sjgardiner Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 Just saw this on The Globe and Mail website, something you don't see that often, video of a railway derailment as it happens. A mudslide in Everett Washington taking out seven cars of double stacks. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/news-video/raw-video-wash-mudslide-derails-freight-train/article6514576/ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glorious NSE Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UeT0m-hpD_4&feature=youtu.be Somebody sent me the YouTube link... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Y Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 Seeing Martyn's clip now the guy with the phone/camera seems to be anticipating the when/where. I wonder if he'd made anyone from the RR aware of any concerns? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glorious NSE Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 I have a feeling there may have been maintenance crews there already. The radio chatter at the end couldn't have come from the traincrew as they're a long way away and wouldn't have known anything other than the brakes had come on at that point - there's a yellow machine I think off to the right which I suspect is where that message came from (they would have had a very scary view with it rolling over as it approached them!) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold 4630 Posted December 18, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 18, 2012 At least the damage seems to be confined to the freight cars, on the assumption that the cargo was non-hazardous. Could have been much worse if the mudslide had taken out the locomotives. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pH Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 Seeing Martyn's clip now the guy with the phone/camera seems to be anticipating the when/where. I wonder if he'd made anyone from the RR aware of any concerns? I know what you mean, Andy, but I think it may have been too late for that. If that's the whole clip, the head end has passed before he starts filmlng. He may have seen something at that point that made him think 'Something's going to happen here' and start. (I watched this with the sound off and have just seen "Glorious's" post about this.) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjgardiner Posted December 18, 2012 Author Share Posted December 18, 2012 The local newspaper article suggests there was a slow order in the area because of another landslide nearby which was why the train was going so slow. I suspect the crews were aware of the potential for more slides in the area. Everett Paper Article: http://heraldnet.com/article/20121217/NEWS01/712179876/-1/news01 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
APOLLO Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 There seems to be temporary fencing and contractors cabins there as well, guy in a reflective coat - perhaps there to instigate repairs on the embankment. If this was over here no doubt the line would have beeen closed. Certainly took the train out in a grand style. Yank freight trains are awesome. I remember standing at a level crossing near Tehachapi as a mile long (it seemed) freight thundered by, thinking I'm mincemeat if 'owt happens !! Brit15 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozexpatriate Posted December 21, 2012 Share Posted December 21, 2012 Seeing Martyn's clip now the guy with the phone/camera seems to be anticipating the when/where. I wonder if he'd made anyone from the RR aware of any concerns? Andy, the BNSF was aware of dangers due to slides - there had been slides earlier in the day. The witness was a longshoreman sitting in the driver's seat of his car. According to the CNN story he did anticipate the slide - hence the camera rolling - by hearing the hill rumbling. Here is CNN's video report. There is more from local Seattle TV KOMO. BNSF spokesman Gus Melonas says the slide came off a 100-foot slope and struck the train at about 1:30 p.m. Monday, in the same area where a slide covered the tracks earlier in the day. Seven cars were derailed. The freight train, led by four locomotives pulling 66 freight cars, was heading from Chicago to Seattle, Melonas said. The train was traveling slowly, at 17 mph, because a smaller slide had occurred in the area just two hours earlier, he said. My guess is that this is the area. And the Sounder was again cancelled after this slide. And yes it is very wet and soggy in the Pacific Northwest right now. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-UnitMad Posted December 21, 2012 Share Posted December 21, 2012 His comment "Holy Sh*t" just about sums it all up..... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
signalmaintainer Posted December 21, 2012 Share Posted December 21, 2012 Seeing Martyn's clip now the guy with the phone/camera seems to be anticipating the when/where. I wonder if he'd made anyone from the RR aware of any concerns? No, he did not, as I understand. This affected the BNSF mainline east from Wenatchee into Everett; the line re-opened late in the afternoon on Tuesday. Several high priority trains slated to terminate in Seattle were stacked up for the entire time. The last month has been seen our MOW crews and signal maintainers battle one mudslide after another. About four weeks ago we had more than two dozen slides in less than a day between Everett and Seattle. We typically get 40 inches of rain a year in this area: we're at 46 and counting year to date. (And we Washington State natives don't blame climate change or whatever -- every 30 years or so we just really get soaked.) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
signalmaintainer Posted December 21, 2012 Share Posted December 21, 2012 My guess is that this is the area. That's the spot. It's on the old Great Northern main line, about milepost 1784 (counting west from Minneapolis). Timetable direction is east-west and so is the compass direction. A few more miles and the main turns south (though still timetable east-west) for Seattle. The main photo of the Sounder story looks as if it's on the north end of my territory,perhaps about MP 10 or so (timetable eastward, compass north from King Street Station in Seattle), part of the same former Great Northern main between Everett and Seattle. The mileposts change at Everett Junction. The signal maintainer for this territory has been swamped with slides and broken slide fence calls (I'm the BNSF signal electronics technician for the greater Seattle area). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
298 Posted December 21, 2012 Share Posted December 21, 2012 Seeing Martyn's clip now the guy with the phone/camera seems to be anticipating the when/where. I wonder if he'd made anyone from the RR aware of any concerns? By taking his red bloomers off and running up the line, using them as a flag...? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CraigZ Posted December 22, 2012 Share Posted December 22, 2012 Personally I don't reckon I'd have parked quite that close to a potentional landslide and train derailment... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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