Possible train part catapults into Palo Alto car Crimes & Incidents, posted by Editor, Palo Alto Online, on Oct 10, 2012 at 10:12 am
A mysterious large object slammed into a parked Chevrolet Suburban in Palo Alto sometime on Monday night, Oct. 8, or Tuesday morning, confounding Palo Alto police and the vehicle's owner.
Read the full story here Web Link posted Wednesday, October 10, 2012, 8:04 AM
Posted by come one, a member of the Palo Alto High School community, on Oct 10, 2012 at 10:12 am
How far was the truck parked from the train tracks? 1000 feet? How many houses did this thing had to fly over to get from the tracks to the truck? I am very dubious about this story. Maybe some neighborhood punks picked up some loose debris from near the train tracks then carried it to where the truck was parked.
Posted by Dave, a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood, on Oct 10, 2012 at 10:36 am
The curved shape with bolts makes me think it could be a brake part. Only other explanation would be construction debris dropped on the tracks near Charleston and hit by a south bound train.
Posted by Mr.Recycle, a resident of the Duveneck/St. Francis neighborhood, on Oct 10, 2012 at 11:46 am
@Come One - Park Blvd is only ~150 feet from the track, not 1000.
If you look at the pictures and see how the large heavy piece of metal was deeply embedded into the truck, a couple things are obvious. Neighborhood punks didn't drag piece over. It had a lot of velocity, so it could have cleared the houses. Still, it would be interesting to see the trajectory of the debris to see how it happened.
Posted by Jan H., a resident of the Old Palo Alto neighborhood, on Oct 10, 2012 at 1:51 pm Jan H. is a member (registered user) of Palo Alto Online
The article said that the object was made of cement, with large bolts projecting out of it. That doesn't sound like a train part. It sounds more like construction debris. But, how did it get on the tracks? Kids leave things on the tracks all the time to watch the train hit it and see what happens. But this object sounds pretty heavy and unwieldy for kids to drag onto the tracks.
Posted by Reality Check, a resident of another community, on Oct 10, 2012 at 3:29 pm
From the photos, it looks much to thin to be a molded piece of concrete. I'd guess it's some type of metal casting (cast iron or cast aluminum or some other metal). It does seem plausible that it's some railroad or locomotive part, propelled through the air into the back of the truck by a moving train. PAPD should let some railroad experts look it over.
PAPD should definitely prepare and post some high-resolution/quality photos of the object taken from different angles with a yardstick alongside it to allow viewers to gauge its dimensions. If it really is a railroad part, once the word gets out, you can bet someone in the huge network of online rail fans and professionals will correctly identify the object in no time.
Posted by musical, a resident of the Palo Verde neighborhood, on Oct 10, 2012 at 3:36 pm
Fascinating. Ditto on the request for higher resolution photos, and give the weight also. Doesn't look like a brake pad to me. Also if that UP label is a paper sticker, then it's not a part that's exposed to much weather or heat.
Posted by Reality Check, a resident of another community, on Oct 10, 2012 at 4:19 pm
Ok, upon further study of the photos, the exact location the Suburban was parked <Web Link; -- which you can tell from the first photo is right in front of 4242 Newberry Court (with its back toward the corner with Park) -- I'm growing skeptical that it was flung there from a passing train. The back of Suburban was facing Park and the tracks. If it was "launched" into the air by a passing train, the angle of entry suggests it had to be a north-bound train. If it was hit by a train, it had to be at the level of the rails behind the house at 4253 Park and somehow, very improbably, cleared the fence, the trees, the houses between the tracks and the street in front of 4243 Newberry.
The other problem I have with the train part theory is that the part is too damn clean. Ever really take a close look at anything on a train? Nothing on a train is that clean. There is always a patina of grit/grime/oil or whatever on most any exterior train part(s) -- especially down low in the area of the running gear of locomotives and cars.
The item definitely appears to be a metal casting of some sort though.
Posted by Reality Check, a resident of another community, on Oct 10, 2012 at 4:23 pm
The article gave the item's weight at 20 pounds.
