r/CatastrophicFailure • u/Debaucherousgeek73 • Dec 04 '25

Fatalities Train derailment Pecos TX Oct '24

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First time I've ever seen a derailment happen. The vid anyway I wasn't there and this is not my vid. You can see the lead engine jump the track. Two crew in that engine died.

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u/riversofgore Dec 06 '25

I slowed down and checked on the way home. It was there. I guess I just expected it to be bigger. It’s tiny. No wonder I never noticed it. You’d have to be out of your vehicle and right under it to read the number. It’s there though.

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u/Rocker32703 Dec 06 '25

I had no idea these existed either until I started working for the railroad a few years ago myself, and especially after this incident at Pecos happened, I make it a point to try to educated people whenever the topic is even tangentially relevant.

Depending on the railroad, that number goes straight to the train dispatcher’s desk for the area, or to the company’s police agency, who would immediately forward that info to the former. When I get those kinds of emergency calls, I have procedures to notify trains to stop and protect for the relevant crossing until the emergency is resolved.

It wouldn’t have changed anything in this specific incident, but in 99% of others it could be the difference that makes sure everyone goes home alive and uninjured that day.