CP Trains airbrakes fail and crew of three killed as train plunges sixty metres into a river

[Anonymous]

I was in a training course with Dockerill in Calgary. There's a gofundme  page set up.



I am taking a few days off because of this.

Three Canadian Pacific Railway crew members who were killed early Monday in a train derailment east of Field, B.C., have been identified.



For Tuesday's developments, see: TSB gives update on train derailment that killed 3 CP crew members

Conductor Dylan Paradis, engineer Andrew Dockrell and trainee Daniel Waldenberger-Bulmer were killed, according to CP, when the westbound freight train went off the tracks at about 1 a.m. MT. All three were on board the train at the time.



A union representative said earlier the train fell more than 60 metres from a bridge near the Alberta-British Columbia boundary.



Greg Edwards with the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) said the workers had just taken over the train when it happened.



Two were found near the locomotive, which landed in the Kicking Horse River, and the other was still inside.



"Everybody I've spoken with both within the company and within the union is just devastated by this," he said. "It's just terrible, terrible news."



The three victims were based out of Calgary, the union said, adding that Dockrell had more than two decades of railroad experience.



"I got the call in the middle of the night and it's one of the worst calls that you want to take," Edwards said.



Christopher Monette, TCRC's director of public affairs, said it was "a runaway train." He said the derailment happened shortly after the crew had started their shift in Field.



Edwards said speed was a factor in the derailment.



"It appears it left the track because it was going very quickly and it ran off the track," said Edwards.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/train-derailment-cp-railway-1.5004622">https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/ ... -1.5004622">https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/train-derailment-cp-railway-1.5004622

https://i.cbc.ca/1.5005840.1549328006!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/16x9_780/cp-train-derailment-victims.jpg">

[Bricktop]

Did you know any of these men?

[Anonymous]

It was close to -50 with windchill when the airbrakes failed and the train rolled. Air systems can and will fail at those temperatures. This is entirely the company's fault.

CALGARY — Investigators say a Canadian Pacific freight train was parked and began to move on its own before it derailed and killed three crew members on the Alberta-British Columbia boundary.



The Transportation Safety Board says the westbound train had been parked on a grade with its air brakes applied for two hours near Field, B.C., early Monday when it started rolling.



Investigator James Carmichael said the crew had just boarded the train, but weren't yet ready to depart.



"It was not anything the crew did. The train started to move on its own,''

https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2019/02/05/cp-freight-train-derailment_a_23662284/">https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2019/02/0 ... _23662284/">https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2019/02/05/cp-freight-train-derailment_a_23662284/

[Anonymous]

Did you know any of these men?

I know Andy Dockrell, the engineer. I did some training in Calgary with him. A good man.

[Bricktop]

Sad.



What makes a train move on its own?

[Anonymous]

Sad.



What makes a train move on its own?

The Partridge siding is at the steepest rail grade in North America. That's where the train  was parked while waiting for crew change. Air systems can fail in extreme cold and particularly on a steep grade like that.

[Bricktop]

Damn.



Someone's head should roll.

[Anonymous]

Damn.



Someone's head should roll.

No rules were broken. No handbrakes need to be applied while there is a crew on a train. That will change. Railway operating rules are written in blood.

[Anonymous]

But, anyone knows air systems don't work properly in extreme cold. My territory doesn't have steep grades like Alberta and British Columbia. But, I still know if I had to put the train into emergency it may not stop as fast as it is supposed to.

[Anonymous]

Did you know any of these men?

I know Andy Dockrell, the engineer. I did some training in Calgary with him. A good man.

What a tragic accident IHJ.

 

[Gaon]

Damn.



Someone's head should roll.

No rules were broken. No handbrakes need to be applied while there is a crew on a train. That will change. Railway operating rules are written in blood.

It's a shame they can't be proactive instead of reactive.

[Anonymous]

Damn.



Someone's head should roll.

No rules were broken. No handbrakes need to be applied while there is a crew on a train. That will change. Railway operating rules are written in blood.

It's a shame they can't be proactive instead of reactive.

They could have exercised some common sense. Apply handbrakes when stopped in a siding on a steep grade when the temperature outside is -45.

[Frood]

Sorry for your industry's loss, IHJ.



Sounds like a horrific scene.

[Anonymous]

Sorry for your industry's loss, IHJ.



Sounds like a horrific scene.

They just showed the conductor's wife and two toddler children on the morning  news.

[Blazor]

But, anyone knows air systems don't work properly in extreme cold. My territory doesn't have steep grades like Alberta and British Columbia. But, I still know if I had to put the train into emergency it may not stop as fast as it is supposed to.

Hate to hear all this man. Dont know what to say really. I feel for the families for sure.



I use to do advertising for a local company that produced air brakes, but they got bought out by a larger French company recently. They supplied world wide. I did not know they failed in extreme cold like that.