved-deadly-accident-never-heavily-trafficked-line.html

So either CSX is backpedaling because they are freaking out or they are in the right. I have been up for about an hour and have heard no fewer than 3 trains go by. This is a busy line. Of course when I want to railfan, I could sit for hours with nothing...

I guess we'll have to see how this all hashes out.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S3 using the Android Amtrak Forums mobile app
 
Aloha

From reading messages from film and movie sources I learned the production studio has a web site. What I read, seems to me, is not good. It appears that the permissions for the shoot were inadequate, Also seems that insufficient safety standards were not met. i.e. no safethy meeting with cast and crew before entering track area. Also the track was not flagged. Some said that PA's (Production Assistants) were sent down the track to watch for trains. Comments seem to suggest they were 1/4 mile from the bridge. Depending on the allowable speed of the train this would be way to close it allow enough time for the crew to clear the bridge.

Another thing that bothers me is from the reports I read that while CSX gave some kind of permission to Film their tracks, no rail Representative was at the filming site. This, to me, suggest that CSX was not expecting the crew would be on the tracks, just near the tracks.
 
The 2005 CSX Timetable lists the speeds as 79, passenger, 70 intermodal, and 60 other freight. The site (at least back then) was decently in the middle of that speed zone so that even though there are slower zones around it, trains would likely be able to accelerate out of them by the time they reached the bridge. I think the closest lower speed zone was 8 miles from the Doctortown control point.
 
Aloha

Pasted Below is from an I.A.T.S.E. site on the situation. What is said is shocking to say the least.

Heath Hood
This is an updated from my 491 union president.

Status Update
By Harrison M Palmer
Train Tragedy Update. Following up on the MIDNIGHT RIDER incident: There was not a full 'tech scout' prior to the “dream sequence” being shot on the train trestle. It was a pre pro/prep/camera test day & NOT a 'production shooting day', so it was minimal crew. There was no set medic or railroad safety officer on site. (that would be the typical protocol for a motion picture film shoot, but this wasn't really a typical principal photography day with the entire company.) There was a major Hollywood actor present, in costume, to be photographed while on a hospital gurney. The gurney was positioned on top of the trestle tracks, between the camera & crew, and their closest escape route -- a 3 foot wide plank walkway at one end of the trestle. The train’s engineer, upon seeing people and obstruction on the track, immediately hit emergency shut down, which is protocol. It was a fast moving high payload train, and it took about a half mile to stop. The collision could have been far worse had the train derailed.

The final circumstances, and the timeline of the 'event', are still being examined. Matters of location contracts, film permits, and who knew what and when, are as yet undetermined. Most of the crew members, certainly those I have spoken with personally, will not be returning, should Production really try to start back up. Those persons hospitalized will recover physically, but the emotional wounds-- for everyone involved-- will take a long time to heal. I’ve heard other things, unconfirmed, and like all of you, continue to speculate about what will happen next...but at this point, we need to await the findings of the agencies in charge of the investigation. The best way we can honor Sarah's memory, is for all of us to ensure this never happens again.
 
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In the incident report, released to local reporters on Monday, Wayne County Sheriff Sergeant Ben Robertson writes that he witnessed a conversation between executive producer Jay Sedrish and and employee of CSX. “In my presence, Mr. Sedrish was asked by an employee of CSX if he had permission to be on the trestle or tracks and Mr. Sedrish replied, ‘That’s complicated.’
In other words, "No, but I can't really say that right now".
 
I'm from the area, and a rail historian. So I'm familiar with that bridge. All I know is CSX didn't want to get involved with a bridge down the river from there in Everett when a bike trail was being proposed on the abandoned right of way. They just didn't want to claim ownership or be liable in anyway. So why would they let an Indy film crew on a high old bridge, over the deep and swift Altamaha which has been in flood stage this winter due to heavy rains, AND on a busy main line, a straight shot from the HUGE CSX yard in Waycross to Savannah and the port? Also, what I don't get it, it's a straight line from Waycross to Savannah, we're talking 95 miles. HOW DID THEY NOT SEE IT COMING?! It's like impossible to not hear, see, feel a train that long, that fast, that heavy way in advanced. It's not a monorail or high speed eurotrain. I'm wondering if they wanted to film the train hitting the stuff on the track for the movie? Or did they get tied up removing all the props and cameras, and lights? The other thing, if they where trespassing, how'd he plan to get away with it? It's on film. CSX was gonna get wind of it eventually. Or is it easier to say your sorry later than to ask for permission now? Lawsuit-o-rama. I really think CSX should press charges, Rayonier too, the DNR, Coast Guard, the Georgia Conservancy, and GADOT. They need to make an example of this.
 
Could anyone get me the particulars about the trains themselves. 98(20) and 52(20) I'm doing my own rail research map into the incident and would like the time frames, starting locations, any stops along the way. Where do I find those time tables? Thanks.
 
"The trestle that they were on is in and of itself very interesting. It's a drawbridge, but only draws over a very small trickle of the river. I guess the river has rerouted since the bridge was installed..."

I think the Altamaha has been in flood stage or was a month or so ago.

It's the largest river in GA.

The 2005 CSX Timetable lists the speeds as 79, passenger, 70 intermodal, and 60 other freight. The site (at least back then) was decently in the middle of that speed zone so that even though there are slower zones around it, trains would likely be able to accelerate out of them by the time they reached the bridge. I think the closest lower speed zone was 8 miles from the Doctortown control point.
Do you know if this was intermodal or other? Looks like stacked containers.

