The derailment occurred near Joplin, Montana, not far from the Canadian border. No information, as yet, as to the cause of the derailment. I will be taking the Empire Builder next July on a trip from Vancouver, WA to Whitefish.
Richard
TBlack Member # 181
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Obviously, this is a serious tragedy, but what annoys me is the focus on AMTRAK and not on the folks who are supposed to maintain the roadbed.
Gilbert B Norman Member # 1541
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Home; learned of this incident on the $365 EXPRESS' in Moab Breakfast Room TV.
Subsequent reports have stated the train was NOT speeding; doing 75 in a 79.
Woe to those who speculate; but bet it was a track deficiency. But even if such is proven to be the case (NTSB will find out; everything's there) the liability provisions (at least "back in my day") called for "no fault". this means Warren will fix up his track, but Amtrak will pay for their equipment, AND the injuries/fatalities to their employees and passengers (BNSF pays for their employees if any were around).
Gilbert B Norman Member # 1541
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This interview with an informed passenger should prove interesting:
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Gilbert, Thanks for posting that. Most informative. Tom
yukon11 Member # 2997
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Yes, very informative and interesting video. I'm surprised and gratified by the number of citizens that came out to help. The little towns between Havre and East Glacier are few and far between. When I worked at the little hospital in Browning, we used to have disaster drills especially for a potential Empire Builder train derailment. However, I don't think our hospital could handle anything except for a few bone fractures, cuts, and bruises.
Wow, that guy in the video was sure an Amtrak aficionado. Riding every Amtrak train since 1974 with over 100,000 miles logged. Amtrak should give him a million guest rewards bonus points.
Richard
George Harris Member # 2077
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My comment on some of the commenters on the video, most of which said here should be obvious to people on here: Quite a few of the commenters on this interview should get some award for stupidity, ignorance, or a combination thereof. If you want a cause wait a few months for the NTSB, that is National Transportation Safety Board report on the accident. This is a heavily used top quality main line. Listen to the guy. Good ride quality track. Look at the pictures, appears that derailment occurred in advance of the siding turnout (switch to some of you) These switches are power operated, and the interlocks with the signal system prevents them from being thrown under the train. I will not speculate as to cause. Minimal research will tell you the track is owned by BNSF. No way you can tell which way the switch was set from any of the pictures. The alignment in this area may be over 100 years old, but the components of the track definitely not. Funding for track maintenance of this line does not come from the US government or any other government agency, but from BNSF.
Jerome Nicholson Member # 3116
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Is it possible the derailment was caused by a sun kink ? Or an extreme one but enough to put the train on the ground?
George Harris Member # 2077
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quote:Originally posted by Jerome Nicholson: Is it possible the derailment was caused by a sun kink ? Or an extreme one but enough to put the train on the ground?
This seems a likely possibility, but I dare not speculate. Wait for the NTSB.
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