Safety Photos of the Week: Rules are Rules  Good news: It was a normal day (April 18, 2002) in Sharon Springs, KS, when a Union Pacific crew boarded a loaded coal train for the long trek to Salina  Bad news: Just a few miles into the trip a wheel bearing became overheated and melted, letting a metal support drop down and grind on the rail, creating white hot molten metal droppings spewing down to the rail  Good news: A very alert crew noticed smoke about halfway back in the train, stopped the train in compliance with the rules, and walked ½ mile back  Bad news: The car with the hot wheel bearing was stopped on a wooden bridge with creosote ties and trusses; the crew tried to explain to higher-ups but were instructed not to move the broken car; they unhooked the front half of train  Federal Railway Agency Report: one car started the fire; crew stopped train to investigate cause of smoke; car with failed bearing had stopped on top of a wooden bridge and caused heat to ignite bridge; the heat ignited the coal that was loaded in the cars; when train started to fall, coal dust in the air flashed and completely destroyed the bridge and the cars on the bridge  No one hurt; $2M loss 3
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