CSX Incident at Gaithersburg, Maryland
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ก.พ. 2025
- CSX - We brake for broken couplers!
A CSX westbound freight (Q-416) goes into an emergency brake application in front of the Gaithersburg, Maryland station blocking the Summit Ave. crossing for more than three hours.
The conductor rides on three other passing trains as he and the engineer make the necessary repairs on two broken couplers on this long and heavy freight.
![Gaithersburg, MD: Amtrak MARC and CSX [Railfanning: 001]](/img/n.gif)
Very interesting video. Never seen this type of occurrence in all my years of train watching and I'm 72 years old. Glad you were in the right spot at the right time!!
We're the same age, man, Salud.
Well, I'm the same age you WERE when you said that.
Nice catch, thanks for taking the time to tape all of this...As the train passes in the beginning just about past the first tank car you can hear when the separation happens and then the air dumping. The tank car gives a hollow sound, like someone hit it with something..It was going so slow that nothing bad happened (lucky). Good thing they had spare parts. Great job by all the crews.
Wow, good catch! Never heard of a train losing two knuckles on the same train in two different locations. Thanks for the video!
My husband was raised on Rolling Road, very near the station. Was nice to see the old area, and how it's changed, ie. the walkway over the tracks.
wow i never thought of 416 ever going into emergency considering the fact ive seen it a few times but always damn short everytime i caught it on video.....
Nice catch!! Talk about being in the right place at the right time! Very informative example of real railroading adapting to circumstances-- must have been a bad day for the dispatcher,too. Getting video of the police officer question the engineer was a very nice, realistic touch! Keep up the great work!
nicely edited together & explained! thx!
Great job guys. I really liked the "Gaithersburg Incidet" clip. Great layout too!
UfVd???
Udviirirhmm??190
Love the whisle action at 2:53 for a level crossing that is BLOCKED by the other train.. And also at 7:16 would have been a great vid to see them two trains drag race each other.
that is alwesome seeing amtrak an other csx train helping each other out, nice video
Amtrak stopping to pickup CSX crew member to keep him from walking so far, amazing.
Great teamwork helping another crew fix their train.
of course people would complain ...complain about trains blocking the road, complain about semis and truckers... forgetting that without both trains and semis you would have no food, clothes, phones, shoes, jewelry, electronic devices, blah blah blah... I want the semis and trains to stop for one week and as a result we would see a big attitude change about them
You are so right! There isn't a single item that any truck hating American has or will purchase in their everyday lives that has or will not be delivered in a truck at one point or another. What I've noticed in the last decade, especially after the financial crash in 08, the professionalism, skill, experience and plain ol' courtesy of truck drivers went to shit! Thousands of people losing their jobs jumped to trucking for work. You can go to a truck driving school now and be on the interstate in just two weeks. What a slap in the face to the guys who came up the right way and have to drive next or stuck behind in the middle lane doing 65 in a 70. A large percentage of "professional" drivers are shit bags now and the large companies (SWIFT) allow this. The railroads know this and the railroads will one day put most truck drivers out of a job. They do it cheaper, cleaner, smarter and safer.
Thank you so much being that im a truck driver
Trucking school doesnt exactly impart a real "professional" attitude either lol. My trucking school, they literally spent more time smoking then driving or doing class time. 3 weeks of class time? Yeah, coulda been done in 3-4 days. 2 weeks of driving? Yeah, each of the 15 of us had maybe 6 hours when we were done.....the trucking school I went to straight said "were not here to teach you to drive a truck, we're here to get you your CDL". They were fun people, prolly alot of fun to hang out with, but as for "professional instructors and people who did their job well? Not at all lol.
Me 2016 I is f
complain because it probably happened because the company has shitty policies and is trying to save a few dollars. The money lost from this blocking streets is likely far more than the railroad would have lost preventing it from occurring. So yea, people should be upset. Nobody owes shit to a corporation -- if one can't cut it, then we need better corporations to compete and put them out of business. Unfortunately, these companies have written competitive regulation by lining pockets of politicans.
You could make the same argument for everyone in the economy. The people who operate these companies need to get to work too, nobody would have anything without them doing the boring work. The engineers who design the equipment need to get to work to improve things so we can continue to receive all those goods. The maintenance people at the railroad need to be able to get to work, so that we can receive the goods we need. The bank employee who helps the conductor get all those goods to the people, needs to be able to get to work to help the conductor mange his finances to have a place to live. This economy isn't one-sided, suck it up.
