Train Wrecks, Accidents and Crashes

[wholbr]

Hi Everybody.
Just to go a bit further on the very graphic newspaper description of the accident posted by Jadebullet, what I have always found difficult to accept is the long-term mental trauma survivors of accidents like that experience.

I can remember going back about 12 years ago I interviewed a heavy goods driver employed by our company following a vehicle accident which resulted in the death of another heavy goods driver on an access road to a large Depot in the Midlands UK.

The two fully laden articulated vehicles were approaching each other on the access road when one suddenly swung across the front of the other and they collided virtually head-on. The surviving driver that I interviewed recounted that following an enormous bang there was then complete silence (something that almost every serious vehicle accident victim recalls).

Dazed, injured and trapped in the cab he realized that something was spraying onto his face. He opened his eyes to realize that the other driver had been thrown from his own cab into the cab of the vehicle he had collided with landing next to our own driver. The fluid our own driver felt being sprayed onto his face was in fact blood from a severed artery in the neck of the other driver who died a few minutes later. It then took over an hour to release both of them from the cab

As stated that was approximately 12 years ago. However, I had to revisit the same depot a few weeks back to investigate why a large stack of palletized goods had suddenly collapsed. I again ran into that driver I had interviewed all those years ago. We began talking about the accident and he stated that not many days go by when he does not think about and re-live those events. Because of that he has given up driving as a living and now works inside the depot on a much reduced salary.

The accident was in no way his fault but his life and the life of his family where changed forever that day. As he stated when he left home that morning it was to be just another working day.

There but for higher grace could go anyone of us

Bill

 

[JCitron]

Hi Everybody.
Just to go a bit further on the very graphic newspaper description of the accident posted by Jadebullet, what I have always found difficult to accept is the long-term mental trauma survivors of accidents like that experience.

I can remember going back about 12 years ago I interviewed a heavy goods driver employed by our company following a vehicle accident which resulted in the death of another heavy goods driver on an access road to a large Depot in the Midlands UK.

The two fully laden articulated vehicles were approaching each other on the access road when one suddenly swung across the front of the other and they collided virtually head-on. The surviving driver that I interviewed recounted that following an enormous bang there was then complete silence (something that almost every serious vehicle accident victim recalls).

Dazed, injured and trapped in the cab he realized that something was spraying onto his face. He opened his eyes to realize that the other driver had been thrown from his own cab into the cab of the vehicle he had collided with landing next to our own driver. The fluid our own driver felt being sprayed onto his face was in fact blood from a severed artery in the neck of the other driver who died a few minutes later. It then took over an hour to release both of them from the cab

As stated that was approximately 12 years ago. However, I had to revisit the same depot a few weeks back to investigate why a large stack of palletized goods had suddenly collapsed. I again ran into that driver I had interviewed all those years ago. We began talking about the accident and he stated that not many days go by when he does not think about and re-live those events. Because of that he has given up driving as a living and now works inside the depot on a much reduced salary.

The accident was in no way his fault but his life and the life of his family where changed forever that day. As he stated when he left home that morning it was to be just another working day.

There but for higher grace could go anyone of us

Bill

That is very sad to hear, Bill and all too common. There are so many train drivers, or engineers as they call them here, that have been in some kind of accident, and never get over it. A coworker of mine has a brother at the MBTA - Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority. He works as an engineer on the South side out of Boston South Station. A few months back an elderly lady was hit by his train. He tried all he could to stop and couldn't. She didn't die right away, but did so after a few hours at the hospital. Today, as Stephen has told me recently, his brother is now going through counciling to try to overcome the shock and horror of the accident, which for him was totally impossible to avoid.

What gets worse too, especially in this country with the litigious society we have now, is engineers and the rest of the crew get hauled into court and grilled over the accident sometimes years later. The non-railroad knowing lawyers, who think trains can stop on a dime and have steering wheels to avoid people on the tracks, press for personal damages money from the crew. This wrings the poor crew through the press as they blame them for the accident. This as you know brings everything back up into the forefront again even if they had a chance to put it away!

