How Are Runaway Trains Stopped? | Tales From the Bottle
What happens when a big ol’ train runs rampant with no one to operate it? How do you stop it? And how the hell did this happen in the first place? Qxir answers all in this episode of ‘Tales From the Bottle’!
“The CSX 8888 incident, also known as the Crazy Eights incident, was a runaway train event involving a CSX Transportation freight train in the U.S. state of Ohio on May 15, 2001. Locomotive #8888, an EMD SD40-2, was pulling a train of 47 cars including some loaded with hazardous chemicals, and ran uncontrolled for two hours at up to 82 kilometers per hour (51 mph). It was finally halted by a railroad crew in a second locomotive, which caught the runaway and coupled to the rear car.
As of 2018, #8888 is still in service, having been rebuilt and upgraded into a SD40-3 as part of a refurbishment program carried out by CSX, although its number is now #4389. It previously operated as Conrail #6410, being delivered to the railroad in September 1977.”
More on Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CSX_8888_incident
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@Qxir
January 23, 2026 at 11:02 pm
Second Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCt93hxFmjppL5nLRAX94UrA
Merch: https://teespring.com/stores/qxir
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/qxir
Twitter: https://twitter.com/QxirYT
Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/qxiryt/
Discord: https://discord.gg/jZzvvwJ
Subreddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/Qxir/
@FilipEhn
January 23, 2026 at 11:02 pm
Air breaks dont work when compressed air aplies its when it loses air pressure the brakes applies
@Rainok
January 23, 2026 at 11:02 pm
You missed the best part about the shotgun part
They were shooting at the wrong thing, so even if it didn't need to be held down, they wouldn't've stopped it
@mattyrothcrewoffroadgarage8333
January 23, 2026 at 11:02 pm
5:01 at this point id like to state some things you missed i like this Chanel so I'll be respectful 1st csx 8888 didn't have its airbrakes hooked up and this was standard for yard operations 2nd the airbrakes work by removing air to apply the brakes im a train enthusiast so I know these things by default and I just wanted to help unlike most times with youtubers like bright side videos he gets titanic videos so wrong I have to both laugh and cringe even as a 8 year old I knew more about titanic than that entire channel you're videos are good thoe
@baltulielkungsgunarsmiezis9714
January 23, 2026 at 11:02 pm
55% is not a vast majority. Clearly only a slim majority of your viewers are from the USA, and thus you should use international measurements and they can learn to understand them while the other 45% of your views can get their prefered measurements which are international standard.
Also should have shown the United Nations flat instead of the Europian Union flag for SI measurements.
@Omnywrench
January 23, 2026 at 11:02 pm
Regarding phenol: it’s a mildly acidic petroleum byproduct that’s solid at room temperature but heated to a liquid form during transport. It’s used mainly for producing various chemicals like solvents, explosives, pharmaceuticals, detergents, plastics, nylon, and other stuff. It’s also very corrosive and can cause painful burns to the skin, eyes, and lungs on exposure. It also smells really bad.
@VaniRoyal
January 23, 2026 at 11:02 pm
5:42 I’m american, and both these systems are just made up of arbitrary nonsense to me.
However, the american system wins based purely on baking measurements being more comprehensible.
@jeffcochran2195
January 23, 2026 at 11:02 pm
One you need to watch is runaway train Gloria Roberts brother is in that and forget the other guy but it's classic totally classic in early 80s release
@charlesstribula3477
January 23, 2026 at 11:02 pm
The audio in this video makes you sound like you’re in the crapper. 💩 Absolutely not a commentary on your content. Definitely. Without doubt. Maybe. But as for that mouth…most definitely yes. 💩💩💩
@Sinisterchristopher1967
January 23, 2026 at 11:02 pm
I can read his lips now.
@kallekivimaki7825
January 23, 2026 at 11:02 pm
Is this where Krazy 8 from Br Ba got it's name?
@joshyoung1440
January 23, 2026 at 11:02 pm
Thank god American cops have stopped being so gun-obsessed and reactionary
@tuti5811
January 23, 2026 at 11:02 pm
27
@brian.westersauce
January 23, 2026 at 11:02 pm
What is a stone? I have never used this unit of mass in my life
@Speed_Racer22
January 23, 2026 at 11:02 pm
Go to the pub and ask for 500ml of Guiness, i dare you.
@EvelynYork-m3n
January 23, 2026 at 11:02 pm
Choo choo mofucka
@katietaylor8314
January 23, 2026 at 11:02 pm
🎶🎶Runaway train, never going back, one way on a one-way track🎶🎶
@abrahamedelstein4806
January 23, 2026 at 11:02 pm
5:41 Americans understand metric, they just can't intuit it. In some ways it's annoying that many American Imperial units are kind of close to an easily calculable number, If a foot was 33 or 25cm, if an inch was 25mm, if a pounds was half a kilo, etc, it could easily be used a supplement to the metric system.
@egemertyazıcı
January 23, 2026 at 11:02 pm
CHOO CHOO MOTHER FACKER is really funny😂
@JKHTX
January 23, 2026 at 11:02 pm
6:41 very American "do you fear for your life?" Doesn't have a "no" option.
@Jamfanwp-wsp
January 23, 2026 at 11:02 pm
You mean a train almost mixed the toxic waste on a train with the toxic waste that is the public?
@Fix-It-Jimmy
January 23, 2026 at 11:02 pm
8:27 Chinese viewers just lost internet connection.
