A woman was killed today right near the site of the Glendale Metrolink crash when she was hit by an Amtrak train. Apparently she was crossing the tracks pushing a shopping cart when she tripped and was struck.
My heart goes out to the woman's family and friends, but it also goes out to the engineer, who is often ignored in these situations. It cannot be easy for him or her to have to live with being at the controls when someone dies, even if there was nothing that he or she could have done to prevent it.
Click here to see article in the Glendale News-Press.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Excerpts and Interviews
I plan to periodically post excerpts from the book Coffin Car: The Story of Metrolink 100 as well as snippets from interviews with some of the people who were involved in the Glendale Metrolink train crash in 2005. So be sure to look for those: they will probably be posted in serial form. And please forward your comments! I would love your feedback.
The first excerpts will actually be about a 1907 train crash that occurred in roughly the same place (West Glendale) and was also the work of men bent on destruction. I included it as a preface to the book because I like the parallels.
If you were there that day and would like to share your experiences, I would love to hear from you. And it would be great if you would participate on this blog. Or if you know someone who was in Glendale on that fateful day when 11 people lost their lives, tell him or her to check out the blog and to contact me. I would love to talk!
The first excerpts will actually be about a 1907 train crash that occurred in roughly the same place (West Glendale) and was also the work of men bent on destruction. I included it as a preface to the book because I like the parallels.
If you were there that day and would like to share your experiences, I would love to hear from you. And it would be great if you would participate on this blog. Or if you know someone who was in Glendale on that fateful day when 11 people lost their lives, tell him or her to check out the blog and to contact me. I would love to talk!
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Coffin Car
The working title of the book about the Glendale train crash is Coffin Car.
For the uninitiated, Metrolink, as well as many other commuter systems throughout the country, operates its commuter trains using the push-pulthe locomotive pushes the train from behind. Railroads do this to avoid the extra time, money and space needed to turn a train around at the end of a line.
When the train is running in push mode, a modified passenger car with an operation compartment built into the front leads the train down the track. The engineer then controls the train from this cab car.
Here is what the cab car looks like leading a train down a track. The engineer is sitting at the front right hand window as one would look out the front of the train.
And here is what the inside of the engineer's compartment looks like:
Compare this to the protection afforded the engineer and the passengers by a locomotive pulling the train!
It should not be surprising that in railroad parlance, the cab car is often referred to as the coffin car. Inevitably, trains will hit things on the track, whether they are there inadvertently or purposefully. And the 450-ton locomotive is more likely to protect those on the train, especially the engineer.
For one, the cab car weighs half as much, leaving it vulnerable to easily "floating" off the tracks, and it has virtually no crush distance. Plus it lacks a "cowcatcher." A cowcatcher is the v-shaped device attached to the front of a train to deflect obstacles (such as cows!) off the track. Metrolink does not have cowcatchers on its cab cars but only a flat end plate. This makes it easy for objects on the track to become wedged under the car.
However, officials insist that cab cars are safe, and they continue to be used throughout the country.
Metrolink 100, which hit the Jeep Grand Cherokee wedged on the tracks, was traveling in push mode, with Bruce Gray at the controls in the cab car, a car that literally became a coffin car.
For the uninitiated, Metrolink, as well as many other commuter systems throughout the country, operates its commuter trains using the push-pulthe locomotive pushes the train from behind. Railroads do this to avoid the extra time, money and space needed to turn a train around at the end of a line.
When the train is running in push mode, a modified passenger car with an operation compartment built into the front leads the train down the track. The engineer then controls the train from this cab car.
Here is what the cab car looks like leading a train down a track. The engineer is sitting at the front right hand window as one would look out the front of the train.
And here is what the inside of the engineer's compartment looks like:
Compare this to the protection afforded the engineer and the passengers by a locomotive pulling the train!
It should not be surprising that in railroad parlance, the cab car is often referred to as the coffin car. Inevitably, trains will hit things on the track, whether they are there inadvertently or purposefully. And the 450-ton locomotive is more likely to protect those on the train, especially the engineer.
For one, the cab car weighs half as much, leaving it vulnerable to easily "floating" off the tracks, and it has virtually no crush distance. Plus it lacks a "cowcatcher." A cowcatcher is the v-shaped device attached to the front of a train to deflect obstacles (such as cows!) off the track. Metrolink does not have cowcatchers on its cab cars but only a flat end plate. This makes it easy for objects on the track to become wedged under the car.
However, officials insist that cab cars are safe, and they continue to be used throughout the country.
Metrolink 100, which hit the Jeep Grand Cherokee wedged on the tracks, was traveling in push mode, with Bruce Gray at the controls in the cab car, a car that literally became a coffin car.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Book!
