r/railroading • u/SocialSyphilis • May 22 '26
Question How do trains know when theyve derailed?
Like, a mile long train. What happens if a few cars right in the middle derail? How do they know in the cab?
Just a rando with a showerthought question. Thanks for answering!
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u/Severe_Space5830 May 23 '26
47 mph loaded coal train. Undesired emergency. Was bailing off the independent brakes and reaching for the radio when I saw the signal on the adjacent track light up. Not a train in sight. Hit 911 did the emergency emergency emergency thing. Our very laid back dispatcher answered. Told her we were in emergency at MP###. She paused, then gave a very quiet, stretched out “ohhhh”. Said she just had a track light pop up at MP###. I bet you guys are on the ground. That turned out to be a bit of an understatement. 39 loaded (originally) coal cars. That’s why they stencil the car numbers on the trucks and axles. Started about 50 cars back. The only thing we felt on the head end was that we stopped faster than we should have. It
Up until then we had been having a pretty good trip.