What a wonderful job, the coordination between the train crews to get the conductor down and back, ect. was done in such a great manner. I would hate to carry a knuckle down to the break site.
you couldnt say it any better myself, 3.5 hour delay, sounds like CSX. amazing catch my friend.
Very interesting and enjoyable video with all the crew actions explained in the captions. It must have been a very long day for the crew (and you with your filming) but I am impressed by the way they handled the incident
With modern freight being so long nowadays I am surprised no one has thought of making a cheap mountain bike a part of their standard equipment...
UP now has engines in the middle and end of the train.
It is not safe to ride a bike on the rail road there is no trail you have to do like the conductor did and a knuckle is very heavy .
Robert Naberhaus, no one is aboard locos in the middle or at the rear of a train. They are remote controlled from the lead engine cab.
@@algrayson8965: Maybe he meant that it's less distance to where the extra knuckle is kept.
Nice catch!
Thank you also for your informative captions explaining what happened and what was happening.
1. Why did they not back up and clear that grade crossing?
Would they be blocking another crossing?
Railroad should be fined for closing that street so long.
2. Why did you not walk to the separation and video it and what they were doing?
3. Engineer to be blamed for poor train handling causing the knuckle failures?
Thank you.
When the couplers break, the attached airlines separate as well. This loss of air pressure is dramatic and kicks in to shut the train down which alerts the crew.
The FRA should fine the carrier of the westbound CSX for making an unprotected reverse movement so much that they would say where did we store all of those cabooses. Yes I am sure that the conductor on the disabled freight was grateful for the helping hand but it is still a dangerous move. I am a retired railroad conductor and have carried my share of knuckles on a 10 foot cast iron rod suspended between myself and the brake man. Just my two cents worth. None the less thank you for taking the time to film this and keep up the good work.
Are you sure it was an unprotected reverse move? Also as you said you had a brakeman helping you carry the knuckle big difference.
@lailasalas Trains use an air brake system. When air pressure is removed brakes are activated. So, if a coupler is broken the air brake pipe will be broken too, causing both sides of the train to enter into emergency braking (since air pressure drops). This is also the same brake system used in big trucks, which is way safer than the brake system in standard cars (which will not work if the brake pipe is broken).
No immediate derailment, but what would happen for sure is when the couplers brake, the cars seperate and that the air hoses disconnect, that causes a drop in air pressure and any drop in pressure causes the brakes to automaticlly apply. If the brakes on the loose cars dont apply, they could either derail or just coast to a stop.
Does that answer your question?
Separation yes, derailment usually not. They will separate, pull the air line and stop. From the head end, all you know is you're stopped by emergency application, but no idea until you walk back and see what's up.
The train will jolt forward a bit from the smaller load behind the engines when the couploer breaks. Also, if the cars separate enough, the brake hose will be ripped apart, causing a loss in brake pressure, which applys the brakes... The engineer has a brake pressure gauge in the cab.
No. When a knuckle breaks, what actually breaks is the Knuckle Pin that pivots the Knuckle from open to closed. The two couplers part, and the Air Line stretches until the Gladhands part, thus sending the brakes into Emergency, bringing the train to a stop. The two sections may collide, they may derail, but it isn't very likely.
I have seen trains on this CSX Met Sub (westbounds) - both mixed freight and coal - go by so slow that I would be anticipating on a stall out. Eastbound trains roll by good through here.
Westinghouse brakes. Essentially, brakes are applied by reducing air pressure in the brake pipes, and released by increasing it. That way, it works as a failsafe. When the train separated, the brake hoses between the cars broke as well, dumping all of the air pressure, stopping both ends of the train.
That's gotta be embarrassing! Thanks for putting it up! Interesting! Glad they got it fixed. I know crap happens but hopefully that didn't effect the run too much cause of that delay. Time is money!!
Congratulations to the Videographer, Photographer and Editor for an excellent presentation. Perhaps some of the entitled and clueless fellow citizens out there learned a little something about the real world.......but, since I am 81 years old, I doubt that very much. the Old Coastie
Wow the train is siting their all day
One of those days when it had to suck to work on the railroad.
[ "The[y] could not have backed up. Too dangerous plus see above." ]
Thank you.
What is dangerous about backing up?
