Thursday a single CN locomotive pulling 1 car loaded with lumber derailed and rolled down a steep embankment 40 kilometres (25 miles) North of Lillooet, BC killing 2 crew members and injuring 1 other who is in stable condition in a Kamloops hospital.
On the news there was talk that it could have been brake failure. Of course CN won’t comment until investigators recover the locomotives event recorder.
Apparently the lumber car derailed first and went down the steep embankment first then the locomotive shortly after that on a curve.[V]
Ted Webster
RRF member since December 24, 2003
Living a block from the tracks @ MP 105.61 on the CP Cascade Subdivision
Yet another derailment in former BC Rail territory, only this time two people killed. I’m at a loss to explain how come CN is having so many derailments in one area, and way way less in the rest of the country.
Oh, they’re having derailments in the rest of the country all right. They just don’t have the media impact as derailments that cause deaths and/or injuries do. Also any serious damage to the environment out in the boonies can be kept quiet. Plus CNs ‘Rumour and Damage Control Teams’ are first rate at spin doctoring.
Clique of One.
A proud Canadian in the Signal Department of the Canadian National Railways.
CN has always been one of the flattest railroads in North America, and so has the Illinois Central. Until CN bought the SD50F’s, most of their locomotive purchases did not include dynamic brakes. CN does not even have an AC locomotive.
The former BC Rail is the exact opposite, both in grades and extreme curvature. This accident took place coming down the worst hill in North America, 30 miles of 2.2%. Several of the earlier accidents involved stringlining overly long trains on curves, which was not the problem this time.
We needlessly lost two good brothers at BC Rail. Say a prayer for them and the ones they left behind. This did not need to happen.
Don Faulkner and Tom Dodd made the ultimate sacrifice to save their train and the lives of others. If that is not worthy of a Victoria Cross, then I do not know what is.
CN ownership has killed three BC Railers already. Enough bloodshed in the workplace!
I think it’s safe to assume (although it never really is safe to assume) that the independant brakes failed, and the train line wasn’t hooked up - I can’t imagine both systems failing at the same time. And seeing as CN doesn’t have dynamics on older locos, it would have just taken off down that grade…
After looking at the article - It does say that the locomotive’s brakes failed, and that the brakeman was trying to set the handbrake on the car - So I again assume that the train line wasn’t working, for what good would a little more power on the same wheels do, especially if they were in emergency and skidding?
It’s really appalling - BC Rail hadn’t had a serious derailment since the 80s when M630 #711 and a C425 hit a rockslide that came down over the line and into Seton lake between the train and the speeder, a mile ahead…
Correct me if I’m wrong, of course…