(The following story by Pete Donohue appeared on the New York Daily News website on March 16. Robert Evers is General Chairman of the BLET’s Long Island Rail Road General Committee of Adjustment.)
NEW YORK — The runaway locomotive that hurt four people in Queens last week had a similar close call four days earlier, a union official told the Daily News.
But in the earlier incident, on March 6, disaster was averted when a Long Island Rail Road conductor jumped onto the engine and quickly applied the hand brake.
“This engine was reported to have problems,” said Robert Evers, general chairman with the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen. “It was reported that there was some sort of malfunction in the braking system.”
A crew member reported the equipment problem to a maintenance foreman after returning the locomotive to an LIRR facility that day, Evers said.
Evers did not know what work was performed on the 27-year-old locomotive after the brake problem was reported.
But he said the mechanical problems should steer investigators probing the March 10 accident away from human error.
“I hope they are not looking to make scapegoats out of the crew for this unfortunate occurrence,” Evers said. “This was an equipment malfunction, nothing more, nothing less.”
LIRR spokesman Sam Zambuto referred all questions to the National Transportation Safety Board.
NTSB spokesman Paul Schlamm declined comment. Investigators have said they will delve into the locomotive’s maintenance records.
In the March 6 incident, the conductor stopped the locomotive in the Holban Yard in Hollis, Queens, Evers said.
The crew set the locomotive’s air brakes and disconnected it from a boxcar and another locomotive.
Suddenly the engine moved – similar to what apparently happened in the Fresh Pond Yard four days later.
In that incident, the engine rolled down the LIRR’s Bushwick freight line, smashing into three cars, two work trucks and a backhoe. Four people were injured, two critically.
Three remained hospitalized yesterday.
Evers said the locomotive’s air brakes apparently lose pressure after being set and left idling, but showed no problems while in motion.
NTSB investigator Edward Dobranetski said last week the locomotive went through a periodically mandated inspection just two days before the accident.