Yesterday, a train derailed at the New Mexico/Arizona state line and caught fire. I-40 was closed, as the tracks are right next to the highway.
And . . . in Nebraska, a train (stopped) took a direct hit from a tornado. There is a Facebook post from a crew member who took video as the tornado attacked the engine. See Eric Carlisle.
Both are only derailments, not train collisions. No injuries.
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I agree. I hate to hear these stories but as they say stuff happens. I hope no one was hurt.
A couple photos in Trains.
https://www.trains.com/trn/new...tornado-in-nebraska/
The I-40 wreck was more dramatic.
One of the AGHR Kids, David, normally operates the train that derailed near Gallup, NM. He was off that day. No one was injured.
Found this video last night of the train that was in the tornado.......a big fat NOPE! 
So they say a tornado sounds like a freight train going through, wonder what the tornado hears going through a freight train....
Well, that is an awesome video of a tornado scoring a direct hit on a locomotive. As conventional wisdom would have it, locomotives must be made lighter so that they consume less fossil fuel and do less damage to the environment. I think we should ask the crew of the locomotive in the video how apologetic they are about the mass of their hulking locomotive and the damage it did to the tornado.
@Norman R posted:Well, that is an awesome video of a tornado making a direct hit on a locomotive. As conventional wisdom would have it, locomotives must be made lighter so that they consume less fossil fuel and pose less of a threat to the environment.
I don't know where such "conventional wisdom" comes from but, making locomotives "lighter" drastically reduces their tractive effort, i.e. pulling power. Considering battery power, those batteries are even heavier, which is a good thing for a locomotive but, becoming quite serious issues for electric vehicles.
I think we should ask the crew of the locomotive in the video how apologetic they are about the weight of their massive locomotive and the damage it did to the tornado.
I didn't know that the "massive locomotive" damaged the tornado.
@Norman R posted:Well, that is an awesome video of a tornado scoring a direct hit on a locomotive. As conventional wisdom would have it, locomotives must be made lighter so that they consume less fossil fuel and do less damage to the environment. I think we should ask the crew of the locomotive in the video how apologetic they are about the mass of their hulking locomotive and the damage it did to the tornado.
Right on Norman,some people just don't get it...
@joe krasko posted:Right on Norman,some people just don't get it...
Get what?
Wow, that is some video. They were pretty stoic and in control considering the situation. Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, just hang on tight, and for heaven's sake don't drop the phone taking the video!
@Hot Water posted:Get what?
Hot Water your comments above are exactly right of course. Physicists and railroad engineers both understand that frictional force is proportional to the normal force between two surfaces, and a lightened locomotive is going to spin its drive wheels earlier on the torque curve than the same locomotive with heavier weight. Meanwhile, armchair environmentalists might be focused on the idea that a lighter locomotive will be more fuel efficient, without understanding that such a locomotive won’t move much freight. And you sure are right that it is hard to conceive of a locomotive doing damage to a tornado. My post teaches me that just because I can see irony in something it doesn’t mean that I can communicate it in a way so that the irony is obvious to everyone.
@Norman R posted:ht. Meanwhile, armchair environmentalists might be focused on the idea that a lighter locomotive will be more fuel efficient, without understanding that such a locomotive won’t move much freight.
Is anyone seriously advocating that, or are you just making stuff up to score political points?
On FB there is a video taken from a truck on I-40 showing the derailment as it is happening and explosion of the tank car.
@Norman R posted: As conventional wisdom would have it, locomotives must be made lighter so that they consume less fossil fuel and do less damage to the environment. I think we should ask the crew of the locomotive in the video how apologetic they are about the mass of their hulking locomotive and the damage it did to the tornado.
@Professor Chaos posted:Is anyone seriously advocating that, or are you just making stuff up to score political points?
Must be political points, because environmental steps being taken haven't generally involved making engines lighter, particularly with freight railroads, other than using certain lighter weight materials to offset weight gains. There's no conventional wisdom to it at all. Suggest people get educated before making statements that are overly-simplistic or just plain wrong. Facts would be good. See Association of American Railroads sites and Union Pacific sites, for example. The latest environmentally friendly Tier 4 engines, designed to reduce criteria pollutant emissions by 70 percent over standard locomotives, weigh 432,000 pounds! See BNSF sites for info on these. Determining optimal weight of engines, and number of engines used on a given train, involves complex calculations involving tractive force, optimal load efficiency and fuel efficiency of tons hauled per amount of fuel used (and resulting environmental effects), etc. etc.
