Archive for category Train Crash
No injuries were reported from a freight train derailment this afternoon near the 2100 block of East 95th Street. Several tank cars left the track and a Level I Haz Mat was requested. The cleanup process is underway.
TIm Olk is on the scene and submitted these images.
A tank car with an unknown cargo is off the tracks. Tim Olk photo
Heavy equipment is brought in to remove the tank cars. Tim Olk photo
Several cars need to be removed. Tim Olk photo
Multiple tank cars derailed and there is considerable damage to the track. Tim Olk photo
Tim Olk responded to a train derailment on Chicago’s south side Sunday morning.
Tim Olk photo
The Chicago Tribune wrote the following:
The train derailed on the city’s Southwest Side early Sunday morning, leaving many without power but nobody injured, according to Chicago police.
Police said the derailment happened near Rockwell and 83rd streets. One train ran into another that wasn’t moving and the collision resulted in a derailment on an adjacent track, according to a CSX spokesman.
The complete Chicago Tribune article is HERE.
Tim Olk photo
Tim Olk photo
At 5PM, the Chicago Tribune is reporting that:
A second body has been found in a car that was buried by debris and wreckage from a train derailment and bridge collapse near Northbrook, officials said.
Officials initially said no one was injured when the train hauling coal derailed on Union Pacific tracks near Willow Road and Shermer Avenue around 1:45 p.m. Wednesday. But this morning, crews spotted the bumper of a car and dug around it with shovels, officials said.
Officials on the scene initially said one body was inside but were checking for other victims. Later, officials said a second body had been found in the car. Their identities have not been released, but officials said one of them is a man.
The car, with the bodies inside, was loaded onto a flatbed truck and taken to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
The car was discovered at about 10 a.m., Globerger said. The crews had been working through the night since 5 p.m. Wednesday. “With 27 rail cars, full of coal, there was no way to get in to discover the car until this morning,” Glenview Fire Chief Wayne Globerger said. “Keep in mind, we’re talking tons (of debris), here.”
He said crews would continue looking for any other victims.
The entire article with a video can be found HERE.
Images from the scene can be found HERE.
A heavy-lift crane is loaded onto a lowboy at the crash site. Larry Shapiro photo
As railroad and construction workers cleared the debris from the collapsed bridge over Shermer Road, they discovered a car that was buried underneath the rubble. Glenview firefighters have been at the scene today working to gain access to the car.
Work as seen from the south side of the Shermer Road bridge as gravel is built up to the level of the tracks. Larry Shapiro photo
A steady stream of large dump trucks brings gravel to the site of the destroyed bridge to build a temporary base so that train traffic can resume soon. Larry Shapiro photo
Firegeezer.com filed the following report:
Update, 3 pm Thursday:
Cleanup crews discovered an automobile with one body inside underneath the bridge debris Thursday morning.
Also, the railroad inspectors have determined what caused the bridge to fail. Both discoveries are covered in this Chicago Tribune report:
Officials initially said no one was injured when the train hauling coal derailed on Union Pacific tracks near Willow Road and Shermer Avenue around 1:45 p.m. Wednesday. But this morning, crews spotted the bumper of a car and dug around it with shovels, officials said.
Shortly before 1 p.m., workers could be seen clearing off what appeared to be the windshield, then covering the area with a blue tarp. Officials on the scene said one body was inside, and they were working to remove it.
WGN-TV
* * *
While the investigation of the derailment continues, extreme heat causing steel rails to expand is a possible cause of the derailment and subsequent bridge collapse, a Union Pacific Railroad spokesman said Thursday.
The preliminary investigation has ruled out the failure of the bridge as the trigger to the accident, said UP spokesman Mark Davis. The bridge was not designed to carry the load of 28 coal cars that derailed, each weighing 75 tons to 85 tons, on the 86-foot bridge, Davis said.
Davis confirmed that UP inspectors were on the tracks checking for possible abnormalities in track gauge or shifting before the accident. Such inspections are routinely conducted twice a day during extreme heat or cold, he said.
Because of the “heat order,” a 40 mph slow zone order, down from 50 mph normally on that segment of track, was in effect at the time of the accident, Davis said. An event recorder in the locomotive showed that the train was traveling at 37 mph when it derailed, he said.
“We ruled out the bridge failing and then the train derailing, based on the discussion with the train crew’’ as well as viewing the images from a camera on the train, Davis said. “The derailment occurred and then what happened was that 28 cars piled onto the bridge structure. Under all that weight, the bridge went down.’’
Since that report was posted, the medical examiner arrived on the scene and the body was then removed. Any personal information of the victim including its sex has not been released. The railroad authorities have stated that there is still a possibility that they may find more victims under the debris.
The Northbrook Fire Department received calls for a train derailment at the bridge over Shermer Road just south of Willow Road around 1:30PM on Wednesday. First arriving units were Glenview Engine 8 and Northbrook Tower 12, and they found a brush fire along the road. Multiple coal cars derailed and spilled coal from the overpass to the street below. The bridge, which was rebuilt in November of 2009 after the last derailment at that site, was destroyed.
There were no injuries and officials believe that there were no cars under the bridge at the time of the accident.
A Box Alarm was struck for manpower due to the excessive heat, but the companies were released without going to work.
Tim Olk made it to the scene before the fire was out and will submit images later.
Larry Shapiro arrived later and submitted several images of the scene from both sides of the bridge.
Northbrook Tower 12 is extended to offer a position to view the overall scene and damage. Larry Shapiro photo
With the bulk of the devastation as a back drop, a firefighter uses a hand line to douse the area that had been burning. Larry Shapiro photo
Looking south on Shermer Road, what was once an overpass is now a pile of coal and rail cars. Larry Shapiro photo
Glenview Engine 8 was the first engine on the scene. Larry Shapiro photo
Looking south on Shermer Road, what was once an overpass is now a pile of coal and rail cars. Larry Shapiro photo
Looking north on Shermer from the opposite side of the bridge. Larry Shapiro photo
Damage to the track is visible along with derailed cars. Larry Shapiro photo
This bridge had been rebuilt in November of 2009 following a previous derail train. Larry Shapiro photo
Another view looking northwest from the south side of the bridge. Larry Shapiro photo
A panoramic view of the scene from south. Larry Shapiro photo
A gallery with more images from this incident can be found HERE.
The previous derailment from November 2, 2009 can be seen HERE, and reports HERE and HERE.
A view of the incident in 2009.
An aerial panoramic of the derailment scene on November 2, 2009. Larry Shapiro photo
This was also the site of a similar derailment 38 years ago.
A derailed train at the same bridge 38 years ago. Larry Shapiro photo
another view of the scene 38 years ago. Larry Shapiro photo
Vintage CFD Fire Photos
Apr 16
The cleanup has begun at the site of the train collision and derailment in Northwest Indiana which occurred yesterday. Tim Olk visited the crash site today and submitted a few images of the scene.
After clearing sections of track, heavy equipment moves in to clear the containers and cars from the crash site. Tim Olk photo
The recovery company is utilizing a private farm to stage their equipment and the damaged rail cars prior to removal or demolition. Tim Olk photo
A rail car behind an engine burns at the crash site as workers assemble to remove the debris and rebuild the track. Tim Olk photo
Tim has a large gallery HERE with more images.