Thanks
 
I think I can reply to Suzy's questions.

First, the track is not as straight as suggested. If you pull up a map of the area, you can lay a straightedge across your screen from the point where the track enters your view to the point where it exits. You will see that there is an almost imperceptible jog in the track at the point south of the bridge, where the double track merges into single track and the Rayonier spur comes in from the west. I wondered whether this was just some kind of anomaly in the GPS, but I have talked with railroad operating personnel who have told me that the curve is there. So the approach track is not perfectly straight. Keep that in mind.

The bridge has generally been called a trestle, but this is not quite right. One characteristic of a trestle is the lack of a support structure above the deck. The relevant portion of this bridge was evidently built as a drawbridge. A steel truss structure, made of girders in a sort of lattice configuration, surrounds the track. Keep that in mind.

This train carried intermodal freight. If the train was 100% intermodal, its speed limit was 70 mph. If there were any other types of freight cars in the consist, its speed limit was 60. Not knowing details of the consist, we can surmise that the speed was probably somewhere in the range of 55 to 70 mph. Keep that in mind.

The film crew placed a bed or mattress on the track as a prop. At least one source says it was a gurney as used in hospitals or ambulances. The bed was on the bridge, between the film crew and their only "safe" and practical escape route. Keep that in mind.

Here's my theory:

When the train crew approached the bridge and saw it from a distance, they probably could not see all the way through the truss structure because the slight curve put them at an angle to it. Shadows might have also affected their view. They blew their horn for the nearby grade crossing, probably beginning less than 1/2 mile (30 seconds at 60 mph) from the bridge. Their first clear view through the bridge was when they went through the curve, only a few hundred yards from the point of impact, probably less than 15 seconds from the bridge. They would have initiated an emergency brake application at this point, far too late to avoid the collision.

The film crew scrambled to get clear, but their equipment, the bed, and possibly the bridge itself impeded their movements. The rest, you know. It's possible that this scenario may be incorrect on one or two minor points, but I am convinced this is the most likely sequence of events. We'll see what comes out in the investigation.

Why they thought nobody would ever notice their little prank is anybody's guess.

The other trains mentioned were Amtrak 98(20), which means train 98, the Silver Meteor, from Miami to New York, originating on the 20th of the month. and 52(20), the Auto Train, train 52 from Sanford FL to Lorton VA, originating on the 20th of the month.
 
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I think I can reply to Suzy's questions.

First, the track is not as straight as suggested. If you pull up a map of the area, you can lay a straightedge across your screen from the point where the track enters your view to the point where it exits. You will see that there is an almost imperceptible jog in the track at the point south of the bridge, where the double track merges into single track and the Rayonier spur comes in from the west. I wondered whether this was just some kind of anomaly in the GPS, but I have talked with railroad operating personnel who have told me that the curve is there. So the approach track is not perfectly straight. Keep that in mind.

The bridge has generally been called a trestle, but this is not quite right. One characteristic of a trestle is the lack of a support structure above the deck. The relevant portion of this bridge was evidently built as a drawbridge. A steel truss structure, made of girders in a sort of lattice configuration, surrounds the track. Keep that in mind.

This train carried intermodal freight. If the train was 100% intermodal, its speed limit was 70 mph. If there were any other types of freight cars in the consist, its speed limit was 60. Not knowing details of the consist, we can surmise that the speed was probably somewhere in the range of 55 to 70 mph. Keep that in mind.

The film crew placed a bed or mattress on the track as a prop. At least one source says it was a gurney as used in hospitals or ambulances. The bed was on the bridge, between the film crew and their only "safe" and practical escape route. Keep that in mind.

Here's my theory:

When the train crew approached the bridge and saw it from a distance, they probably could not see all the way through the truss structure because the slight curve put them at an angle to it. Shadows might have also affected their view. They blew their horn for the nearby grade crossing, probably beginning less than 1/2 mile (30 seconds at 60 mph) from the bridge. Their first clear view through the bridge was when they went through the curve, only a few hundred yards from the point of impact, probably less than 15 seconds from the bridge. They would have initiated an emergency brake application at this point, far too late to avoid the collision.

The film crew scrambled to get clear, but their equipment, the bed, and possibly the bridge itself impeded their movements. The rest, you know. It's possible that this scenario may be incorrect on one or two minor points, but I am convinced this is the most likely sequence of events. We'll see what comes out in the investigation.

Why they thought nobody would ever notice their little prank is anybody's guess.

The other trains mentioned were Amtrak 98(20), which means train 98, the Silver Meteor, from Miami to New York, originating on the 20th of the month. and 52(20), the Auto Train, train 52 from Sanford FL to Lorton VA, originating on the 20th of the month.
This helps a lot! I've only been to that location once, but the fence keeps you pretty far back from the bridge. I couldn't even see the bridge because of trees. I'm trying to map the accident. I'm assuming the train came from Waycross for a straight shot to Savannah. I see that at Rayoneir the tracks do bend northward slightly. Is this what you mean? And thanks for explaining the difference between trestle and bridge. I'm a rail sleuth, but I've got a lot to learn as far as actual rail terms.

So they only had 30 seconds after hearing the horn? No visual, sound of an oncoming train, of vibrations on the track? Or could that have been confused with the sounds from the Rayoneir paper mill and mill pond?
 
For Amtrak trains, check Amtrak schedules online. For the freight trains, some folks use a radio scanner to pick up RR conversations, but I don't know the frequencies. Freight trains generally follow an approximate schedule, but there are also extra movements that would be added to the schedule.
 
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