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BNSF Montana main line closed again after oil train derails
If there is no fire present, it will be the first oil train derailment that I have ever heard of where a fire did not break out.
That will be in part because when there is no fire the event is much less newsworthy. If the train was westbound, it quite possibly was empty. The cars are still placarded the same as loads because of the residue.
@John: It was loaded for the West Coast, originated in Trenton, ND.
Its time for upgraded track conditions for oil trains to operate on. When I rode the Builder last November you had to hold onto something or be thrown out of your seat in North Dakota and eastern Montana.
I have seen crude oil trains with a locomotive on the rear. Is it safe to have a locomotive pushing into a wreck if one should happen? Just wondering.
Dennis, when a train suffers an undesired emergency brake application, the pusher locomotive drops to idle and applies the brakes to the rear portion of the train.
This is why that stretch of track that famous for the long trestle that Montana rail link wants reopens so badly cause everything is still there would really help these last couple days. But does BNSF want to? Noooo.
Sabotage? Would they tell us if it was?
An anecdote, perhaps apocryful, relates a Milw. Rd. hogger detouring on the NP across part of Montana: “the ride was so smooth it made me sick.”
There exist several self-evident truths here.
Statistically, is the relative frequency of oil train derailments different, higher or lower, than other commodities? Any body have any references? Or do they just attract more attention because they are oil trains? If they are statistically higher, wouldn’t that be a cause for concern or at least be worthy of investigation? If they are not different, how does the industry get that message across?
Well, then, let’s hope it IS the first oil train derailment without a fire, ok?