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

Everyone: I have noted some more media coverage in the past 36 hours concerning this
derailment/fire disaster even though the SFO plane crash investigation remains front and
center at media outlets like CNN...

From sources such as the CBC links and photos posted we all get to see how badly devastated
the Quebec town of Lac-Megantic was from the resulting explosions and fires...With a Google
Earth map as a before comparison we can all get an idea how bad that this tragedy was...

I realize that it is far too early to speculate anything on how this runaway train may have
happened but it looks to me that it might be one of two possibilities:
First-crew or human error concerning the brakes on the consist;
Second-vandalism or maybe even an act of deliberate sabotage...

The clean-up following this accident looks like it will take some time and the
follow-up investigation looks like it will be quite elaborate...Lac-Megantic just may
never be the same again and the rebuilding process is going to take years...

In closing I will send along my regards to those affected by this tragedy and salute
all the fire and rescue crews that are dealing with the aftermath of this disaster...

Thoughts from MACTRAXX

To follow up upon Mr. Maxtrax's immediate thought, major media is now picking up the story. Mr. NH2060's earlier thought likely prevailed while Asiana 216 was lead, but now that the cause of likely pilot error has been largely established, it is time to move on to Megantic.

Although I compliment The Journal, a voice advocating pipelines in place of rail for crude for their objective reporting. their cadre of columnists are likely still warming up in the bullpen:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... 97430.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Anti Keystone XL Times reporting is objective, but there is still some lean towards pipelines:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/08/world ... ebate.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I cannot overemphasize the significance of Megantic to anyone holding a stake in the railroad industry - that even includes young railfans who enjoy snapping pics of those long tubular trains.

Gilbert B Norman wrote:I cannot overemphasize the significance of Megantic to anyone holding a stake in the railroad industry - that even includes young railfans who enjoy snapping pics of those long tubular trains.

Well said. These types of petroleum trains run through here in Western/Central New York every day on
the ex-NYC--- both Crude Oil and Ethanol. All it takes is a single axle to jump the tracks and God only
knows what would happen to one of the small villages the line passes through.

Charlie

Same with Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine. They travel through some heavily populated areas, including cities, e.g. {just to name a few] Fitchburg, Lowell, Portland, Auburn-Lewiston, Bangor . . . There has been no little concern raised about them.

Several interesting articles in the Canadian media this morning.

First, from CTV News:

CTV News wrote:“One fact that has emerged is the locomotive of the oil train parked at Nantes station was shut down subsequent to the departure of the engineer who had handled the train from Farnham, which may have resulted in the release of air brakes on the locomotive that was holding the train in place,” the company said.

MMA noted, however, that it does not have “complete information” about the chain of events that led to the disaster. The company said the government’s investigation into the derailment has “largely prevented” it from completing its own probe.

The Transportation Safety Board said Sunday its investigators have inspected the locomotive and recovered the train’s black box.

The TSB would not speculate on the possible cause of the disaster, which killed at least five people and destroyed half of Lac-Megantic’s downtown core.
. . .
Donald Ross, the TSB investigator in charge, would only say that the initial fire is part of the agency’s “360-degree” investigation.

Story and video at: http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/black-box- ... -1.1357264" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Second, from The Globe and Mail:

The Globe and Mail wrote:The deadly train derailment in Quebec has placed a spotlight on the Maine-based company’s strategy of assigning one person to handle each stage of the trip.

Officials at Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway confirmed Sunday that there was one locomotive engineer, who left the train unattended late Friday night, part of a routine in which the worker departs at the end of a shift to clear the way for the next engineer to be seated on the right-hand side of the locomotive.

In the United States, union leaders have decried the growing practice by some American railways to deploy a lone employee on a shift. While companies argue that there have been advances in remote-control technology to help guide trains, a group of workers produced bumper stickers last fall that read: “No single-employee train crews. Protect your family. Protect your community.”

Read more at: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/nat ... e13059222/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Also of interest, and also from The Globe and Mail, a story about Lac-Mégantic's long history as a railway town:

The Globe and Mail wrote:Before downtown Lac-Mégantic was consumed by a raging inferno sparked by a runaway freight train, its core was adorned with flags bearing the motto: “From the railway to the Milky Way.”

