Accidents - Oil Train Derails -

[Bob]

It seems to be a never-ending issue, train derailing, and spills from the contents.


http://www.pennenergy.com/content/dam/Pennenergy/online-articles/2015/January/AP_Oil_rail.jpg
(above, oil tanker train)

When the contents are highly flammable fuels, the dangers to the environment increase substantially.

Despite double wall "safety" there were 4 rail-cars leaking from a derailment in rural northeastern Montana, near a town called CULBERTSON (5 miles east) from the accident that occurred on the evening of the 16th.

At the moment, there are no immediate reports of injury or fire, however of the 21 cars that derailed Thursday evening, only two remained upright, Roosevelt County Sheriff Jason Frederick said. The four tank cars leaked an estimated 35,000 gallons of oil - it was headed from North Dakota to Anacortes, Washington.


http://static.seattletimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/be1b692c019c49a296086859e74c375c-1020x622.jpg

Authorities had earlier reported just two cars were leaking, but Burlington Northern Santa Fe spokesman Matt Jones updated the number. The oil had been contained, and railroad employees were on the scene, Jones said.

The issues once again are raised - should fuel be transported by pipeline or rail?

There was no immediate explanation of what caused 22 cars to topple from the train in Thursday’s wreck.

The train originated at a Savage Services loading terminal in Trenton, North Dakota, and originally had 106 cars loaded with crude, according to BNSF and state officials.

A BNSF hazardous materials team arrived at the scene at about 3:30 a.m. Friday, more than nine hours after the derailment, according to the Montana Department of Emergency Services. Reum said other railroad personnel had arrived in the first hours after the accident.

An evacuation order for people within a half-mile radius was lifted Friday morning. About 30 people living in the workers camp were kept out until the remaining oil was unloaded, Montana Department of Emergency Services spokesman Maj. Chris Lende said.

[Bob]

Re: No Pipeline, No Problem ! (we will use RAIL once again)
Quote Posted by Carmody
I have family members who have worked for the rail companies, in rail work.

It is trivially easy to derail a train, and 99.999% of a train's travel and the given track, is outside of any form of protection from malfeasance.

About a 100lb steel bar, jammed into the ground the right way, and boom, she's off the rails.

It's bad enough that all those nasty chemicals are on the trains in the first place, never mind entire 100+ car runs of crude.

In the case of a crude run like that, they should be required to run a separate engine a few miles ahead to be sure the track is functional.

(This is a cross post from another thread, it is highly relevant here)

Excellent thought on the spotter Carmody!

Spotter cars, similar to how a "Wide Load" is run on the roadways, with the spotters, running up ahead to verify the road is "all clear", as well as check for anything coming on the track..

Great idea, wonder if they are listening..

What is needed very much right now, is to get the older tankers, older cars OUT of the system and no longer being used, have track safely checked before a hazardous cargo (crude) is transported. Track safety, if that is the issue should be a high consideration. Possibly one of the cars lost a wheel, or something seized, fell off.. Investigators should see something, but will they report what happened?

[Bob]

Since February, this year 2015, trainwrecks of tanker trains (derailments and spills) happened.

— Feb. 14, 2015 (see note below): A 100-car Canadian National Railway train hauling crude oil and petroleum distillates derailed in a remote part of Ontario, Canada. The blaze it ignited burned for days.

— Feb. 16, 2015: A 109-car CSX oil train derailed and caught fire near Mount Carbon, West Virginia, leaking oil into a Kanawha River tributary and burning a house to its foundation. The blaze burned for most of week.

— March 10, 2015: Twenty-one cars of a 105-car Burlington Northern Santa Fe train hauling oil from the Bakken region of North Dakota derailed about 3 miles outside Galena, Illinois, a town of about 3,000 in the state's northwest corner.

—** (NOTE) March 7, 2015: A 94-car Canadian National Railway crude oil train derailed about 3 miles outside the northern Ontario (Canada) town of Gogama. The resulting fire destroyed a bridge. The accident was 23 miles from the Feb. 14 derailment. (Is there a problem with the track in that area?)

— July 16, 2015: More than 20 cars of a Burlington Northern Santa Fe oil train derailed east of Culbertson, Montana, spilling an estimated 35,000 gallons of oil. (noted in the OP 1 above)


===================

In 2014

— Jan. 7, 2014: A 122-car Canadian National Railway train derailed in New Brunswick, Canada. Three cars containing propane and one car transporting crude oil from western Canada exploded after the derailment, creating intense fires that burned for days. About 150 residents were evacuated.

— Jan. 20, 2014: Seven CSX train cars, six of them containing oil from the Bakken region, derailed on a bridge over the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia. The bridge is near the University of Pennsylvania, a highway and three hospitals. No oil was spilled and no one was injured. The train from Chicago was more than 100 cars long.

— April 30, 2014: Fifteen cars of a crude oil train derailed in Lynchburg, Virginia, near a railside eatery and a pedestrian waterfront, sending flames and black smoke into the air. Nearly 30,000 gallons of oil were spilled into the James River.

— May 6, 2015: A 109-car Burlington Northern Santa Fe crude oil train derails near Heimdal, North Dakota. Six cars exploded into flames and an estimated 60,000 gallons of oil spilled.

[Selkie]

Since February, this year 2015, trainwrecks of tanker trains (derailments and spills) happened.

— Feb. 14, 2015 (see note below): A 100-car Canadian National Railway train hauling crude oil and petroleum distillates derailed in a remote part of Ontario, Canada. The blaze it ignited burned for days.

— Feb. 16, 2015: A 109-car CSX oil train derailed and caught fire near Mount Carbon, West Virginia, leaking oil into a Kanawha River tributary and burning a house to its foundation. The blaze burned for most of week.

— March 10, 2015: Twenty-one cars of a 105-car Burlington Northern Santa Fe train hauling oil from the Bakken region of North Dakota derailed about 3 miles outside Galena, Illinois, a town of about 3,000 in the state's northwest corner.

—** (NOTE) March 7, 2015: A 94-car Canadian National Railway crude oil train derailed about 3 miles outside the northern Ontario (Canada) town of Gogama. The resulting fire destroyed a bridge. The accident was 23 miles from the Feb. 14 derailment. (Is there a problem with the track in that area?)

— July 16, 2015: More than 20 cars of a Burlington Northern Santa Fe oil train derailed east of Culbertson, Montana, spilling an estimated 35,000 gallons of oil. (noted in the OP 1 above)


===================

In 2014

— Jan. 7, 2014: A 122-car Canadian National Railway train derailed in New Brunswick, Canada. Three cars containing propane and one car transporting crude oil from western Canada exploded after the derailment, creating intense fires that burned for days. About 150 residents were evacuated.

— Jan. 20, 2014: Seven CSX train cars, six of them containing oil from the Bakken region, derailed on a bridge over the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia. The bridge is near the University of Pennsylvania, a highway and three hospitals. No oil was spilled and no one was injured. The train from Chicago was more than 100 cars long.

— April 30, 2014: Fifteen cars of a crude oil train derailed in Lynchburg, Virginia, near a railside eatery and a pedestrian waterfront, sending flames and black smoke into the air. Nearly 30,000 gallons of oil were spilled into the James River.

— May 6, 2015: A 109-car Burlington Northern Santa Fe crude oil train derails near Heimdal, North Dakota. Six cars exploded into flames and an estimated 60,000 gallons of oil spilled.

Why do you think there are so many? I figure that poor track maintenance has something to do with it, though. The infrastructure in the States being old, and in disrepair.