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Letter: Inspections track safety of rail cars

The Columbian
Published: August 1, 2014, 12:00am

Margaret Vrooman’s letter of July 27, “Poor maintenance will add to delays,” shows that she and her husband do not know what they are talking about. What kind of noises were the four railroad cars they observed making — a banging, thumping, squealing, grinding or what? She said her husband’s father worked for the railroad in the 1940s and that he is familiar with the sounds. That was 70 years ago. The railroads and cars have changed a lot, with more modern steel wheel bearings, and new engines that are more fuel efficient and that put out less diesel smoke. They have trackside detectors that tell you when you have a wheel bearing getting hot.

All railroad cars must be inspected at 1,000 or 1,500 miles as per the Federal Railroad Administration. The FRA goes into the railroad yards and inspects the cars. If inspectors find any defects, the railroad company must repair them before the car can leave the railroad yard.

Gary Sachtjen

Vancouver

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