AMAZING SPLIT-SECOND TRAIN STOP AFTER GOING INTO EMERGENCY! ELKHART, IN April 10, 2021

This is one of the fastest stops we have ever caught on video! This is one of those times we had to play it over and over, being amazed at how fast it came to a stop! Please Subscribe so we can keep bringing you these specials and the Grab Bags. Thank You and please take care.

[@Kaless215]

Now that's what I call "stopping on a dime" First time I've ever seen a train stop that quick.

[@Henry5623]

Technically it didn't although it tried. The first separation happened towards the rear of the train. That caused the loss of air you heard but it also lead to the rear of the train beginning to brake first nearest the separation. The train was mostly bunched at the time and that was evidenced by the slack violently running out as the rear of the train subsequently became an anchor ripping the slack out which did stop the emptied you saw almost instantaneously. But the inertia of the loads towards the head end caused the secondary separation. Not uncommon to see, although never enjoyable to deal with. I have a broken E5 knuckle that came off a 73' loaded center beam car as a door stop from a few years ago due to a manifest I was operating doing the same thing. Long story short emergency services initially responded thinking a derailment had happened due to all the bangs and sounds apparently going on back near the separation lol The train was back together and we were moving again in less then an hour. -Over two decades working for UP.

[@citibear57]

I didn't know that a train could stop that quickly. The sound of the cars stopping almost sounded like a big explosion.

[@cudwieser3952]

There are brakes on most of the wagons add the reduced speed. The energy imparted throughout the newtons cradle was still awesome though given the mass of things. Bet it shook the drivers fillings loose.

[@hoppercar]

@@cudwieser3952 cars...not wagons

[@richardbause2453]

@@hoppercar must be a European 🇪🇺 🤔 thing 🤔...

[@szabados1980]

And you definitely don't want to sit on a passenger train when it does so. I've had the experience on a cogwheel railway once. People literally fell on their faces. Oh my, somebody could've easily broken his spines falling over a seat. Much greater a force than an airplane accelerating at the very beginning of the runway.

[@unity3596]

@@hoppercar doesnt matter there the same thing different names

[@B-and-O-Operator-Fairmont]

"This safe stop was brought to you by the genius of Mr. George Westinghouse, safely stopping trains in emergency since 1869!"

[@Leah.M5674]

The sound that it made when it stopped like that had me in shock. It was beyond impressive!

[@Trainfan1055Janathan]

- "911. What's your emergency?" - "A bomb just exploded next to my house!"

[@TrainTrackTrav]

That is absolutely insane. I have never seen a train stop like that, even when coupling up in the yards. That is impressive, like it hit an imovable object. I'd want to walk the full train to make sure nothing went on the ground. And that sound, just wild! It's amazing what these cameras capture sometimes.

[@EliWCoyote]

The last time I saw a train stop that abruptly, Will Smith was in front of it. :)

[@IronhorseRailProductions]

Perfect Hancock Reference 👌

[@-HDK-]

I've been in Undesired Emergency Applications many times, but this train takes the cake for laying down quick! The draft force once it squated was crazy...

[@ABALLAM3]

Wow. Perhaps it broke apart due to the train length being a monstrous 232 cars. A lot of Canadian content in that train. Despite its issues, it is a pretty beautiful train with a huge variety of cars.

[@ReflectedMiles]

I was expecting an oil-unit train just to supply that day's production of junk RV's in Elkhart and surrounds with their 6 mpg efficiency.

[@bhproductions1061]

Saw it happen live on the camera yesterday I was shocked especially will the LOUD bangs that happened

[@stevesmith4771]

Was hardly going some speed but boy did that stop instantly! With the length of these freight trains, I'm surprised it doesn't happen more often to be honest.

[@Tolono]

Something happened at the rear of the train that caused it to stop very quickly. It could be the DPU(s) lost connection with the front of the train and went into emergency. The shockwave runs up the train from the rear as all the slack is taken out, and the break you see is a knuckle finally snapping from the force. If everything had held, the wave might've reached the front of the train and thrown the crew from their seats as the engines stopped almost instantly.

