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

Be certain to review the Reader Comments attached to the Wall Street Journal article linked by Mr. Doughney in the prior page. For ready reference, here is a link to the material:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... 41312.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Some could actually be called mature, and some, unfortunately, are starting up the build pipelines drumroll.

Unfortunately there is a lot of wild speculation going on at all of the various newspaper and media web sites. On the Bangor Daily News web site, the discussions have already devolved in multiple unfortunate directions, ranging from "all railroads are ticking time bombs" to wild conspiracy theories about where the train was going and what it was hauling... along with the expected/predictable injection of politics into the dialog, and associated finger-pointing from both sides.

I'm hopeful that we won't go down that road here at RAILROAD.NET.

Too much speculation. I've heard many different things from many different sources but only the next few days will reveal the truth. There should be news updates this evening. Stay tuned.

Since the wreck occurred in Canada there will be somewhat less coverage than if it happened in the USA, and with the plane crash in San Francisco just minutes ago, this story will take a lot of attention away from what is happening in Lac Megantic. There will be certainly many who will point a finger at oil transport by rail, some attacks will come from groups who oppose the use of fossil fuels and people who really don't care how the oil is transported, they just want it left in the ground.

Studies show that the incident of accidents transporting fuel is six times higher for rail, but that the amount of fuel leaked is three times higher for pipelines. This means that rail transport of fuels is in fact safer with regard to the leakage of oil.

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/05/14 ... 73725.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Petroleum alone can cause a BLEVE if there's water in the tank. Doesn't have to be butane or propane or LPG.

It's possible there was a leak in one of the cars & it found an ignition source & the other cars popped like exploding dominoes one by one.

From CBC News:

CBC News wrote:Quebec provincial police confirmed one death on Saturday afternoon, and Sgt. Grégory Gomez del Prado told CBC it's possible up to 100 people could be missing, although he said it is difficult to pin down an exact number.

Read more at: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/ ... -fire.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Someone on Twitter has posted a photo of what they claim is the train involved in the incident, apparently stating that it was "already on fire" and "on autopilot" (?) shortly before the incident:

https://twitter.com/MrHuchette/status/3 ... 7897071617" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It's impossible to tell from the blurry image (cell phone photo?) whether or not there was anyone inside the locomotive... and the appearance of flames, if that's what they are, might just be typical GE turbo lag.

Nevertheless, a number of media outlets are taking this as Gospel and reporting it.

Everyone is talking about "oil trains" , this explosion sounds more like an ethanol explosion. Crude oil is more of a combustible rather than
highly flammable such as you have with ethanol. A strange item is how does the engineer leave the train tied down and then it rolls down a hill, and SEPERATES from the rest of the train?? Sounds to me like there was possibly sabotage involved here. A lot of unanswered questions here.
Plus this will probably put MMA out of business as they were operating with old cast offs from other rairoads, marginal track conditions etc.

MEC407 wrote:Someone on Twitter has posted a photo of what they claim is the train involved in the incident, apparently stating that it was "already on fire" and "on autopilot" (?) shortly before the incident:

https://twitter.com/MrHuchette/status/3 ... 7897071617" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It's impossible to tell from the blurry image (cell phone photo?) whether or not there was anyone inside the locomotive... and the appearance of flames, if that's what they are, might just be typical GE turbo lag.

Nevertheless, a number of media outlets are taking this as Gospel and reporting it.

I don't know what to think of that because there are reports the engines had cut loose from the cars before they rolled off. That could be a shot of an engine from somewhere else with a stack fire.

toolmaker wrote:

MEC407 wrote:Someone on Twitter has posted a photo of what they claim is the train involved in the incident, apparently stating that it was "already on fire" and "on autopilot" (?) shortly before the incident:

https://twitter.com/MrHuchette/status/3 ... 7897071617" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It's impossible to tell from the blurry image (cell phone photo?) whether or not there was anyone inside the locomotive... and the appearance of flames, if that's what they are, might just be typical GE turbo lag.

Nevertheless, a number of media outlets are taking this as Gospel and reporting it.

I don't know what to think of that because there are reports the engines had cut loose from the cars before they rolled off. That could be a shot of an engine from somewhere else with a stack fire.

That's what NBC news said tonight, that they rolled off and no engines were coupled up. Sounds like nobody tied the brakes down and chocked a wheel.

Freddy wrote:

toolmaker wrote:

MEC407 wrote:Someone on Twitter has posted a photo of what they claim is the train involved in the incident, apparently stating that it was "already on fire" and "on autopilot" (?) shortly before the incident:

https://twitter.com/MrHuchette/status/3 ... 7897071617" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It's impossible to tell from the blurry image (cell phone photo?) whether or not there was anyone inside the locomotive... and the appearance of flames, if that's what they are, might just be typical GE turbo lag.

Nevertheless, a number of media outlets are taking this as Gospel and reporting it.

I don't know what to think of that because there are reports the engines had cut loose from the cars before they rolled off. That could be a shot of an engine from somewhere else with a stack fire.

That's what NBC news said tonight, that they rolled off and no engines were coupled up. Sounds like nobody tied the brakes down and chocked a wheel.

Welp........I'm fairly sure there are lawyers lining up everywhere with foam dripping from their mouths.

My thoughts are with the families and loved ones of the victims.

Charlie

charlie6017 wrote:My thoughts are with the families and loved ones of the victims.

Hear, hear.

Meanwhile, the U.S. media has already shifted its focus nearly 100% to the 777 crash in SFO and virtually forgotten about the horror going on just north of us.

MEC407 wrote:Meanwhile, the U.S. media has already shifted its focus nearly 100% to the 777 crash in SFO and virtually forgotten about the horror going on just north of us.

Sadly, I'm not shocked at all. At one point I considered majoring in journalism........I'm glad
I didn't. Many media-types are very twisted individuals, in my humble opinion.

All the news sources are saying Crude Oil train, and from what pictures that are out there it looks to be. To anyone who thinks Crude Oil won't burn and burn heavily, did you forget the Gulf War? The vapors are what causes the explosions...

newpylong wrote:All the news sources are saying Crude Oil train, and from what pictures that are out there it looks to be. To anyone who thinks Crude Oil won't burn and burn heavily, did you forget the Gulf War? The vapors are what causes the explosions...

That's right. If Red Adair were alive today, he would say otherwise.

Charlie