If the conductor at the rear end of the train has radio contact with the engineer, he can clear backing enough for the locomotive to open the grade crossing.
Getting the street usable for the public, and fire and EMS, is far more important than any fine.
Reconnecting the brake hoses and pressurizing the train would allow the computer to enable operation.
Well done, nicely edited.
That depends on several factors. Speed of the train, number and weight of cars on either side of the seperation point, If the front part of the train stops and gets hit by the back part of the train.
A lot of time hoses rub the street surface and cause the train to go into emergency. Sometimes when they go into emergency it causes other problems especially deep in the train closer to the rear end where knuckles break from an emergency application.
You were in the right place at the right time! Nice catch!
I own a NS knuckle coupler, and I would seriously hate having to carry it more than ten feet.
Oh the CSX ones are much lighter! Just kidding, I have no idea!
I found one in 3 pieces one time, and yea, they're heavy as shit!
The knuckle itself is all that's replaced. Maybe the locking pin, too. The knuckle weighs 60lb.
In CSX conductor school you have to replace a knuckle the RIGHT (safe) way within 5 minutes or you don't finish the school. It's not hard if you're taught how. But, changing 2 and the involved lifting and carrying would make a good day's workout.
fritz1218 0
@@KutWrite you never had a whole coupler pulled out of a draft gear yet, have you? it will get very exciting.....
Lucky filmer, unhappy crew.. but, some very nice footage, u got there. I love the captions, and the picture u cut in to that vid. Very nice!
HOLY CRAP! That former Conrail SD60M has a NICE hybrid RS3L!
The monitoring system reacts within 1/10 of a second. Safety features disable the train until the problem is solved. The air brakes engage on every car within a second, keeping the train intact. Knuckles break but they don't necessarily separate. Furthermore, most defunct knuckles are inspected and found in the yard.
Damn!! That is so cool. Never heard of anything like that, but it just makes sense that it could happen.
Thanks for sharing.
Not all locations are accesable by off track means. With knuckles being approximately 75 pounds each, it would not be safe for a counductor to 'hump' a knuckle from a off track point to where it was needed, which of necessity would be several hundred feet even under optimum circumstances.
Well explained and well done!
Air is pumped down the train in a pipe to RELEASE the brakes. If a knuckle brakes and the train separates the pipe will also separate and the air will be lost in the system. This means brakes on both parts of the train will apply, bringing both parts to a stop. There should be no reason why a broken coupler should cause a derailment.
They wouldn't know if a coupler broke but, if the pressure in the air line drops, the locomotive will automatically put the train in emergency brake application.
Good thing for the double track for rides back and forth instead of walking each time
also, thanx for the great overhead view, I needed it to weather the top of some of my diesels!
Your video is fair! Too much focus on locomotives. Locomotives are only the motive power. The cars, tanks, flats of a train actually do the heavy lifting of delivering the merchandise & goods of a commercial transportation system. The cars are the real work horses of a train. They are the unsung hero.
I suggest in videos, pictures or anything else about trains, include the right of way, track, signals & the entire consist of the train, whether it be freight or passenger service.
It can result in separation, including the break airlines, which causes the trains breaks to automatically apply. As far as derailment, nope. Not unless the train is going at such a speed that the second section slams into the first at a significant speed
In U.S.A you have got cool trains
Some of them are warm.Depends on the weather.
@@petermasterson8276 not what he meant.
just a little information the rails are on private property and the police have no jurisdiction. If the train breaks down tough patooties. Most of these trains are 9000 feet long that's 1 3/4 miles to those who have to hoof it. So trouble shooting takes time and lugging tools is no fun. So thank an engineer when you see this person.
Years ago a conductor was given a ticket for blocking TOO many crossings in Lafayette IN.
J. McKinley It's not like the crew can choose were the train goes into emergency.
The situation in Lafayette Indiana , was not an emergency...sorry I did not include that info. in my first reply!
J. McKinley The train was most likely in emergency, or something was happening farther down the tracks. No engineer wound intentionally block a crossing.
They can issue all the tickets that they want, the RR is governed by Federal law. If the RR is obeying Federal law, local or state law doesn't apply.
In Canada you would have to walk your ass with coupler on your back to get the problem fixed and you would get no help.I would say this guy is lucky to get all this help.
