Looking at the first road crossing and the one immediately before the derailment and noting how the cars were lurching and rolling, together with the accompanying squeaks and creaks from the cars, also seeing the ties around one rail joint rising and falling a couple of inches as each axle went over it. As a permanent way man with over 30 years on the job I think there's no doubt that the level of maintenance of the track on this section is way below what I would have expected. I have to assume that the slow speed of the train was due to a speed restriction, which suggests that the railroad were aware of the poor condition of the track. The trestle bridge at the derailment site must be a very solidly built structure judging by the large impact by a wheelset having struck the bridge with one heck of a bang. I can only presume that the actual site of the initial derailment was a couple of rail lengths before the trestle and that the track was being destroyed by the derailed car as it moved forward bringing the following cars off the road with disastrous results. The first derailed car looks to have split the road and then turned the left rail onto its side and ridden along it. Its fully laden weight would be sufficient to cause the web of the rail to split as it looks to have been held upright at the joint by the fishplate which would put tremendous stress into the web. At some point the stresses look to have sheared the bolt holes at the rail end as well. They were very lucky that the trestle remained intact or it would have been a far worse mishap! I know that modern practise is to not fix the trucks to the car and not to have hornstays to keep wheelset in the frames of the truck as it makes clearing up after mishaps simpler, but I can't help but wonder if the cars would have stayed upright had everything been held together. Without having been to the site to fully observe the condition of the track and any visible indications that might shed more light on the derailment I can only surmise that the main cause was the condition of the track. The slow speed of the train was an important factor, which stopped this being a much more disastrous derailment with only a few cars involved.
I am curious whoever own the railroad tracks do they have to compensate Norfolk Southern and the owners of those hoppers for the damage to their trains.. Since they were lack of maintenance being down to the tracks
I've never worked for a railroad as you have (just a railfan,) but I get the feeling that you are correct. I do see evidence of metal fatigue / crystallization at 11:55, similar to what I've seen aboard ship when an I-beam stringer cracks and splits after years of repeated stress and corrosion. I've watched the cleanup after 3 or 4 derailments, it never fails to amaze me to see steel rail twisted up like limp spaghetti or drawbars just 'snapped' right off. I'd hate to have to figure out the stresses generated even in a low-speed crash like this. 😮
@@clsumjr It gets quite complicated once the investigation is done and the insurance companies get involved! My job was the repair and maintenance of the track, bridges and other infrastructure associated with the right of way.
@@robertf3479 Lots of tons even moving quite slowly generate an awesome amount of force when they come to a sudden stop! Once they've left the nice smooth steel rail they dig into the ballast and all manner of forces come into play. Once the trucks become detached from the car it pretty soon digs in and stops with the dramatic results you can see on the video. Rails are very twisty things once they're no longer fixed to the ties. They become almost totally unpredictable as they fly up in the air. Small forces only are needed to flip them about like bits of fuse wire. A 60 foot rail weighs over a ton, whereas a fully laden grain car will be around 100 times that, so you can guess how much stress is involved in stopping very rapidly. Modern railway cars are extremely strong and tend to stay in one piece but the trucks and wheel sets are only sitting under the car with just a loose centerpin and friction plate in the middle and bearers at the sides. The wheelsets are held in the horns of the truck by the bearing housings. They come apart easily when they derail which makes it easier to clear up after mishaps or so they tell us! It also makes repairs and maintenance simpler as changing parts is quicker.
'Railroader' here in UK. Do you reckon this started with a rail break at 12.01 ?? Looks to me like an old star crack propergating from the bolt hole. These normally result in the head of the rail falling out when they go undetected. No maintence and heavy axle loads, this is the result right here.
This reminds me of the old Illinois Central before they were shut down. The tracks were so bad, in many places the rails were spread and the wheels were actually running on the ties. After 2 major derailments in Belleville Il, 2 days apart on the same section of track, the ICC shut them down till the tracks were replaced up to specs. The IC was taken over shortly later and the entire line redone with heavier welded rail. No issues since.
The forces involved in a derailment are amazing, even at slow speed. You wouldn't think a stick of rail would end up on TOP of a derailed car. Great coverage, Thanks!
I had the same observations as Rod and Frank right from the start. The thought even occurred to me that the TSA may want to talk to the person that was chasing the train and video taping. If that train had derailed WHILE he was zoomed in on the trucks at one of those crossings, it may have required a lot of lawyerin" to explain how he was "johnny on the spot. In any case, Jaw Tooth called it right, it is the capture of a lifetime! NS has been having a lot of derailment issues in western NY as well. "The Wide World of Trains" regularily reports on both CSX and NS rail traffic around Dunkirk, NY and has mentioned that the NS has had derailment issues fairly often. Thanks to rail spotters EVERYWHERE! Y'all are the next best thing to being there!
I have always been fascinated with trains since I was a child. My dad worked for the Pennsylvania Rail Road and then the Long Island Rail Road. I remember him taking me into to Penn Station Station on the train on his Vacation days to pick up his check. Wonderful times.
I witnessed a derailment on March 24th in Farmingdale NJ caused by a broken rail. Conrail has been neglecting the line where this occurred since 2003, and the last major repairs were in 1975.
I hear that more derailments ever since they started making trains longer and longer to quote save deliver and fuel costs along with other stuff to cover there asses freaking dumb as hell people wake up more wait equals more problems hence more derailments
@@shaunrobertson1857 Longer trains are only part of the problem. In my area at least, it’s the cost cutting that’s really hurting the railroads. Conrail North Jersey is a prime example. Poor maintenance of engines and infrastructure, combined with stupid operations. Especially in Port Newark where engines go to die. Conrail thinks it’s a smart idea to move 100 loaded intermodal cars with one GP38-2!
Thank you for the excellent commentary preceding the derailment. This video brought to memory a Missouri Pacific derailment I personally observed on New Years Day 1964 in the town of Morrilton, AR, as I was driving back to my California Naval Duty Station. Thanks for the memories.