And are heavy locomotives always a good thing? Nope. This is a problem being dealt with with respect to the use of battery powered engines. Battery powered engines may have problems to overcome involving TOO MUCH weight, according to Trains Magazine. They note that locomotives are already incredibly heavy, and adding batteries to these can significantly increase their weight, making it more difficult for them to climb steep grades and navigate difficult terrain. Additionally, as Trains notes, the weight of the batteries can reduce the amount of cargo the train can carry, which could make them less cost-effective than traditional diesel locomotives. Yes, weight has its downsides, too!
And the "hits" keep coming...
NS be like "first time?"
---PCJ
Well for the guys in the cab of that diesel engine that got run over by a tornado I am quite sure they are glad it was heavy enough to keep them on the two tracks. That has to be a tad disconcerting seeing a twister aimed right at you with debris hitting all around you. They didn't seem overly concerned tho, maybe they knew they were planted securely to the tracks.
@William 1 posted:Well for the guys in the cab of that diesel engine that got run over by a tornado I am quite sure they are glad it was heavy enough to keep them on the two tracks. That has to be a tad disconcerting seeing a twister aimed right at you with debris hitting all around you. They didn't seem overly concerned tho, maybe they knew they were planted securely to the tracks.
What would happen depends on the strength of the tornado. The video is rather meaningless as far as determining the resistance of a railroad locomotive to a tornado, without knowing how strong the tornado was. That didn't look like a very powerful one. As most know, tornados are rated from F1 to F5 on the Fujita scale, F5 being the most powerful. For example, F1 wind speeds are 73-112 mph, whereas F5 speeds are 261-318 mph. I would not want to be in a locomotive if a F5 (or a F4 either) was about to hit it.
@breezinup posted:What would happen depends on the strength of the tornado. The video is rather meaningless as far as determining the resistance of a railroad locomotive to a tornado, without knowing how strong the tornado was. That didn't look like a very powerful one. As most know, tornados are rated from F1 to F5 on the Fujita scale, F5 being the most powerful. For example, F1 wind speeds are 73-112 mph, whereas F5 speeds are 261-318 mph. I would not want to be in a locomotive if a F5 (or a F4 either) was about to hit it.
I would be more than happy to take my chances inside the cab of any modern era diesel unit, which weighs over 200 tons, in ANY type of tornado. In fact, I doubt that even an F4 or F5 tornado could seriously damage a 1950s era GP9.
The twister was big enough to knock over the train, but the men in the cab both were secure enough to capture it all on their cell phones. Sign of the times…
Brilliant
@William 1 posted:The twister was big enough to knock over the train,
True but, not a single freight car would exceed 200 tons. Maybe the tornado knocked over empty cars?
but the men in the cab both were secure enough to capture it all on their cell phones. Sign of the times…
Certainly shows how crash worthy these modern wide-nose cabs are.
Brilliant
Right! Far better to take your chances INSIDE, than outside.
There have been discussions at other places about the effects of tornados on trains, of course. Seems the consensus is that a modern loco isn't going to be lifted up, but some have speculated a very strong tornado might possibly tip an engine over, given it's narrow 4' 8 1/2" base and large sail area. But all commentators seem to agree that the greatest danger to crews is flying debris, with feats of tornados in driving objects through such things as concrete walls being legendary, and having the ability to pick up and toss cars and tractor trailer rigs around.
Here's a pretty interesting older film from a tornado strike that occurred in Illinois. It struck and detailed cars behind the engine, and then cars behind that came charging into the engine. All kinds of ways tornados are capable of causing damage and life-threatening situations to trains!
There was an incident in 2011 where an EF5 tornado knocked down a nearly 2 million pound oil drilling rig and rolled it a few hundred yards. While I doubt it could pick it up and throw it like a car, a powerful enough tornado could definitely knock over a modern road diesel
@RailRide posted:And the "hits" keep coming...
NS be like "first time?"
---PCJ
That one was a crew error. They set out a bad order car and forgot to realign the turnout.
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