+Sean b if your comment is true, that is very sad indeed. Why wouldn't a rail help another rail? Especially in a situation such as this. Now I will admit this guy is LUCKY to have all of these trains passing him at just the right moment. I would tell him to go play the lottery but he wasted all of his luck hopping rides to and fro changing out those busted knuckles.
time is money and some times they help each other out
Big back back man and lean it into you
Air goes down the train pipe, charges the air tanks on every car. As long as the air tank and train pipe are the same pressure, no brakes are on. If you deplete air from the train pipe, brakes go on according to the pressure differential. Air tank supplies brake power. All these functions control through what used to, anyway, be called the triple valve. Westinghouse invented this and made air brakes work well.
If no air is in the tanks the car(s) could roll away. Brakes come off. Not like semis.
We all have had different experiences. I worked as a brakeman for the Houston & Texas Central [Southern Pacific] from the late 60s to the early 70s. I've had to deal with busted air hoses, broken knuckles, and in those days, hot boxes. I've carried that crap half way down the train, because it always seemed to happen in the middle. It was all heavy. To top it off, it always happened at night. No double tracks so I could hitch a ride. No road nearby so I could hopefully have hitched a ride. What's even worse when you consider today's technology, no communication with the engineer other than my lantern and signals. I will say that I did not keep the train blocking the line as long as the above. I got to it toot sweet [tuit suite] because those old head engineers got crabby sitting there waiting for me to do all the work. lol.
lol, funny, its always after the first 50 cars, the problems never in those first 50...
I'm going to assume its like trucks with air brakes. When the knuckle lets go it pulls off the air lines to the brakes, when the brakes lose air pressure the emergency brakes apply.
When a Knuckle Breaks the cars Do separate and the air hoses connecting the two cars also break away. Thus dumping the Air pressure Thus sending the train into Emergency. The possibility of derailment is slim. I hope this answers your question
Awesome incident record and great how one train assists another. Hope there was another way around for the townsfolk.
JAMES Rivis the best way is for the engineer to put the right knuckle on the ground pulls the train forward put the knuckle on then shove back to the train
I will never be able to get back that part of my life I spent watching this.Gripping!
i bet sir toppin hat was pissed lol
They're not being useful engines.
I see what you did there
adam watson troublesome trucks
adam watson same
*cross
I still maintain that a train should be require to sound it's horn in a consistent pattern at all grade crossings. It worked for 100+ years.
No, the brakes would automatically apply on emergency. The reason the guy went out with a hose at first is because he didn't know what happened. He didn't hit the brakes, the train did.
Nice work on the narratives. Thank you.
I've been to Gaithersburg when I was working at Rockville. Nothing as exciting as this happened, although there was a lightning/thunder/snowstorm the like of which I have never seen before.
I grew up nearby, over in northern Prince George’s County, and I remember seeing/hearing thundersnow when I was a kid. Freaked me out too, since thunder and lightning in a snowstorm is pretty unusual-I’d never even _heard_ of thundersnow before! At first I wondered what was up when I saw the lightning, like “What is going on here?” and then when I heard the thunder crack overhead a few seconds later, I noped right into the house!
It depends on what the tanker is used for. Many carry non hazardous liquids like corn syrup.
They primarily use DPU's on their coal trains and some of their long-distance intermodals.
About not walking..If you never walked 50-60 car lengths you have no idea how far that is with those long cars it could take up to 30 minutes depending on the ground. 50-60 cars could be 1/2 mile-even using 50' cars 60 cars would be 3,000 feet. Now add the longer 52'-89' cars and that footage adds up.
That's a common courtesy, even offered sometimes by a railfan in an automobile on an adjacent road.
Perhaps a segway would be a prudent investment
You gonna run that thing on trackside ballast? Also, a Segway is all about balance. Try balancing one of those knuckles on one of those machines
bigfatmouth - I’m pretty sure Segway would design a custom version if they were approached by the railroad industry. It could be a huge market
I once knew a conductor who used a small dirt bike if he had to inspect his train and would chain it up to the railing of the loco when not in use!!!!!
The air pressure is released from the trians system and that applies the brakes.
Awesome Catch. Great Post.
well when it break it will take out/ disconnect the break line
if there is no air in the break cylinder the break will apply.
most train's break are design this way.
Great story! Good thing it was a two track line or the mayhem would have been much worse with nobody to hitch a ride with.
Thank you for sharing.
