From: j.albert@snet.net   
      
   On 2/18/15 2:47 PM, conklin wrote:   
   > According to press reports, the drailment of the oil train in West Virginia   
   > was inspected 3 days before the accident.   
   > For those of you who track the technology aspect of railroads, what exactly   
   > does such an "inspection" consist of?  Is the track in such crummy shape   
   > that it fails 3 days after passing inspection?  It seems as if better   
   > inspections need to be made.   
      
   You didn't say -what kind- of "inspection" took place.   
      
   It could have been a hi-rail truck with a track foreman conducting a   
   visual inspection for obvious defects.   
      
   Or, could it have been a Sperry rail car inspection for rail integrity?   
      
   I haven't seen anything that states what the presumed cause of the   
   derailment was.   
      
   Was it a broken rail?   
   Pulled-apart joint?   
   Broken wheel?   
   Burned off journal?   
      
   Sometimes a run-of-the-mill inspection doesn't disclose anything, until   
   a short time later when the train comes along and discovers the defect!   
      
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