Locomotive rear-ends train; 18 cars derail, lube oil spills


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DUBLIN, Va. (AP) — More than 20,000 gallons of lube oil spilled after a freight train was rear-ended by another train traveling in the same direction Tuesday in western Virginia, causing 18 cars and a locomotive to derail, Norfolk Southern said.



The oil, which is commonly used in machinery, spilled from one of the derailed rail cars. Scrap metal spilled from another car. The other cars that went off the tracks were empty, Norfolk Southern spokeswoman Susan Terpay said Wednesday in an email.
Two crew members were treated for injuries at a hospital and released, Terpay said.
The westbound Norfolk Southern train was struck from behind by a second Norfolk Southern train around 4 p.m. Tuesday near the small western Virginia town of Dublin. Terpay said eight rear cars on the first train and 10 cars on the second train, along with the locomotive, derailed.
Norfolk Southern initially had reported that five empty cars and the locomotive derailed.
Terpay said the spilled oil has been contained at the site and no waterways have been affected. The railroad and environmental contractors are working to clean up the site.
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Investigators look over the wreckage of a train derailment that occurred when one westbound train st …

She said the cause of the crash and derailment is under investigation.
Dozens of emergency officials responded to the scene, The Roanoke Times (http://bit.ly/1dZf8bC) reported.
The train cars landed in the backyard of Kenny Trail, who was watching TV when he heard the noise, the newspaper reported. The train crushed his electric scooter, and he was immediately evacuated.
Another resident, Teresa Frank, heard the trains collide as she was picking green beans in her father's backyard.
"It was horribly loud, and I took off running back to the house," Frank told the newspaper. "I didn't know what it was, but we started seeing emergency cars show up."
Frank said the daily sounds of trains have become background noise for many residents.
"You hear all kinds of banging ... on the tracks," she said. "But this was super loud, so I thought something was wrong."
 
She said the cause of the crash and derailment is under investigation.
Well, I would have thought that was quite obvious, a loco ran up the ass of the other train, that's what caused the crash, and the derailment was the result. Why is there a investigation into that?

What should be under investigation is why the loco was on the same track section as the train. Someone screwed up or something failed.
 
Soooo ... In your expert estimation ... What caused the speeding Amtrak train to derail on a 55 mph curve, doing 105 mph in Frankford Jct PA ???
 
under investigation also means there looking at everything, signal fault right down to the driver or train control as the cause.
 
Happens more times than you think ... We crash trains better in the US

ntsbreport.jpg
 
Soooo ... In your expert estimation ... What caused the speeding Amtrak train to derail on a 55 mph curve, doing 105 mph in Frankford Jct PA ???
Um, I'll guess and say the excessive speed caused it to derail hehe. Now, I can hear your next question coming...... why was it speeding? lol, was it something to do with the driver being either drunk, smashed out of his nut on something or both? (Im guessing).
 
Anything can cause a derailment, in 2009 two 124 tonne locos and 4 passenger cars derailed from hitting fallen over pine trees, there was a full investigation..

*Chief Investigator’s recommendation

After expert arboreal advice, the Chief Investigator recommended — early in the
investigation — that V/Line conduct an immediate assessment of the remaining pine
trees in the area that could potentially obstruct the rail line if they fell, and that V/Line
consider assessing trees near other rail lines where there existed a potential for the
trees to obstruct the line should they fall.*


*Safety Actions taken since the event

V/Line has undertaken a state-wide risk-assessment of trees growing in the rail reserve
and on adjacent neighbouring property and has amended their risk strategy to include
on-going assessments of trees adjacent to the rail reserve*



https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5174/5533685433_878da68c93_b.jpg

At about 2050 on Saturday 12 September 2009 a Melbourne to Warrnambool V/Line
passenger train collided with trees lying across the track about 500 metres east of the
Stoneyford Road level crossing, in the locality of Stonyford. The trees had been felled
by strong winds.

Cheers.
 
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Anything can cause a derailment, in 2009 two 124 tonne locos and 4 passenger cars derailed from hitting fallen over pine trees, there was a full investigation..

