Re:Thieves in LA are looting freight trains filled with pack...
by throwaway75787 on Sunday January 16, 2022 @08:25PM
(#29962347)
Does this mean that the switch points were blocked by the trash/dumped packages? There was a video showing that one of the rails had fallen over on its side. I have never seen that in a derailment. I did see a WWII-era film where the US Army had a tough time derailing trains they were trying to sabotage, so this is all amazing to me.
[ Parent
| on HN ]
Re:Thieves in LA are looting freight trains filled with pack...
by throwaway0a5e on Sunday January 16, 2022 @09:03PM
(#29962587)
>Does this mean that the switch points were blocked by the trash/dumped packages?
Potentially, I know they can get clogged up with the right mixture of snow turned into ice. Trash is hard to pack that densely without trying though I suppose a large object could have jammed the switch gear.
>There was a video showing that one of the rails had fallen over on its side.
A train riding two rails will put a lot of sideways force on the rails pulling them together. Rails aren't shaped to resist very much force in that direction.
>where the US Army had a tough time derailing trains they were trying to sabotage, so this is all amazing to me.
They were working under very different constraints than you or I.