Southwest Chief Derails In Kansas

The train was caught heading through Lenexa, KS after being rerailed, damage doesn't look too bad.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llflooXSEz0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Thanks to JLJ061 and KansasScanner for the video.
Boy, the World Wide Web is great.

On a move like that with no passengers, what is the crew requirement? Just engineer and conductor? And would the conductor ride up front like a freight if no passengers aboard? Would HEP even be powered up?

Believe the HEP would be up for battery charging and basic low level lighting in the cars,and to run the fridge and freezer
units on the diner and lounge car(to forstall the "smell" thats created when warm)
There will be an engineer and conductor,unknown if the "On board service staff" were bused home or riding the deadhead.
Might have a couple of Mech Dept types to keep watch on the "patch" repairs done(the plywood doors and window plugs)

Of interest from the video is the train speed. Apparently BNSF did not consider it a "Hospital Train" and accordingly restrict its speed to, say, 25mph.

unless there is damage to trucks or wheels there would be no need for speed restriction, FRA will require new wheels under cars if traveled more than x amount of feet off rail.

todays passenger cars do require battery power for several things fed of battery, like wheel slip system and markers, so I assume HEP was hooked up.

Most probably they ran the cars in direct release with a Fred on the rear. No need for HEP

The Amtrak P42DC are set up for this from the ill fated mail and express days. Amtrak bought a bunch of Freds too.

This seems to be SOP for hospital trains

From the video,the HEP cables are in,NO fred,Backup hose still hooked up.

If you can tell the backup hose and no fred from the half frame of video at the end of that video, then you have better eyes then me.

scoostraw wrote:Was it even at a crossing?

And how the heck do you move the track a full foot and not realize you need to do/say something about it?

I've been in one of these (long story), and if you're pulling a heavy trailer with a heavy tractor you really don't notice anything upfront if something in the back grabs hold of something on the ground, when traveling at low speed.

JLJ061 wrote:The train was caught heading through Lenexa, KS after being rerailed, damage doesn't look too bad.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llflooXSEz0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

One can only wonder how bad the cars looked on the opposite side of the train.

A few more plastic plugs where the Emergency Windows were pulled by passengers and rescue personel,
scratch marks from the ladders used.

The NTSB has posted a preliminary report on the Southwest Chief derailment:

http://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/Acci ... relim.aspx

It sounds like somebody driving a feed truck tried to cross the tracks without benefit of an actual crossing, knocking the tracks out of alignment:

National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigators observed that the railroad ties and tracks at mile post 373.07 were out of their normal positions and established the point of derailment as 25 feet beyond this location. The forward-facing video from the lead locomotive showed abnormal track immediately before the derailment.

At the scene, investigators found fresh damage to the north ends of the ties at MP 373.07 and fresh tire tracks perpendicular to the railroad tracks. They also found a small amount of flaked corn, a type of cattle feed.

Investigators traced the tire tracks to a feed lot owned by Cimarron Crossing Feeders, LLC, where the tread on a 2004 Kenworth International truck matched the tire track impressions at the scene. The truck hauls flaked corn and distributes it to feed bins.

Investigators observed damage to the truck’s front bumper. The front bumper’s left and right mounting brackets were broken; the fracture faces were clean and had no sign of oxidation—indicating a recent break. Investigators examined the tire treads of the vehicle and matched it with the tire track patterns observed at MP 373.07.

You can see where the front of the truck dug in. Who knows - this guy might have "successfully" crossed the tracks before and got away with it.

I have yet to read an interview with the driver.

That's one heck of a "wrong turn",would like to read the interview and that driver's log book,
and what the drug test results are.
Maybe in another 6-8 months the final report and docket files will be avaible.