by AmtrakFan
Does anyone have any info on what happened in the 1986 VIA Crash in Hinton, AB? I know it hit a CN train.
Railroad Forums
Moderator: Ken V
B&M E7 wrote:ALSO: there was VERY little media coverage of this wreck in the USA, I guess seeing that it did not occurr in the "lower 48", it was deemed not to be of interest by the American news media.My area got coverage of that wreck on the news....not just a blurb either. That still sticks in my mind, right along with the Amtrak wreck at Chase, MD, less than 11 months later.
Silverliner II wrote:You mean there was no Hours of Service regulations for Canadian railways at the time of that crash?Apparently not. I was surprised to find that the engineers on the Super Continental didn't apply the breaks. Of course, many of our safety enhancements arise out of major tragrdies like this. No we have in cab signals that will stop a train if the engineer blows through a stop signal. Plus, I believe that now, the Via train would probaly be stopped once a freight blew a signal and came off the siding back onto the main line.
Plus, I believe that now, the Via train would probaly be stopped once a freight blew a signal and came off the siding back onto the main line.However, that probably would have been the case in 1986, too--had there been enough time. As VIA Train 4 was approaching the siding, it had a clear signal. The switch was lined for Train 4, and CN Train 413 was (supposedly) going to stop to wait for it to pass. But by the time 413 ran the signal and entered the single track, it was only 40 seconds before the collision.