@@kevbrown2589 I went to school there in 1957-58. My Great-Grandmother had a school named for her there. I also have relatives there with the last name Brown.
@@kevbrown2589 I know where the Southern Christian Home was located. Brown is on my mother's side. I still have relatives in Morrilton on my mother's side. My dad was from Oklahoma
@@curtisdavis5556 What is/was the name of the school named after your Great Grandmother? I moved to Morrilton from North Little Rock, and my Dad and his Dad and Mom were from Bauxite/Benton Arkansas.
Nice video. As a former Maintenance of Way worker who has seen more than my share of derailments, I believe you're looking at roadbed failure due to the combined weight of the trains running on that section of track. The rail looks to be the very adequate 100lb. and the track speed looks like 10 mph. Any lateral movement of the cars will turn that rail easily. I'd say the railroad will be upgrading the rest of that section.
The Dayton District had a similar derailment in Enon recently, where the middle of the train fell off the tracks and onto it's side. I think the rail broke at a point, as I recall an image had shown so.
Concrete cracks, wood rots, steel RR rails occasionally fracture from the stresses endured over the yrs. Perhaps a bit of investigation right before cleanup will help answer some questions. From some of these comments, sounds to me like some observers think all track should be maintained for 40 mph track speed.
@@therailroadtiespiker =Forty years railroading here - looks to me like the first car derailed before the bridge (see the recently spilled grain ?) Maybe a dropped grain door from under the car hit the bridge and canted it enuf to send the cars tipping.
This is the former Nickle Plate Cloverleaf line. It is abandoned east of Marion. The train was only a short distance from Marion, where the derailment occurred.
Goodness gracious, that was a hell of a DISASTER, the tracks speak for themselves, I never seen a rail loose and peel off its head/ top layer!! 😬🥺😳🤯😵😱 Great footage😁😉👍
@@robertbate5790 think about it my Great grandfather went to work for Nickel Plate back in the 20s do you think he thought we would be still using track that they used. Lol
This type of thing can be devastating, looked to be contained to just a couple cars. Crazy the way that rail literally sheered in half! Idk if you have ever held a piece of railroad iron but it is not light by any means. Only real positives, the train driver wasn't hurt and all that grain and corn will be an all you can eat buffet for local wildlife.😁
A guy from the UK here. Looking back towards the resr portion of the train I find it interesting how the R hand rail in direction of travel has fallen outwards. The wagons are also loaded heavy. Are the loaded from hopper over the middle? Could track be the root cause, with unequal loading being a contributing factor? A good vid and one that without doubt the investigating authority will be interested in seeing.
Looks from the condition of the Ties and the general condition of the road bed this was an accident waiting to happen. This could have been a lot worse depending on the location and the amount of cars that left the track. The company can either just stick a band-aid on the problem and just fix what is damaged or put in a plan and $$$ to replace the entire X miles of line. There are thousands of miles of track in the same condition around the country that will need to be replaced.
It would be interesting to follow up on clean up and if they repair the rail and what they do to repair it. At the Whistle Stop Restaurant in Monon Ind they have a steam crane that in its day would be used to set the cars back on the rail
Couldn't believe this was in the US, India yes . Great filming . You could see from the state of the track movement that it was way past its sell by date .From the UK .
@@tomatoes3 I'm going to get back over this fall and take some video of the the grain trains going through the area I just have to wait till the corn is knocked down. I'm glad you enjoyed the video
That was one heck of a derailment! One thing I saw yesterday in a nearby city (Spartanburg, SC) close to where I live were several grain cars sitting atop flat cars with obviously their trucks removed. And it was on Norfolk Southern trackage. I wonder if this could be related? Maybe those are some of the offending cars from this incident going off for repair? Wish I would've taken a picture. The cars were in the yard and were on the bridge over the road that I was on. Well I guess looking at the dates on this video and when this happened, probably not lol Still an interesting occurrence.
The trestle was obviously missing a key item, no guard rails. I recently learned that from another recent train video. The accident happened at the edge of the trestle and guard rails would have prevented it?
Now that's interesting because the biggest part of the damage was at the trestle even though it's was only about ten feet long it probably would have helped.
Time to call Hulcher. This is where the philosophy of "pay me now or pay me later" comes into play with so called "deferred maintenance". That stretch of short line railroad is in serious need of, at the very least, a tie program. It gets very expensive replacing railroad five or six track panels at a time. Great job documenting the aftermath!
I’m up that way pretty frequently. I pick up sheet metal in Huntington and run it to Spartanburg. Would the township say anything if a truck driver wanted to do some train watching. I’m an NS fan from Kentucky, the CNO&TP Second District.
My goodness, that is some serious damage from a slow rollin derailment. Wow, the split and broken rails, the mangled ties. Holy moly. But as I viewed the tracking earlier in the video, it looked to be not well maintained. What caused the derailing? You also looked to be too close to a moving train hence the blasting of the air horn earlier.
Great vid, First let's blame the crew. they get to give a free urine sample, then lets blame the car shop tech's for a poorly maintained car , next the track supervisor for poorly maintained track. Solution , suspend crew for a week ,cut back on car shop budget and fire assistant track supervisor then layoff another 500 workers. Yes the CEO's have found and solved the problem That's how you keep your hands clean on this mess and receive a year end bonus. If those workers would have all done their jobs correctly , they should have been able to get 1 more load out on that spur without having to spend any money on it. People's freaking lives are at stake here! The RR I'm employed at is happy that we have gone over 400 days without killing any one of it's employees. Does anyone wonder why there is a worker shortage on the Railroads ,that is part of the problem ,CEO's afraid of the major shareholders . This has got to change ,the tail is wagging the big dog here.
