Rules are Rules?

What went wrong?

Rules!

It was a normal day, April 12th, 2002, in Sharon Springs, when a Union Pacific crew boarded a loaded coal train for the long trek to Salina

Rules.

Just a few miles into the trip a wheel bearing became overheated and melted,

letting a metal support drop down and grind on the rail, creating white hot molten metal droppings spewing down to the rail.

Thoughts?

Rules.

A very alert crew noticed smoke about halfway back in the train and immediately stopped the train in compliance with the rules.

Thoughts Now?

The train stopped with the hot wheel over a wooden bridge with creosote ties and

trusses

In your opinion what when wrong?

• Where the crew aware of the situation?

• Do you think they were sufficiently trained?

• Was the training at fault?

• Where the procedures at fault?

Somebody should always be thinking beyond the here and now and looking at the bigger picture and the implications of actions being suggested!

Some more facts……….

The fire caused the train to derail, throwing the train itself into emergency. The train crew had to walk about a half mile back from the lead unit to assess the problem, and by that time the bridge was already on fire. All the crew could do was to unhook the remaining cars on the edge of the bridge and save the remainder of the train.

No one was injured in the blaze, which is somewhat remarkable given the extreme combustibility of coal dust. When the bridge finally gave way and the cars started to fall, what coal dust there was ignited and gave off a rather large flash. Luckily, most of the crowd had been moved back to a safe distance.

Loss of the cars amounted to almost $246,390 according to current estimates. The cost of clearing the area by contractors is estimated at about $36,000. The cost of the coal itself runs around $12,000 and the bridge replacement itself will run approximately $1.8 million dollars, bringing the total cost of the fire to a whopping $2,094,390.

The railroad trestle was rebuilt with concrete and steel over the next few days.