Derailment in Paulsboro

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/break ... tance.html

From the Inquirer this morning.

Awwwwww......... It looks like the unique A-frame movable bridge over Mantua Creek is no more. Terrible collapse!

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... id=3261046

Photo of A frame bridge collapse here: http://www.nj.com/gloucester-county/ind ... evacu.html
and here: http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/gallery?sec ... id=8903322
Bing map of it here: http://www.bing.com/maps/#JnE9Lk4lMmIzO ... g2MTEzNzM5

This is bad news on several levels, one of which is that this route may be the only one for Conrail Shared assets to move equipment north and south from Carney's Point and Paulsboro to to Woodbury and on to Pavonia in Camden. Anyone know if there is some trackage redundancy anymore that would allow trains to access the Camden freight yard by using some alternative route?

As far as I know there are no other routes to get to Carney's Point; it has been widely known those tracks down there were in a bad state of condition, although I thought New Jersey was funding currently to rahab the line.

The cause of the failure may not have been due to the steel, but due to the abutment below.

From a model railroader's chat:

But I knew better. I knew the cause right off, having an understanding of the engineering principles behind the bridge: it was compromise of the abutment support function. You see, that A-frame and those stringer cables do not support the weight of a train when the bridge is "closed" (closed for boat traffic, open for rail traffic). In that position, the "deck" (the part that can swing open) rests on the abutments so that the bridge functions in that position as a simple deck girder bridge, with girders supported at both ends by pilings or whatever. The A-frame and stringer cables are only called upon to support the deck when it is in the "open for boats" position. The stringer cable snapped when the abutment gave way somewhat and the weight of the train caused a shifting of the deck in its closed position, putting too much stress on those cables.

http://www.thewhistlepost.com/forums/ra ... ridge.html

95 years of age and scour and hurricanes have taken their toll.

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... id=3292216
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... id=3292217
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... id=3292219

another local CA-05 took the rest of the consist north towards Pavonia ...
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... id=3292221
(images credited)

image from a member of the cleanup team
http://sjrail.com/DailyPhotos/Derailment.jpg
(credit: J. Nagle via PRSLHS)

Interesting... Did a collapse cause the derailment... Or did a derailment destroy the bridge?

Sure looks like there is still a bridge deck in place in some of those photos...

is that just fog or a haze from the leaking cars?

Steve F45 wrote:is that just fog or a haze from the leaking cars?

It happened early in the morning near the water, so it might just be fog. However, vinyl chloride is a gas at atmospheric pressure and normal temp, so maybe its that as well. Pretty eerie looking either way.

Reminds me of a Thomas the Tank Engine derailment - but on a larger scale.

jstolberg wrote:The cause of the failure may not have been due to the steel, but due to the abutment below.

From a model railroader's chat:

But I knew better. I knew the cause right off, having an understanding of the engineering principles behind the bridge: it was compromise of the abutment support function. You see, that A-frame and those stringer cables do not support the weight of a train when the bridge is "closed" (closed for boat traffic, open for rail traffic). In that position, the "deck" (the part that can swing open) rests on the abutments so that the bridge functions in that position as a simple deck girder bridge, with girders supported at both ends by pilings or whatever. The A-frame and stringer cables are only called upon to support the deck when it is in the "open for boats" position. The stringer cable snapped when the abutment gave way somewhat and the weight of the train caused a shifting of the deck in its closed position, putting too much stress on those cables.

http://www.thewhistlepost.com/forums/ra ... ridge.html

95 years of age and scour and hurricanes have taken their toll.

I've seen in other forums people say it might have been a miter joint problem, causing the derailment, not a structural failure. But I think the above comments are right on -- if you look at this news video, around the 2:30 mark, you can see the north end of the bridge (left in this view) is sunken -- the rail support clearly appears to have buckled centered on the middle of the bridge - consistent with the above comment about abutments supporting the load on either end and one of them failing. JS
http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/video/ ... ew-jersey/

Steve F45 wrote:is that just fog or a haze from the leaking cars?

It was foggy but the low cloud around the cars is almost certainly vinyl chloride.

So the bridge abutment failed? or the locking of bridge to same failed? or what known so far?

What I'd like to know is what Conrail is going to do with all that rail traffic and businesses south of Paulsboro, including a power plant.