[@christianthehuman7572]

I saw this live and I thought the train derailed for a second lol

[@bhproductions1061]

Yeah same here

[@rjb5847]

In train forces of this degree do sometimes result in minor derailments.

[@Adam_Malkovich]

That sound was incredible, kinda amazing no other knuckles broke or anything from the sheer suddenness of that stop. Imagine if the NS crew saw this clip of their train..

[@rjb5847]

Often such stops do result in more than one knuckle breaking, the distribution of weight in the train being the most critical factor.

[@twiggs24]

Id say maybe some bent frames

[@brucewelty7684]

do not ALL of the air brakes snap off at the same instant?

[@rjb5847]

@@brucewelty7684 no, it progresses from front to rear, except if there is distributed power, in which case it emmanates from the remote locomotive as well as from the front. It can be a few seconds from front to back. Also if the brakes have been applied and just released on a conventional train, the cars may have not fully recharged toward the back of the train. Depending on weight distribution, that can cause a violent run in of slack.

[@christopherscott722]

The DPU doing it's part lol. That was pretty close! Good catch y'all!

[@ChadSimplicio]

VRF: "Can you imagine a train this long coming to an almost immediate stop?" Locals of Elkhart, IN & Fort Madison, IA: "Tell us about it!"

[@adrianohaha7659]

That DPU played a role in quickly alerting the front units, I bet.

[@Henry5623]

The DPU you saw had absolutely no effect on the crew being aware of the situation. There was a separation near the rear of the train. That caused the air to be dumped, hence what you heard in the video. The unexpected drop in train line/reservoir pressure would have instantly triggered the lead units PCS system cutting motive power, as well as engaging a audible and visual alert on the monitors on control stand letting the crew know the train had lost it's air for one reason or another. The DPU played no roll in any part of it. The only saving grace being that the train was mostly easily accessible so the separations were able to be dealt with relatively quickly. I have a E5 knuckle that came off a loaded center beam flat that I use as a door stop. It was part of the carnage from a manifest I was operating a few years ago doing the same thing as the manifest in the video did. We didn't hear it but found out after the fact that with all the banging and noises going on back near the separation that emergency crews had initially been dispatched under the assumption that a derailment had happened lol The train was back in one piece and we were moving in less then an hour. It happens. -Over two decades working for UP.

[@paulspomer16]

@@Henry5623 The DPU was one of the reasons for the violent stop. It DID play a role in this.

[@Henry5623]

​@@paulspomer16 I'm not sure what what substantiating evidence you’ve been buying into in order to believe that the DPU had any effect on the trains stopping but you are completely and entirely 100% incorrect in that statement. The DPU had no effect whatsoever. A separation (off camera) happened near the rear of the train which consequently dumped the air. The train was bunched at the time which due to the initial separation happening at the rear of the train this lead to the cars nearest the initial separation to begin braking first. As a result this effectively turned the cars near the end of the train into an anchor which began violently pulling the slack out. Hence what you heard and saw in the video. The instant train line pressure was lost from the initial separation the units PCS system would have cut power and turned all units effectively into nothing more then another piece of rolling stock. This all being done automatically. In other words the DPU had no barring on what happened whatsoever as the separation happened nowhere near it nor did it have any control over the trains stopping. It was simply along for the ride. The secondary separation (on camera) that you saw was caused by a combination of the slack being violently pulled out as well as heavier cars on manifests having a propensity to be concentrated towards the head end of consists. Mostly for better train control reasons. In short it was a perfect set of circumstances to cause a secondary separation. Though, just to reiterate, the DPU had no barring on any part of this. It was simply a result of positive pressure braking systems and physics. Hence why consists without DPU’s that have had separations near the rear of the train have had similar results of secondary separations happening elsewhere. Typically mid train. I’ve had it happen to me even on some of the larger power moves we’ve done over the years. In train physics are monstrous, knuckles get weak, and carnage ensues. You learn to deal with it. If you still want to doubt me then so be it. Hopefully that helps clarify things though. Stay safe and stay off the right of way guys!

