Inspection Detail

Inspection: 106576598 - Nekoosa Papers, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Little Rock Area Office

Investigation Summary

Employee #1 was a brakeman for a company railroad. Normally five or six cars would be spotted on the side of a log rake, a four-legged platform that straddled a flume containing water. A hydraulic backhoe-type machine sat on top of this platform and pulled pulp logs off into the flume. This log rake, when not in use, was normally parked at the north end of the flume. While attempting to uncouple rail cars, Employee #1 apparently was closer to the parked log rake than he thought. The cars had stopped, but he couldn't pull the pin, so he radioed the engineer to "bump it," meaning push the cars slightly to allow some slack to pull the pin. The engineer bumped the eleven car string, but did not get the normal "pull it out" response from the brakeman. He observed other employees running across the yard, so he locked the brakes and also ran to see. Employee #1 had been caught sideways in the 9 1/2 in. space between the parked log rake and rail car. He was killed.

Keywords: RAILROAD CAR, BRAKEMAN, CAUGHT BETWEEN, CRUSHED