| Locomotive Details |
Location/Date of Photo |
» Southern Pacific Railroad (more..)
» EMD SD40T-2 (more..) |
» Palmdale-Colton Cutoff Line (more..)
» San Bernardino, California, USA (more..)
» May 12, 1989 |
| Locomotive No./Train ID |
Photographer |
» SP 8278 (more..)
» 01-MJLBP-11 (more..) |
» Gary R. Schermerhorn (more..)
» Contact Gary R. Schermerhorn |
| Remarks: An insider photograph of the shocking aftermath of the tragic runaway of a overloaded SP potash train "01-MJLBP-11" after it lost it's brakes off Cajon Pass and careened off a curve at over 100mph into a San Bernardino suburb killing two SP crew members and two others. |
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This photo has been viewed 31,416 unique times since being added to the database on May 14, 2006.
This photo has been favorited by 10 members.
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Posted by Nathan Herring on May 15, 2006
WOW! with all the damage in this picture I am suprised there was not any more deaths caused by this horrible tragedy.
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Posted by Dean Kaplan on May 15, 2006
Man what a crash, that is one horrific pileup. |
Posted by Cagey on May 17, 2006
This train wreck, while horrific in itself, was only the beginning of the agony experienced by this neighborhood. I saw a TV show (by Discovery Channel) about this incident few years ago: from the description of the program: "Tragic accidents are mercifully rare, and rarer still are the tragedies that strike twice. In 1989, a working class California neighborhood was hit by a massive train derailment that left four people dead and seven homes destroyed. Two weeks later, beneath the same street, a gas pipeline exploded, killing three more and incinerating eighteen homes." (The gasoline pipeline rupture was caused by the train wreck and/or ensuing cleanup operations). Search for "Duffy Street 1989" for more. I believe the NTSB report on this is available too.
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Posted by Scott Locker on June 28, 2006
This is a horriable wreck. I wonder if Sacramento repaired the 8278 or not |
Posted by Mike on August 5, 2006
The speed limit on that curve is 40 mph. According to the black box, the train reached 112 mph! The weight was improperly listed to be around 4,000 tons, when in reality the train actually weighed about 9,900 tons. The only thing that was holding the train back was the dynamic brakes, but the driver in the rear helper applied the emergency brakes after he noticed what was wrong which, as we all know, cancels out the dynamics! According to the forensic studies afterward, the heat caused by the emergency application was so intense that the brake shoes and the wheels actually began to melt. It's amazing the death toll wasn't much higher. |
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