[@paulspomer16]

@@Henry5623 No, the DPU was the reason for the violent stop because the train cars did not act like the anchor, the DPU did. The air brakes on some train cars would NOT be able to “anchor” an entire train and cause it to stop so violently. A DPU in emergency absolutely would. There is no way the DPU “had no effect whatsoever” on this. Sorry but it did🤷🏻‍♂️

[@Liam40]

@@paulspomer16 As an actual railroader, I can say the DP Unit likely had very little to do with anchoring. The fact the train was a shitmix of long drawbars had everything to do with this, especially since it was a tail end dump. There's a reason when your SBU/DP reports an emergency activation you dump the head end as fast as possible otherwise you're in pieces. The fact this was a shitmix train that was fully bunched that had a tail end dump had everything to do with this.

[@you99tubejimking]

You can see the hard pull was from the rear of the train. (Which caused the knuckle we see in the frame to break, and then, beyond the break, we see the cars travel on a few more feet forward.) I suspect a car or two in the rear derailed, and yanked everything to a screeching stop.

[@darkwood777]

Only took an hour to repair. Pretty quick, all things considered.

[@sparky107107]

that is the fastest i have ever seen a train stop

[@jop4649]

Those brakes are absolute legendary brakes!

[@vulpinemac]

That jolting stop had to have stressed a lot of couplers. Betting we're going to see a rash of separations over the next few weeks.

[@nasanierulastname2997]

It's possible to list out the number for each car, I wonder if separations caught on camera after this event could be attributed to a car that was on this train when it decided that forward motion was overrated

[@cherryvaleleatherock6900]

Incredible - but very scary !! Thank you, just amazing.

[@regular-joe]

Statistically speaking, there must also be a boatload of separations happening off-camera too, right?

[@jaanfo3874]

Like you wouldn’t believe (*eyeroll*) However in this case I believe the separation was caused by the emergency, and did not cause it.

[@WSOR6604]

The knuckle broke from the emergency application coming from the rear. That separation wasn't the cause of them losing their air initially.

[@erika_fuzzbottom]

Probably a good thing the knuckle did break where it did, then. Otherwise the engineers would've felt the full force of that stop. Still, holy cow, how did it stop that quickly in the first place?

[@WSOR6604]

Facefull of windshield for sure.

[@paulspomer16]

@@erika_fuzzbottom DPUs definitely played a role in that stop

[@rjb5847]

Emergency brake applications at low speeds often cause violent in train forces. In Canada, we have had a mandated requirement to perform a pull by inspection of entire train after emergency brakes because of an accident 20 years ago where a train moving at 10 mph lost its air and popped one set of wheels of the track. This video really shows how bad they can be. Train composition can play a role, for example a train with a block of empties at the front &. block of loads at the back.... where a prior brake application has just been released and the tail end is not fully recharged...loses its air, the tail end will run into the front like hitting a brick wall. DP trains reduce this sort of issue almost completely because of rapid recharging of air.

[@turnerdeedo4633]

1:25 This shot is so cool! It's amazing to see how each car only stops a split second after the one behind it, because of coupler slack. You can also see ripples in the water on the red and black center-beam cars as the train grinds to a halt.

[@K-Effect]

Could you imagine being a hobo on the train when that happened

[@cudwieser3952]

Speak up. Can't hear you.

[@furd1905]

@@cudwieser3952 you can’t hear a comment you only can read it.

