WASHINGTON — A conductor at an Illinois short line was killed when he was pulled off his train by the gate he was attempting to open while entering an industrial track, according to the final report on a November 2020 accident issued Tuesday by the National Transportation Safety Board.
The 35-year-old conductor of the Decatur & Eastern Illinois Railroad was killed on the morning of Nov. 11, 2020, as his train switched the Cabot Corp. silica plant in Ficklin, Ill., an unincorporated area near the town of Tuscola [see “Digest: Illinois short line conductor killed …,” Trains News Wire, Nov. 12, 2020]. The NTSB report indicates the victim attempted to open the gate without stopping and dismounting from the train; surveillance video showed he grabbed the end of the gate with his hand and was pulled onto the track, where he was struck by the train.
The report indicates the attempt to open the gate without stop violated both the General Code of Operating Rules and company rules of Watco, which owns the Decatur & Eastern Illinois. As a result of the accident, railroad management conducted safety briefings emphasizing GCOR rules on shoving rules and safety rules for riding on moving equipment; the railroad also increased employee efficiency testing. The accident also led the Switching Operations Fatality Analsis Working Group to issue an industry-wide alert reminding employees to be vigilant to avoid close- or no-clearance hazards.
While researching family history I found out that an ancestor was an engineer for a steam engine. While bringing his engine into the shops for cinder removal, it was a frosty morning in December (4 AM) and when he braked his wheels slipped a little and he hit the engine in front of him harder than usual.
The worker in the pits was working under the engine in front of him and when he heard the engine coming in, he poked his head out of the pit to see who was coming. Just as he did, the engine coming in struck the engine he was working on and one of the control arms came down and hit him on the head and into the drive wheel where he was instantly decapitated.
The ancestor was put on trial for manslaughter and was found not-guilty as the jury found it was an accident and he was not liable. Thereafter a rule was written that you cannot reach outside the pit for any reason, you have to come out first.
I don’t know how well that rule carries in the diesel era, but the remark “all rules are written in blood” brought this memory to the front of my mind.
I’m pretty sure these days, the class one’s, no one is ever in the pits anytime a movement is being made on the track. Stated differently, no one goes into the pit without the track being protected by derails and all equipment on the track within the derails with handbrake applied, or some other equally effective means of keeping it from moving.
As a RR fan, but not active RRer (crew carrier though), I have ALWAYS repeated to people: “RR rules are written in blood”. And RR employment is a very dangerous job. Opportunities for fatal accidents are everywhere everyday. The subject of this fatal situation was just like all of us, I can make this easier. I do it , we all do it. BUT the rules we overlook day to day came about due to a reason. Condolences to the family of the deceased. Some of us “get by” by breaking rules and others not. endmrw0223221023