A railroad worker was struck and killed Wednesday by a rail car that broke loose from a train and coasted downhill 32 miles into Denver before coming to a stop, officials said. The gondola car, which was filled with spikes, became unhitched from a repair train in Castle Rock, Colorado, south of Denver. As it moved northward through the farming community of Sedalia, the car struck Thomas Durst, 36, one of two men working on the track. Durst, a Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. employee and a resident of Douglas, Wyoming, was pronounced dead at the scene. "He was doing maintenance on the track," said Burlington Northern spokeswoman Lena Kent. The second worker, whose name was not released, was unhurt. The runaway car continued rolling before railroad workers rerouted it to an ascending grade and brought it to a halt near the Denver rail terminal, which is about 1,000 feet lower than Castle Rock, Kent said. Company, local and federal investigators were looking into how the car broke free and if warnings were issued to railroad workers down the line. Normal protocol calls for putting out a warning as soon as a runaway is detected, Kent said
That is terrible. I suppose that a single car could sneak up on you, if you are only expecting a normal train, when you would hear the diesel locomotive. Especially if you were using some equipment which blanked out the noise. How could a car break away and not be stopped by the brake line being severed?
That is a good question but then I suppose there are more questions then answers at this time. Mr. Train
They were probably switching the cars at the top of the hill when it broke loose. Cars are usually switched "without air" and the trainline is only charged when the train is assembled and ready to go. Without any air in the system, there are no brakes on the car unless the hangbrake is set.
As a worker in the rail industry I am concerned that the rail worker was carrying out work without some form of protection. Our rules require a specific person to be a lookout for any trains for the work team whether it be a crew of 5 workers or one worker. You cannot rely on sound of a train as I have had 3000 ton trains sneak up on me without hearing a sound especially where there is machinery in use or the rail line is near a major road. Even if the track is closed for work we are required to put out a red flag and detonators approx 2500 metres (1 mile) either side of the worksite to protect against trains or other work vehicles . Working on the line is a dangerous job but the risks can be reduced to a point that it is a very safe work place. My condolences to the family of the worker who was killed. [ 17 June 2002, 08:37: Message edited by: Colonel ]
The investigation is continuing but here is what was posted at my workplace (CP Rail) The car was left on the main track with handbrake and air brake applied, the work train went into a siding and picked up some more cars. Then they went back out onto the mainline, tied onto the one car, cut in the air but left the handbrake applied. The engine then took some cars from the head-end of the train and moved about 1/2 mile ahead to start dumping ballast. The worktrain crew was unaware that the car ran away until the emergency broadcast from the partner of the worked that was killed. As always it appeared that a combination of factors occured to create this tragedy. This is an ASSUMPTION of the scenario on my part only and is not the official report: The air brakes on the car were recharged partially when the cars from the siding were added to it, but when the headend was removed the brakes were not sufficiently charged to provide another emergency brake application. The handbrake was defective and the hitch did not make when the other cars were added. On the grade it was only a matter of time before what little braking force was available was overcome by gravity and the car began to roll on its own. Being that it was a heavy car with a low center of gravity it accelerated downhill and was able to stay on the tracks even at high speed. The track was out of service for several miles. The rules do not require a derailing device or other positive protection device within the out of service limits, only at the entrances to it. The work train was operating inside the out of service boundaries. Even if portable derails were installed it is my experience that heavy equipment moving at high speed will simply dislodge the device, just like on the CSX runaway a while ago. Track torpedos have been out of use in the USA for a few years, they were classified as explosives by some do-gooder and are no longer required or permitted. A tragic combination of events. My sympathy to all involved.
Big Al, if they partially charged up the air, that might have loosened the cold brake rigging enough to allow the shoes to slip. Then if they uncoupled from this car, and went away, expecting this car to remain still, it could have started to creep away right then. They may not have looked back at it. It may have slipped a shoe, then another, maybe chattered another, and so on until the wheels were able to roll off down hill. The car's weight would have maintained momentum to where soon the shoes would have slipped more easily, thus allowing the car to gain speed. Rolling freely on straight track, you really do not hear any sound at all, unless it is on old sectional track. The wheels would have been seeking the center, so there would have been no flange squeel even. I have walked along beside rolling cars that were "kicked", and if I didn't look at the car, I could not tell it was there! We had one car that sat still while we ate our sandwiches and coffee, and only started to roll as we were walking back toward the engine!