Some of you know that I am working on a book about the 2005 Metrolink train wreck in Glendale, California. Briefly, this was the crash caused by Juan Manuel Alvarez, who parked his Jeep Grand Cherokee on the tracks near the Chevy Chase crossing on January 26th, 2005. He claimed that he was distraught and wanted to commit suicide. But he changed his mind at the last moment and leaped out of the way. He then stood by and watched as the tragedy that he put into play unfolded in that misty, dark morning.
It was a perfect storm, of sorts. Metrolink 100, traveling toward downtown Los Angeles with about 250 passengers on their morning commute, struck the Jeep, and immediately derailed. It plowed forward though the front end of the cab car had fallen off the tracks. The out of control train then ran head on into the locomotive of a freight train that was parked on a storage track known as the Glendale slide. The impact caused Metrolink 100 to buckle right into the path of oncoming Metrolink 91, which was carrying commuting passengers out of the city.
In the end, three trains collided, eleven people died, and nearly 200 were injured. And Alvarez was convicted of eleven counts of first-degree murder and is currently serving eleven consecutive life sentences.
Once you peal back the wreckage left, you discover a story of love, of hate, of sorrow, of joy. Of bravery and of cowardice. It is a story about people reacting in extreme circumstances. There is a saying (and I cannot find it - thanks Google!) that says something about how difficult times do not build character. Instead, they reveal it. I think that is true in the case of this horrendous time in hundreds of people's lives.
It was a perfect storm, of sorts. Metrolink 100, traveling toward downtown Los Angeles with about 250 passengers on their morning commute, struck the Jeep, and immediately derailed. It plowed forward though the front end of the cab car had fallen off the tracks. The out of control train then ran head on into the locomotive of a freight train that was parked on a storage track known as the Glendale slide. The impact caused Metrolink 100 to buckle right into the path of oncoming Metrolink 91, which was carrying commuting passengers out of the city.
In the end, three trains collided, eleven people died, and nearly 200 were injured. And Alvarez was convicted of eleven counts of first-degree murder and is currently serving eleven consecutive life sentences.
Once you peal back the wreckage left, you discover a story of love, of hate, of sorrow, of joy. Of bravery and of cowardice. It is a story about people reacting in extreme circumstances. There is a saying (and I cannot find it - thanks Google!) that says something about how difficult times do not build character. Instead, they reveal it. I think that is true in the case of this horrendous time in hundreds of people's lives.
Friday, November 6, 2009
Update on Philly Death
I just wanted to add that the man who was killed by the train in Philadelphia has been identified: Kevin Sparks, 34, of Sharon Hill, PA. ABC news reports indicate that he was a rail inspector and "was walking with a flagman on the northbound tracks when he was hit from behind by a southbound train . . . . The train was running on different tracks than normal because of equipment problems with another train."
Our hearts go out to Kevin Sparks' friends and family.
Also, investigators think the fire the day before the death was from electrical fire that started at the front of the train. witnesses said flames were shooting out from the front of the train. Passengers kicked out emergency windows to climb out of the train.
I would imagine that that must have been terribly frightening for not only the passengers but also for the engineer. Thank goodness everyone was safe.
Our hearts go out to Kevin Sparks' friends and family.
Also, investigators think the fire the day before the death was from electrical fire that started at the front of the train. witnesses said flames were shooting out from the front of the train. Passengers kicked out emergency windows to climb out of the train.
I would imagine that that must have been terribly frightening for not only the passengers but also for the engineer. Thank goodness everyone was safe.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Problems in Philadelphia
Evidently Los Angeles is not the only city to have serious safety concerns when it comes to commuter trains. A rail worker was killed on the tracks during the morning rush hour. This was following a rail car fire as a commuter train headed downtown at 7 AM on Wednesday morning. Yikes!
The story is here.
The story is here.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Union Says No! to Cameras in Cabs
The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen has filed suit against Metrolink's use of the cameras as an invasion of privacy and wants the cameras turned off. The union proposes a cell phone jamming system.
I have a couple of quesitons about this. First, would a cell phone jamming system be able to jam only the engineers phone? I do not know anyhting about the technology of this. However, passengers would want to have access to their phones while riding the train.
My second question is whether or not this union is actually representative of its members. As an involuntary memeber of a union myself, I know that I disagree with most of the positions my union takes on a variety of issues. So is it the membership that opposes the cameras, or is it the union leaders? They are not the same thing.
Click here to read the entire article.
I have a couple of quesitons about this. First, would a cell phone jamming system be able to jam only the engineers phone? I do not know anyhting about the technology of this. However, passengers would want to have access to their phones while riding the train.
