Chapter 1245
The Impossible Investigation: Li Aiguo Unravels the Mystery, Bai De is Executed, and th
Just like road curves, train curves are designed with careful consideration in mind.
simply put.
The smaller the radius, the sharper the bend.
The curvature directly determines the permitted speed of the train.
Therefore, the radius of the curve should be as large as possible, given the available resources.
In later generations, according to standards such as the "Railway Line Design Specification" and the "Railway Technical Management Regulations", the minimum radius of a railway is 200 meters and the minimum speed limit is 45 km/h.
This type of railway is generally used for low-speed operations such as shunting and entering/exiting the depot, and requires the installation of guard rails.
but.
In this era, there are still many old railways left over from before liberation that did not implement this standard.
Liumawan Bend is one of them, with a bend radius of only 100 meters and a minimum speed limit of 25 km/h.
Before liberation, accidents frequently occurred here. After liberation, the Fengtai Locomotive Depot raised the outer rail and reduced many accidents by using a gentle curve transition.
The outer rails at the center of the curve have been completely smashed, and a Patriot Type 2 steam train has plunged headfirst into the ditch next to it.
When Li Aiguo jumped off the patrol vehicle, the comrades from the locomotive depot's police station had already set up tents nearby, seemingly intending to keep watch there day and night.
In the fields nearby, commune members were working under the leadership of the production team leader. Every now and then, the members would straighten up and look over, seemingly watching the spectacle.
Upon seeing Li Aiguo and his group, the officers from the police station ran over and saluted: "Comrade, please show your identification."
Ma Dele took out his identification and handed it to the other person, asking, "Has anyone approached the scene?"
“We had originally planned to evacuate and have the maintenance workshop come and tow the train back, but after receiving the order, we sealed off the site again. Please rest assured, apart from the comrades from the locomotive depot who rescued people and your safety department comrades, no outsiders came here.”
That's what he said, but Li Aiguo noticed that there were footprints everywhere near the locomotive.
This was unavoidable, since saving lives was the top priority.
"Thank you." Ma Dele shook hands with the other party, then turned around to call Li Aiguo to the scene.
But they saw Li Aiguo walk straight out of the cordoned-off area and head towards the fields.
"Uncle, which commune are you from?" Li Aiguo offered cigarettes to several commune members.
An older commune member took the cigarette, tucked it behind his ear, rubbed his hands together, and said, "You're not from here, are you? This whole area of land belongs to our Liumawan Commune."
"Uncle, were you here when the accident happened?"
"Of course! Look how tall the weeds are growing in the field. If we don't weed them out, the crops won't grow at all."
"Even now, before liberation, we wouldn't have worked this hard alongside the landlords."
The old commune member was a chatterbox, rambling on for a while, until a young commune member nudged him.
"The railway workers are asking you questions, why are you bringing this up?"
"Ah, yes, yes, as you get older, you talk more."
The old commune member chuckled twice and said, "I remember that day. We were hoeing the field on the left."
"We saw a big train coming at us, but we didn't pay any attention at first. Then the train suddenly came out and gave me a fright."
"How fast?" Li Aiguo asked.
"I can't say for sure, but it'll be quick anyway," the old commune member said, scratching his head.
Qin Xun interjected from the side, "These members can barely read, what do they know about speed? Driver Li, his words cannot be taken as evidence at all."
Li Aiguo ignored Qin Xun, distributed cigarettes to the members, and then walked towards the bend in the road.
The outer edge of the track on the curve was completely smashed, and there were friction marks on the ballast.
The railway safety department has already conducted an inspection, and the marks were left by the train after it rushed out and the obstacle clearing device swept away the obstacle.
"Have you found out where the train started braking?" Li Aiguo stood there for a while and observed.
Ma Dele turned to look at Qin Xun.
Qin Xun frowned: "Driver Li, the train derailed and left a long trail in the mud, but it's hard to tell the brake marks."
After examining the tracks, Xiao Wang leans towards Bai's account, believing that Bai only braked after discovering the train had derailed.
Ma Deluo narrowed his eyes slightly.
When people encounter a sudden accident, they will react subconsciously.
The fact that the braking action only occurred after the derailment indicates that Bai Sheng was unaware of the track problem before the accident, which indirectly reflects Bai Sheng's innocence.
Thinking of this, Ma Dele became a little anxious.
Although Bai Sheng's confession suggests that he is lying, concrete evidence is needed to expose his lies.