Retired two years ago after 41 years service with Southern/NS in the mechanical department, and I can tell you firsthand that it is an outrage how badly these class 1’s have deteriorated in every way! I intended to work at least two years longer than I did, but their complete disregard for safety and the way have treated the few employees left made me decide to get out before they killed me! PSR has put a golden spike through the heart of the railroad industry, while making the hedge fund crowd rich. Hunter Harrison was not the railroads savior, but more like the grim reaper! The thousands upon thousands of good railroaders that were unnecessarily shoved out the door because of this farce are now being begged to come back, but at least in my area, most just laugh and hang up the phone! Karma’s a bitch!
And yes I also have some experience with some of the same. I was a locomotive machinist in Chicago for Amtrak. I left after a couple years lots of issues in 2001
Great video, RailSpiker. Is this line NS or TPW owned? Curious as to the date of the actual jointed rails. I see a few commenters are up in arms about the condition of the right of way and the swaying cars. To them, I say to be thankful that we still have operating rail lines like this that serve our farmers in this age of PSR and the shrinking interest of Class 1's who would rather enhance their stock price by just running intermodal from the east and west coasts to Chicago and back. Looking forward to your documenting any of the clean up and restoration on the right of way. Appreciate that effort that you do for our enjoyment!
CERA/Central Railroad of Indianapolis, but G&W no less. Part of NS trimming to mains only (not clear whether the short lines were long leased off, or sold). I was going to say I would be expecting more from them than this rubbish line, but I was actually thinking of a competitor, the three G&W lines I know are just abysmal (the P&OC [otherwise known as the OT&B since they only ever go over there and back] the B&P which is improving, though nowhere near B&O, and Eeyore (IORY).
Wow what a mess, I can't say I have seen the rail head split from the base before? My worst nightmare is the rail coming up into a coach in that situation. Those trucks or as we call them bogies need to be replaced with a stronger cross beam not just sides held by the axels. the Gloucester Bogie they are based on we no longer use. I often wonder what the yearly mileage for incidents in the States are for derailments and knuckle splits is?
It's marking the position of a mainline protection derail device, which is the yellow blob on the closest rail. Its job is to ensure that no runaway cars get onto the mainline.
I keep being amazed in what kind of state the rails and rail beds are so now and then. Here in The Netherlands, even a museum line on such a track would have been shut down long before. But keep up the good work, it must have been a big 'luck' that you were in the neighbourhood when this happened. My compliments for the filming.
I was lucky I wasn't even going to chase the train down I filmed this exact train last week but I thought it was a beautiful day why not go out and film it. Lol
That's right. In the Netherlands the line would have been shut down and the grain moving up and down the highway in trucks. In North America we provide small companies the opportunity to try and save rail lines that serve low density farming areas. This preserves the line and the service to the communities and keeps polluting trucks off of the highway. Accidents like this are not common and incredible tonnage moves safely and economically over very long distances.
Great coverage. I would offer one suggestion. I got seasick from all the waving of the camera. If you're going to pan (move it from side to side) the camera, may I suggest you do it slowly. Gives us more time to take in the scene. Thanks.
@@sweetlips1938 I'm actually working on a slow down version of the video and more footage I hadn't put in the first video I'll be releasing it in the morning. I agree with the slowing the camera panning down.
Fantastic video;can't help but notice that that track w not fit for purpose. Those cars, pre derailment, swayed like the drunken sailors I used to pickup in the Philippines.
Looks like poorly maintained track is the culprit...heavy grain cars forcing the rails to bow outwards due to them not being secured properly until they reach the point of 'folding' over on their side, causing the cars to derail. I bet that split rail was caused by the wheel edge landing directly on it, cutting it like a knife. Happened right next a bridge/viaduct/span over a creek, which is usually one of the more expensive parts of a rail line to maintain and is often 'deferred' until forced to do so via safety inspection.
@@rearspeaker6364 With the track failure being so close to the bridge, I imagine trying to maintain/repair the track would also involve having to make improvements to the bridge as well...
@@KG-xt4oq appears bridge is ok. The ties just before the bridge failed. The track itself Is 90 years old and fatigue cycles change the metallurgical grain structure.
@@larselder874 So you say the ties failed, then say the rail failed due to age/fatigue...sounds like something routine maintenance would have spotted and that repairs were 'deferred', i.e. poorly maintained track, which is what I said...
Judging by the slow speed of the train the track must be rated as "poor condition" which contributed to the derailment? Australia has lines in similar condition.
If you look carefully at the joint bars (we call em fishplates in the UK) at 12.01 , theres an old crack there that has started from a bolt hole. In rail testing and ultrasonic terms, its called a star crack that can propergate from a bolt hole, one leg of the 'star' normally heads upto the head of the rail and results in the head litterally falling away. Sometimes they'll go both ways, down and up resulting in the end of the rail coming right off!!! This would have been detected using unltrasonic testing but i doubt it rarely gets done on these little used shortlines.
I am curious whoever own the railroad tracks do they have to compensate Norfolk Southern and the owners of those hoppers for the damage to their trains.. Since they were lack of maintenance being down to the tracks
I remember when one could catch a track gang walking the track and performing maintenance at least once a day. On heavy main lines at least twice a day. Doesn't look like that stretch of track has had any maintenance for, oh, five, maybe ten years! Oh how far we've fallen.
Those tracks look like they were in need of some serious maintenance. The rolling stock too. Why are they still using wooden ties? You'd think with heavy use and high axle weights they would use concrete ties.
If they could afford concrete ties this probably wouldn't have happened. There is nowhere near enough revenue on this line to upgrade to concrete ties.
