Accident caught in camera.

That first video was all over the news and discussed here on the forum:  https://ogrforum.com/t...y-train-in-lousville

I've not seen that second video prior to you posting it. It appears to be from the other side of the roadway.  That one seems more "horrific" than the first as the train pushes that car for a mile. That second video gives a better sense of how fast the train was moving

Thats gotta be horrible for the train crew, sitting and waiting minutes for the train to finally stop. Good Lord.

The amazing part is you have two train fans with good cameras filming it.

This reminds me of the infamous Downers Grove incident where a METRA E unit (in BN colors) clobbered a female pedestrian, who ironically was walking alongside her attorney on their way to a divorce proceeding, and the lawyer stepped back at the last split second. Her shattered body was thrown right into the tripod of the camera filming her horrible death, knocking the whole thing over.

I vote real......

Downers Grove video still in the net.

too sad.

AG.

The guy waving at the train in the KY accident is lucky he wasn't on the other side of the road...he'd be as dead as fried chicken also.

Car would have gotten him after the impact.

May want to rethink where you stand next time. 

That is 100% real and just horrific. 

Considering how many people have been getting hit by trains either on foot or in a car/truck lately at road/rail crossings, just remember, you won't survive, especially when the front coupler of the locomotive smashes through the window of your car and hits you right in the head. Regardless, being on railroad property is not only dangerous (and stupid!) it is illegal as it is private property. It isn't a playground. These things can't stop quickly, can't swerve out of the way, etc. 

Ouch.

Did you notice how LONG it took that train to stop with full emergency braking?

Trains cannot stop on a dime...however some ill-informed politicians seem to think they can. 

yes Rich, it sure seemed like an eternity.

here is a link telling about the students http://www.whas11.com/story/ne...-train-car/24770397/

That gives a real sense of how long it takes mass to lose energy.  Seems like last 10

seconds train really begins to lose velocity.

Hope the car people quite literally didn't know what hit them. And those who did survive, with their horrific lifelong injuries and years of physical therapy, if any benefits, may have wished they had died.

Stuff of nightmares, for engine crew, and the rail fans who witnessed it.

The newspaper said it was a Norfolk train but those were UP.  Maybe a UP run through on NS tracks?  Small point in big picture.

There is on way they can stop.When people gonna learn?!A freight train your talking thousands of tons of freight.When I was a kid my aunt had a friend get killed like this.She ask me to guss how fast the train was going.So I said 65mph.She said he was going 13mph he was just pulling out of town.And back then cars were built like armytanks compaired to now.I think we should go like england grade crossings.I think its worth a try.

I was surprised that the train stopped as quickly as it did. It could not have been going that fast.

Biggest misconception about trains by the general public. Common knowledge for railfans or even those whom have family in the industry. But many folks truly believe trains are just big trucks......and stop like them. Very sad... 

I agree. The train certainly "seemed" to stop quickly (for a train that is) but in watching the longer video a second time the train impacted the car around the 56 second mark and did not come to a complete stop until approximately the 2 minute mark.

What was strange to me was that in the video posted above the car seems to on a leisurely Sunday afternoon drive. The car, at least to me, because I don't hear the engine revving did not seem to be trying to "beat" the train. It appears they were in another world completely oblivious of the train coming and just didn't notice the lights or hear the bell ringing. Of course I could be wrong and maybe they were trying to beat the train and the car is just very quiet. Most cars are quiet these days. It's a shame none of the rail fans saw the car coming they could have possibly warned the people in the car. I guess they were too engrossed by the train.

Here is a screen shot at the 14 second mark of the video posted above. Maybe it is the angle but it kind of looks like the car has it's side windows tinted. What do you guys think?

This is Very Real. As I posted in the other thread, this happened less than 2 miles from our house, and my Fire Dept. was dispatched on this tradgedy. 

This is the NS Mainline. NS is leasing locomotives from anywhere and everywhere they can. UP doesn't come this far east. Stops at St. Louis. 

Where this line is located, Consist cannot run at full throttle. If I were to make an educated guess, I'd guess top speed is no more than 30-35 mph, but I can find out.  Approximate distance from Point of Impact to Stopping point is about a 1/2 mile. 

quote:

It's a shame none of the rail fans saw the car coming they could have possibly warned the people in the car. I guess they were too engrossed by the train.

So somehow some rail enthusiasts that happened to be there doing what they enjoy are now also at fault?  Sorry, I don't buy that.

Sad fact: You can't police inattention/stupidity ALL the time.

The railfans were NOT responsible for adding additional protection to that crossing, that's the job of the signal circuit, the whistle signals, and the automobile DRIVER's responsibility.  They were NOT responsible for any part of it.  Besides, this all happened in a split second.

We, as INDIVIDUALS, are primarily responsible for OUR OWN safety.

One of my walk-in-the-park friends, Bucky, spent the majority of his work career as a Conductor for Pennsy, Conrail, NS.  Usually he ran Conway Yard, PA to Toledo, OH.  There has been a huge effort to eliminate all crossings, if possible, by all railroads. There are still over 200 crossings, Conway Yard to Toledo.  So there has to be a lot of crossings.  Think about the effort involved watching for those whistle post and blowing that horn 200 time. Then the return trip.   IMO.  Mike CT

Another point, when the W&LE re-installed the spur tracks on the old Montour Westland spur to the Marcellous Shale Gas collection site, every crossing was gated, even the entrance to one of the bike trail parking lots. Rural area, with a very busy Rt 50 crossing.