[@doubleutubefan5]

@@furd1905 You missed the joke. if there was a hobo he wouldn't have his hearing after that noise it made stopping that fast

[@silicon212]

If there were any 'riders' on the train, in a gondola with steel beams, they wouldn't be aware of what was happening as they were being flattened by the steel beams as they shifted in the gondola. That happened in Phoenix on an SP train around 30 years ago. While the train was being blocked after arrival in the yard, they found two crushed bodies in the car.

[@furd1905]

@@silicon212 thats what i thought would happen instead of them being alive

[@roboftherock]

My supposition is that when the air coupling parted the brakes of the rear portion acted immediately while forward of the break, the air pressure from the locomotive kept those cars' brakes from operating just as quickly. This would probably have led to the knuckle parting. Couple that with the train's low speed and you have a scene for an 'instant stop'. My theory anyway. If this had happened half a minute later then you, VR, wouldn't have posted this - and we wouldn't have posted so many theories! Une coup de chance.

[@musicforaarre]

Woooowwww!!! Excellent. I didn't see the guy hook up the air lines after the sections bumped together. How did we miss that ? Aarre Peltomaa

[@joshuakarteh]

I'm surprised nothing else broke. Elkhart by far is my favorite cam.

[@user-iv2tu4wq7t]

I’m amazed everything stayed upright in line and on the track!!!

[@gragor11]

It looks like a train load of mostly empties. I assume that would have been a factor in the fast stop. I also looked for the DPU in the back of the train as the source for the initial breaking action re the discussion that the stop started from the back because perhaps the DPU lost communication but there isn't one back there. Violent action. One can see the cars actually rise up from the pulling force on them as they got straight lined as the train slammed to a halt. Great video.

[@Denniss7420]

There's one mid train.

[@juliestevens6931]

The stop is definitely mind boggling. What seems marvelous to me is the power in those engines to get that massive train moving again from a dead stop on wet tracks (yes, I know there have been longer, heavier trains, but still...). Knowing they do it all the time doesn't mean watching happen doesn't still fills me with wonder.

[@hoppercar]

Well I'm not surprised they pull longer and longer trains with locomotives that have more and more horsepower.....the strain is just to much on the coupler drawbar

[@NenadKralj]

thats (literally) and figuratively 😲 SNAP 🤣 🤣

[@deauvilledad07]

Nice capture. Now that's stopping distance. 🤓

[@MattiAntsuK]

My question is how did it stop that fast after separation?

[@jaanfo3874]

Low speed, empty cars, and the emergency started at or near the rear of the train (hence the draft forces) so the rear stopped much faster than the front.

[@ihavenoideadanny]

@@jaanfo3874 you are sort of correct, its actually how powerful air brakes are. im serious, those things apply ALOT of pressure

[@The747Isnotdead]

Megumin is proud of this train!

[@promisel1964]

just imagine the looks on the Crews faces

[@ChadSimplicio]

Having to go out there in the middle of a rainstorm didn't help either.

[@Nerd3Ddotcom]

All empties I presume? That's probably a big part of how it stopped so fast.

[@abpsd73]

My guess is empties, as well as slow speed.

[@AAHKLEE]

Whoa big girl WHOA! Great video.

[@kensbackshop6399]

Holy krap batman the only train i seen stop like was on my o gauge layout,,,it was a williams diesel with out flywheels ,,,,,lol ,,,awesome video

[@slownpccar]

Video can't be compared to how loud that was in person

[@doubleutubefan5]

were you wearing the red coat

[@slownpccar]

@@doubleutubefan5 no

[@user-cu9kz5ec8o]

I've seen dozens of emergency applications, but never like this. Man that was abrupt

[@yclept9]

The brakes on freight cars are set so that the wheel won't lock up on an empty car; these cars are empty and so exhibit maximum braking not seen in loaded cars, each car with its own brakes - so the length of the train doesn't matter. It looks like the light cars at the end collectively put enough drag on the train ahead to break a knuckle on the stop.