@@rearspeaker6364 No, ask Jawn Henry..........Twain was a boat boy, not an RR type that I know of........ In general, non-gov't RRs maintain track to FRA standards, making inspections & repairs as needed........... Very difficult for a non-gov't RR to justify spending $$$ on track maintenance when there is little revenue generated by the track segment in question. Example, here in Middle TN there is a short line RR operator contracted with a quasi-local govt agency to operate RR freight service & maintain the RR. Well, a couple yrs ago the RR operator decided to not maintain over 30 mi of track to the point where some of the track is now excepted track (no psgr trains at all) & a good portion of the track segment is down to 10 mph speed restriction for freight trains. Just not enough freight revenue to justify spending the $$$. Will be interesting to see what RR Crosstie date nails are dredged up while track is being repaired. Track out in the fields or the woods might have a few date nails left, never know w/o looking or asking.......
Some excellent photography of the aftermath of the wreck. How in the heck did such massive damage happen? Any clues yet to what caused the derailment? The track looked to be pretty well maintained.
Wow, you got some excellent coverage there! Great video
Right place right time. I spent the afternoon filming the clean up.
@@therailroadtiespiker yoyoouoyuooyupuouoyupyooyuouoyuouoyuoyoyouppyupuouoouyouopyupypupyypuouypopuppupyuouopyupuppy
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@@therailroadtiespiker yoouoyupyupyupyupyupyupuupupyuypypypuupuupuupuupuupyupyupyupyupyupyupupyupyupupupyupyupyupupuypupupupupyupyupyupyupyupyupyupyuypupyupyupyupyupyupupyuypupyupyupyupyuypuypuypuypuypupyupyupyupupupyupyupyuypuypupupupyupyupyupyupupupyupyuypupup
I saw Jawtooth at a cookout once. He grabbed gram crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate, and then yelled "But wait, there's smores!"
Looking at the first road crossing and the one immediately before the derailment and noting how the cars were lurching and rolling, together with the accompanying squeaks and creaks from the cars, also seeing the ties around one rail joint rising and falling a couple of inches as each axle went over it. As a permanent way man with over 30 years on the job I think there's no doubt that the level of maintenance of the track on this section is way below what I would have expected. I have to assume that the slow speed of the train was due to a speed restriction, which suggests that the railroad were aware of the poor condition of the track. The trestle bridge at the derailment site must be a very solidly built structure judging by the large impact by a wheelset having struck the bridge with one heck of a bang. I can only presume that the actual site of the initial derailment was a couple of rail lengths before the trestle and that the track was being destroyed by the derailed car as it moved forward bringing the following cars off the road with disastrous results. The first derailed car looks to have split the road and then turned the left rail onto its side and ridden along it. Its fully laden weight would be sufficient to cause the web of the rail to split as it looks to have been held upright at the joint by the fishplate which would put tremendous stress into the web. At some point the stresses look to have sheared the bolt holes at the rail end as well. They were very lucky that the trestle remained intact or it would have been a far worse mishap! I know that modern practise is to not fix the trucks to the car and not to have hornstays to keep wheelset in the frames of the truck as it makes clearing up after mishaps simpler, but I can't help but wonder if the cars would have stayed upright had everything been held together.
Without having been to the site to fully observe the condition of the track and any visible indications that might shed more light on the derailment I can only surmise that the main cause was the condition of the track. The slow speed of the train was an important factor, which stopped this being a much more disastrous derailment with only a few cars involved.
I am curious whoever own the railroad tracks do they have to compensate Norfolk Southern and the owners of those hoppers for the damage to their trains.. Since they were lack of maintenance being down to the tracks
I've never worked for a railroad as you have (just a railfan,) but I get the feeling that you are correct. I do see evidence of metal fatigue / crystallization at 11:55, similar to what I've seen aboard ship when an I-beam stringer cracks and splits after years of repeated stress and corrosion. I've watched the cleanup after 3 or 4 derailments, it never fails to amaze me to see steel rail twisted up like limp spaghetti or drawbars just 'snapped' right off. I'd hate to have to figure out the stresses generated even in a low-speed crash like this. 😮
@@clsumjr It gets quite complicated once the investigation is done and the insurance companies get involved!
My job was the repair and maintenance of the track, bridges and other infrastructure associated with the right of way.
@@robertf3479 Lots of tons even moving quite slowly generate an awesome amount of force when they come to a sudden stop! Once they've left the nice smooth steel rail they dig into the ballast and all manner of forces come into play. Once the trucks become detached from the car it pretty soon digs in and stops with the dramatic results you can see on the video. Rails are very twisty things once they're no longer fixed to the ties. They become almost totally unpredictable as they fly up in the air. Small forces only are needed to flip them about like bits of fuse wire. A 60 foot rail weighs over a ton, whereas a fully laden grain car will be around 100 times that, so you can guess how much stress is involved in stopping very rapidly. Modern railway cars are extremely strong and tend to stay in one piece but the trucks and wheel sets are only sitting under the car with just a loose centerpin and friction plate in the middle and bearers at the sides. The wheelsets are held in the horns of the truck by the bearing housings. They come apart easily when they derail which makes it easier to clear up after mishaps or so they tell us! It also makes repairs and maintenance simpler as changing parts is quicker.
'Railroader' here in UK. Do you reckon this started with a rail break at 12.01 ?? Looks to me like an old star crack propergating from the bolt hole. These normally result in the head of the rail falling out when they go undetected. No maintence and heavy axle loads, this is the result right here.
This reminds me of the old Illinois Central before they were shut down. The tracks were so bad, in many places the rails were spread and the wheels were actually running on the ties. After 2 major derailments in Belleville Il, 2 days apart on the same section of track, the ICC shut them down till the tracks were replaced up to specs. The IC was taken over shortly later and the entire line redone with heavier welded rail. No issues since.
The forces involved in a derailment are amazing, even at slow speed. You wouldn't think a stick of rail would end up on TOP of a derailed car. Great coverage, Thanks!
I've seen railroad ties resting on top of cars after a derailment.
