CSX derailment in Ellicott City, MD

[fecrails]

More Info here:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post_now/post/two-killed-as-csx-train-derails-in-ellicott-city-overnight/2012/08/21/99d0a810-eb77-11e1-b811-09036bcb182b_blog.html

[imnew]

oh man.... thats not good. Loss of life too... Thanks for the link.

[up_8677]

According to the news I saw the two fatalities were a couple of less-than-sober (not in the story below, it could have just been an unsubstantiated rumor) college students trespassing on the right of way.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/breaki ... 7535.story


While it is of course extremely tragic for anyone to die, incidents like this are what makes it harder for responsible people to railfan. It is even worse for the crew who are helpless in situations like this.


I asked the railroad men who post on RAILROAD.NET a question about what they feel is appropriate distances from the tracks, and I got the general feeling that they all get really nervous if you are within 50 feet of the right of way.

[Chacal]

This is the kind of one-in-a-million-chance accident that will get insurance companies and railroad companies in a frenzy.
Not good for railfans anywhere.

[up_8677]

Yep. Especially people in more built up areas where the railroad cops spend most of their time.

I tend to railfan in rural to remote areas where the crews are friendly and railroad cops are 200 miles away. I've honestly never even seen a UP or BNSF cop in the areas I frequent.

[fecrails]

There has been some speculation as to whether the two young women that were killed in this accident might have contributed to its cause. This quote from The Baltimore Sun should put this issue to rest.


Two 19-year-old women died early today in the derailment of a CSX coal train in Ellicott City, an accident that left the historic town at a standstill.

The women were on a bridge at the center of town but not on the tracks at the time of the derailment, and the conductors of the train never saw them and did not change how they were operating the train before many of its cars jumped off the rails, investigators said.

Howard County police said Elizabeth Conway Nass and Rose Louese Mayr of Ellicott City were seated on the railway bridge about 20 feet above Main Street facing east toward Baltimore County with their backs to the train tracks when the train's open-air coal cars began to pass a few feet behind them.


The train then derailed for an unknown reason, police said, and Nass and Mayr were "buried under the coal as it dumped from the train cars," police said.

Their bodies were found still seated on the bridge, under the coal, police said.

Most of us would have to admit to doing some risky and foolish things when we were 19 and these girls were no different. Just some college kids out having some fun except they paid the ultimate price for being in the wrong place at a one in a million wrong time. A tragedy for all involved. RIP girls.

[SteelRoad]

This happened around the corner from a girl my fiancee works with. Such a shame, Ellicott City is a really nice place. I somehow doubt that two 19 yr old girls had anything to do with the derailment. I've read th emergency brakes were applied automatically, not by the crew, so maybe they didn't hit the alerter reset in time.

[Csxgp38-2]

I honestly think it won't imapact how railfans are treated, these girls weren't railfans and were defying the no trespassing signage posted before every bridge (on CSX, at least). Still no reason for their sad death, however it shows just how dangerous trespassing on the ROW can be. You don't have to be on the tracks to die. I think as long as you aren't trespassing, the railroad doesn't care about railfans. (usually)
Always expect a train.

[up_8677]

This happened around the corner from a girl my fiancee works with. Such a shame, Ellicott City is a really nice place. I somehow doubt that two 19 yr old girls had anything to do with the derailment. I've read th emergency brakes were applied automatically, not by the crew, so maybe they didn't hit the alerter reset in time.

The first hopper that derailed and overturned probably caused the emergency application by opening the brake pipe.