OGR causes OCD

[Tom Dempsey]

Fresh rust

[webenda]

It is rust. You can tell from the rust on the knuckle face that it has been sitting there long enough to develop a good coating of rust. The coupler broke out on the line and this car was set aside on the nearest sidetrack. I would not be surprised if it is now officially, "lost."
Reference: http://photos.nerail.org/showpic/?photo ... 15&key=CSX

[G3750]

One of the theories that surfaced in 2012 says that weather conditions contributed to both the sinking and the failure of the Californian to see Titanic. An examination of water temperatures and meteorological data indicates that Titanic encountered the iceberg at the exact junction of the Labrador current (cold water) and the Gulf Stream (warm water). The result was extreme atmospheric refraction and what is known as a cold weather mirage. In a cold weather mirage, the horizon is raised up to meet the sky. When it disperses, the horizon drops. For hot weather mirages (Wayne, you see these all the time as ponds of water that appear on the highway in the distance), the opposite occurs.

So Titanic is steaming at speed, the lookouts relying on the very starry night (no moon) to identify icebergs as black shapes against the backdrop of stars. They expected to have at least 30 minutes warning of icebergs under the circumstances. Instead, the mirage disappeared, the horizon dropped, and there was the iceberg 30 seconds ahead.

After the collision, the Titanic thought they saw another steamer and attempted to signal it via Morse-lamp. Californian thought they saw another ship, but couldn't identify it. The reason? Twinkly lights / stars (refraction) made reading morse code (dots - dashes) impossible. Californian thought the other steamer had a blinking mast head light. The light eventually appeared to recede in the distance (sink).

This theory was put forth by Tim Maltin in his e-book A Very Deceiving Night, Tim Maltin, 2012, Malt House Books. Smithsonian Channel had a TV program called “Titanic’s Final Mystery” based on Tim Maltin’s work. It was fascinating. Maltin researched this theory pretty extensively. He also thinks the quality of the steel was not a factor. No ship could have survived such a side-swiping accident. There hasn't been one since.

George

[Roy]

There are so many factors involved in this wreck. If they had maintained forward speed when they spotted the berg, instead of throwing the engines in reverse, they would have been able to turn enough to miss the berg.

[chuck]

There are so many factors involved in this wreck.

Pretty much every time they had to make a decision they made the wrong one because the safety of the passengers and ship were pretty far down the list.

[Tom Dempsey]

Seems like an awful lot of Monday Morning Quarterbacking here. The folks on the bridge have to make instantaneous decisions based on experience and the facts at hand. How often have you instinctively slammed on the brakes on an icy road when you "knew better"?

[Roy]

How often have you instinctively slammed on the brakes on an icy road when you "knew better"?

I live in LA, so pretty much never. However, if I had been trained on how to drive on ice, I would be more likely to do the effective thing. These guys should've known what to do - and why.

[MurphOnMillerAve]

Seems like an awful lot of Monday Morning Quarterbacking here. The folks on the bridge have to make instantaneous decisions based on experience and the facts at hand. How often have you instinctively slammed on the brakes on an icy road when you "knew better"?

That's a really interesting point, to me, because it reminds me of my first experience with "Black Ice."

I had just taken delivery of my new 1989 Cadillac Sedan Deville, driving it from NJ to Upstate NY for its inaugural adventure. I stayed the Thanksgiving Day weekend and, on Sunday, stopped on the return trip homeward for dinner and a beer or three. Instead of taking Rt.81 south, NewJersey-ward, I decided to take Rt.11 which is a 2-lane rural road, set down in a valley, below Rt11, alongside the Tioughnioga River , because the sky had started to mist-up further, getting colder, and a less traveled road seemed the better choice.

As I traveled southward down Rt11, I came upon a slight downward grade and immediately saw the shiny surface in front of me. It was Black Ice, a condition I had never experienced previously. I could have pulled off into a rough-hewn small rest area, at the top of the grade, but did not, However, I knew enough NOT to slam on my brakes and figured the front-wheel-drive would do a good job for me. I don't think I let the car even get up to 20 mph. However, as the road curved to the right, the Caddy did not. It kept going straight, downhill. I can still see the faces of the older couple sitting in their beige Buick Regal at the bottom of the grade, starting up the hill, as my car headed straight for them. They stopped. My car would have none of that. It kept progressing toward them.

