Question: When Gilleese sees the brake hoses are disconnected, why doesn't he just connect them there and then?
BaconIsMyBFF
10th Jun 2018
Unstoppable (2010)
19th Sep 2017
Unstoppable (2010)
Question: How did the throttle lever slip from idle to full power? Throttle are notched, and built to require significant force to move to prevent that from happening.
Answer: It's a complicated answer that the movie somewhat glosses over but in the real life incident this film is based on, the engineer purposefully set the throttle at 100% believing that the dynamic braking system would slow the train. The dynamic brake was not properly set, however and this coupled with the fact the automatic air brake was not applied caused the train to slowly accelerate out of control. To read more, visit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CSX_8888_incident.
Dynamic does not work at the speed they were going in the yard.
It's possible that the throttle lever in the movie had a design flaw that allowed it slip.
1st Feb 2014
Unstoppable (2010)
Question: Is it likely that Dewey would have been subject to charges for the death of Judd Stewart? Although the failed plan technically wasn't his fault, the reason for it happening in the first place certainly was.
Chosen answer: Highly unlikely. Dewey's negligence is not a direct cause of Judd's death, as Judd had every opportunity to decline the mission. Judd's family could bring a civil suit against the train company and Dewey personally for wrongful death but even that is a long shot since Judd assumed the risk.
Answer: For intra-yard movements the automatic air brakes are supposed to be disconnected. The independent brake is what Dewey applied and is what is shown slipping out moments after he exits the train.
BaconIsMyBFF