Wreck at Tennessee Crossing

[Overmod]

I live in Tennessee.  State law requires provision of an escort both before and behind any 'permitted' high-wide move.

An awful lot of these appear to be provided by squirrelly outfits that slap door stickers and light bars on SUVs or small pickups, and you may find them miles away from the move they're technically shepherding.

I was treated to one of the great examples of nitwittery when driving through Arkansas taking my son to a comics convention in Plano.  Someone being accompanied by a Texas "escort service" had been led down the cars-only ramp and was terribly stuck.  The woman flagging all the traffic down had utterly no clue how to get them out of there, although certainly possessed of enough attitude.  I could easily imagine that outfit leaving a rig in the straits the bridge=beam move 'found itself in'.  As I said, I'll be highly interested to learn the details of the escort...

[Euclid]

Overmod

I live in Tennessee.  State law requires provision of an escort both before and behind any 'permitted' high-wide move.

An awful lot of these appear to be provided by squirrelly outfits that slap door stickers and light bars on SUVs or small pickups, and you may find them miles away from the move they're technically shepherding.

I was treated to one of the great examples of nitwittery when driving through Arkansas taking my son to a comics convention in Plano.  Someone being accompanied by a Texas "escort service" had been led down the cars-only ramp and was terribly stuck.  The woman flagging all the traffic down had utterly no clue how to get them out of there, although certainly possessed of enough attitude.  I could easily imagine that outfit leaving a rig in the straits the bridge=beam move 'found itself in'.  As I said, I'll be highly interested to learn the details of the escort...

 

Regarding that the video I referred to that seemed to blame the driver for crossing without knowing that his rig would be in the clear after he crossed:  I now find that it does say that two escort vehicles were hired, and one was placed ahead of the truck and other was placed behind it.   

 

It says this:

 

“The Collegedale Police Department says they were not notified of the truck carrying the oversized load that was struck by the Norfolk Southern train.

 

They say the company responsible for transporting the load hired two escort cars for the tractor trailer. One escort car was in front and another behind the oversized load when the train struck.”

 

Link to the article:

 

https://newschannel9.com/news/local/rail-traffic-resumes-but-questions-remain-about-collegedale-train-collision-derailment-norfolk-southern-starette-trucking-company-bridge-beam-accident-video

 

I can see your points about the escort service, and would really like to hear their story.  Usually, it is normal to blame the driver.  But in effect, the escort service should have the final say in the driver’s moves.

 

If they gave the driver the all clear to cross, they should have stopped all traffic that could have interfered with the truck if the traffic signal was not clear for the driver. 

[Lithonia Operator]

Caution. Watch out for the moderators! All this talk of escort services ...

[BaltACD]

Lithonia Operator

Caution. Watch out for the moderators! All this talk of escort services ...

In my walks around my community, I notice one residence that has several SUV's parked on their property placarded for what I presume is their Pilot Car Service.

Baltimore is a seaport and gets many oversized shipments that need transportation from the port to inland destinations - a task the the B&O once specialized in but CSX has seemed to avoid with the closing of the Locust Point Marine Terminal as the destination for break bulk shipping.

I used to go to Hagerstown most every week to watch my Granddaughter's gymnastics practices.  On my return comng Eastbound on I-70 I would frequently see seriously Oversized shipments headed West.  Many of these shipments had a Pilot Car leading and following the shipment as well as a Maryland State Police vehicle following the trailing Pilot Car with the police emergency lights flashing.  On some of the shipments I have seen them exit the Interstate at an exit and then reenter the Interstate so as not to use the Interstate's bridge over the crossing road.

I have always thought Pilot Cars were 'clued in' on all the Clearance/Movement restrictions existing on the route being taken between Origin and Destination.

The Chattanooga incident would indicate that the Pilot/Escort service being used didn't have a clue as to their job function.

[mvlandsw]

I encountered a steel beam suspended perpendicular to the track at the Zane interlocking in Wheeling, WVa. It was hanging by a cable about five feet above the rails with several people standing on it. This was during construction of the I-70 bypass. The construction company had a railroad flagman on site but he had told them that there would be no more trains that day and he left. The workers on the beam put on quite a show trying to get out of the way when I came around the bend and blew the horn. They were lucky that I was only going 10 MPH and stopped before hitting the beam.

