Those are shades, they use them in Brasil when the sun is shining and it's over 120 degrees ....they are not blanked out

Yes they run with very close headways

Here Here !

You’re 💯 correct

It is not railways’ obligation to give money to people for doing things that are not needed.

@@marioxerxescastelancastro8019 so,, driving a train,, is unnecessary?

Pretty much, though to be fair automation would allow us to work on other things. This is why everyone should be given a base pay to live, without the costly cancer that is the owners and execs. Machines do our work, and we all live better (but only if we get rid of the top).

Thanks mate , yes lucky to get that , needed to wait five hours to get it though , don't know how many games of Freecell I played while waiting

@@johnphillips592 Thank you for taking the trouble on behalf of everyone who has watched and enjoyed the whole reporting. It was lovely. You should divide the number of games of Freecell played by the number of people who have watched the video. It think the ratio will _definitely_ be less than one ! ✊🏼🤘🏼🤗

Thanks for that , I worked for Rio Tinto for a while back in the nineties on their loco simulators .

Currently in ti tree 😂

Glad you enjoyed it , please check out my other videos some more iron ore trains as well as others , thank you .

Thanks , glad it brought back happy memories

Hi I used to work on this rail line back in the 90’s Great times I could still identify many locations Been up and down that track many times Thanks for the memories I remember when those locos were brand new We watched them being unloaded at the dock and taken to seven mile workshops for the bogie installation… Cheers

@@batmanlives6456 Thanks , glad it brought back some memories for you .

Thank you , glad you enjoyed it

Thank you Robyn , they have had a lot of rain over there in recent months .

Thank you , it's an interesting railway

@@johnphillips592 ❤️

I know it well.

0k

Copper metal cannot be it. It has to copper compound which usually have green colour like copper suphate. Copper ores have green colour blue colour like malachite. If Rio Tonto in span was coloured red then it was because of iron ore like Hematite of Limonite.

@@leopardtiger1022 You are a very knowledgeable bot.

Thanks , glad you enjoyed it .

Thank you , glad you enjoyed it , yes it was a long trip to get there but worth it .

I'm guessing that these rail lines are exclusively Rio Tinto so they can have it all automated without any issues. I don't think you would be able to do that on US mainlines.

@@vijayanchomatil8413 Yes , only Rio Tinto iron ore trains use this line .

I disagree for us here in America, I want a human in the seat. Rio Tinto has very little crossings and what people are track side are workers, a random railfan that's it. This line is perfect for computers to run on, set train length each weighs more or less the same, with no towns. in America our trains are never the same every time. Rio Tinto and a guy on youtube (David Rayner) made great videos how the system works. But for other parts of the world this is not going to work as well, too many variables.

Thanks Jeff , it was a long way to get there but worth the effort .

The driver was off the train checking something and brakes were not set properly due to air fault. Train moved off and with down gradient all the way to coast could not be stopped. It was deliberately derailed.

@@gjlwpl So, in other words, another reason for the automation of the trains

Not really. Since the driver was inspecting a fault, if the train was unmanned they would still have had to send a crew out by road. This would probably take hours out there. It is not a simple economic equation.

@@andrewblake2254 Any malfunction on automatic train while en route costs you more money than in train with driver - assuming that driver is skilled enough to repair it by himself. It means that more pressure is put on service crews and more money is spent on maintentance in depot. Same discussions are running in my industry - how much would it cost if crewless ships would brake down in the middle of the ocean?

Yes at least the onboard driver can do some diagnostic work. And failing that have a walk round to look. @@plasot

Thanks ,Yes it's pretty impressive

I don't know why you're impressed. Of all vehicles, a train is the simplest to automate. It moves in a one-dimensional world (vs 2 for automobiles and 3 for airplanes), with guaranteed rights of way.

@@strnbrg59 Because I really like trains and I think this is cool?

@@FurryFailure driverless trains have been around for decades

@@strnbrg59 Just because its the "simplest" doesnt mean its "simple". These are different words. There is still a shit load of programming when it comes to automating trains.