I decided to steer quickly to the right, toward the shoulder. Nothing. Still headed straight at the Buick, now stopped totally, waiting for what might happen next.

I tried again. Nothing. So I decided to steer into the direction of my skid, having heard, somewhere, that such a move was best. Caddy kept having its will, heading straight for the Buick, but picking up speed, and granting me no control whatsoever. I saw the couple's mouths fall open.

SOOOOooooo, I turned the wheel all the way to the right, and did so abruptly. The car pulled a 360, and ended up still headed straight at the Buick. I yanked the steering wheel to the right again, this time making a 180, trunk area slamming into the guardrail, WHACK WHACK, as the taillight housing and my rear license plate were ripped off the car (discovered later). AND I found myself, now, slumped into the shoulder, facing traffic, uphill , which had become paralyzed, seeing my merry-go-rounding antics.

I carefully turned the wheel to the right, and the car co-operated , this time, turning the 180 needed, heading southward down Rt11. whereupon I headed for home, after resting a distance from the bottom of the hill to catch my breath. I never did find the license plate or the taillight housing.

I'm not sure what I learned that day about driving. Perhaps, my lesson was paying proper attention to the weather reports and not traveling out into an icy world. Maybe that's what the Titanic learned, too, albeit it far too late.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

I'm not sure what I learned that day about driving.

Really?

I think you learned a lot about your own mortality, something about ice and driving, and probably how to clean brown stains off upholstery,

[Roy]

Would chains have helped?

[chuck]

This isn't about what they did when they were 10 minutes from the ice berg. This is the:

Designer

not using full water tight bulkheads (because what did happen wasn't supposed to happen)

Builder

using iron rivets on the stern and bow areas to save money/time.
using second "best" instead of "Best Best" iron rivets (to save money and time)

Owner

Removing safety gear (life boats) to save weight (more $$$ for cargo) and it made the ship more aesthetically pleasing (we won't need that gear because she can't sink)

Insisting on more northerly (aka shorter) route to save fuel and maybe break the time record (at the expense of putting the ship at further risk)

Insisting on going at max speed (same reason)

Captain

Agree to the above two items. I understand you don't want to PO your boss but this cost the captain and a lot of other people their lives

Officers and Crew

They knew she was sinking. They should have put every effort into deploying ALL of the available safety resources effectively instead of trying to "avoid panic". There was enough material on board with people with the correct skill sets to rig up additional flotation material. They may not have been able to save everyone but they could have saved a lot more than they did.

[MurphOnMillerAve]

I'm not sure what I learned that day about driving.

Really?

I think you learned a lot about your own mortality, something about ice and driving, and probably how to clean brown stains off upholstery,

Uh. Well. Uh. Err. Yes.
And I learned (now that you have made a fine point out of it) that no matter how shiny and new and good-lookin some thing is, it is going to get smacked around a bit, sooner or later, including us. So, I might just as well relax, be careful, and treasure every minute, as well as every friend and acquaintance (of course!) Yup. I did learn. Or at least I reviewed stuff I already had in me.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

I'm not sure what I learned that day about driving.

Really?

I think you learned a lot about your own mortality, something about ice and driving, and probably how to clean brown stains off upholstery,

Uh. Well. Uh. Err. Yes.
And I learned (now that you have made a fine point out of it) that no matter how shiny and new and good-lookin some thing is, it is going to get smacked around a bit, sooner or later, including us. So, I might just as well relax, be careful, and treasure every minute, as well as every friend and acquaintance (of course!) Yup. I did learn. Or at least I reviewed stuff I already had in me.

Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

[MurphOnMillerAve]

Thoughts, Ideas. Notions. BELIEFS. (I know you're being playful.)

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Thoughts, Ideas. Notions. BELIEFS. (I know you're being playful.)

My mind is aglow with whirling, transient nodes of thought careening through a cosmic vapor of invention.