John

 

[wholbr]

Hi Everybody
John I have to completely agree with your last posting with regard to the "litigation society" the ambulance chasing solicitors have become a real problem especially to people involved in workplace health and safety who genuinely wish to improve safety for working people. it's a very complicated subject and is testing many brains including the British health and safety executive at this point in time.

On a lighter note I was the other day sent the photo I have posted below by a health and safety rep working for a large distribution company in Avonmouth UK.

The photograph was taken by the reps camera phone so it is not of the greatest quality but I believe you can see what is going on, in any case I will explain below. The person you can see in the photograph is a senior supervisor in in the grounds of a company adjacent to where our health and safety representative is based

yes, that is him Kneeling on the mental forks of a lift truck extended to the maximum height.

Yes, those are high voltage power lines just above him which he is looking up at.

Yes, that is in fact a " metal" tape ruler he is unwinding towards the power lines trying to find out how high they are.

Yes, he did have an accident doing this but not by electrocution he in fact fell from the forks as they were being lowered sustaining a concussion and cracking a bone in his elbow.

final question you are probably asking:-
yes, he is now seeking employment after the picture was sent by the safety reps management to the head office of the company employing this idiot.

I still think he got off rather light he, could have come out of it much worse and possibly killed or injured others had he brought those power lines down.

Well they say it takes all sorts to make a world and he's obviously one of them

Bill

NB:- sorry the photograph is not larger it is the first time I have posted photographs on the forum.

 

[magickmaker]

Wooton bridge disaster. 11 June 1861 the rail bridge at Wootton collapsed under the weight of a passing goods train on the line between Leamington Spa and Kenilworth owned by the London and North Western Railway Company. The train had passed over the bridge safely in the morning with a full load of coal, and was returning to Kenilworth with the empty wagons at 7 am. The 30 ton locomotive fell through the deck of the bridge onto the road below, and the tender crashed into the cab, killing both driver and fireman instantly. Many of the empty wagons behind were dragged into the gap to form a pile almost up to the height of nearby telegraph poles. The locomotive was running tender first, and was of a cabless variant.

It was later discovered that the bridge design was poor, being made of cast iron beams as opposed to wrought iron which is stronger. The investigator reported that the five cast iron girders which supported the base of the wooden bridge had all fractured near their centres, and so caused the accident. One in particular had been mended some years before, and the investigator thought that the failure had started here. Angle iron had been fitted along the girder to support a crack in the flange, and had been bolted onto the cast iron. Far from strengthening the girder it had actually weakened it further. In hindsight, it is likely that cracks in the girders had grown to a critical size during the initial passage of the heavy train, which then gave way when the empty train returned.

 

[wilh]

"snip"

Please stay on topic because you are going way off of it.

 

[jadebullet]

This is a picture from one of the more horrible Pennsylvania wrecks, the Mud Run disaster.
http://www3.gendisasters.com/pennsylvania/756/mud-run,-pa-train-wreck,-oct-1888

 

[magickmaker]

July 31, 1940 was an average summer day. It was warm, calm and peaceful. In fact, it was just like any other summer day, except...the "Doodlebug" crashed. The gasoline-powered shuttle car, that operated on the Pennsylvania Railroad, was making its daily trek from Hudson to Akron. Many of the 46 passengers on the "Doodlebug" were commuters from jobs in Cleveland. Most of the passengers of the train were young. Some were students, some were prominent leaders in the community.

Traveling at 40 mph, the "Doodlebug" entered Cuyahoga Falls about a half an hour after it had left Hudson. Somehow the signals were mixed or ignored, and the shuttle car continued its journey at a steady clip. Just a few yards beyond the Front St. crossing, there was a 73 car freight train. The single car crashed, head-on, into the freight.


The crash caused the 350 gallon gasoline tank to explode enabling the burning gasoline to escape and cover the tracks, cars and people. The impact of the collision threw the passengers and seats into the front of the car. People and debris were piled on top of one another, making it impossible for anyone to attempt an escape from the inferno.