What up, my fellow fur?

GE AC 4400s, pretty standard for NA.

The locos are fully imported from the US , they are the same locos as used there .

@@johnphillips592 is all of your track the same gauge or just places like this? In other words, could any US train run any AUS track?

@@Hugo5t1gl1tz All states are now connected by standard gauge but we don't have the loading gauge to import U.S. locos , check out studio.kzfaq.infoVnwEeyFties/edit for examples of our diesels .

Sooner or later we'll be seeing more trains like this in the U.S.

Thanks for that , enjoyed making it and glad you enjoyed it

Thanks for your kind comment , glad you enjoyed it .

Agreed , they do look like Dareks .

Agreed , some are a bit grotty ,

It is more because of dirt than deterioration of the paint. They should wash the locomotives.

Because western Australia has people lining up to look at the things.

Pilbara trains have always looked gritty. It is beautiful.

The environment is harsh - lots of dust and strong sun. It's not a place tourists go

True , not much out there .

Thanks for this great comment Eric much appreciated .

Did you practice lots of marriage formalities?

@@MilwaukeeF40C yes had turns cooking and washing up,if things went wrong,hot wheels,bearings,emergency application, the driver did the walking, otherwise possible seperation.

better than smelling the other bloke in the cab

Thanks James , glad you enjoyed the footage , cheers

@@johnphillips592 Hi John. Did you travel to Australia specifically in order to film the ore trains ? Absolutely loved the aerials. James.

@@FrogandFlangeVideo I live in Melbourne and was on a caravan trip around Australia , have visited there several times before , my first KZfaq video was on these trains

@@johnphillips592 My brother referred your video to me. Coincidentally I had just weekes ago did a little dive into the rail action in the Pilbara, Cool stuff happening ther. Thanks John. James.

This might help. It's a video about the system from Hitachi, and includes shots of the Perth control room - kzfaq.info/get/bejne/fN-VlZtyts_LY6s.html - the trains have lots of safety features including collision avoidance and real time video. And this is a driver setting up a train at the port to return to the mining area - kzfaq.info/get/bejne/eKqSmaeG1rbRaHk.html . It seems that the trains run up to the designated mine under full auto, get loaded and return. The only place with real drivers is at the port.

I am sure it is loaded with computerized electronics but it was possible 100 years ago with standard railroad signal track circuits and electromechanical devices.

This is an iron ore system and is connected to anything else. No passenger trains so it's easier to automate.

Avoid failure or collision? They can’t! It would take a few miles to stop, and there’s no way to avoid a breakdown, outside routine maintenance.

Thanks , glad you enjoyed it as much as I did making it .

Trains that have ptc (not sure if it's that exact system) are pretty much autonomous. Ptc is something like adaptive cruise control. The train will automatically speed up and slow down, compensate for hills etc.

We've had driverless commuter trains on a light railway in London since the mid-1980s I think. I'm amazed that they aren't more widespread, given the continual push to cut costs.

@@anotherfreediver3639 I’ve heard some commuter rails in USA cities have the capability but the “optics” of having a driver-less train they feel doesn’t go over well with the public. I think many systems use the approach mentioned where a driver sits at the controls as a back-up in case anything goes wrong. Maybe a lifelike mannequin could suffice? 🤔

Wait til you learn NASA's rocket flew to the Moon with 1960's computers.

@@Quasihamster 💩👤 🧌

Thanks , glad you enjoyed it .

There is no "remote operator" in this level of tech. It's remotely monitored, in this case 1500 miles away. Night and day difference.

Good luck trying to find a forest in that part of Australia.

@@Mikishots Yeah it's kind of hard to see something go wrong with the train by eye from 1500 miles away. but hey, as long as it hurts the rail unions it's worth it (assuming you're a rail exec)

Well I think it would be unlikely that a driver of such a train could witness a spark flying from a 500 ft train, landing in some grass and smouldering into a fire, while driving a train at the same time but perhaps the Canadian train drivers have superior vision. In the UK. it's just a relief when the drivers are actually in the train and not on strike.