It now seems that finding evidence is extremely difficult.
Qin Xun waved to the side, and a young team member came over and handed over some documents.
Li Aiguo glanced at it twice, returned it, and then turned around and walked towards the railway tracks behind him.
"What... what are you trying to do? Section Chief, we've already checked, there's nothing unusual." Qin Xun frowned.
Ma Dele didn't reply, but a thought struck him, and he quickly caught up with Li Aiguo and asked, "Aiguo, have you discovered something?"
"Old Ma, that muddy area has been destroyed by the rescue workers and has no research value."
The train has sixteen carriages and is approximately 460 meters long. This means that if the train braked prematurely, it could very likely leave a mark on the tracks 460 meters away.
This passage is quite difficult to understand, and Ma Dele hasn't grasped it yet.
Li Aiguo's eyes lit up, and he squatted down: "I've got it, this is it."
The section of rail in front of me looks no different from any other rail, covered in dust and severely worn, exuding a sense of history.
However, upon closer inspection, Mader immediately noticed the difference.
The contact surface of the rails with the train was polished to a shine, and traces of metal friction and high-temperature corrosion could be seen.
"These, these are skid marks?" Ma Dele's eyes widened.
Qin Xun, who was standing nearby smugly, was startled when he heard this and quickly ran over.
He crouched down, examined the marks, and frowned, saying, "These marks are most likely from tire friction, not necessarily from brakes."
"Stupid! So stupid!" Ma Dele was really angry this time, and he immediately cursed, "Team Leader Qin, you are a professional, don't you know that when a train wheel rolls on the rails, it can't directly contact the contact surface of the train?"
I, Qin Xun, really didn't know any of this; it wasn't taught in the books.
He subconsciously glanced at a team member next to him, and seeing the team member's expression, his heart skipped a beat.
"Team leader, driver Li is right. These marks should be from when the brakes were applied."
Qin Xun's face gradually turned ashen.
However, he did not give up. After all, it was not surprising to see fresh braking marks on the tracks. The key question now was whether the braking was related to the accident.
Qin Xun suppressed his emotions and expressed his opinion.
“That’s easy. Just measure the distance from here to the center of the curve,” Li Aiguo said.
“Yes, yes, if the distance between the braking point and the center point of the curve is more than 460 meters, it is enough to show that Bai Sheng braked before the train reached the center point of the curve. He knew there was a problem with the curve, or…” Ma Dele didn’t finish his sentence, but everyone understood.
There are only two possibilities when a train derails.
One possibility is a problem with the railway tracks.
Another one is train speeding.
At this moment, Qin Xun was extremely flustered.
He never expected that Li Aiguo would find such an almost impossible clue and connect it to the classification of the train accident.
"Qin Xun, Qin Xun, what are you standing there for? Quickly organize people to take measurements!"
Ma Dele called out twice before Qin Xun reacted and called a few team members to bring out the measuring tape.
The measurement was simple and didn't require high precision; one of the team members quickly reported the number.
"820 meters."
boom!
The number exploded in Qin Xun's mind like a bomb, and his ears were ringing.
The braking point was more than 820 meters away, which not only meant that Bai Sheng had discovered the danger in advance, but also that the braking distance of 200 meters was not enough to stop an empty train.
Just how much was this train speeding?!
"Impossible, this is impossible. There must be some mistake somewhere." Qin Xun's throat was dry. He snatched the tape measure from his teammate and measured it again. It was still 820 meters.
"Enough!" Ma Dele's face darkened.
"Team Leader Qin, you are temporarily suspended from your duties from now on."
"Huh?!" Qin Xun wanted to explain, but looking at the tape measure in his hand, he couldn't utter a sound.
He looked up at the burly figure, who was squatting beside the railway tracks, pointing at them and asking his team members to take notes.
The sunlight fell on the figure, casting a golden glow that contrasted sharply with the cold, black gleam of the railway tracks.
Qin Xun, who plays "Li Aiguo," gritted his teeth.
Li Aiguo didn't pay attention to Qin Xun's reaction, nor did he have time to, because he had just discovered a new clue.
“Record it. These are dark, continuous, coarse burn marks. They only occur when a train brakes suddenly in an emergency, causing the brake shoes to seize up so that the wheels lock up completely, and the steel wheels slide against the rails with pure friction.”