There were three men who did survive the fatal crash, the engineer, conductor, and brakeman. Todd Wonn, of Akron, is the only one of the three that is still living. Wonn, sitting in the baggage compartment because the coach was full, noticed the conductor running through the compartment. He was shouting something about a crash. Following his first instinct to jump, Wonn escaped from the crash, suffering only a cut on the head and torn ligaments in his ankle.

Pennsylvania Railroad authorities said the pilot of the "Doodlebug" had received order in Hudson to take siding in Silver Lake, in order to allow the freight train to pass. Whether these orders were ignored or misunderstood is something that we will never know. According to railroad officials, both the Doodlebug and freight engineers had copies of the orders. They would later change this claim when it would come to light that the accident may have been due to a standing PRR policy for the line which the motor car operated on.

At the time, PRR didn't provide a way for the doodlebug to be turned at the end of its run. Instead, the train would run with the cab at the rear of the "train" and the passenger compartment at the front. The engineer then communicated with the conductor through a series of hand signals and whistles, while the train was run in reverse. The investigation considered the possibility that the engineer could have been "under the influence of carbon monoxide poisoning with a resultant temporary impairment of mental faculties but not be wholly unconscious", which would explain his behavior. The driver had complained of fumes in the cabs on previous occasions.

 

[TorenHynes]

Wow that locomotive completely snapped!

Someone needs to strengthen the cabs of those EMD E-and-F-units. Who'd of thought they'd be so fragile? That shunter was a lot smaller, but not damaged as much.
Electro Motive Division, you'd better have thought twice before building the carbody-style locos...It seems that General Motors can't build anything as well as it looks first-off.
Still, stats show that it's safer to take the train than to drive a car.
As for the survivors, it is as scary, if not more, than a car accident to witness a train crash.

 

[uracco]

Another crash

Hi guys,
You are posting way to many american wrecks so heres an english one. This happned in Oxshott and the train my mate was on (450010) got delayed. What happned was that a cement mixer skidded on a bridge and landed on a BR class 455. No one died and only 2 ahd serious injuries.

What was left of the cement mixer

The damage to the train

 

[uracco]

level crossings

Some unfortunate accidents at level crossings

 

[JCitron]

Please stay on topic because you are going way off of it.

Who says this is off-topic? What Bill is saying is true. The impact of these accidents years later is something that we never consider. The crew members, including the engineers end up in court later on, sometimes 5 years later, at the whim of some ambulance chaser. What was once pushed into the bad memory slot, gets revisited and then resurrected for life. This causes more trauma, not so much for the family collecting the money, but for the crew who innocently tried what they could to avoid the accident.

John

 

[wholbr]

Hi John
Thanks for the support, and by the way happy birthday I only just noticed that.

Bill
(I think it's only grisly photos that is wanted on this thread, not discussion)

 

[patchy]

g'day all,
here's a few shots of once a brilliant train ride from Cairns to Forsayth
this train used to depart Cairns on a wednesday and return saturday a round trip of about 800kms or 500miles
it was a goods train with about three passenger carriages attached at the back
it was a relaxing trip through outback australia
i was on this train about two months before it closed
and i got my moneys worth

as you can see this caused the problem
you can still do this trip on The Savannahlander
http://www.savannahlander.com.au/?gclid=CJSp5sPHkqcCFQ3bbgod9XkWcA

cheers,
patchy

 

[JCitron]

g'day all,
here's a few shots of once a brilliant train ride from Cairns to Forsayth
this train used to depart Cairns on a wednesday and return saturday a round trip of about 800kms or 500miles
it was a goods train with about three passenger carriages attached at the back
it was a relaxing trip through outback australia
i was on this train about two months before it closed
and i got my moneys worth.

as you can see this caused the problem
you can still do this trip on The Savannahlander
http://www.savannahlander.com.au/?gclid=CJSp5sPHkqcCFQ3bbgod9XkWcA

cheers,
patchy

These tracks look like those on the local railroad where I live. The once mighty Boston & Maine became Guilford Transportation. GTI was a made up name based on the town in Connecticut where the CEO lives. The railroad is essentially a write off for the Mellon Family. Timothy Mellon, of the famous Mellon Bank legacy likes trains so he bought the company, but instead of putting money into the organization, he sucks the money out and runs such a thin operation that there are roll-overs all the time in Lawrence yard.