@@richardhasler6718 those trains average about 2.4km in length with the record being 7.3km. A human driver can’t even see the end of the train they are driving. And even if they see an obstruction on the rail ahead of them they can’t stop in time. Hence the dependence on remote sensors - which can be monitored 1,500 miles away from the Pilbara in a central facility in Perth.

That is new rail ready to be installed on the curve

Yes but we know what you mean. Lol.

At Rio Tinto they call them ballast.

Hello Cesar , thank you , glad you enjoy my videos and thanks for the comment .

My understanding is that there is a human supervisor watching them for the whole trip. They can do an emergency stop remotely from a Perth control centre

@@Mechknight73 Yes - they are driven by humans its just that they are not located in the cabin.

No doubt that they can stop that train remotely. But if something is going wrong and building up to a potential accident how would they know apart from continous surveillance by camera all along the length of the train .

@@ianmontgomery7534 No, they are not driven by humans in Perth. The train controller does nothing more than they used to - operate the signals to tell the train (was once the driver, now the train) when to start and stop. Based on the signals, the train drives itself. Eg; If the signal 20kms ahead is at stop, a driver can choose to keep going at full speed, stop at the signal, and wait for it to clear or he can slow down now and if the signal has cleared before he gets there he won't have to stop, or he can stop anywhere between here and there (say, on a downhill grade rather than the uphill grade the signal is on to make starting off easier) and wait for it to clear (I say 'signal' but it's all in the cab so yes, you can see a signal that's 20 kms away). The train controller nor the program that runs the train can't do that. All the controller can do is set the signal to stop and the train will continue at track speed until it gets to where braking would normally occur to stop at that signal.

@@jkardez4794 They don't. No one is looking at the view from the camera. The only time they do is when an impact sensor on the loco alarms so they look to see what the train has hit (usually a cow) but whatever it was, they only see it after the event and then decide whether or not to stop the train. There was a time around 2016 while they were still testing it that a driver of an empty train rolling down the hill towards where the Robe train was filmed noticed that a man who had obviously decided to kill himself had laid his neck across the track. The driver slammed on the brakes and stopped before he cut the man's head off but had that been an AutoHaul train, no one would've known until the driver of a Robe train (still manned to this day because Robe will not spend the money to AutoHaul their track) came along and then only if it was daylight.

What does that mean? Where are the dirivers? Are they in Perth? Or are they on the train? Or are the working from home?

If the trains have operators, why are the insides of the windshields covered?

​@@3sierra15 its a literal shade that protects from the outback scrotching sun

​​@@johnfenn yes there is a control facillity where these trains are controlled

They can always learn to code.

Nice one , reminds me of the cane trains in Queensland shunting by the driver on the ground with a remote control

He was right I worked at a RR USSteel I started in 1973 by late 70’s early 80’s off come the backpack a box about 10 to 12 inches wide to 4 inches deep 4 inches tall placed on a belt rite in front of your belly he would stand on the ground and could see some lights on one of the four corners of the engine and the roe of different colors lights would tell him what the engine was about to do stop,reverse,forward or pumping air. He would throw switches and sometimes he would have another person on the other end of train with a radio telling him what to do

@@buffalobob7172 Thank you for the info!!!

5 weeks

Wrong, the driver sets everything up at the mine....he dismounts about a minute before the train departs

yes

Driver or not , if you get in the way of these trains they wont stop in a hurry .

I suspect that having a hazardous encounter with a driverless train is way, way, down on the list of things that can kill you in that locale.

you done?

@@OregonCrowno

I worked on the two perma nent line camps and just to see the rail grinder at work during the night in winter with ahalf moon was mind blowing, i called the scene the lonely Dragon serpent, the pilbara has always been a magical place for me.

Thanks , glad you enjoyed it , yes , most of the iron ore is shipped overseas .