@stevenmoran4060
January 23, 2026 at 11:02 pm
In UK train would stop itself unless driver operates the failsafe controls within the required time when required to do so.
Of course this technology is around 100 years ahead of USA safety systems. This is what happens when an insular country thinks it knows it all.
@brianlittle717
January 23, 2026 at 11:02 pm
What about a helicopter?
@tysoncook5152
January 23, 2026 at 11:02 pm
Talking Qxir feels so wrong.
@bulletrain1324
January 23, 2026 at 11:02 pm
5:30 this made me laugh, America is one of the only countrys using the imperial system. And that irritates people, with is agreeable to me as well my friend haha
@sethgeezy
January 23, 2026 at 11:02 pm
Thank you for using imperial measurements
@NSBlack_Stallion
January 23, 2026 at 11:02 pm
Stupid
@LionHeartSamy
January 23, 2026 at 11:02 pm
5:13 "As well as the train master"
BEHOOOOOOOLD! THE TRAIN MASTERRRRRRRRRRR! Stood in front of it on the tracks and said, "HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALT!"
@patrickbureau1402
January 23, 2026 at 11:02 pm
Thx COUZ -OhCANADA🇨🇦BTW
🌺LEST WE FORGET🌺
""On July 6, 2013, a runaway freight train carrying crude oil derailed and exploded in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, killing 47 people and destroying the town center. The train, which had been left unattended on a downward slope in Nantes, Quebec, rolled downhill and derailed near the center of Lac-Mégantic. The derailment released millions of liters of oil, causing a large fire and multiple explosions that damaged numerous buildings and vehicles. ""
@NoCallerID70457
January 23, 2026 at 11:02 pm
Your channel is rubbish.
@sgxbot
January 23, 2026 at 11:02 pm
american rail infrastructure is basically like the rest of the US stuck in the 1800. even germany has a system that stops trains when the train misses a signal or exceeds a certain speed. and pretty much all trains also cut power when brakes are applied
@dangerousthoughts.1591
January 23, 2026 at 11:02 pm
3:49 – I had my ear buds in and was about to fall asleep but instead woke up in a panic😂
@NickKeighley
January 23, 2026 at 11:02 pm
Why are runaway trains a thing in America? Ive never heard of it happening anywhere else
@Sunofmungo
January 23, 2026 at 11:02 pm
Trains shut themselves down now. The system is called PTC (positive train control) it requires a engineer to frequently hit a button to demonstrate someone is in the cab and aware. If no input is made after the train initially applied the brakes, the train will dump the brake pipe applying the brakes fully, and cut all power to the motors. The same amount of braking as if someone pulled the emergency brake cable.
Dynamic braking turns the electric motor into a generator and the power generated is shoved through resistor grids causing heavy resistance slowing the train down. It converts the power generated into heat. At low speed, dynamic brake does not work, it doesnt generate enough electricity
All brakes are applied using air except parking brakes on older trains. Trains like the BL series (14, 20, 40, etc). Newer trains like the GP35 after those series use systems like truck air brakes. Those parking brakes are applied when air pressure is removed, air pressure holds the parking brakes off. One of the newest trains to entered the marking. My Job currently has 4 with more on the way. This trains is practically fully electronic, almost getting rid of relay logic. This train is made from a company called Simans and the new trains called the Charger. Their are a shit load of safety systems in trains to control the train if it gets out of control.
@actiongabby
January 23, 2026 at 11:02 pm
1:23 Not even two minutes in and we already hit the ferroequinologists AND Trainspotting references.
@CGR89
January 23, 2026 at 11:02 pm
Crazy the way that braking system is designed. Imagine having one pedal in your car and you had to press a button to change between accelerate and brake. Could have easily just had a single lever that was neutral in the middle, brake to the left and accelerate to the right.
@rkalle66
January 23, 2026 at 11:02 pm
That's why there is a need to train operators even after 30 years of practise. He did two mistakes. First he left the loco while running. Second he operated the loco the wrong way in trying to avoid a so called "going into emergency".
@hvnterblack
January 23, 2026 at 11:02 pm
Americans have poor braking syystems design. In Europe applying brakes is disconecting power from traction engines. In some locos eletrodynamic brake is applied automatic when engineer use main brake. To get power again, disengage brakes, set power to 0/idle and then raise it. There is no rockest science, simple pressure switch.
@margotrosendorn6371
January 23, 2026 at 11:02 pm
The shotgun method is actually used by the coast guard. When chasing a speedboat, sometimes they shoot the outboard engines to bring it to a halt. Kinda like firing on a car's tires.
@margotrosendorn6371
January 23, 2026 at 11:02 pm
The hell did they think a shotgun was gonna do against a FREIGHT TRAIN? Those things could shrug off a bazooka.
@machfiver753
January 23, 2026 at 11:02 pm
They should've gotten a hobo to board the train at that speed they could have done it easy
@KapitanPisoar1
January 23, 2026 at 11:02 pm
There are separete levers for independent and dynamic brakes. Also to use dymamic brake, the reverser (which is another separete lever) must be in different position…
@ignatiykalakutskiy8992
January 23, 2026 at 11:02 pm
This tshirts should be mandatory for excursion visits to the csx office)
@arztbesucharzt8143
January 23, 2026 at 11:02 pm
The Train that was free for 65 miles
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