If there is any maintenance, it's done by the local transport authority (MBTA) for the commuter rail operations, so these jokers get a free ride on the good rails. Their engines aren't much better. The 35-40 year old GP40-s and SD40-2s are in rough shape, blowing smoke like old Alcos.

John

 

[patchy]

regards to the rails
the broken rail had a date of 1919

cheers,
patchy

 

[JCitron]

regards to the rails
the broken rail had a date of 1919

cheers,
patchy

Yup. Very much the same! The old M&L branch which dated back to 1842 or so is like that. The line is now a 2 mile branch into Lawrence only because GTI discouraged all business on it except for one warehouse. The rails date back to 1909-1910 in a lot of places with many of them buried in dirt up to the top of the rail. Until recently, just after the Route 28 crossing, was a semaphore signal. The vandals destroyed that and now there are no signals on what's left of the line.

John

 

[magickmaker]

Someone needs to strengthen the cabs of those EMD E-and-F-units. Who'd of thought they'd be so fragile? That shunter was a lot smaller, but not damaged as much.

The F units and E units were designed to do that. Meaning that it was a safety feature built in to better ensure the survivability of the crews. This came in a design well before the idea of "crumple zones" were built in.

 

[tikkamassala]

The Famous Canada incident.(do NOT try at home)

I once Watched an internet Film called head on Collision (wich was Wierdly presented by Air crash investigations)
It was about a CN Freight Train and a VIA Passenger Train.
Get to know the Trains:
CN Freight:The Drivers Did only get a 3 hour sleep and in the Dark morning had to catch the freight train relieving the earlier Crew.A forbidden action was taken wich is running to the train and grabbing it at the railing and then pulling on board(Normaly the Train should stop and let them board but they just ignored that Rule)They then Started back to the Drivers Home town
VIA Passenger:The Passenger Train was stopping at a Station to refill on Passengers and also for other Diesely Buisness.Then Train then Continius Its Journey
how the Crash Happend:
they Driver of the CN Train Decided to lodge a heavy object onto the Deadmans pedal and Went to sleep(so Did his mate)Theyre 2nd mate in The caboose Tried to Contact them over Radio to Warn them about a red signal but he got no reply.The Train stormed past the Siding Line(The Canadian railways only have 1 track line And decided to set up siding similar Tracks so that other Trains can Pass)but the Sleepy Drivers Didnt Notice and slept on.The man in the Caboose Didnt notice that he Should Pull the Emergency brake.And The Two Trains collided.Causing a Masive explosion.
Aftermath:
CN Freight:the Two Sleepy Drivers Died since they were in the front and the Two trains Curriered with full speed into eachother.the Mate in the Caboose Survived.
Passenger:Most are killed and others Survived by finding there way out of the Burning wreckage of what was a VIA Passenger Train.And there was a high amount of heavy injured People.
The Fault:the CN drivers Decided to ignore the Safety Features and Slept throughout the Entire Drama.By putting a Heavy object onto the Deadmans pedal.

 

[tikkamassala]

g'day all,
here's a few shots of once a brilliant train ride from Cairns to Forsayth
this train used to depart Cairns on a wednesday and return saturday a round trip of about 800kms or 500miles
it was a goods train with about three passenger carriages attached at the back
it was a relaxing trip through outback australia
i was on this train about two months before it closed
and i got my moneys worth

as you can see this caused the problem
you can still do this trip on The Savannahlander
http://www.savannahlander.com.au/?gclid=CJSp5sPHkqcCFQ3bbgod9XkWcA

cheers,
patchy

Money WORTH?!now Thats my Friend is Sarcasim.Its not worth it AT ALL!!What you get is what might have killed someone!!

 

[cascaderailroad]

I seriuosly doubt that he broke the rail himself. It weren't hiz fault !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDpoZHVNB5M&feature=related

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