Western Railroad Discussion > MRL spills coal

A Boardman, OR coal loads spilled around 30 cars of coal between Noxon and Heron west of Thompson Falls, MT last night. Panel rail and ballast cars are moving west and Corman's cat pack is enroute.

Stacked up 30 car, with some of the coal in the reservoir behind the Cabinet Gorge Dam. This will rile up the Anti-Coal/Oil train crowd!

http://www.kpax.com/story/36132776/coal-train-derails-in-northwest-montana

Ted Curphey
Ontario, OR

Classic accordion coal train derailment where the momentum of the cars behind the first derailed just keep pushing cars ahead with no where to go.

I wonder why coal train derailments are usually right around 30 cars.

pmack Wrote:
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> I wonder why coal train derailments are usually
> right around 30 cars.

This is just my speculation, but it might have to do with how fast the brakes can go into emergency from one end to the other. One of the many flaws in air brakes.

radar Wrote:
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> pmack Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I wonder why coal train derailments are usually
> > right around 30 cars.
>
> This is just my speculation, but it might have to
> do with how fast the brakes can go into emergency
> from one end to the other. One of the many flaws
> in air brakes.


Solid unit trains like coal and grain should have been equipped with ECP brakes by now. Having every hopper dump the air at once may have limited the pileup on this one.

NS19K Wrote:
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> Solid unit trains like coal and grain should have been equipped with ECP brakes by now.

Assuming you're right, you need to propose an accounting mechanism whereby the car owner (rarely a railroad these days) who pays the cost of the ECP brake equipment gets reimbursed by the railroads that get the benefits. This disassociation of costs and benefits is one reason why ECP implementation generates little enthusiasm in the industry (aside from operational reliability concerns and the inability to run "mixed" consists of ECP and non-ECP cars).

Trains may be running Tuesday evening at last report.

illini73 Wrote:
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> NS19K Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Solid unit trains like coal and grain should
> have been equipped with ECP brakes by now.
>
> Assuming you're right, you need to propose an
> accounting mechanism whereby the car owner (rarely
> a railroad these days) who pays the cost of the
> ECP brake equipment gets reimbursed by the
> railroads that get the benefits. This
> disassociation of costs and benefits is one reason
> why ECP implementation generates little enthusiasm
> in the industry (aside from operational
> reliability concerns and the inability to run
> "mixed" consists of ECP and non-ECP cars).

Very true and also the upkeep on them could be quite high also. There is much more to it than just putting them on as you would have none ECP cars which would have to be somehow integrated with the others. To change them all would be a tremendous undertaking and take probably several years to do.

MRL reports it may be "several" weeks before the site is cleaned up. A "small" amount of coal is spilled into the Clark Fork River but no specific quantity is given. The car count remains "around" 30. Don't reporters ask any questions any more?