We even have an automatic flasher installed on the Montour bike trail, Cliff Mine Road.  Still a dice-eeee crossing even if you walk the bike across.  IMO.

Be careful out there.

What should have the railfans done?  Jumped out in front of the car to warn them?  It seems they didn't see the car until it was in their viewfinders.

If the car's driver is not going to pay attention to flashing red lights and the sound of a train horn, why would they pay attention to a couple of railfans concentrating on filming the train?

This incident was clearly the fault of the car's driver, no one else's.

Rusty

The legal system tends to search for the sources of wealth, regardless of fault.  That's all sources, in this case, the rail fan is involved, even if no fault is obvious. Smallest damage, he looses several days to court appearances. Bad Luck, IMO.

Shows you how one bad decision could mean your last.  I feel bad for the crew, not necessarily the driver.  Very poor decision making.  I have heard some say why don't they have a crossing gate.  Heck I have seen cars get around those.  You simply can't cure stupid.

There are worse things than dying.  I learned that years ago.

Sad, totally preventable.

Oh you can believe, with our warped legal system and twisted laws (don't get me started), the railfans will have to pay.  Some shyster lawyer will figure out how its their fault using some "novel legal theory", that a stupid judge and jury will buy into and the city, railfans, the state will pay dearly.  Eveyone but the stupid HS kids.

Come on stupid parent, bury your d*****s kids and be done with it and learn this: its your fault for not teaching them driving safety (rude,crude, but needs to be said).

SORRY MUST BE MY CANCER MEDS KICKING IN.....

Are the lights really flashing in the first video. The is a clear shot of at 9 seconds on. There is a bell but the lights are very hard to see if at all.   Maybe the camera angle, but it does not look like they are flashing.

moed123,

You can bet those videos will be subpoenaed and analyzed frame by frame, to the millisecond to say "ah ha see signals started x millseconds late, so its wasn't the kids fault".

I have done a lot of rail video and am usually too concentrated on the train and video plus my own safety to monitor road traffic. That driver was obviously trying to beat the train - "ties lose"  !!

I blew up the frame and they are flashing but the angle and glare makes it hard to see from the camera angle. 

I agree,Some  lawyer will get a hold of the video .   Did the whistle blow from the whistle post? Speed of train (I think closer to 50mph) Was the engine bell ringing? If so who shut it off after stopping. .Was the driver distracted by the rail fans?

 When was  the emergency brake applied? who applied it?  Nasty business for everyone  especially the crew and of course the parents of the victims.  Who said railroading was fun.

Rusty, what I said was "It's a shame none of the rail fans saw the car coming". I never suggested that anyone should should jump in front of a car much less a car that may be speeding to beat a train. Had the rail fans noticed the car coming they could, not should, have waved their arms and shouted "STOP!" I agree with you that mostly likely the driver would have ignored them like he/she ignored the bells and lights. I just think it would have been worth the effort because I really feel bad for any passengers in the car. It's terrible that they had to pay for the drivers stupidity.

"This incident was clearly the fault of the car's driver, no one else's."

No doubt about it Rusty. I never said otherwise.

I was looking at the lights too but after careful observation you can see that the lights are flashing. For some reason in the video they are hard to see. I doubt they are hard to see in person. IMHO, the lights were working as designed.

This crossing may very well have the somewhat new LED lights. They last forever and are nice and bright.....but not very well seen from an angle. And the human eye sees them better than cameras too. In an alternate video they are easy to see.

Rich,

Simple physics!  Mass x velocity

Larry

Run-through (or leased) POWER, not a run-through TRAIN. This was a Norfolk Southern train with a UP locomotive on the point. Happens every day.

That train was going MUCH faster than 35 mph!

Train track speed there is 60 mph. They were climbing a slight grade and may have slowed a little from 60, but they were no where near 35.

On my recent train trip to So Cal I saw NS diesels in the loco yard in Barstow.  And saw BNSF locos in WV.....so roadname of units don't much matter as much as may have once.

Whistle posts are  usually  1/4 mile from the crossing. Count the seconds  it takes the train to go from the whistle post to the crossing and do the math. Yeah It's hard to tell exactly when the engine is exactly at the w post and is the whistle post exactly 1/4 mile from the crossing? This might give you a rough idea of train speed.

Let's think of what the fans would have reasonably thought at the time:

• Train coming
• Tracks are well marked and the crossing isn't hidden, nor is the train in its approach
• Working signals
• Not only is is blowing for the grade crossing, but has the bell for pedestrian alert
• Fans are only there to film the train

From this, I'd think any reasonable person in the fans' place would have been, had they even thought about it, "That car will stop, they'd have to be blind not to see that train coming!" The fact that two people are standing there filming it would have been an alert as an unusual sight for anyone going by. I know every time I've done that, people always slow down and look as they probably figure there's a reason I'm standing there, even when they train isn't there yet...

Interesting to see that the WHAS11 news story referenced above said it was a 400,000 ton train with 100 railcars. 

Of course, if it had been a 400,000 ton train, it would still be rolling.

The black box will be pulled and even the wheels may be checked to see exactly how and when  the crew reacted.  If the horn was blown, ditch lights flashing,  brakes applied and etc etc.  Wonder if the engine had a camera on it?

Rick