  My train was called as a turn out of Glenwood and we usually returned there but switching some customers and loading coal at the Valley Camp mine left us short on time, so we were going to Benwood to tie up. Apparently the flagmen didn't know that.

[BaltACD]

mvlandsw

I encountered a steel beam suspended perpendicular to the track at the Zane interlocking in Wheeling, WVa. It was hanging by a cable about five feet above the rails with several people standing on it. This was during construction of the I-70 bypass. The construction company had a railroad flagman on site but he had told them that there would be no more trains that day and he left. The workers on the beam put on quite a show trying to get out of the way when I came around the bend and blew the horn. They were lucky that I was only going 10 MPH and stopped before hitting the beam.

  My train was called as a turn out of Glenwood and we usually returned there but switching some customers and loading coal at the Valley Camp mine left us short on time, so we were going to Benwood to tie up. Apparently the flagmen didn't know that.

 

Zane as in Zanesville, OH or some other location?

[mvlandsw]

Wheeling, WVa. in the south end of town where the PRR crossed the B&O's Wheeling & Pittsburgh line. I think it was named after Zane Grey, the author.

[BaltACD]

A clearer view of the impact.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JbWampOS6Y

 

[Euclid]

There seems to be several different videos of the collision, but I am not sure if they are actually different videos taken, or if they are just different in their editing of just one video taken.  I can’t imagine several people out there just happening to be in the right place at the right time.

 

In any case, one of them shows the impact, and then the locomotives still on the rails pushing the beam like it was a snowplow blading the edge of the roadbed.  Then you can see the point where the locomotives derail and begin to plow up the rails.  At one point about 150 feet of one rail is moving forward at the same speed as the train, which appears to be around 40 mph or more. 

 

It seems very lucky for the crew to have survived, because that beam was elevated to contact the locomotive several feet above the ground.  The crash protection must have done its job well. 

 

As the train approached that crossing, it was rounding a tree-lined curve that cut off the view of the crossing until the train was only about 500 feet from the crossing.  So, at 60 mph, that would be about 5.6 seconds to wonder what it will be like. 

[zugmann]

Euclid

I can’t imagine several people out there just happening to be in the right place at the right time.

You can't imagine several people sitting in their cars with their phones out at once? 

Euclid

It seems very lucky for the crew to have survived, because that beam was elevated to contact the locomotive several feet above the ground.  The crash protection must have done its job well. 

If that were a standard cab, it may have been ugly. 

[Euclid]

zugmann

 

 

Euclid

I can’t imagine several people out there just happening to be in the right place at the right time.

 

 

You can't imagine several people sitting in their cars with their phones out at once? 

I can, but I can't imagine them all aiming them at the crossing and starting to record video before impact.  Although there is a large truckload sitting on the track, I doubt most people would anticiapate a crash.  They just would not assimilate all of the details.  A train approaching with horn blowing would likely seem normal despite the obstruction.  

[tree68]

Euclid

I can, but I can't imagine them all aiming them at the crossing and starting to record video before impact.  Although there is a large truckload sitting on the track, I doubt most people would anticiapate a crash.  They just would not assimilate all of the details.  A train approaching with horn blowing would likely seem normal despite the obstruction.  

Maybe they were simply shooting video of a 134 foot bridge girder being moved and got an added "bonus..."

[jeffhergert]

I would think the crossing signals activating would give enough advance warning that things were going to get interesting rather fast.  Enough time to change over to their camera and video settings.

Jeff

[Euclid]

I am still waiting for news reports about the escort actions taken.  The news does report that the truck driver was stopped and waiting for a red traffic light to turn green.  I would have to assume that the driver was simply oblivious to the circumstances of his trailing load fouling the crossing, and to the fact of the approaching train.  He had to have heard the air horn.  So he either dismissed it as irrelevant or was in denial and froze. 

