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In Arizona, Amtrak trains are inspected, and on two of these occasions, only one crewmember was found in the cab. In March, Amtrak sued the AZ Corp. Commission, in order to stop the state from enforcing a law which would require at least two people in the cab of a lead locomotive through AZ at all times. Amtrak explained to the Commission about the "dead-man button" in their units, but as of today, nothing has happened. Do you guys think that having one person in the cab is safe? I think it is safe if their is that "dead-man switch," but there is a stalemate in the courts as of today.
MLC Member # 58
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Japanese commuter trains, which operate on the same track sometimes separated by no less than two minutes between stops, have two man crews - one in the lead car and a conductor in the last car. Still, I would prefer to have two men in the cab rather than one.
TBlack Member # 181
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Do you remember a couple of months ago the freight train that ran for 65 miles without an engineer? I think it was in Ohio? The "deadman button" didn't work all that well in that circumstance.
Eric Member # 674
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I heard that the deadman switch failed because the engineer had set about 20 lbs. of air. This somehow deactivated the switch, but I didn't get full details.
reggierail Member # 26
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The input I got on the runaway train was that it had no deadman switch. It was supposed to have a pedal type device requiring pressure be applied at all times. This could be disabled by placing a heavy object, such as a toolbox over it. Reggie
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barrydraper Member # 737
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Amtrak is currently running most trains in California with only one person in the cab. All Metrolink commuter trains operate one person. (Not always a man; Amtrak has many excelent women in the cab.) Admitedly one Metrolink accident might have been avoided with two crew in the cab, but as long as the politicians want to cut costs, Amtrak can't have two people in the cab and stay in business.
This should answer any questions raised on the above posts.
Eric Member # 674
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Thank's for that site Mr. Ruben. It helped me to understand exactly what happened. I got a good laugh at the part where the police fired shots at the 'emergency fuel cutoff.' They could have hit any other part of the locomotive, which may have given them bigger problems, like leaking diesel fuel, or an electrical fire.
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