[@weeardguy]

With the rear part still in a turn, I'm not surprised the end drags more than the part that is already on a straight part of the tracks ;)

[@marco23p]

Is the braking force adapted between empty and full cars in North-America? I know that at least in Germany, there are either manual levers on old cars and automatic changers in new cars (with a linkage that checks how much the springs are loaded) that change the brake force per pressure reduction depending on load.

[@KatTheFoxtaur]

I honestly didn't believe the title at first, until I saw it....

[@ditzydoo4378]

Probably one of the best examples of how the emergency braking system works when an airline between cars disconnects. It's amazing to think this system invented by George Westinghouse back on April 13, 1869 has been in use for over 150 years. The system when pressurized releases the brakes, but when the circuit is broken anywhere the brakes go to full on.

[@javarailfanning]

wow.. amazing

[@cmac9029]

Holy cow! That’s like a car stopping in the time it takes the light to go red to yellow

[@mattcat231]

I couldn't even get my 2002 Silverado 2500HD to stop that fast, or my 2008 Freightliner M2 26' box truck

[@MovetoSEPRAILnTheRealRajo6466]

2:07 wow that boxcar stop instantly

[@Brandonbuilt]

Slightly wet brakes just seem to be extra grabby at certain slower speeds. Great video!

[@protosheep]

Huh. nobody talks about how that so many trains go through elkhart that 3 other trains went by while the long one was passing, making it a quadruple train meet

[@markjohnson4962]

My observation: Two Engines and many, many, many cars = Empty Cars. The Plywood and Flat Cars and Gondolas were empty. Presuming the Tank and Hopper cars were also empty. This allowed the quick stopping.

[@samuel_towle]

That is a huge amount of mass to stop that quickly, I can't imagine what might have happened if that train went into emergency in a high speed section of track.

[@Carveaholic]

Bet that spilled the engineer's coffee.

[@silicon212]

As fast as that came to a stop, and how those cars bounced around during the quick stop, I'd be walking the train to make sure all the wheels were still railed. That one car looked like it went on the ground.

[@for2utube]

Reminds me of some hot arrivals riding LA metro green line.

[@TheMetGuy]

Very good video

[@taslimchoudhary1253]

Nice Video 👍👍🇮🇳👍👍

[@andrewrosti7477]

nice catch.

[@davidhibbs6989]

Sounded like 2 bombs going off a second apart 😮

[@hirisk761]

Good thing those weren't racks. Cars inside would've come out!

[@FishKepr]

“Trains take over a mile to stop!” “Challenge accepted.”

[@wheeling827]

WOW. Crazy!

[@conwayproductions]

Are the stockholders ok?

[@LeoLeo-qo7yw]

How long was this train? Two other trains went by and this one was still going!!

[@CRPULSE300]

I counted 4

[@ibanez0711]

And all this time they said you couldn't stop a train on a dime...

[@B-and-O-Operator-Fairmont]

Well, it does help they weren't going to fast when the air dumped.

[@SgtChip]

You're not kidding, that was quick.

[@unity3596]

That was a hard stop that CEFX hopper was shaking

[@bruceferrero8178]

You carry the knuckle. No, you carry the knuckle. But it's your turn!

[@NE-Explorer]

The hand brakes at the end of the train were left fully applied. Thats why there was separation and thats why it stopped so quickly.

[@mere619]

That was amazing 🤯

[@DeweyCheatumNHoweLLC]

Lucky crew it was close to the yard so they could have help.

[@russellgxy2905]

I feel like it's worth noting most of these cars seemed empty, but still that's unreal! Guess we can say the brakes were working

[@joanschultz4838]

Trains shouldn't be that long.

[@daviddowling9830]

Why

[@ns_guy5149]

?

[@Acehitman369]

What?🧐

[@WSOR6604]

Profit over safety. If regulation doesn't put a stop to PSR its only going to get worse. The only reason railroads might run shorter trains is when they realize autonomous operations aren't capable of running the shitcanned mess of trains that are being built.