I had the same observations as Rod and Frank right from the start. The thought even occurred to me that the TSA may want to talk to the person that was chasing the train and video taping. If that train had derailed WHILE he was zoomed in on the trucks at one of those crossings, it may have required a lot of lawyerin" to explain how he was "johnny on the spot. In any case, Jaw Tooth called it right, it is the capture of a lifetime! NS has been having a lot of derailment issues in western NY as well. "The Wide World of Trains" regularily reports on both CSX and NS rail traffic around Dunkirk, NY and has mentioned that the NS has had derailment issues fairly often. Thanks to rail spotters EVERYWHERE! Y'all are the next best thing to being there!
They are called “foamers”
I have always been fascinated with trains since I was a child. My dad worked for the Pennsylvania Rail Road and then the Long Island Rail Road. I remember him taking me into to Penn Station Station on the train on his Vacation days to pick up his check. Wonderful times.
Precision scheduled railroading is destroying the nation's rail network looks like no track maintenance there 🙁
I witnessed a derailment on March 24th in Farmingdale NJ caused by a broken rail. Conrail has been neglecting the line where this occurred since 2003, and the last major repairs were in 1975.
That really does seem to be blamed for everything
I hear that more derailments ever since they started making trains longer and longer to quote save deliver and fuel costs along with other stuff to cover there asses freaking dumb as hell people wake up more wait equals more problems hence more derailments
@@shaunrobertson1857 Longer trains are only part of the problem. In my area at least, it’s the cost cutting that’s really hurting the railroads. Conrail North Jersey is a prime example. Poor maintenance of engines and infrastructure, combined with stupid operations. Especially in Port Newark where engines go to die. Conrail thinks it’s a smart idea to move 100 loaded intermodal cars with one GP38-2!
This is a class 3 rail line dude. Its a branch line. not gonna look like a 60mph main line.
Thank you for the excellent commentary preceding the derailment. This video brought to memory a Missouri Pacific derailment I personally observed on New Years Day 1964 in the town of Morrilton, AR, as I was driving back to my California Naval Duty Station. Thanks for the memories.
I live in Morrilton from 1968 to 1978.
@@kevbrown2589 I went to school there in 1957-58. My Great-Grandmother had a school named for her there. I also have relatives there with the last name Brown.
@@curtisdavis5556 I lived at the children's home called Southern Christian Home. One of the houseparents were Claude Wayne Davis and Martha Davis.
@@kevbrown2589 I know where the Southern Christian Home was located. Brown is on my mother's side. I still have relatives in Morrilton on my mother's side. My dad was from Oklahoma
@@curtisdavis5556 What is/was the name of the school named after your Great Grandmother? I moved to Morrilton from North Little Rock, and my Dad and his Dad and Mom were from Bauxite/Benton Arkansas.
This happened in my hometown, it’s the first derailment/accident I’ve seen since becoming a rail fan. Good video.
Johnny on the spot. Looks like you were first on the scene with no one there to kick you out. Outstanding work thanks.
And it helped it happened in a friend's back yard so I had a backstage pass on the whole thing. Lol
That was some serious tie grinding! Excellent video!
Nice video. As a former Maintenance of Way worker who has seen more than my share of derailments, I believe you're looking at roadbed failure due to the combined weight of the trains running on that section of track. The rail looks to be the very adequate 100lb. and the track speed looks like 10 mph. Any lateral movement of the cars will turn that rail easily. I'd say the railroad will be upgrading the rest of that section.
Yep kinda what I was thinking
Excellent presentation, ty👍🏼
Thank you LODG check out the other videos I did on the clean up
Fabulous video coverage. First on scene!! Great Job!!!
Love the video.. Thanks for making and sharing.
Thank you Johnny
Given the price of groceries, I'd sneak by there with a 5 gallon pail and get some of that grain.
I was thinkin the same. ;-)
the mice and rats will be fat by now!
Deer corn
I wouldn't do that , its probably GMO/Frankenstein grains !!!
@@williamlind32 yep, eat this, wake up the next morning looking like bigfoots brother!
What a mess. I'm not surprised it came off, the rails are in really poor condition and the sleepers (ties) are rotten.
The Dayton District had a similar derailment in Enon recently, where the middle of the train fell off the tracks and onto it's side. I think the rail broke at a point, as I recall an image had shown so.
Concrete cracks, wood rots, steel RR rails occasionally fracture from the stresses endured over the yrs. Perhaps a bit of investigation right before cleanup will help answer some questions. From some of these comments, sounds to me like some observers think all track should be maintained for 40 mph track speed.
Nice video! And wow...I wasn't expecting cars to be tipped over! That looks like a big, mangled mess for a 10 MPH train. Nice little bridge too!
I never knew the bridge was there till yesterday. Lol I'm thinking the track might have been washed out some from the heavy rain.
@@therailroadtiespiker Ah! I bet you're right. That sounds spot on. Thank you for documenting this, very interesting.
@@therailroadtiespiker =Forty years railroading here - looks to me like the first car derailed before the bridge (see the recently spilled grain ?) Maybe a dropped grain door from under the car hit the bridge and canted it enuf to send the cars tipping.
@@Thebaroncorvo The fist tie on the bridge was damage pretty heavily.
No track maintenance they have money for stock holders that's it!!!!!
Looks like you’re crazy close to the rails there. Amazing zoom!
It does look like I'm really close and to let you know I'm standing even farther back from the tracks after seeing this derailment.
This is the former Nickle Plate Cloverleaf line. It is abandoned east of Marion. The train was only a short distance from Marion, where the derailment occurred.
They were almost there.
Oh this is that old nickel plate line up there by gas City??
Thanks for video. Very informative for me.
Goodness gracious, that was a hell of a DISASTER, the tracks speak for themselves, I never seen a rail loose and peel off its head/ top layer!! 😬🥺😳🤯😵😱 Great footage😁😉👍
Thank you Edsel6818 check out my clean up videos on that derailment they just emptied the grain cars out then cut them up right on site.
Being in the right place, at the right time. Good job.