The picturesque lakeside town of about 6,000 people, located in a remote forested corner of Quebec about 35 kilometres from the Maine border, used to be perhaps best known for its star-streaked skies and an observatory that attracted astronomers from around the world.

But the town’s history is intimately interwoven with the railroad that has become the scene of its worst tragedy.

The town was founded as Mégantic in 1884, when construction began on the last leg of the transcontinental railway linking Montreal to the Maritimes. When that line, the International Railway of Maine, opened in 1889, it made the town the intersection of the Canadian Pacific Railway. It was renamed Lac-Mégantic in 1958.

Read more at: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/nat ... e13058738/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Finally, from the The Montéal Gazette:

The Montéal Gazette wrote:As investigators begin to sift through the wreckage of downtown Lac-Mégantic, family and friends of the 40 people still missing after the spectacular blaze early Saturday morning might have to accept the grim reality that it could be days, months or even years before some of their loved ones are positively identified amid the ashes.

Given the intensity of the fire and the heat — which razed 30 buildings and, according to some witnesses, could be felt kilometres away — it’s possible people were completely vapourized in the explosions, said Geneviève Guilbault, a spokesperson for the Quebec coroner’s office who was on site Sunday.

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

Also, if you want to help but you're not sure what to do, donations can be made to the Canadian Red Cross. Here is a direct link to the Lac-Mégantic section of their web site: http://www.redcross.ca/donate/donate-on ... elief-fund" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Surprised Crude would be that explosive. But there is another term being used, "DilBit", short for Diluted Bitumen, which contains a solvent, to make the tar flow.

I'm wondering if the train wasn't carrying DilBit, because I don't believe Crude could be that explosive.

Okay,
The information seems to be varying....is this the correct account?

The train was first tied down by the engineer, presumably left idling. Next, one of the locomotives caught fire and had to be attended to by fire crews and by MMA.
After that, the train (which had already been through Lac Megantic, began to roll backwards toward town. During the descent, the locomotives and 10+ cars broke free and stopped short of town, while the remaining 50+ continued toward town.

Video, taken on Sunday, two days after the accident, of a westbound empty oil train parked in the first siding east of Lac Megantic. I only hear the lone GE running.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGg0tW8PgTc" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


The amateur videographer confirms the cab door on the empty is unlocked

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOwPYr38A1c" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

hotbike wrote:Surprised Crude would be that explosive. But there is another term being used, "DilBit", short for Diluted Bitumen, which contains a solvent, to make the tar flow.

I'm wondering if the train wasn't carrying DilBit, because I don't believe Crude could be that explosive.

It is believed that the runaway oil cars collided with propane cars on a siding. It's probably reasonable to assume that the propane cars exploded on impact and are responsible for the violence and intensity of the blast.

As far as the oil cars are concerned, it has been stated in several articles that they were carrying Bakken shale oil from North Dakota. Diluted bitumen (dilbit, tar sands, etc) comes from Alberta, Canada.

p42thedowneaster wrote:
attended to... by MMA.

That part not yet determined.

p42thedowneaster wrote: After that, the train (which had already been through Lac Megantic, began to roll backwards toward town. During the descent, the locomotives and 10+ cars broke free and stopped short of town, while the remaining 50+ continued toward town.

The EB train was tied down west of town, at Nantes. As a runaway, it rolled through power-first, and the power made it through what became the crash site.

From The Toronto Star:

The Toronto Star wrote:Ed Burkhardt, chairman of the Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway, said Sunday night that the train’s sole engineer shut down four of the five locomotive units on the train, as is standard procedure, in the neighbouring community of Nantes before heading to Lac Mégantic to sleep. Burkhardt said the next engineer was probably due to arrive at daybreak.

But someone managed to shut down the fifth locomotive unit, he said. The railroad alleges someone tampered with the controls of the fifth engine, the one maintaining brake pressure to keep the train stopped.

“If the operating locomotive is shut down, there’s nothing left to keep the brakes charged up, and the brake pressure will drop finally to the point where they can’t be held in place any longer,” Burkhardt said.

There are two ways to shut down the fifth unit: There’s an emergency lever on the outside of the locomotive that anyone wandering by could access. Or, there are a number of levers and buttons inside the unlocked cabin.

Both means were used, said Burkhardt.

Read more at: http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2013 ... osion.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;