"Under normal deceleration, the wheels do not lock up completely, and the marks are light-colored, intermittent fine scratches."
The group members nodded in agreement. They really hadn't expected that they could discern the train driver's purpose in braking based on just a few traces.
Ma Dele chimed in from the side, "Aiguo, you could be considered a train accident expert."
He then looked at the group members and said, “You should learn more from the frontline train drivers. Don’t think that just because you’ve studied for a few years you can understand everything on a train. To work in our line of work, you need to get closer to the frontline.”
The group members nodded repeatedly.
“Alright, now we can confirm that Bai Sheng braked in advance, so the only reason he braked was because he realized he was speeding,” Ma Dele continued.
"Driver Li, shall we meet with Bai Sheng again now?"
“Something’s still missing.” Li Aiguo had experience interrogating people at the weather station and knew very well that someone like Bai Sheng, who had done his homework, would deny everything in the face of any speculation.
"It's really too difficult to find actual evidence now." Ma Dele lit a cigarette, frowned. The scene had been almost completely destroyed, and even the front of the car had been cut open to rescue people.
Li Aiguo walked to the bend in the road and saw that a large section of the railway track on the ground was broken, with many sections lying haphazardly in the ditch not far away.
“Please bring all these rails back,” Li Aiguo said, pointing to the ditch.
The investigation team members, who had been somewhat lax just moments before, now rushed headlong into the ditch.
It's not that I'm worried about being criticized, but rather that I genuinely admire this train driver.
As an investigator, who wouldn't want to find out the truth about the accident? I was completely clueless before, but now that I have a clue, I definitely have to put in the effort.
Qin Xun, who was standing not far away, looked annoyed when he saw this scene. These guys had never worked so hard before, taking off their shoes and jumping into the mud.
A bunch of lapdogs!
After collecting dozens of fragments, Li Aiguo had his team members put on gloves and piece the fragments together.
It's like assembling building blocks, very simple. The two ends of the rails were quickly assembled, but some parts just wouldn't fit. "Driver Li, what's going on?" a team member asked.
“A section of the railway track was knocked off and hasn’t been found.” Li Aiguo stood up and looked into the distance.
"If the train is speeding, the rails will be subjected to a huge impact force, and the rails will break and fly off at the same time."
I've already examined it; the fracture surface is a fresh metal break, without any signs of aging. Once we locate the broken rail fragments, we can determine whether the train was speeding.
Upon hearing Li Aiguo's words, the group members scattered and ran to the nearby wasteland to dig.
Nothing was discovered.
"That can't be right, the broken rail couldn't have flown away, could it?"
Just then, an older member who had been watching the commotion from the sidelines pulled a younger member over by the arm.
"Comrade, stop looking. Wang Nao picked up the rails. Wang Nao, hurry up and give the rails back to him."
An older member gave the younger member a push.
The young commune member smiled awkwardly and handed over the basket: "I... I just thought this piece of iron looked nice, so I wanted to take it back and make a kitchen knife."
Li Aiguo looked into the basket and saw the missing piece of railroad track. He picked it up and asked, "If you tell me where you found it, I'll give you a kitchen knife."
"Really?" The young member was somewhat incredulous.
"Would a comrade on the railway lie to you?" the old commune member laughed.
The young commune member scratched his head, led Li Aiguo a short distance, and pointed to the bushes, saying, "It's here. Look, there's still a small piece of debris here."
Li Aiguo examined the fragments and estimated their distance from the railway tracks.
"It's over 500 meters long. Based on the weight of this piece, the train must have been traveling at 70 kilometers per hour when it hit the tracks, and at 100 kilometers per hour before it braked."
Ma Dele didn't believe Li Aiguo's words; how could they be so accurate?
but.
It doesn't matter, as long as it can be proven that the train was speeding.
****
Inside the detention room of the Fengtai Locomotive Depot Railway Police Station.
Bai Sheng lay reclining on the straw mat-covered bed, his hands behind his head, a straw dangling from his mouth, looking very relaxed.
He was indeed very flustered after the incident, but while he was being treated in the hospital, he managed to persuade the co-driver Zhang Xiangnian and the stoker Chen Deshui.
As long as these two insist on their claims, the railway safety department will have no way of investigating.
Bai Sheng was not worried about this.
Zhang Xiangnian and he have been partners for a long time. Their children are still dating, and the two of them often go to Banyanmen. They are like brothers, sharing both prosperity and adversity.