Is that corn? The deer are gonna love that!
Yes corn and lots of it
Good morning to all from SE Louisiana 19 May 22.
A very late good morning back. Lol
So glad Hobo Shoestring wasn't ridin' one of those "grainers."
he knows better, he wouldn't be on something that bouncing.
1:30 in and I'm wondering when the last time an MOW crew actually did any work on that track and crossing. Looks like it hasn't been touched in years.
Did you get a good shot of the rolling date mark on any of the rail along there? Interested to know the aprox. install date for that line.
I didn't film it but the track was dated 1930 and the tie plates 1927.
@@therailroadtiespiker After 90 years service I don't think it owes the railroad much. 🇬🇧
@@robertbate5790 think about it my Great grandfather went to work for Nickel Plate back in the 20s do you think he thought we would be still using track that they used. Lol
@@therailroadtiespiker No wonder this happened, tracks back then were made for cars much lighter than these fully loaded hoppers
@@therailroadtiespiker did you note the weight of the rail
Crazy to see rail broken and split like that
I've never seen rail that mangled up.
Norfolk and southern doesn't care
Ditto!!
This type of thing can be devastating, looked to be contained to just a couple cars.
Crazy the way that rail literally sheered in half!
Idk if you have ever held a piece of railroad iron but it is not light by any means.
Only real positives, the train driver wasn't hurt and all that grain and corn will be an all you can eat buffet for local wildlife.😁
I believe the newer rails weight about 120lbs per yard unlike the other rails which weight around 80lbs per yard
@@stevenbelsky1652 Newer rail can weigh a good bit more than 120
A guy from the UK here. Looking back towards the resr portion of the train I find it interesting how the R hand rail in direction of travel has fallen outwards. The wagons are also loaded heavy. Are the loaded from hopper over the middle?
Could track be the root cause, with unequal loading being a contributing factor? A good vid and one that without doubt the investigating authority will be interested in seeing.
The tracks are to blame. They load the wagons to the max.
Looks from the condition of the Ties and the general condition of the road bed this was an accident waiting to happen. This could have been a lot worse depending on the location and the amount of cars that left the track. The company can either just stick a band-aid on the problem and just fix what is damaged or put in a plan and $$$ to replace the entire X miles of line. There are thousands of miles of track in the same condition around the country that will need to be replaced.
It looks like the ties and the rails were so old, it must have given way to the weight of the train.
Not surprised. Earlier in the video the line seemed to be in very poor condition.
It would be interesting to follow up on clean up and if they repair the rail and what they do to repair it. At the Whistle Stop Restaurant in Monon Ind they have a steam crane that in its day would be used to set the cars back on the rail
Video on the way
@@therailroadtiespiker Good
@@therailroadtiespiker Have you been to Monon Ind to the Whistle Stop Restaurant and seen the collection of rolling stock , aigns, and the museum
@@pcs2511 I need to get up there.
Knew the TP&W well. Grew up in Crescent City, IL.
that is one very strong bridge!!
wow you have some great footage.newsub thx for sharing.😊😊😊
Thank you and a million thanks for watching
Couldn't believe this was in the US, India yes . Great filming . You could see from the state of the track movement that it was way past its sell by date .From the UK .
They're in the process of replacing the ties and renewing the tail bedding. I have to say there doing a good job with what they have to work with.
@@therailroadtiespiker thank you for your reply. A most interesting video of the clean up . Big job neatly carried out with little fuss .
@@tomatoes3 I'm going to get back over this fall and take some video of the the grain trains going through the area I just have to wait till the corn is knocked down. I'm glad you enjoyed the video
@@therailroadtiespiker Great idea, going to subscribe so I don't miss it . Don't have videos like this in the UK . Stay safe .
@@tomatoes3 check out part 4 and 5 on the derailment.
Judging by the color of the broken web at the rail joint I would venture to say the rail was the cause of derailment.
I was wondering that myself.
Another great video!!
Thank you LaddDental group
That was one heck of a derailment! One thing I saw yesterday in a nearby city (Spartanburg, SC) close to where I live were several grain cars sitting atop flat cars with obviously their trucks removed. And it was on Norfolk Southern trackage. I wonder if this could be related? Maybe those are some of the offending cars from this incident going off for repair? Wish I would've taken a picture. The cars were in the yard and were on the bridge over the road that I was on. Well I guess looking at the dates on this video and when this happened, probably not lol Still an interesting occurrence.
No just another weekly derailment. Lol the cars are still sitting along side the tracks here.
Nice tracks, maybe somebody should have done some maintenance 100 years ago....😀😂 Looks like this Track was already there when Tom Sawyer & Huckle....
and mark twain.
Great video. Thx. This is just sad.
Excellent video 👌👌
Thank you trainlover
The trestle was obviously missing a key item, no guard rails. I recently learned that from another recent train video. The accident happened at the edge of the trestle and guard rails would have prevented it?
Now that's interesting because the biggest part of the damage was at the trestle even though it's was only about ten feet long it probably would have helped.
Time to call Hulcher. This is where the philosophy of "pay me now or pay me later" comes into play with so called "deferred maintenance". That stretch of short line railroad is in serious need of, at the very least, a tie program. It gets very expensive replacing railroad five or six track panels at a time. Great job documenting the aftermath!
About 10 miles west they just delivered a huge stack of railroad ties just in the past few days.
I’m up that way pretty frequently. I pick up sheet metal in Huntington and run it to Spartanburg. Would the township say anything if a truck driver wanted to do some train watching. I’m an NS fan from Kentucky, the CNO&TP Second District.
as long as you do it from public property ... no problems
A minor scratch... "I'm sure it will buff-out" or "an assortment of spare parts".
My goodness, that is some serious damage from a slow rollin derailment. Wow, the split and broken rails, the mangled ties. Holy moly. But as I viewed the tracking earlier in the video, it looked to be not well maintained. What caused the derailing? You also looked to be too close to a moving train hence the blasting of the air horn earlier.