[@Losttoanyreason]

It was long trains like this that got me into the habit of always having a book or two in the car for the long waits, LOL. The train obviously wasn't flying but still must have been empty to have stopped that quickly. I've seen it take at least a mile or more to stop a heavily ladened train.

[@OkieOtaku]

And the train crews go "what in the F$#& just happened?!"

[@DoryRail]

Awesome location, Wonderful video.

[@andywomack3414]

It appears the train parted after an air-hose failed or some such defect occurred toward the rear of the train, causing a forward moving wave of brakes being set from the point of the failure. The loud boom was the slack violently running out. That is my guess, based on having seen stuff like that happen when I worked for the railroad. Train crew members riding in the caboose on long trains have been injured by slack running in as train was stopping. That abrupt stop as a light moving caboose runs into the stopped train can propel a person not braced from one end of the car to the other. That few inches of slack between couplings over the length of the train adds up to about 20 feet by the time it reaches the caboose. Or used to.

[@brokeforrailent]

Stopped like a Model Train! Lol!

[@weeardguy]

Yes, the signal was red so power to the tracks was cut ;)

[@n5ifi]

Thats what we called straight air. Engineer didn't bleed off the engine brakes when it went into emergency.

[@milbournema]

Unless the sound is out of sync with the visual, the shot at ~1:50 sure sounds like the train "blew" somewhere else and THEN the rear section has the unusual fast jolting stop with the seen separation happening to be the weakest knuckle found further up the train or the additional strain of being in the crossover to adjacent track. Possibly came from the DPU? Interesting it took just under an hour to fix and get going again.

[@micahned]

Best video of the channel!!!

[@davidrennicke9852]

Are you experienced to stop a train in 10 seconds? The engineers probably have a emergency button in the cab for such an occasion. Kudos to the crew to stop any derailment.

[@B-and-O-Operator-Fairmont]

No button involved. Just pull the brake valve handle. Of course, if the air hoses have parted the air automatically applies absent any action of the engineer, although they usually "bail off" the engine brakes to keep from sliding the engine's wheels. Although the control (triple) valves act faster and the compressors have more capacity, today's air brake is essentially the same design George Westinghouse patented in 1869.

[@davidrennicke9852]

@@B-and-O-Operator-Fairmont Thank you for that information. I didn't know about those features for the crew.

[@jaanfo3874]

I would say the emergency application caused the train separation. Looks to me like the emergency started near the rear of the train the way the rear of the train stopped before the front. Either the crew deliberated dumped the air and thus activated the EOT emergency switch, or whatever caused the emergency application happened near the rear.

[@bccarl88]

Oh and it's pouring down rain. F in the Chat for the Conductor who has to change the knuckle(s)

[@owen_merle]

THATS CRAZY

[@tmlafrance]

Looks like the ETD set off an emergency application, or it sensed an air hose separation and dumped it. I've never seen anything like this, that's for sure.

[@palco22]

Can you imagine the height you would jump at that very moment it banged to a sudden stop ! It would take a lot of help to get back down to earth !

[@13BGunBunny]

It's almost as if something snagged the last car and said *_NO!_*

[@larrymcneil8038]

Man that’s a long walk back

[@fredthompson4568]

The Slamming couplers Boom was heard for miles im sure.

[@mrcrazywar12themadness41]

Well the train had a DPU so maybe because of that to

[@lucasnuns]

Man! If a stop soo quickie, how that wagons don´t derailed. The sound look´s like a explosion...

[@catlover2368]

1:16 hopper cars: OUCH! that one hurt!

[@RailRoadRex439]

I was in Elkhart when this happened, but unfortunately I was at a friends house when it happened. I had been there about 20 minutes before the split

[@SoCalOCRailfan]

Probably the air brakes and the other valves of the train had issues like the one in Chehalis, Washington.

[@loganmalough2379]

Imagine the inertia!

[@northernerierailroadproduc114]

WOW.

[@mrcrazywar12themadness41]

You can see all the cars stop then they all shake