In regard to how a "little truck" can derail a "big train" its quite simple.....
Lots of yards use "chocks" which are usually wooden (sometimes metal though) wedges placed on a rail, to prevent a stopped train from rolling. They usually weigh no more than about 5 pounds - the wooden ones, and are shoved between the rail and the wheel. Its sole purpose is to keep the train from rolling. Of course, this is done while the train is stopped, but still the same concept applies to what happened in this accident.
The Grand Cherokee is very light in compared to the train, but still has some heavy and sturdy compenents, namely the engine block, made of cast iron. while the train was hitting the vehicle, im assuming he pulled head first onto teh tracks, so the front of his truck would be facing the front of the train, the front of the vehicle would be crushed and shoved backwards. I never saw anythign about a switch being involved, but it would make sense, if one was. Probably, if there was no switch adn if the vehicle hit no obstructions (rail from a switch, grade xing, a bridge guide rails, etc) there is a good chance that the train might not have derailed. But as the car was sliding backwards, and wedged under the pilot of the train, its rear wheels and undercarrage hit the diverging rail of the switch, and crushed the car even more, and the heavy engine in the car or other parts of the car (wheels, axles, driveshaft, etc) probaby got wedged enough under the pilot or wheel or anything to kick the cab car off the rails.
The rest, as they say, is history.....
Last edited by Jtgshu on Fri Jan 28, 2005 2:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.
On the RR, "believe nothing you hear and only half of what you see"
John, aka "JTGSHU" passed away on August 26, 2013. We honor his memory and his devotion to railroading at railroad.net.
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