My second question is whether or not this union is actually representative of its members. As an involuntary memeber of a union myself, I know that I disagree with most of the positions my union takes on a variety of issues. So is it the membership that opposes the cameras, or is it the union leaders? They are not the same thing.
Click here to read the entire article.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Cameras in Cabs
As a direct result of the Chatsworth train crash, when 25 people were killed because apparently the engineer was texting a teenager and missed a red signal, Metrolink has invested $1 million to place cameras in the locomotives and lead cab cars of all of its commuter trains. Apparently, such cameras have been very effective in buses, not only in securing that the drivers are safe but also exonerating drivers when accidents are not their fault.
Here is the story.
Here is the story.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
query letter
News of another deadly Metrolink commuter train crash splashes across the front pages: “Head-on Collision.” “Twenty-five Dead.” “Bodies Still Trapped in Wreckage.”
But it is just the latest chapter in train catastrophes. And Bruce Gray knows it only too well.
The life of Bruce Gray, engineer of Metrolink 100, changed irrevocably on January 26, 2005, at 6:03 am, when Juan Manuel Alvarez left his gas-soaked Jeep Grand Cherokee on a train track in Glendale, California, in an apparent suicide attempt.
Alvarez had a change of heart as the Metrolink barreled towards him at 79 mph. And he ran off, leaving his car straddling the tracks. Moments later, when the Metrolink slammed into the Jeep, it set off a chain reaction that destroyed three trains, injured nearly 200, and killed eleven.
As an agent interested in representing narrative non-fiction, you might be interested in the book Coffin Car: The Crash of Metrolink 100. It is the story of the Glendale train crash and the personal journey of not only Engineer Bruce Gray as he learns to cope with the aftermath of the accident, but also of other key people involved in the incident, such as Juan Manuel Alvarez, the man bent on committing suicide but surviving and killing eleven others, Karen Hernandez, the Costco employee who called 911; Curt Williamson, the first fireman on the scene; Scott McKeown, a passenger who died that day.
The Metrolink dispatcher tapes, the 911 tapes, the LAFD reports, and the criminal trial transcripts will round out the story for a complete retelling of the crash and its aftermath.
In the end, readers will have gotten to know the victims and the heroes of this disaster. They will care about these people whose lives were so tragically interrupted and have the opportunity to see justice served when they learn of the conviction of Alvarez of eleven counts of first degree murder.
I have been teaching English and journalism at Mission College for fifteen years and publishing as a freelance writer for the past six, with articles appearing in The Los Angeles Times and Christian Science Monitor among other national and local publications.
Thank you for your consideration. I am including the first five pages of chapter 1, but I would be happy to send you a complete proposal at your convenience. Feel free to contact me should you need any other information.
Sincerely,
Vickie Oddino
818/426-3063
vaoddino@earthlink.net
But it is just the latest chapter in train catastrophes. And Bruce Gray knows it only too well.
The life of Bruce Gray, engineer of Metrolink 100, changed irrevocably on January 26, 2005, at 6:03 am, when Juan Manuel Alvarez left his gas-soaked Jeep Grand Cherokee on a train track in Glendale, California, in an apparent suicide attempt.
Alvarez had a change of heart as the Metrolink barreled towards him at 79 mph. And he ran off, leaving his car straddling the tracks. Moments later, when the Metrolink slammed into the Jeep, it set off a chain reaction that destroyed three trains, injured nearly 200, and killed eleven.
As an agent interested in representing narrative non-fiction, you might be interested in the book Coffin Car: The Crash of Metrolink 100. It is the story of the Glendale train crash and the personal journey of not only Engineer Bruce Gray as he learns to cope with the aftermath of the accident, but also of other key people involved in the incident, such as Juan Manuel Alvarez, the man bent on committing suicide but surviving and killing eleven others, Karen Hernandez, the Costco employee who called 911; Curt Williamson, the first fireman on the scene; Scott McKeown, a passenger who died that day.
The Metrolink dispatcher tapes, the 911 tapes, the LAFD reports, and the criminal trial transcripts will round out the story for a complete retelling of the crash and its aftermath.
In the end, readers will have gotten to know the victims and the heroes of this disaster. They will care about these people whose lives were so tragically interrupted and have the opportunity to see justice served when they learn of the conviction of Alvarez of eleven counts of first degree murder.
I have been teaching English and journalism at Mission College for fifteen years and publishing as a freelance writer for the past six, with articles appearing in The Los Angeles Times and Christian Science Monitor among other national and local publications.
Thank you for your consideration. I am including the first five pages of chapter 1, but I would be happy to send you a complete proposal at your convenience. Feel free to contact me should you need any other information.
Sincerely,
Vickie Oddino
818/426-3063
vaoddino@earthlink.net
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)