That's not true, though iron mining is certainly waning in the US with mines continuing to shutdown (this has been the pattern with every type of ore). But there are still a handful in operation, producing millions of tons annually. Not just refining, but actual mining. Though there are also reclamation efforts from tailings, that might be what you're referring to.

Yes , he didn't like me parking where I did but he was quite friendly about it, and you will notice I went back there again later but parked in a different place

Yes when this was filmed last year there had been a lot of rain in the region

Might have been a lot cheaper ,lol

I think it is technically possible.

It is set to auto by an employee on the ground then the control centre in Perth takes over .

David Rayner has a video showing how it’s done - he’s obviously one of the drivers or was one. He set it all up, locked the loco cab, radioed up the control folks and they sent the train on its merry little way. Unto about half an hour ago I had no idea such a system existed - I’m from Scotland and we have nothing similar. It’s amazing to see such a massive train trundle away on its own!

@@Highland_Moo Yes, I retired in Dec 2019 after 10 years at Cape Lambert. BTW, I was in Scotland in 2018 went the system went 'live'. Absolutely beautiful place. On my last shift before I went, I drove a train from Tom Price to Cape Lambert and when I came back 6 weeks later, I was told I'd never go there again and I didn't. Spent my final year in the yard and on the Robe line. At least we at Cape Lambert had the Robe line. No other depot still drives on the main line at all. Very sad.

Driver salary is us$100k a year plus cost of flights and accommodation Rio pay for

Here in Ireland, GM locos in the more remote stations were left idling overnight in case they wouldn't cold start in the morning

Don't think so , far too remote

Thanks , glad you enjoyed it .

@@johnphillips592 subscribed :)

@@robbie8466 Thanks for that , much appreciated , please feel free to check out my other videos

From a control center in Perth

Around 240 on most trains

Iron ore

240.

About 240 wagons long , weight varies depending on the loading , fines being heavier .

Over a kilometre long if I remember correctly

Actually its 2.4 kilometres long

Sorry , can't help you there .

😂

They aren't frosted they are the sun blinds and they still use drivers on the Robe River mine line

In this case no, they were replacing a bridge girder just up the track , no trains could get through

There are cameras on the locos that are monitored from the control room but these trains are heavy and don't stop easily , maned or not .

Thanks , glad you enjoyed it , feel free to view more of my videos

🙃 guess where I live.

Sorry can't help you there , probably take a while

Even though I’m very much against remote operating machinery and I don’t like big corporations not wanting to pay people there worth. I don’t think any major accidents will happen with these. Since there is literally nothing out there but the “outback”. But over here in North America this “remotely operated trains” will probably never happen. One because large amounts of track run through towns and city’s with people… and a lot of trains Run hazardous chemicals and fuels… and putting those things together = a major disaster waiting to happen. Basically a remote controlled bomb

@@Jabba.Da.Hutt_ and the track can be in poor condition also

@@renniks1975 Very true, and in the case of the US. There is alot of track that is severely worn out and sometimes almost 100 years old or older depending on where you are. I also don’t see these freight companies in the US wanting to spend any extra money they don’t have to unless something is literally falling apart and needs repairs. That’s why a lot of track in the US is in really bad shape in many places. This autonomous driving ore trains in Australia are really just the perfect set of circumstances for that type of technology. Even tho I hate it with a passion

They refer to it as autonomous but not sure .

A remote operator (sitting at a desk in a skyscraper in Perth 1300 kms away) tells it where to go. It uses power and braking as needed to follow the speed limit and signals. However I'm not sure if the AutoHaul makes instantaneous decisions based on gradient and speed etc, or whether there is some sort of pre-programming of the power/braking needed to climb or descend down tricky sections of the line. In theory it can detect when a collision has happened and bring the train to a halt. But my understanding is it won't see a car parked on the tracks and apply brakes before a collision - not that it really matters for a train this heavy.

having to drive for 2 days in a land of middle of nowhere with no human settlements is quite exhausting especially having to crew change