It was bad enough, because that is a heavily-used CSX-owned rail line (up to 50 trains a day pass through on there, on Amtrak, CSX or MARC (Maryland Rail Commuter) trains), and it's the only freight-rail line in the county.
the train wouldn't derail. only that portion of cars would break away and eventually stop via their brakes. The engineer and conductor are notified if the ETD(end of train device) gets beyond a predetermined distance range.
When a knucle breaks on a train, the air hoses connecting the two cars get seperated, putting the train in emergency brake. and no, the train would not derail under most curcumstances in the event of a broken knuckle
one thing : CSX. I think I'm done here.
If that train had a DPU as most western trains have, it's unlikely (Not-impossible) that a broken coupler would have caused any delay, as one of the reasons for DPU, is to keep long & heavy trains bunched up & together, placing less strain on couplers..
Huh, this happened not to long ago, for me on the Riverline. Right in front of the crossing. Also the day I missed an Southern Pacific.
Knuckle breaks, cars part company with each other, air hoses pull apart, brakes apply automatically and now you hope that the back portion stops better than the front or things can get rough. An engineer is between a rock and a hard place now. If they go for the brake the back portion can ram the front. If they don't go for the brake and it's actually a derailment they can cause even more mayhem. A broken knuckle should not cause a derailment but a broken coupler shank may well do so.
What I wonder is why they can't uncouple a car beyond intersection by closing off the brake hose of car on the crossing and then clear the crossing until couplers on other failed cars are replaced?
I actually carried a broken knuckle over a mile and a half out of the abandoned boston and maine rr up at Frankenstein trestle in New Hampshire for a souvenier . Believe me I know.
I don't usually enjoy slow moving vids but that was interesting.
1. You can't back up - the train is no longer connected, would be very dangerous.
Railroad probably was fined, but the location of the stop was not preventable.
As for number 3, it depends on the cause of the knuckle failure, but from what I saw in the video, it probably wasn't the engineers fault.
Would an air hose failing in the back of the train then cause the knuckles to break loose due to the drag of the emergency brakes on those cars?
Was the MARC train delayed that day? Terrific catches!
Man, now I am glad that I didn't stay for the whole thing. I would have missed all of CALS. Nice to see what was going on that whole time
nice video, poor crew, the conductor worked his butt off, but why would they not have uncoupled and opened the crossing? after they knew the problem and how long it might take, good thing it wasn't a major highway.
Nice footage!
I just noticed that all the trains in this video are powered by all DC locomotives...
Actually super video, thanks!!
the horn on 6727 is sick!
If these couplings break I am very surprised that it is not more common especially the weight and length of the trains you run over there, hundreds of trucks must put a huge strain on the coupling at the front and the engines.
They were going slow so I don't think they would of derailed. If the knuckles on the couplers broke, I think they (sort of) knew because when it fell, it might of disconnected the air hose.
Were those broken couplers checked. How much was fresh metal .....could be rough handling .....and two of them dam that interesting.
Loved it !
I grew up beside the L&N.
73. W9MVM
Ignore the haters...nothing you can say or do will change their tiny little minds! Shit can happen at any time, and these crews dealt with it as best they could...I am impressed with the level of teamwork between the various train crews to get the parts to the right place on the disabled train...great work guys.
why would it derail ? the knuckle is just the device that allows train cars to couple together and when knuckle breaks the cars disconnect and so do the air hoses and that cause the train to go into emergency and stops the train and the engineer cant do a thing about it
The most important things to come out of this video. The conductor worked his tail off, the delay was massive, GE power was on the point. The local cop drove a Charger, and Hemi Power runs a Plymouth, nice both mopar and railfan?.
TWO GE ONE GM ON THE FRONT
Nice white ballast for the tracks, did they get that at Home Depot?
How does the train know when a knuckle breaks? Wouldn't a broken knuckle result in an immediate separation and derailment of the train?
What a long wait for the cross traffic.
It seams like CSX is notorious for breaking couplers
I worked as a railway car repairman for 33 years. Yes, a broken coupler CAN cause a derailment. A broken knuckle will only put the train in emergency, but, have you ever carried a 50 lb item a mile and a half??? It's not as easy as it looks if it's on single track territory. If it's on double track, like this, a second train drops the knuckle at the site. What the conductor did was exactly right. Try working on the railway before criticizing it.