A CN train has derailed near Kingston, Ontario. Here is the article.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/via-rail-train-derailment-kingston-1.4561264
Praise heaven, it looks as if this is just a boxcar tip over that delayed a bunch of passengers sitting in perfect safety.
From the article:
The train’s brakes then began to squeal, and Cadue said he and his friend “booked it back” away from the train.
“It all happened so fast,” he added. “If [the boxcar] had gone over and tipped our way, it would’ve hit us, for sure.”
It appears to me, that these fellas were too close to the tracks and probably trespassing. If a boxcar tips over and hits you, aren’t you standing on the ROW?
From the video, it looks like they were at a grade crossing. That said, derailments often end with cars well off the ROW, and when I railfan I always try to make sure I have several escape routes.
Even at a crossing, doesn’t the railroad own a certain amount of real estate from the center of the tracks? Either way, they make it sound like they were closer to the train than they should have been. I’ve seen it written lots of times that railfans should stay back a ways in case of dragging equipment… or boxcars tipping over. [:-,]
If boxcars are tipping over at 40MPH, one can’t be far enough from the rails.
It looks like they were back at least as far as the crossbucks on the north side of the rails, although it’s hard to tell from the video. I suspect most of us would have been in about the same spot.
CN is literally yards from the “401” (limited access highway) in that general area (N 44 17’ 58" W 76 25’ 6"). You can see it in the background in the shot of the boxcar on it’s side.
As long as they were behind the gates/lights/signs at the crossing they weren’t doing anything wrong.
Too soon to tell exactly what caused the derailment, but I find it quite interesting that the one boxcar separated from the head end portion and also remained on the track.
From what I can see from the video and still images, the derailed car was the last in the train or there would have been a big mess. All I can figure on the Railbox is that the jolt/other action of the derailing car served to uncouple it from the rest of the train. It was rolling pretty freely, though.
Yup
You can clearly see they are not trespassing. Every one of us has stood too close to a train and would have been in danger if something bad were to have happened.
Not everyone…
If you stand on the platform at a passenger station - in back of the yellow line - you are still too close.
In my position as a Train Order Operator, I was way too close, every time I handed up train orders to trains - both freight and passenger.
Everybody says, “Don’t stand too close,” but “too close” has never been defined. It depends on how much risk you want to take. If you want risk near zero, I would say about a mile should be good enough.
I think the safety fences at the Durand, Mi depot are only maybe 12-15 feet from a 50 mph CN train crossing the diamond. Always figured there wasn’t much chance to get out of the way if something went wrong.
The station at Deshler, OH still bears the scars of a derailment.
As has been noted, how close is too close is subjective. Probably the bigger danger than a derailment, though, is stuff hanging off the cars. One piece of steel banding would cause a lot of havoc to people in the wrong circumstances.
In the case of a derailment, the Kingston incident was almost a “best case” situation. It appears it was the last car, so there was no accordian folding or cars otherwise being scattered far and wide as there would likely have been had a car derailed earlier in the consist.
At Utica, NY, max speed through the station area is 50MPH. I usually put the tower between myself and the train, but after seeing what happened when the hopper ran away there several years ago, even that protection is dubious.
In many derailments, cars can be found scattered throughout most of the distance between the right of way fences. Sometimes beyond, but less frequently for some reason (and it isn’t the fence that stops them!). Also bear in mind that if an autorack tips in a slow speed derailment, that 20+ foot height will occupy 20 feet of land outside the rails. It is always a good idea after taking your picture to step further back while the train passes.
Of course if certain types of hazardous goods are involved, best to be in the next county. Then again, if you are that paranoid, perhaps the biggest danger at a grade crossing is the possibility of an out of control road vehicle.