Oil train disaster in Lac-Mégantic, Québec 07-06-2013

Many businesses hire risk assessment and reduction consultants, either in house or from outside firms specializing in such work.
It appears that the circumstances existing before the runaway were an accident waiting to happen. A 73 car unit train of hazardous
material being parked on a 1%+ grade above a town where the track passes through the a uban area and being tied down by a single
employee at night, who could possibly be on "short time" and with a lead locomotive that probably has seen better days to be the only
locomotive left running. It would seem likely that a railroad knowledgable risk assessment/reduction consultant would have made a
recommendation that the hazmat train not be parked there and that a portable derail or similar device be used along with the MM&A
SOP for securing main line trains. Of course, when businesses receive safety recommendations that cost more than a few dollars, the
bean counters down the hall always get involved. For example, the Minnesota DOT was begging for additional funding for bridge
repairs, including the I-35 Mississippi River Bridge, which had been found to have serious structural issues. But the Governor vetoed
an increase in the gas tax and stated only a few months before the collapse that the bridge would be good for another 5-7 years. 13
people died when the bridge collapsed. Politics trumped safety with dire consequences.

Anyone know if Irving is still receiving crude oil via Canadian National? AFAIK, there have been no loaded oil trains over PAR for the
past week or so.

Probably the most accurate and informative graphic of the event I've seen.

"The night a train destroyed a town"

http://wpmedia.news.nationalpost.com/20 ... b2400e.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Dick H wrote: Anyone know if Irving is still receiving crude oil via Canadian National? AFAIK, there have been no loaded oil trains over PAR for the past week or so.

There were views on NE Rail of an eastbound PAR oil train thru Bangor last Friday, July 12th. NB Southern deliverd the cars to St. John N.B. the following day.....60 loads.

With a FRA Track Geo train possibly on the way from PAR to check the US side of MM&A,dont be suprized if the entire RR
gets shut down due to track conditions. Could the Canadian TSB requesting "help" from the FRA to check "in Canada" part
of MM&A??

The "National Post" is the Canadian version of "USA Today",did a very good job explaining what happened,
much better than most of the US press did.

Dick H wrote:
Anyone know if Irving is still receiving crude oil via Canadian National? AFAIK, there have been no loaded oil trains over PAR for the
past week or so.

There was an eb Thursday night, July 18, in NB from McAdam NB to Saint John that had crude tanks on it and a west bound Thursday morning with empties.

They were getting crude from 3 different railroads. CSX brings it from ND and Pan Am picks up the crude from CSX at Rotterdam Jct. ( near Albany NY ), then routed into Mass., toward Southern Maine. This movement is symbolled RJMA / MARJ, for Rotterdam Jct. - Mattawamkeag ME., between those points. Maine Eastern (Irvings US railroad, in name only) picks it up at the Keag and brings it into NB, crossing at Vanceboro Maine and on to NB Southerns (NBSR) yard at McAdam NB, a crew change point and distribution centre (loads and empties sorted for St. Stephen NB and the pulp mill at Woodlands Maine and the US. The Irvings NB Southern takes it on to Saint John.

Crude also comes by CN. If the crude train comes directly from North Dakota it would come by BNSF and would interchange with CN at Chicago. Cn brings it to Gordon Yard in Moncton NB on it's main trains from/to Toronto's Mac yard and Chicago. Then it is brought from there to CNs Island yard at Saint John NB by another CN train. NB Southern picks it up in CN's Island yard and takes it to it's yard at Dever Rd ( they are fairly close together) Then, when needed, takes some on to the unload facilities at the refinery. Incidentally, CN has contracted NBSR to switch their Island yard. I must note that almost all the routing information has come from members of my RailsNB Facebook group. If you want to see the yards, lines and refinery in Saint John, Google ' Saint John, NB '. Also check out the RailsNB Facebook page if you want to know the movements and loads concerning NBSR. You can join it too if you like. We have some members from Missouri and New England.

Hopefully this helps

In my humble experience, one of the first things they've taught in train school over the last decade or so is "Don't Bottle The Air!" You can't get away with it anymore, these new cars & brake hoses are tight as a drum.