 

It seems as though the fact that there was a grade crossing meant nothing to the driver or the escorts simply because the crossing was open and clear of trains when they arrived.  They were not planning ahead at all.  Obviously nobody notified the Railroad about this special move planning to cross their track.

 

If a good driver were aware of this unfolding situation, I would expect he/she would have driven ahead past the red traffic light even if there was some risk of getting into a collision with cross traffic. 

 

But the main point is that the escorts should have arranged to flag the intersection so the traffic light could have been overridden to let the truck pass it and clear the grade crossing. 

 

Here is a link to 25 high quality, close-up photographs taken all around the wreck site.  It shows the front of the lead engine that impacted with the beam.  You can see that the crash protection structure kept the nose intact and protected the crew despite there being some injuries.  If that had been a locomotive without such protection, I would expect the cab to be completely disintegrated along with much of the rest of the body structure. 

 

https://fox17.com/news/nation-world/gallery/video-several-train-cars-derail-in-tennessee-crash-collegedale-norfolk-southern-railway?photo=2

[BaltACD]

While this one wasn't hit by a train - it got wedged under a 'subway' bridge

https://news.yahoo.com/south-africa-fuel-tanker-explosion-124936838.html

[Overmod]

BaltACD

While this one wasn't hit by a train - it got wedged under a 'subway' bridge

BLEVE.  When will they learn?

[Backshop]

The truck driver has been charged with failure to yield and NS wasn't contacted about the shipment.

Truck driver involved in Tennessee train derailment charged (yahoo.com)

[tree68]

Probably some new undies involved in there somewhere...

[Shadow the Cats owner]

Which means someone in the permit department in the State of Tennessee highway department right now is trying to cover state liability in this right now.  

Just to move that load in the state of TN required 4 escorts one of which had to be a freaking highway patrolman.  Escorts are required in TN to be bonded and insured by the State of TN plus have a copy of the permit in the vehicle at all times.  They have the power to flag traffic to get past lights needed.  Yet somehow all these requirements including notifications to the railroad that a 134 bridge beam was being delivered to a construction site less than 500 feet from a crossing wasn't done.  Someone someplace dropped the ball.  The carrier involved had a perfect safety record and safer score until this accident for the last 15 years.

[mudchicken]

....or a missing seat-cover

[Euclid]

Backshop

The truck driver has been charged with failure to yield and NS wasn't contacted about the shipment.

Truck driver involved in Tennessee train derailment charged (yahoo.com)

 

It sounds like there were no spotters/escorts used for this move.  I wonder who the driver was working for.  

[Backshop]

I'm sure there were escorts.  It was just a poorly researched article, like so many are nowadays.

[tree68]

Backshop

I'm sure there were escorts.  It was just a poorly researched article, like so many are nowadays.

Most moves like that will have some form of escort.  The issue with the railroad is another thing, though.

[Euclid]

I don’t know whether there were escorts.  Nobody notified the railroad, so maybe the trucker ran without escorts with the same kind if disregard.  Probably this whole legal responsibility issue will change as this moves forward.  Certainly there will be criminal charges and lawsuits against the trucking company and their escorts, if any. 

 

For the driver alone, he was simply prohibited from crossing the track because his vehicle was so long that he could not determine the size of the available space on the opposite side of the track.  It sounds like he may have needed 150-170 feet of unobstructed roadway on the opposite side to accommodate his vehicle and load short of the traffic signal. 

 

So to cross the tracks, the driver would have needed flagging by the escorts and/or police to hold traffic at that distant intersection and then order the driver to proceed across the track and turn at the traffic light no matter what the light’s indication was. 

 

Also there was a need to inform the railroad so they could hold trains.  Otherwise, even if the driver had sufficient room on the far side, the time required for him to clear the crossing would have exceeded the warning interval before the gates dropped. 

[Erik_Mag]

What I got out of the article is that no one contacted the NS before the move, but there were no details on whether the truck driver was an independent contractor or was employed by someone as this would affect who was responsible for contacting the NS. Another imprtant detail was who was insuring the move, if the move was not insured, the driver's customer would likely be liable for damages as they failed to do due diligence.