Chen Deshui is the most likely person to be the breakthrough point.
How should I put it, this person is too sentimental.
That evening at the hospital, Bai Sheng and Zhang Xiangnian pleaded with Chen Deshui, tears streaming down their faces.
Chen Deshui has already agreed and will not go back on his word.
Only the three of them knew the train's exact speed at the time, so it was impossible to find out later.
"Bai Sheng."
Shouts came from outside, and Bai Sheng immediately got up from his bunk and asked the railway police, "Xiao Liu, are you going to let me go back?"
"I knew it! Those people in the safety department are making a mountain out of a molehill. They've already investigated it thoroughly, but they insist on doing a second inspection."
"Come with us to the interrogation room."
Seeing the railway police's stern faces, Bai Sheng's heart skipped a beat.
But he remained completely calm.
When Bai Sheng sat down in the interrogation room and saw that only Li Aiguo and Ma Dele were sitting opposite him, and Qin Xun was missing, he felt a little flustered.
"Bai Sheng, your speed was 100 km/h before entering Liuma Bay bend," Li Aiguo said bluntly.
"How...how did you know?" Bai Sheng blurted out instinctively when faced with this unexpected question.
Realizing something was wrong, he quickly corrected himself: "What do you mean 100 km/h? You must be joking. How could you possibly go 100 km/h on a curve?"
Ma Dele's eyes widened. Li Aiguo had actually guessed the car's actual speed.
No, this isn't a guess; it's calculated.
"Take a look at this." Without further ado, Li Aiguo placed the pieces of railroad track on the table and handed several photos to Bai Sheng.
“These are skid marks, these are the spots where rail debris landed. Bai Sheng, you're an experienced driver, you should know what these things mean.”
Li Aiguo lit a cigarette, took a drag, and said, "What else do you have to say in your defense?!"
Bai Sheng looked at the evidence, his forehead beaded with cold sweat. He could find a hundred reasons to argue with a young man like Qin Xun.
However, when faced with an experienced train driver like Li Aiguo, he suppressed all the countless excuses that came to mind.
"Bang!" Seeing that the time was right, Ma Dele slammed his hand on the table.
"Bai Sheng, you were speeding and caused a serious accident, and you even tried to shift the blame onto others. You've really disgraced us train workers."
"I...I didn't want to either! I didn't expect the train to go so fast. By the time I realized the train was speeding, it was too late." Bai Sheng's mental defenses completely collapsed at this point, and he slumped into his chair.
"That day, I was chatting with the co-driver Zhang Xiangnian and didn't notice at all that the train was speeding. It wasn't until we entered the curve and heard Chen Deshui shout that I realized we were speeding. I... I quickly stopped, but it was too late."
Ma Dele stared at Bai Sheng, his teeth grinding: "And then you framed the line patrolman?"
He was genuinely angry. If Li Aiguo hadn't investigated in time, Zhang Tuo, this innocent old line patrolman, would have suffered a wrongful injustice.
Bai Sheng wanted to explain, but in the end, he could only let out a long sigh.
After the interrogation concluded.
Ma Dele reported the situation to the top leaders of the railway bureau.
The top leaders of the railway bureau realized that the severity of this case far exceeded that of ordinary cases.
He flew into a rage: "Take them back to the Bureau! And take Zhang Xiangnian and Chen Deshui back with them too."
"Also, bring Qin Xun back! He has committed blatant dereliction of duty and must be thoroughly investigated."
The railway bureau's top leaders convened a meeting that afternoon, where Ma Dele gave a report explaining the ins and outs of the case in detail.
The railway bureau leaders all looked grim.
"I think Qin Xun was too careless. I suggest that Qin Xun be punished immediately."
It will take some time before the relevant personnel are dealt with.
The most crucial thing is how to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future.
"If it weren't for this re-examination, we would have wronged Comrade Zhang Tuo."
"Thanks to Comrade Li Aiguo."
"These kinds of accidents are too difficult to investigate; no one can determine the train's real-time speed."
"Yes, I originally thought it was impossible to figure out whether the train was speeding, but I didn't expect that Comrade Li Aiguo first determined the position of the rear wheels by the length of the carriage, and then determined by the brake marks that it was an emergency stop and the location of the emergency stop."
What happened next was even more incredible. Li Aiguo was able to determine the train's exact speed based on the location of the fragments. I was truly impressed. Ma Deluo stood up and spoke.