As soon as that lone loco was shut down, that's exactly what you suddenly had: Bottled static air in a sealed mile-long brake pipe, just waiting for some echo or reverberation to trick the brake valves on the individual cars into releasing, creating an inexorable positive feedback loop. It didn't have to be a fire either, the locomotive could just as easily have run out of fuel or thrown a rod, etc.

Completely reckless in my opinion to leave a dangerous, loaded train on a grade unattended in this manner... Although it probably didn't help that there was now diesel, oil, water & foam all over the place further reducing friction for whatever handbrakes were applied.

I feel like some folks have missed this point: If the damn train was put in emergency to begin with, it wouldn't have moved an inch, handbrakes or no...

There is a report that hazmat tanker trains can no longer be left unattended on main lines
on the D&H (CP). Unknown if this is a directive of the railroad or a FRA directive applying
to all US railroads.

One of the sources listed at the bottom is railroad.net (this site)!

Cowford wrote:Probably the most accurate and informative graphic of the event I've seen.
"The night a train destroyed a town"
http://wpmedia.news.nationalpost.com/20 ... b2400e.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

dick h. i believe the i-35 bridge collapse was due to dumping 50 + tons of rock in a small area. the governor was not at fault for stopping a tax increase. i'd opine that the bridge was not 'structurally deficient' before the re-decking effort began.
looking at before photos i was shocked to see dump trailers spotting 25 tons/trailer in the same area. ken patrick

swampoodle- i stated the same in earlier posts. i was surprised how many posters argued that dumping the air was also problematic. i began thinking that the posters were not all that knowledgable about trainline environments and were reactionists when i suggested that mm&a was 'penny-wise'. your post clarifies the issue. i see no downside to dumping the air. and for operators out there- if you pump up the air and do a release, can you 'feel' a car dragging? i know a car will slide but can it be felt in the cab? do eot devices eliminate the nead for a visual? ken patrick

Carroll wrote:Maine Eastern (Irvings US railroad, in name only)...

Just to clarify: the company you're referring to is Eastern Maine Railway. Maine Eastern Railroad is a completely different company and is not affiliated with NBSR or Irving.

News video from CTV News:

Railroad companies review safety procedures in wake of Lac-Megantic disaster

From the Ottawa Citizen:

Ottawa Citizen wrote:Only the charred, twisted remains of the train can answer a key question in the Lac-Mégantic disaster: how many hand brakes did engineer Tom Harding set when he parked 72 cars full of crude oil in nearby Nantes on July 5?

Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway has said Harding set too few hand brakes. But questions are also being raised about MMA’s actions.

Had the railway specifically instructed Harding to use a sufficient number of brakes at this location, which is on a 1.2-per-cent grade, relatively steep in railway terms? And did MMA’s one-person-crew policy contribute to the accident?

Read more at: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/montr ... story.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

MEC407 wrote:

Carroll wrote:Maine Eastern (Irvings US railroad, in name only)...

Just to clarify: the company you're referring to is Eastern Maine Railway. Maine Eastern Railroad is a completely different company and is not affiliated with NBSR or Irving.

That was bound to happen MEC407. I can never keep them straight. I believe the State required Irving to register a name in Maine for giving Irving control of the Maine State owned tracks they bought from MMA. That's from memory as I can't find my notes right now.

Carroll

No worries! I just wanted to alleviate any confusion among other readers who aren't familiar with the area. I'm sure the last thing Maine Eastern wants at this point is to be associated with this situation in any way.

The name that Irving uses for the ex-BAR tracks they lease from the state is Maine Northern Railway.

I'm not sure if the different name is a state requirement, a standard business practice, or both. As an example, St. Lawrence & Atlantic Railroad has a slightly different name for its operations in Canada: St-Laurent et Atlantique Québec. (They also have two reporting marks, SLR for US and SLQ for Canada.) I believe MMA has separate names as well: Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway, Inc. (for US ops), and Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Canada Company (for Canada ops).