[BaltACD]

Erik_Mag

What I got out of the article is that no one contacted the NS before the move, but there were no details on whether the truck driver was an independent contractor or was employed by someone as this would affect who was responsible for contacting the NS. Another imprtant detail was who was insuring the move, if the move was not insured, the driver's customer would likely be liable for damages as they failed to do due diligence.

Which brings up a final question.  Was the 'customer' a private entity or was it a governmental entity?  Beams like the one that was destroyed are normally used in the construction of bridges and other similar governmental undertakings.

[Euclid]

BaltACD

 

 

Erik_Mag

What I got out of the article is that no one contacted the NS before the move, but there were no details on whether the truck driver was an independent contractor or was employed by someone as this would affect who was responsible for contacting the NS. Another imprtant detail was who was insuring the move, if the move was not insured, the driver's customer would likely be liable for damages as they failed to do due diligence.

 

 

Which brings up a final question.  Was the 'customer' a private entity or was it a governmental entity?  Beams like the one that was destroyed are normally used in the construction of bridges and other similar governmental undertakings.

 

According to at least one article, that beam was destined to be used on a new highway overpass that will replace the grade crossing that the truck driver failed to clear.  The article showed a photo of the new bridge about half finished with several of those beams already mounted in place.  I would guess that is a State highway that is being rebuilt to accommodate the new bridge.  So, yes it raises the qusetion of whether the driver was an independent contractor working for the State.   

[tree68]

Euclid

So, yes it raises the question of whether the driver was an independent contractor working for the State.   

While the state was likely overseeing the project, I would suspect that the company moving the beam was a subcontractor to the construction company contracted to build the bridge, or even a subcontractor to a subcontractor.  

As such, the state was likely only on the periphery of the whole operation.

[Backshop]

Euclid

 

 

Backshop

The truck driver has been charged with failure to yield and NS wasn't contacted about the shipment.

Truck driver involved in Tennessee train derailment charged (yahoo.com)

 

 

 

 

It sounds like there were no spotters/escorts used for this move.  I wonder who the driver was working for.  

 

I wish you would make up your mind. In an earlier post, you said this...

" I now find that it does say that two escort vehicles were hired, and one was placed ahead of the truck and other was placed behind it.   

 

It says this:

 

“The Collegedale Police Department says they were not notified of the truck carrying the oversized load that was struck by the Norfolk Southern train.

 

They say the company responsible for transporting the load hired two escort cars for the tractor trailer. One escort car was in front and another behind the oversized load when the train struck.”"

You just want to argue to argue.

[Euclid]

Here is some information from this link:

 

https://newschannel9.com/news/local/rail-traffic-resumes-but-questions-remain-about-collegedale-train-collision-derailment-norfolk-southern-starette-trucking-company-bridge-beam-accident-video

 

“Our video shows the truck is owned by Starette, an Augusta, Georgia- based trucking company that specializes in transporting large items like bridge beams.”

 

“They say the company responsible for transporting the load hired two escort cars for the tractor trailer. One escort car was in front and another behind the oversized load when the train struck.

 

All permits for oversized load escorts are granted through the Tennessee Department of Transportation, according to Collegedale police.”

 

Here is a very recent article from 1/12/23 in which people comment that the driver does not bear the blame, and that publishing his name and photo was out of order: 

 

https://www.overdriveonline.com/channel-19/article/15305468/tennessee-train-derailment-brings-felony-charges-for-driver

 

The article makes the point that the driver had veered into the wrong lane with oncoming traffic.  It seems obvious that this move was deemed necessary to swing wide in order to make the turn with the ultra-long trailing load.  The article seems to imply that this was a failure of the driver to maintain lane control. 

 

Here is the synopsis from Facebook, including the driver’s photograph:

 

https://www.facebook.com/CDalePD/posts/pfbid0skd5prCbYvfjcMC3wC6VoRLG8JNdfpCwM8HaQfGScn7UwvA61JFBpYXiTiLtNfXKl

 

  

 

It seems strange to rush to put the blame entirely on the driver when this move legally required escort protection and guidance, a permit from the state, an application for the permit by the trucking company, notification of the railroad, notification of the police, and operational response and protection from the railroad.