CN Edson, Alberta wreck
Ian Cranstone
From the pages of The Ottawa Citizen:
THREE DIE AS TRAIN CRASHES INTO RUNAWAY RAIL CARS
Officials say cars may have rolled down from Edson railyard
EDSON, Alta. (CP) - Mangled, melted rail cars lay scattered like match
sticks Tuesday after a freight train slammed head-on into a chain of
runaway rail cars that should have never been in its path.
The crash late Monday, which broke the silence of the bush with a blast
that sounded like a bomb to neighbors two kilometres away, killed three men
whose remains were pulled from the burned wreckage late Tuesday.
"We heard a really big blast and there was just a big flash of light," said
Bonnie Daniels, who runs a group home about two kilometres from the crash
site. "It actually shook the whole home. It was quite scary."
CN officials were scrambling to try to determine how about 20 unattended
cars left a railyard and rolled 10 kilometres downhill to smash into the
Vancouver-bound freight train, likely at a high speed, about 200 kilometres
west of Edmonton.
Conductor Ken Trout, 41, and locomotive engineer Jake Elder, 44, both of
Edmonton, were believed dead. So was John Eric Fraser, apparently a friend
of the crew members.
RCMP Const. John Griffiths said human remains were recovered, but would not
be identified until they were examined by forensic specialists.
The crash happened in darkness at about about 11:30 p.m. local time.
Boxcars piled up three storeys high on impact and cracked open, scattering
their contents along the tracks for more than half a kilometre.
[the pictures I saw showed only double-stack cars and grain hoppers]
About 30 of the 73 cars on the freight train derailed. The train originated
in Ontario.
Some of the freight cars were carrying dangerous chemicals, including
phosphoric acid and potassium hydroxide - used in fertilizers, gas
additives and bleach. But none of the spilled freight was considered a
threat to the environment or people.
The lead locomotive and engine directly behind it were nothing more than
charred hulks. Damage to the lead engine was so severe CN officials doubted
they would be able to recover its on-board event recorder.
[It's really hard to see the lead unit at all in the pictures, second unit
is badly damaged, third unit looks largely intact]
Trout and Elder were both veteran CN Rail employees. There was no
explanation for why the third man was with them. It's against CN policy for
people who are not crew members to be on freight trains.
The train had changed crews in Edmonton about 9 p.m. Monday.
Trout had about 23 years' experience on railways and returned to running
trains about two years ago after some time in management, said Hal
Whitfield of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers.
Elder's background was similar.
"Both of them were real good railroaders, guys who would be on top of the
rules and regulations, no problem," said Whitfield.
On Tuesday, the smell of burned diesel hung in the air at the isolated
crash site.
Box cars from Train 117 were piled end over end three to four metres high,
their contents spilled across the railway right of way.
Rescue dogs sniffed through the wreckage for bodies.
In the afternoon, ambulances pulled up to the crash site. Attendants
carried what looked like body bags to the lead locomotive.
CN officials were investigating how the rail cars ended up on tracks that
were supposed to be clear.
The tracks run gently downhill from the Edson rail yard where the mystery
cars were serviced just 40 minutes prior to the crash, said CN spokeswoman
Mary Jane Skulski.
It is possible they rolled down the slight grade from Edson, picking up
speed before slamming into the west-bound freight train.
"This is under full investigation and how they ended up here is part of the
investigation," said Skulski. "The bottom line is they shouldn't have been
here."
Human error or vandalism have not been ruled out, but Skulski said little
can be determined until the investigation is complete.
A signal was received in the Edmonton rail-traffic control office about
three minutes before the crash showing an obstruction on an adjacent track
that connects to the main line, said Rick Boyd, senior vice-president of CN
Rail West, from Montreal. But the controller didn't have enough information
to warn the train's crew, he said.
Officials were looking for the event recorders to find out how fast the
train was going, whether the brakes were applied and what bells or other
signals were recorded before impact.
The crash site is in a swampy, heavily forested area. CN had to send in
dump trucks to lay down gravel so equipment could be moved in to clean up.
The rail line - a main east-west link - was expected to be closed for at
least 48 hours.
Ian Cranstone
Kanata, Ont., Canada
lam...@magi.com
Colin Hughes
>About 10 years or so back, there was a terrible accident
>where a CN freight somehow got out of a siding and
>collided headon with a VIA train, killing many. Wasn't
>that also at Edson??
>
>
No that was a few miles (oops Kilometers) further West at Hinton. Still on
the same line though
Regards
Colin Hughes
Rich Copeland
John or Marcia Lucas
JCL
Joseph F Kazmar
>No that was a few miles (oops Kilometers) further West at Hinton. Still on
(Kilometers oops) Remember, railroads still use miles, and not kliks.
Joseph F. Kazmar
aka "JFK"