The Google Maps link to a street view of 4242 Newberry (the point of impact) got screwed up by Palo Alto Online's weblink mangler. Here it is again Web Link
Posted by Jim Bacon, a resident of the Downtown North neighborhood, on Oct 10, 2012 at 7:13 pm
It is not part of a train. I have spent the last 17 years as a Freight Car Inspector, and am also familiar with locomotive parts. Most, if not all parts found on railway cars and locomotices are made of forged steel, formed steel or cast steel. Sheet metal parts are rolled and formed, punched and welded in place. Assembled parts under modular construction techniques are usually anodized or painted. Most all are ususally filthy with road grime, unless new. I have looked at these pictures and have thought about all the parts I have become familair with over the years, and I cannot make this chunk fit into any scenario.
The tag is a sticker by computer generation, similar to inventory control stickers. Most new parts come this way, but they don't ever desginate railroad ownership, only part numebers or assmbly process controls. UP 9999 doesn't mean that it's from a Union Pacific train, anyway. UP 9999 could mean anything, and it might only be one of several stickers from the part.
In my opinion, the guy backed his SUV into something and this part broke off in his hatchback. Given that it appears to be made of a cast metal or composite ceramice, it would have brittle qualities, making it easy to break apart. If it launched from somewhere into his SUV, there should be 'crumbs' under his bumper form impact, and likely other pieces in the path from whereever it came from. Anyway, I bet he accidentally backed into something pretty hard, like a piece of machinery sitting at a dock or job site, broke the hell out of whatever it was and decide to scram.
Posted by Donald, a resident of the South of Midtown neighborhood, on Oct 10, 2012 at 7:20 pm
I agree that the marking UP 9999 has nothing to do with a train number. While UP may mark their engines with that number, they don't mark every part that makes up the engine. Just like the tires on your car have manufacturer markings that have nothing to do with your VIN, this UP 9999 has nothing to do with a train number.
Posted by Random Railroader, a resident of another community, on Oct 10, 2012 at 8:37 pm
It should also be noted that Union Pacific #9999 is an EMD SD40-2 locomotive that hasn't left North Platte, Nebraska in over 3 months, and has been based there since 2006. I call BS.
Posted by Anon, a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood, on Oct 10, 2012 at 9:29 pm
We don't know who has access to the vehicle. Someone else may have driven it. But, it could also have been parked in a different location and the owner didn't know that someone banged into his vehicle.
To me, the fragment looks like part of a concrete pipe. There is a lot of utility construction work going on in Palo Alto and Mountain View. Someone from one of the companies involved could have crashed into his vehicle somewhere else and then departed quickly, leaving only this fragment. He could have driven it home and left it overnight, and not noticed until morning.
The "train part" hypothesis is extremely unlikely.
Posted by Brian, a resident of the Evergreen Park neighborhood, on Oct 10, 2012 at 9:57 pm
I really have no "concrete" idea what happened, but I will add my two cents. Maybe a Greenwaste truck hit the car with it's bumper. That happened in my neighborhood a few months back, and the damage to the parked car was substantial.
Posted by Railroader, a resident of another community, on Oct 11, 2012 at 5:46 pm
UP Locomotive 9989 is currently in South San Francisco with a failed dynamic brake fan, the fan apparently flew apart during a run up the peninsula early yesterday, causing damage to the roof of the locomotive. Have fun with that information!
Posted by Old Palo Alto, a resident of the Old Palo Alto neighborhood, on Oct 11, 2012 at 9:23 pm
I think this is actually the broken off end of a concrete truck chute. Either he backed into the concrete truck or the most likely the truck backed into his car while it was parked somewhere. The truck driver most likely would not even feel the collision given the weight of those vehicles.
Posted by Senior RFE, a resident of East Palo Alto, on Oct 12, 2012 at 8:52 pm
That part is indeed part of the dynamic brake assembly for that locomotive in question. There is no doubt about these facts, it's not concrete, it's not the drivers fault it's an engine part.
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