# Giving Engineers a Bad Name



## IlPadrino (Sep 13, 2008)

What's the first thing you think when you read the headline Calif. rail agency: Engineer's error caused wreck?


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## roadwreck (Sep 13, 2008)

perhaps he was preoccupied trying to do storm water modeling.

:dunno:


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## benbo (Sep 13, 2008)

roadwreck said:


> perhaps he was preoccupied trying to do storm water modeling.:dunno:


or he was not a graduate of a top three engineering department, who was also a HVACR contractor that came up from the ground floor.

But seriously, even though I knew it was about a train, I thought the headline was talking about our profession.

Similarly, when I read the horrible report about a boiler tube explosion in Salem Harbor Mass and they blamed the "licensed engineer in charge", I thought they were talking about a PE. Instead he is a boiler engineer, sort of like an operator.

http://www.wickedlocal.com/salem/news/x223...plant-explosion


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## Mike in Gastonia (Sep 14, 2008)

I remember a headline in North Carolina where a guy had murdered his wife. It could have said, "Guy murders his wife." It could have said, "Duke Energy employee murders his wife." No, it said "Duke Energy nuclear engineer murders his wife". Implying, of course, that all of the engineers responsible for all of the nuclear plants are homicidal maniacs. Not that they aren't. I'm just sayin'.........


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## C-Dog (Sep 15, 2008)

That is why I like Thomas the Tank Engine - there the train drivers are called "train driver" not engineers.


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## bigray76 (Sep 15, 2008)

^^^Why do those trains have drivers anyway... they seem to do what they want regardless of the driver... or is it that the driver is really to blame, not the engine? (Can you tell I watch too much Thomas with my 3 year old???)

On the same note, how inefficient is it to have that many trains on a rather small island? They could probably cut their operating cost substantially and improve the LOS.


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## benbo (Sep 15, 2008)

bigray76 said:


> On the same note, how inefficient is it to have that many trains on a rather small island? They could probably cut their operating cost substantially and improve the LOS.


Somebody needs to investigate that Sir Top'm Hat guy. This sounds a lot like a Bridge to Nowhere.


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## sehad (Sep 15, 2008)

bigray76 said:


> ^^^Why do those trains have drivers anyway... they seem to do what they want regardless of the driver... or is it that the driver is really to blame, not the engine? (Can you tell I watch too much Thomas with my 3 year old???)
> On the same note, how inefficient is it to have that many trains on a rather small island? They could probably cut their operating cost substantially and improve the LOS.


how does the $2 pints mix with Thomas the train?


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## bigray76 (Sep 15, 2008)

benbo said:


> Somebody needs to investigate that Sir Top'm Hat guy. This sounds a lot like a Bridge to Nowhere.


The air quality has to be horrible... he has mostly coal burning steam engines on the island with a handful of diesels.

Plus Sir Topham Hat seems to use trains for his personal use fairly often, I bet that price gets passed down to the train passengers.

I need a drink!


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## ODB_PE (Sep 15, 2008)

bigray76 said:


> The air quality has to be horrible... he has mostly coal burning steam engines on the island with a handful of diesels.
> Plus Sir Topham Hat seems to use trains for his personal use fairly often, I bet that price gets passed down to the train passengers.
> 
> I need a drink!


I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned the safety record. It seems like every day there is a derailment of some sort. The rails can't even withstand a hailstorm! Also. the nature of the freight is quite troublesome.

The bus system is not much better. I have read that they will unload an entire bus just because there is a toad in the road. (causing quite a fuss on the bus)

This thread has caused confusion and delay. Back to work for me.

Peep peep!


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## Dleg (Sep 17, 2008)

Someone should also look into the safety record of the Island's biggest construction contractor. In the few episodes I've seen, there's been a crane accident (fell onto and crushed a partially finished building), a truck gone over the edge of a bridge, and a concrete truck crash into a fresh pour, destroying the pour, formwork, and (I assume) the reinforcement.

I certainly wouldn't want to be in the insurance business on Sodor.


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