Located on the Columbus division between "BURT" Galion and Bellefontaine. Double-track with ABS Rules. Night time with rain.)
EXTRA 2840 WEST (Train SLX-1A with 2 units, 97 cars + caboose) was moving at about 40 mph when an end door on the 64th head car swung open and fouled the adjacent main track.
EXTRA 3171 EAST (Train MC-6 with 2 units, 78 cars + caboose) was moving at about 45 mph, passed the head end of the westbound, and the units were struck by the open end door killing the head brakeman who was in the second unit.
12 cars in SLX and 20 cars in MC derailed.
Investigation revealed that the end door mechanism on the NP boxcar had been partially torched off on the B&M RR before the car was interchanged to the PC. However, the end door locking assembly was seen to be defective on the PC at 3 different terminals including at its dispatchment from Selkirk. However, the accident report by the FRA noted that neither the PC nor the AAR had any specific procedure for dealing with this type of defect.
Also of interest was the fact that the NP car had been dispatched as a load on Feb. 18th from Arlington, WA and was 2 months into its roundtrip trek.
EXTRA 2840 WEST (Train SLX-1A with 2 units, 97 cars + caboose) was moving at about 40 mph when an end door on the 64th head car swung open and fouled the adjacent main track.
EXTRA 3171 EAST (Train MC-6 with 2 units, 78 cars + caboose) was moving at about 45 mph, passed the head end of the westbound, and the units were struck by the open end door killing the head brakeman who was in the second unit.
12 cars in SLX and 20 cars in MC derailed.
Investigation revealed that the end door mechanism on the NP boxcar had been partially torched off on the B&M RR before the car was interchanged to the PC. However, the end door locking assembly was seen to be defective on the PC at 3 different terminals including at its dispatchment from Selkirk. However, the accident report by the FRA noted that neither the PC nor the AAR had any specific procedure for dealing with this type of defect.
Also of interest was the fact that the NP car had been dispatched as a load on Feb. 18th from Arlington, WA and was 2 months into its roundtrip trek.