Amtrak #4 derailed today (6/27/22) when it strikes a dump truck at an unprotected crossing. Train lands on its side.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/entire-amtrak-train-topples-over-in-missouri-derailment
https://www.kmbc.com/article/passenger-train-derails-missouri-monday-afternoon/40435950
Amtrak’s initial statement
https://media.amtrak.com/2022/06/amtrak-statement-on-train-4-derailment-near-mendon-mo/
“Injuries reported” At least four helicopter ambulances had been dispatched by the time I posted.
243 passengers, 12 crew. Mendon is about 2 hours northeast of Kansas City, and the accident occurred in early afternoon local time (about 12:42)
A picture taken at the scene indicates that the power remained substantially upright, but the whole of the visible trailing consist is on its side
https://mobile.twitter.com/cloudmarooned/status/1541496621921361920/photo/2
NTSB video.
Notice that 1st loco seems to be on good rail. Last car appears to be aboout 80 feet beyound start of track damage. Wonder where derailment started and what car? With tight lock couplers might be hard to determine. Fairly certain derail did not start at crossing as ties do not apppear damaged.
NTSB B-Roll: Grade Crossing Collision in Mendon, MO - YouTube
Observed actions of the Orange team didn’t inspire my confidence.
Does anyone know if the engineer was killed or injured?
My understanding is that the deaths were the truck driver and 3 passengers.
The latest picture brings up a couple thoughts.
There is a drainage ditch on the SE side of the ROW. Could it have contributed to the cars turning over?
At least one welded rail separated. the force to cause that must have been tremedous. Expect that to be investigated. Might have caused the train to derail??
How heavy was the riprap in the truck?
Are any of the Superliners involved in the wreck servicable? What about the baggage car/P42’s?
With superb internet viewing - it would appear that all cars are repairable. What those repairs will cost in time, materials and manpower and Amtrak’s ability to supply each of those things is totally unknown. I wouldn’t expect to see the cars back in service for several years.
Or several weeks/months.
If you provide the necessary financing and manpower, you could be right. Without you supplying those items, I’ll stick with several years. How many cars are already at Beech Grove awaiting repairs? How long have those cars been there?
Here is a scary thought. What about spare parts? With the apparent Amtrak propensity for C-19 cost reductions did it reduce spare part buying to level of reduced operations? Now with supply chain problems maybe Amtrak cannot get the needed spare parts delaying getting revenue cars and locos back in service? Sudden removal of a car(s) might mean no parts or a removed car(s) to supply parts to several other cars? Could it be the large number of OOS cars and locos at Beech and the slow return of cars is in part due to lack of spare parts?.
How much cannibalizaton has been done and worse still how much is going on now and which equipment past and present?
As a personal item. It took me 3 months to get a replacement windshield from Safelite auto glass. That is not some fly by night company. My insurance company paid a lot of money. Could it be that FRA 223 glass will be difficult to get as just one item of spare parts ?
If there is a lack of spare parts management would not like that fact known very much. Especially at higher management levels. Are any of our riders noticing non critical parts missing in cars.
I suspect Amtrak has never had a ‘supply’ of spare parts beyond normal ‘consumable’ parts for their equipment.
When it comes to getting parts to repair a entire trainset of equipment - virtually all the parts required for the repairs will have to be ordered and/or sourced from various suppliers and be subject to each suppliers own logistical chains in getting the parts made. Not know the suppliers or their logistics chains, no one knows how long it will take the suppliers to deliver the parts to Amtrak. Not knowing the status of the Amtrak shop forces it can’t be foretold how long it will take Amtra