*Chief Investigator’s recommendation

After expert arboreal advice, the Chief Investigator recommended — early in the
investigation — that V/Line conduct an immediate assessment of the remaining pine
trees in the area that could potentially obstruct the rail line if they fell, and that V/Line
consider assessing trees near other rail lines where there existed a potential for the
trees to obstruct the line should they fall.*


*Safety Actions taken since the event

V/Line has undertaken a state-wide risk-assessment of trees growing in the rail reserve
and on adjacent neighbouring property and has amended their risk strategy to include
on-going assessments of trees adjacent to the rail reserve*



https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5174/5533685433_878da68c93_b.jpg

At about 2050 on Saturday 12 September 2009 a Melbourne to Warrnambool V/Line
passenger train collided with trees lying across the track about 500 metres east of the
Stoneyford Road level crossing, in the locality of Stonyford. The trees had been felled
by strong winds.

Cheers.

This is similar to our National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigations. www.ntsb.gov

Here's a few ongoing accidents.

http://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/Pages/default.aspx

They investigate all modes of transportation in the US and will make safety recommendations based on the findings. The reports can be pretty shocking, yet interesting and boring at the same time. They will take into account the weather, driver's health, signaling system, line of sight, and other things including driver drug and alcohol use, and even mobile phone use, which is prohibited.

John
 
Hi everybody.
Azervich, with the greatest of respect I have read your posting at #8 of this thread several times but I am unsure of whether you are stating that you feel accident investigation has no value following any incident.

The main purpose of an accident investigation is to look into all aspects of the circumstances surrounding any incident and then at its conclusion bring forward measures which will prevent an accident in similar circumstances occurring. All transport orientated investigations are carried out in a manner as excellently described by John Citroen at #9 of this thread.

If we look at the accident investigation you referred to above, the investigators concluded that had a full and comprehensive risk assessment with regard to trees and vegetation alongside the track been carried out, then the whole incident would have been avoided. They therefore instructed that the railway company should undertake that assessment and comprehensively implement its findings.

I have no great knowledge of Australian industrial safety regulations but throughout Europe legislation dictates that transport orientated or workplace risk assessment has to be carried out whenever a hazard is foreseeable in any respect. Therefore in the case of the trees alongside the railway, the prospect of those trees falling onto the track is easily foreseeable. In this case a simple numeric risk assessment on one section of track where trees are prevalent would bring forward measures to prevent such occurrence in its risk reduction section of the assessment. That risk assessment can then be used in a generic manner on all sections of the track where vegetation and trees occur, making a simple cost-effective solution to the hazard.

In the above, there are obviously going to be circumstances which cannot easily be dealt with by a standard numeric risk assessment, such as extreme weather. In the foregoing circumstances those carrying out risk assessment will whenever necessary produce what is known as a dynamic risk assessment which is a document containing risk reduction measures when such circumstances as extreme weather is encountered along the whole or any section of what would be in this case a railway. The dynamic assessment will contain instructions such as drivers to only proceed at a speed compatible to being able to bring their train to a halt within the distance they can visually see and train crews do not proceed through standing water until the depth of that water has been comprehensively assessed.

However, no risk assessment can ever foresee circumstances such as a tree being blown down onto a train as it passes causing an incident. In the foregoing circumstances any dynamic risk assessment has to contain information that will be of help and guidance to the emergency services. Such information will contain advice on such matters as train brake operating procedures, finding fuel and electrical cut-off switches or valves and door operating mechanisms etc with regard to all power units and passenger coaches used on the line.

The above information can be invaluable to those leading the emergency services response to an incident who will then add their own evaluations to the dynamic risk assessment in respect of the circumstances encountered on their arrival.

Therefore, the accident investigation described at #8 of this thread brought forward the need of risk assessment by the rail company involved. Had that been carried out prior to the incident(s) in all likelihood those accidents would have been prevented. As already stated, I am not aware of what legislation exists in Australia regard to mandatory risk assessment, but had the accidents occurred in Britain or Europe undoubtedly “heads would have rolled” and that would have happened in all probability through the courts system.

Bill
 
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Hi everybody.
Azervich, with the greatest of respect I have read your posting at #8 of this thread several times but I am unsure of whether you are stating that you feel accident investigation has no value following any incident.

Bill
Hi Bill,

I was stating that any crash or derailment should have an investigation as it will prevent the same thing happening again, I was continuing the discussion to what iannz said *Why is there a investigation into that?* so I was pointing out anything can cause derailments such as trees, so back on topic, an investigation to this derailment will bring to light the real cause, not someone speculating driver error/driver running red signals crashing into the back.

Cheers.
 
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