Follow Up to a Train Crash

Some time ago I wrote about a local train crash. One of the factors that may have made the event more dangerous, and ultimately more deadly, was the fact that the cars were pushed by the engine. An inherently less stable arrangement, it also exposes the lead car to whatever danger may lie upon the tracks.

Hearings are currently ongoing in Sacramento before a special committee established by the local assemblyman to investigate rail safety. The "push-pull" practice is one of the main points of discussion. Unfinished federal studies have been cited for the proposition that the same number of injuries and deaths could have occurred due to spilled and ignited fuel. However, another federal report apparently states that safety is slightly increased when the cars are pulled by the locomotive. It does not appear that the science of the issue is resolved:

Paul J. Hedlund, a mechanical engineer and attorney who is representing Siebers, Wiley and Toby [lawsuit plaintiffs], testified that "pulling trains with locomotives is not a magic bullet.''

He said, however, that "it is hard to imagine that there would have been any deaths and injuries on Jan. 26 had the train been pulled.''

I've pushed enough of Michael's Thomas trains around to know that a pusher is simply not as stable as a puller. Physics is physics, right?