Western Railroad Discussion > Derailment in Littleton, CO

Just heard on the scanner and on local news Channel 4. Scanner says - 3 lines blocked, about 20 coal cars on the ground - no one hurt. Channel 4 www.kcnc.com - also says two light rail cars off of the track - no one hurt on the cars.

Light rail wires down reported down. Latest reports do indeed indicate light rail involved. (corrected!!!)

Coal train derailed, and light rail train is involved. RTD light rail re-rail forces are on scene. 1 light rail vehicle is on the ground, 1 train still on the rails, no casualties are being reported.

JB

Light rail train collides with BNSF freight
LITTLETON, Col. -- An RTD light rail passenger train hit a Burlington Northern Santa Fe freight train Tuesday (Dec. 11) morning near the Santa Fe and Mineral station, television station KWGN reported.
No injuries were reported among the approximately 50 passengers on board the northbound light rail train, which derailed about 6 a.m. when it ran into BNSFcoal hopper cars that had derailed seconds earlier and were blocking the tracks

Littleton Police diverted traffic at the intersection near the train station, causing a traffic snarl during a rush hour already slowed by snow and slush. Northbound Santa Fe Blvd. was closed from C-470 to Aspen Grove.

And RTD spokesperson said buses were being pressed into service to take passengers away from the scene.

Jonathan Ashford, a passenger, said their train came to a sudden stop, causing standees to fall into seats around them. Once the train stopped, "we looked out the window and noticed a coal car on its side and that there was coal spilled on the ground. Once we got out, we saw what looked like about 15 coal cars off the tracks," Ashford said.

Ashford said the train's operator told him he saw the BNSF train start to come off the tracks ahead as he rounded a turn, but couldn't stop in time. "The brakes squealed, we slammed into the coal car, then our train came off the tracks to the left," he said.

"When you look at the size of the pile of coal and steel this little light rail car hit, it is really amazing we got away without serious injury," he observed.

Two of the light rail cars left the tracks.

He also reported seeing what he called "damage" to the towers which hold the train's power lines above the tracks.

(The preceding article by Scott Orr appeared on the Web site of television station KWGN at cw2.trb.com on December 11, 2007.)

These two shots were taken on the curve where the derailment occurred... My understanding is that it's a UP coal train and that seems to be confirmed by radio traiific I heard on the way to work.

Photo #1- RTD Light Rail northbound in the area where the derailment occurred. Taken last winter.

Photo #2- Looking north show how close the RTD Light Rail lines are to the BNSF/UP heavy rail lines in the area where this derailment occurred. This was taken about a year ago.

Stay safe & thanks for looking!

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Chip, your turning into another Virgil C Staff of Railroad magazine fame

Seems like lots of mis-information being propagated by the local news media. I've been watching the Denver channels report the event and now they say it was a UP coaltrain (southbound) not BNSF. Also it appears the northbound RTD lightrail train did not crash into the detailed coal cars, but actually ran into the spilled coal and I'm not even sure of that. It really irritates me that the media is so quick to broadcast half-truths with no fact checking.
Joe in Denver.

The Weather Channel just had a news clip showing a lot of
coal hoppers on their sides and the light rail train up-right
but off the rails.
Here is the WB2 news clip.
http://cw2.trb.com/news/kwgn-rtd-train-crash,0,4835781.story?coll=kwgn-home-2

Hope everyone is OK.
Nathan Z.

Now one of the local channels posted this on their website "BNSF Railway spokesman Steve Forsberg said a Union Pacific train collided with one of his company's coal trains that was stopped, causing the cars to roll over onto the light rail tracks". These tracks are located where the north and south Joint Line tracks are in close proximity to the north and south RTD lightrail tracks. Despite the confused reporting, I'm glad no one was hurt.
Joe

Photos of the Derailment

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More photos

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one last photo

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At 1015 AM the Denver Post updated their website with pictures of the RTD light rail train http://www.denverpost.com/huntfish/ci_7691056. The cars are upright and appear to be bogged down in some spilled coal. There still seems to be a difference of opinion whose coal train derailed. Also if you read the Denver Post's article there is a paragraph toward the end that states "In recent years, freight railroads have told transit agencies that the companies can no longer allow light rail trains to operate in close proximity to heavy freight cars. Light rail cars are not compliant with Federal Railroad Administration crashworthiness standards for operation close to freight trains." So now what??????????
Joe

Great photos CCT41 - even better than the Denver Post's.

Good pics! Begs the question, how did you get there so quick. Unfortunately, adverse weather kept me to busy with my work, so couldnt get out of office in a timely manner to shoot the intial response.

> So now what??????????

Slide fences between the tracks, tied into the signal system.

I work for SIEMENS, whom builds the Light Rail Cars involved in the accident. I work at the RTD light rail maintenance facility, where we commission the new vehicles, so I am close by and have access to the right of way.

The coal train was a UP train bound for Colorado Springs.

Good shots, really like how the images feel like B&W, with a splash of color!
Thanks for updt.

not good news for BNSF's coal routes, which were slapped around earlier this week by a 36 car derailment on the single track near Grand Island, NE. They just got THAT route reopened, now this wreck. . .

WAF Wrote:
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> Chip, your turning into another Virgil C Staff of
> Railroad magazine fame

His models usually appeared to be enjoying it, and a little older.