LTEX 2535 at Lac-Mégantic (17JUL2015)

Central Maine and Quebec Railway LTEX 2535 westbound departing Lac-Mégantic passing the crude train derailment disaster site. TSB REPORT: On 5 July 2013, at about 10:50 p.m., after arriving in Nantes, Quebec, a Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway (MMA) locomotive engineer Tom Harding, parked a train (carrying 7.7 million litres of petroleum crude oil in 72 Class 111 tank cars) on a descending grade on the main track. The engineer applied hand brakes on all five locomotives, plus two other cars (a minimum of 17 and possibly as many as 26 should have been set), and shut down all but the lead locomotive. Railway rules require hand brakes alone be capable of holding a train, and this must be verified by a test. That night, the locomotive air brakes were left on during the test, meaning the train was being held by a combination of hand brakes and air brakes, and giving a false impression that the hand brakes alone would hold the train.

When a fire began in the engine of the lead locomotive, in keeping with railway instructions, emergency responders shut off the engine, which subsequently caused the air holding the locomotive air brakes to leak off. Without enough force from the handbrakes, the train began rolling downhill toward Lac-Mégantic, just over seven miles away. As it moved down the grade, the train picked up speed, reaching a top speed of 65 mph. It derailed near the centre of town at about 1:15 a.m.

Almost all of the derailed tank cars were damaged, and many had large breaches. About six million litres of petroleum crude oil was quickly released. The fire began almost immediately, and the ensuing blaze and explosions left 47 people dead. Another 2000 people were forced from their homes, and much of the downtown core was destroyed.

In October 2012, eight months before this accident, the lead locomotive was sent to MMA's repair shop following an engine failure. Given the significant time and cost of a standard repair, and the pressure to return the locomotive to service, the engine was repaired with an epoxy-like material that lacked the required strength and durability. This material failed in service, leading to engine surges and excessive black and white smoke. Eventually, oil began to accumulate in the body of the turbocharger, where it overheated and caught fire on the night of the accident.

http://www.tsb.gc.ca/eng/rapports-reports/rail/2013/r13d0054/r13d0054-r-es.asp
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/lac-m%C3%A9gantic-train-disaster-engineer-s-emergency-calls-released-1.2743386
http://www.pressherald.com/2014/12/12/new-railroad-owner-rebuilding-after-quebec-disaster/

Видео LTEX 2535 at Lac-Mégantic (17JUL2015) канала JayJr2007