Can you imagine if they were doing 30 or 40 mph the damage it would have caused.
Great Vid Mate 😎
Thank you for watching
@@therailroadtiespiker Your welcome Mate 😎
I would be really interested in the date on that stick rail. What year it was rolled
Mostly done in 1924 1928 but there's some sections of 1918.
Nice film!
Great vid, First let's blame the crew. they get to give a free urine sample, then lets blame the car shop tech's for a poorly maintained car , next the track supervisor for poorly maintained track. Solution , suspend crew for a week ,cut back on car shop budget and fire assistant track supervisor then layoff another 500 workers. Yes the CEO's have found and solved the problem That's how you keep your hands clean on this mess and receive a year end bonus. If those workers would have all done their jobs correctly , they should have been able to get 1 more load out on that spur without having to spend any money on it. People's freaking lives are at stake here! The RR I'm employed at is happy that we have gone over 400 days without killing any one of it's employees. Does anyone wonder why there is a worker shortage on the Railroads ,that is part of the problem ,CEO's afraid of the major shareholders . This has got to change ,the tail is wagging the big dog here.
unfortunately, it will need a Lac-Mégantic rail disaster in a population of 500,000 or bigger before it changes.
To even suspect the crew in this situation is ludicrous.
Retired two years ago after 41 years service with Southern/NS in the mechanical department, and I can tell you firsthand that it is an outrage how badly these class 1’s have deteriorated in every way! I intended to work at least two years longer than I did, but their complete disregard for safety and the way have treated the few employees left made me decide to get out before they killed me! PSR has put a golden spike through the heart of the railroad industry, while making the hedge fund crowd rich. Hunter Harrison was not the railroads savior, but more like the grim reaper! The thousands upon thousands of good railroaders that were unnecessarily shoved out the door because of this farce are now being begged to come back, but at least in my area, most just laugh and hang up the phone! Karma’s a bitch!
Sounds like you worked for one of the freight lines.
And yes I also have some experience with some of the same. I was a locomotive machinist in Chicago for Amtrak. I left after a couple years lots of issues in 2001
Das beste railroad Video maker Dankeschön Für die schöne bilder you a good camera man🎥🎥🎥🎥🎥🚂🚂.Greetings from Germany Cologne
Great video, RailSpiker. Is this line NS or TPW owned? Curious as to the date of the actual jointed rails. I see a few commenters are up in arms about the condition of the right of way and the swaying cars. To them, I say to be thankful that we still have operating rail lines like this that serve our farmers in this age of PSR and the shrinking interest of Class 1's who would rather enhance their stock price by just running intermodal from the east and west coasts to Chicago and back. Looking forward to your documenting any of the clean up and restoration on the right of way. Appreciate that effort that you do for our enjoyment!
I believe NS owns it but tp&w lease it from them
@@therailroadtiespiker Thanks!
CERA/Central Railroad of Indianapolis, but G&W no less. Part of NS trimming to mains only (not clear whether the short lines were long leased off, or sold). I was going to say I would be expecting more from them than this rubbish line, but I was actually thinking of a competitor, the three G&W lines I know are just abysmal (the P&OC [otherwise known as the OT&B since they only ever go over there and back] the B&P which is improving, though nowhere near B&O, and Eeyore (IORY).
looking at the track maintenance i wouldn't be surprised this happen more often.
Wow what a mess, I can't say I have seen the rail head split from the base before? My worst nightmare is the rail coming up into a coach in that situation. Those trucks or as we call them bogies need to be replaced with a stronger cross beam not just sides held by the axels. the Gloucester Bogie they are based on we no longer use. I often wonder what the yearly mileage for incidents in the States are for derailments and knuckle splits is?
Kind of ironic that there’s a “derail” sign in this video starting around 3:24
It's marking the position of a mainline protection derail device, which is the yellow blob on the closest rail. Its job is to ensure that no runaway cars get onto the mainline.
Those axel journals are 45#s of red brass each!😛
It of been nice had you have ariel footage/drone, great catch though, thank you 👌👍
Working on getting a drone..... Can't wait thank you for watching the video SD90 Mac
Looks like some good ol' fashioned rail fatigue. No one injured, I trust.
I keep being amazed in what kind of state the rails and rail beds are so now and then. Here in The Netherlands, even a museum line on such a track would have been shut down long before.
But keep up the good work, it must have been a big 'luck' that you were in the neighbourhood when this happened. My compliments for the filming.
I was lucky I wasn't even going to chase the train down I filmed this exact train last week but I thought it was a beautiful day why not go out and film it. Lol
That's right. In the Netherlands the line would have been shut down and the grain moving up and down the highway in trucks. In North America we provide small companies the opportunity to try and save rail lines that serve low density farming areas. This preserves the line and the service to the communities and keeps polluting trucks off of the highway. Accidents like this are not common and incredible tonnage moves safely and economically over very long distances.
Gosh the state of that track no wonder the train derailed.
Great coverage. I would offer one suggestion. I got seasick from all the waving of the camera. If you're going to pan (move it from side to side) the camera, may I suggest you do it slowly. Gives us more time to take in the scene. Thanks.
Yes I agree I should make a video of the derailment scene in slow motion. Thank you for taking the time to watch the video.
@@therailroadtiespiker thank you for your response. I meant pan the camera slowly. I meant in no way to suggest that it wasn't excellent footage .
@@sweetlips1938 I'm actually working on a slow down version of the video and more footage I hadn't put in the first video I'll be releasing it in the morning. I agree with the slowing the camera panning down.
Crazy how a railbed in that condition was still in service.
Yes and it's that way from Marion to logansport Indiana v
100 points for car 65635 for spearing that truck! 10:02
Fantastic video;can't help but notice that that track w not fit for purpose. Those cars, pre derailment, swayed like the drunken sailors I used to pickup in the Philippines.
