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The BNSF derailment at Doon, Iowa

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Posted by NP Eddie on Tuesday, June 26, 2018 12:05 PM

The question(s) still are not answered yet and probably not until the NTSB report comes out. 1. Was the track inspected prior to the derailment? 2. Did the train crew know about any restrictions? One or two old ICC reports deal with derailments on skeltonized track or obstructions on the track and the trains were not notified about these problems.

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Posted by petitnj on Tuesday, June 26, 2018 11:37 AM

With all the flood warnings and the high water and the hazardous cargo, this train should have crept thru the area. Every once in a while railroaders should use common sense and be cautious. 

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Posted by RDG467 on Tuesday, June 26, 2018 10:33 AM

mudchicken

Norris: It's 49mph Class 4 track...somebody is talking out their you know what. The question is what or if there was a slow order to a lesser class of track as a temporary reaction to local conditions.....and when was the last track inspection/ patrol from a hi-rail. 

 

Mudchicken,  *if* the cause was roadbed saturation and the track hadn't subsided or shifted visibly, I wonder if a hi-rail have been heavy enough to trigger/detect the problem before the oil train's arrival?

The derailment site is between Garfield Ave, the road shown in the beginning of the Sheriff's  drone footage and 270th St, which intersects Garfield out of view to the left of the farm (at the 0.10" mark). There's a pond in the triangle formed by the roads and railroad. The track crosses the flooded Little Rock river north of the grade crossing at Garfield. See coords 43.258963 and -96.235277.  Using Street View, the roadbed appears to be about 6 feet higher than the terrain, so it wasn't a *huge* embankment...... 

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Posted by mudchicken on Monday, June 25, 2018 6:50 PM

Norris: It's 49mph Class 4 track...somebody is talking out their you know what. The question is what or if there was a slow order to a lesser class of track as a temporary reaction to local conditions.....and when was the last track inspection/ patrol from a hi-rail.

Mudchicken Nothing is worth taking the risk of losing a life over. Come home tonight in the same condition that you left home this morning in. Safety begins with ME.... cinscocom-west
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Posted by Murphy Siding on Monday, June 25, 2018 5:28 PM

     Was that really class1 track? The state had sunk a lot of money into that line before selling it to BNSF. I would have thought it to be in pretty good shape.

     Wouldn't they have to run the heavy ethanol trains on that track, as that's the one that runs by the ethanol plant.

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Posted by NP Eddie on Monday, June 25, 2018 5:04 PM

Balt:

You are correct that it is not "exempt" track, but wouldn't common sense tell the BNSF managers that Class 1 track (10 MPH) and heavy ethanol cars is not a good idea to run a Key train on that track?

Does anyone know if the NTSB will be investigating the Doon, Iowa derailment?

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Posted by BaltACD on Sunday, June 24, 2018 7:35 PM

NP Eddie
I am curious what the forward facing camera on the lead locomotive shows. The 2015 Lesterville, South Dakota ethanol train derailment shows track out of alignment (from a prior train). The cause of that derailment was bad track---why would a railroad run a "key" train on Class 1 track?

Ed Burns

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Posted by NP Eddie on Sunday, June 24, 2018 7:24 PM

I am curious what the forward facing camera on the lead locomotive shows. The 2015 Lesterville, South Dakota ethanol train derailment shows track out of alignment (from a prior train). The cause of that derailment was bad track---why would a railroad run a "key" train on Class 1 track?

Ed Burns

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Posted by dehusman on Sunday, June 24, 2018 6:40 PM

Since the heavy rains had been going on for days, I rather doubt that the weather was a surprise.

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Posted by Euclid on Sunday, June 24, 2018 3:14 PM

It certainly is a classic example of an accordion pileup.  It looks like the derailment began about 7 cars back from the engines.  Three cars stayed in line with the track as they were pulled ahead until stopping.  The next three cars were turned out of track line, but apparently only by their own kinetic energy.  But then the next cars dug in and were turned sideways by the train-buckling, shoving force of the oncoming trailing cars.  One by one, the cars buckled at their couplings and zigzagged into a crosswise stack. 

As that stack grew larger with each additional car, the stack became more resistant to the shoving force of the oncoming cars still on the rails.  So each car added to the stack was subjected to a greater potential compressive force than the one preceding it.  As the compression force rose, each added car was more likely to be collapsed by the compression, and thus ejecting its contents through the resulting, punctures, tears, and pressure bursting.   

This sheriff’s video was apparently taken as evidence, since it shows every detail of the entire wreck scene including the oil slick, the river flow, the river trestle, the pileup of cars, and all the trailing cars still on the rails.

 

https://www.facebook.com/Sioux.County.Sheriff/videos/1782149598499719/

 

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Posted by NP Eddie on Saturday, June 23, 2018 10:47 PM

Euclid:

Doon, Iowa is 164.6 (from Willmar, MN). I don't find any speed restrictions for Doon, but max speed would probably 40-45 MPH. I will check Monday and see if the NTSB started a "Go-Team" to this derailment.

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Posted by Euclid on Saturday, June 23, 2018 8:38 PM

NP Eddie

In any instance, I don't understand why the BNSF allowed the train to proceed southward into Doon.  One question: was a Track Inspector notified of flooding and had he inspected the track?

Ed Burns

 

 

I would like to know the answer to that question too.  I also wonder how fast the train was traveling when it derailed.  I suspect it was around 40 mph. 

 

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Posted by NP Eddie on Saturday, June 23, 2018 6:48 PM

In any instance, I don't understand why the BNSF allowed the train to proceed southward into Doon.  One question: was a Track Inspector notified of flooding and had he inspected the track?

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Posted by Euclid on Saturday, June 23, 2018 11:59 AM

Here is a link with the following statement:

https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2018/06/22/iowa-oil-train-spill/

“Officials at the scene agreed that floodwater from the swollen Little Rock River played a part in causing the cars to leave the tracks, but said they weren’t yet sure whether the waters compromised the track, physically pushed the cars off it or played a part in some other way.”

 

I doubt that the flood water physically pushed the cars off the track because the company would not have run the train through high enough water to exert that much side force. 

It is much more likely that the high water saturated the fill, and then the vibratory action of the passing train increased the saturation to the point where roadbed lost its ability to support the train. 

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The BNSF derailment at Doon, Iowa
Posted by NP Eddie on Saturday, June 23, 2018 11:33 AM

ALL:

WCCO-TV has great photos of a key (unit crude oil) train that derailed near Doon, Iowa. This is on the Marshall Sub (X-GN) between Willmar, MN and Sioux City, Iowa. Any news on the cause of the derailment? The track is surrounded by water.

Ed Burns

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