Having worked in security for many years, he might be able to uncover some clues.
However, connecting all these clues to find evidence is truly impossible.
The railway bureau leader said, "The reason why Comrade Li Aiguo was able to determine the train speed by examining the brake marks is because he has a special understanding of trains."
Furthermore, Comrade Li Aiguo has unique insights into safety accident investigations. I think the staff of the safety department should learn more from Comrade Li Aiguo.
"That's a good suggestion, but how should we learn? We can't all just rush to the Qianmen Locomotive Depot workshop, can we?"
"I think we can set up a safety accident investigation training group and invite Comrade Li Aiguo to give a lecture."
"That's the decision."
At this time, Li Aiguo had already returned to the Qianmen Locomotive Depot from the Fengtai Locomotive Depot.
He's very busy right now. The modification of the fire-fighting aircraft is underway, and the No. 1 Cotton Mill in Beijing hasn't given any feedback on the 32-spindle cotton spinning machine yet, so it might need further improvements.
"Aiguo, I need to trouble you with something." Just as I returned to my office, Ma Dele came again, this time bringing Section Chief Xing with him.
Section Chief Xing said, "You know how important patriotism and safety investigation work are. Section Chief Ma is thinking of asking you to help organize the training for the safety section officers."
When he said this, Section Chief Xing was also somewhat agitated.
The Railway Bureau's Safety Section is responsible for investigating safety accidents throughout the entire railway bureau. Its importance is beyond doubt, and it is often referred to as one of the two most dangerous departments in the railway bureau, along with the Railway Conduct Office.
If Li Aiguo is now in charge of training, then it will be much easier to handle minor accidents at the Qianmen Locomotive Depot in the future.
Section Chief Xing had no intention of using connections.
However, some minor accidents are impossible to completely avoid, but sometimes the safety department will make a big deal out of it, resulting in a lot of points being deducted every year.
Li Aiguo understood Section Chief Xing's thoughts and said, "I do have some ideas, but I'm just a train driver, an amateur."
The meaning is clear: he can help with training, but he needs to be given authority.
"Don't worry, our railway bureau plans to set up an accident investigation training group, with a railway bureau leader as the group leader and you as the deputy group leader. If anyone dares to show their teeth, you can deal with them directly."
After this incident, Ma Dele was genuinely afraid, fearing that he might wrongly accuse innocent railway workers again.
"Then I shall respectfully accept your offer." Li Aiguo shook hands with Ma Dele and asked, "Is there a salary?"
Ma Dele: "."
The railway bureau didn't just use people for nothing. Although Li Aiguo's official position wasn't transferred, the bureau leaders found a way to allocate funds for training, and Li Aiguo received an extra few dozen yuan in allowance each month.
The accident investigation training course wouldn't start until next week, but Li Aiguo wasn't in a hurry. Seeing that it was almost evening, he got on his mountain bike and headed towards the courtyard.
At this moment.
Inside the technical department of Beijing No. 1 Cotton Mill, Deputy Factory Director Zhao looked at a brand-new 32-spindle cotton spinning machine, completely bewildered.
He looked at Deputy Section Chief Ma of the Technical Section and asked, "Ma Jing, wasn't this machine made by the Qianmen Locomotive Depot? What's the meaning of bringing me here?"
"Factory manager, take another look."
Deputy Factory Director Zhou approached, looked the factory up and down, and then his eyes widened in surprise: "You made this yourself?"
“That’s right. Our Ministry of Textile Industry is going to carry out technological innovation, right? This is the product we’ve innovated. What do you think?” Deputy Section Chief Ma pointed to the nameplate on the cotton spinning machine.
"Manufactured by the Technical Department of Beijing No. 1 Cotton Mill"
“This cotton spinning machine was designed by the Qianmen Locomotive Depot. Is it appropriate for us to submit it for an award?” Deputy Factory Director Zhou asked with some concern.
"Factory Director, you've misunderstood. The award isn't for the cotton spinning machine, but for the improvements we made. Don't worry, I'll mark it in the award application materials," Deputy Section Chief Ma said in a low voice.
“That’s feasible. You prepare the materials, and I’ll submit them personally.” Deputy Factory Director Zhou hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
If this innovation really wins an award, then the Beijing No. 1 Cotton Mill will also be proud.
He, as the deputy factory director in charge of technology, will certainly receive praise.
(End of this chapter)