[video=youtube;03Nq632eV6I]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03Nq632eV6I&feature=player_embedded[/video]
This is why everyone should stay back from the tracks! Even at not much more than a crawl, the damage is very significant, and nobody knows how it can scatter out.
I have seen this one before. Interesting to see it unfold. Imagine that train at freeway speeds--how big the mess would be?
I can tell you that at 21mph, 17 coal loads will pile up. But broken rail on a main will do that to ya. The guys were lucky they got the 2 units and a car across it first.
There's enormous momentum and energy involved in a train derailment. Those hundred of tons don't stop on a dime. In researching tank car survivability for a research paper, I saw just how much of a mess they can be, even at slower speeds.