Thank you Robert
Shareholders and executive pay coming first once again.
Yeah. I like that 20s jingle thrown in there
They’re lucky it wasn’t the locomotives. Nice video
Thank you AmtrakTBL yes they were.
Class 1 train on shortline tracks. Those tracks were hurting from that weight of those 6 axle road units
I've never seen the rail head torn/stripped away from the foot like this - that's a huge amount of force needed to do that!
Yes it was a very heavy grain train.
Welp, more American steel being shipped to the China steel mills to be melted down to make more Chinese goods sold to America 🇺🇸.
Looks like poorly maintained track is the culprit...heavy grain cars forcing the rails to bow outwards due to them not being secured properly until they reach the point of 'folding' over on their side, causing the cars to derail. I bet that split rail was caused by the wheel edge landing directly on it, cutting it like a knife. Happened right next a bridge/viaduct/span over a creek, which is usually one of the more expensive parts of a rail line to maintain and is often 'deferred' until forced to do so via safety inspection.
looks like the track maint. was deferred more then the bridge maintenance.
@@rearspeaker6364 With the track failure being so close to the bridge, I imagine trying to maintain/repair the track would also involve having to make improvements to the bridge as well...
@@KG-xt4oq appears bridge is ok. The ties just before the bridge failed. The track itself Is 90 years old and fatigue cycles change the metallurgical grain structure.
Lay off a few too many employees and think you're gonna get em back nope.
@@larselder874 So you say the ties failed, then say the rail failed due to age/fatigue...sounds like something routine maintenance would have spotted and that repairs were 'deferred', i.e. poorly maintained track, which is what I said...
And a "thankya Jesus" from the engineer that they remained upright!
I remember on the old Chicago Line, when Engine #9 jumped the tracks and a lot of passengers wanted their money back.
Had the conductor made it down there yet when you got there??
Yes
Judging by the slow speed of the train the track must be rated as "poor condition" which contributed to the derailment? Australia has lines in similar condition.
The weight of that train must of broke tha rail at the bridge somehow. That's pretty crazy.
If you look carefully at the joint bars (we call em fishplates in the UK) at 12.01 , theres an old crack there that has started from a bolt hole. In rail testing and ultrasonic terms, its called a star crack that can propergate from a bolt hole, one leg of the 'star' normally heads upto the head of the rail and results in the head litterally falling away. Sometimes they'll go both ways, down and up resulting in the end of the rail coming right off!!! This would have been detected using unltrasonic testing but i doubt it rarely gets done on these little used shortlines.
@@formidable38 correct, never see one of those track inspection cars here. if it was, I know a hot nuke load was coming thru.
I am curious whoever own the railroad tracks do they have to compensate Norfolk Southern and the owners of those hoppers for the damage to their trains.. Since they were lack of maintenance being down to the tracks
I remember when one could catch a track gang walking the track and performing maintenance at least once a day. On heavy main lines at least twice a day. Doesn't look like that stretch of track has had any maintenance for, oh, five, maybe ten years! Oh how far we've fallen.
Oh gawd.
The critters will love that!!!
feast or famine, its feasting time!
The little chipmunk at the very beginning of the video heard a rumor of the pending derailment and was high-tailing it to get first dibs!
that chimunk cant eat no more, and the hawk is eying up dinner and breakfast.
What caused the derailment? I know that the rail broke but was it due to the bridge or just Bad rail?
I have heard yet
I sure saw a lot of loose spikes. Wondering if that was the cause.
Good video. Coverage we usually don't see.
Was this due to poor track maintenance?
Awesome ♐👍
Looks to me to be harmonic rocking of the cars. Where they fell on both sides of the track.
Lol my grandpa used to say it's ok if they rock you just don't want them to rock together then you're going to have trouble.
That was Sketchy.Great Video.
Thank you Ed
Those tracks look like they were in need of some serious maintenance. The rolling stock too. Why are they still using wooden ties? You'd think with heavy use and high axle weights they would use concrete ties.
If they could afford concrete ties this probably wouldn't have happened. There is nowhere near enough revenue on this line to upgrade to concrete ties.
I have an antique Norfolk and western brass railroad spike
That is the true aftermath of a GrainTrain Derailment
great footage
well done
Thank you
when was the last time those tracks were maintained. 100+ yrs ago
ask Mark Twain.........
@@rearspeaker6364 No, ask Jawn Henry..........Twain was a boat boy, not an RR type that I know of........ In general, non-gov't RRs maintain track to FRA standards, making inspections & repairs as needed........... Very difficult for a non-gov't RR to justify spending $$$ on track maintenance when there is little revenue generated by the track segment in question. Example, here in Middle TN there is a short line RR operator contracted with a quasi-local govt agency to operate RR freight service & maintain the RR. Well, a couple yrs ago the RR operator decided to not maintain over 30 mi of track to the point where some of the track is now excepted track (no psgr trains at all) & a good portion of the track segment is down to 10 mph speed restriction for freight trains. Just not enough freight revenue to justify spending the $$$.
Will be interesting to see what RR Crosstie date nails are dredged up while track is being repaired. Track out in the fields or the woods might have a few date nails left, never know w/o looking or asking.......
@@roberthultman9691 haven't seen date nails in over 30 years... forgot twain was a boater.
thats one way to get some new track laid
Amazing footage,Sure tore up the track
How many derailment happen daily on average in the US?
every day. about a hundred. unless someone gets injured, enviro mess, or wrecks a major road, no one knows.
@@rearspeaker6364 over 4300 but a larger percent of those are in the yards where cars get bumped pretty hard and track maintenance is zero.
Well thats definitely one way to replace wore out trackage.
Some excellent photography of the aftermath of the wreck. How in the heck did such massive damage happen? Any clues yet to what caused the derailment? The track looked to be pretty well maintained.