Nostalgia & History > UP SD60M #6205 West Runaway on Cima Hill 1/12/1997

Derailment of Union Pacific Railroad Unit Freight Train UP 6205 WestExecutive Summary
On January 12, 1997, about 11:52 a.m. Pacific standard time, the Union Pacific Railroad unit freight train 6205 west derailed 68 cars on the Union Pacific Railroad Los Angeles Subdivision, milepost 238.7, near Kelso, California. The train consisted of 3 locomotive units and 75 loaded covered hopper cars. While descending Cima Hill, the engineer inadvertently activated the multiple-unit engine shutdown switch, which shut down all the locomotive unit diesel engines and eliminated the train's dynamic braking capability. The train rapidly accelerated beyond the 20-mph authorized speed limit despite the engineer's efforts to increase the train's air braking, which the engineer placed in emergency 1 minute and 13 seconds after dynamic braking loss. The train's consist weight was listed at an average of 13 tons per car less than the train actually weighed. The train eventually reached a speed of 72 mph and derailed 68 of its 75 cars while exiting a siding near Kelso, California. No fatalities, injuries, fires, or hazardous materials releases resulted from the accident. The total damage cost was $4,079,152.

Dave Dodds
San Dimas, CA

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Derailment of Union Pacific Railroad Unit Freight Train 6205 WestExecutive Summary
On January 12, 1997, about 11:52 a.m. Pacific standard time, the Union Pacific Railroad unit freight train 6205 west derailed 68 cars on the Union Pacific Railroad Los Angeles Subdivision, milepost 238.7, near Kelso, California. The train consisted of 3 locomotive units and 75 loaded covered hopper cars. While descending Cima Hill, the engineer inadvertently activated the multiple-unit engine shutdown switch, which shut down all the locomotive unit diesel engines and eliminated the train's dynamic braking capability. The train rapidly accelerated beyond the 20-mph authorized speed limit despite the engineer's efforts to increase the train's air braking, which the engineer placed in emergency 1 minute and 13 seconds after dynamic braking loss. The train's consist weight was listed at an average of 13 tons per car less than the train actually weighed. The train eventually reached a speed of 72 mph and derailed 68 of its 75 cars while exiting a siding near Kelso, California. No fatalities, injuries, fires, or hazardous materials releases resulted from the accident. The total damage cost was $4,079,152.

Dave Dodds
San Dimas, CA

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More photos from the Runaway on Cima Hill 1/12/1997 

Dave Dodds
San Dimas, CA

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Very interesting. Those photos are a little.... grainy....

Here is how this happened Dave. UP SD 60M locomotives had the desk top control stand. On the left side of desk the metal extends down to the floor and has controls for things like the heater & air conditioner. The MU engine shut off switch was also located there about where your left knee could hit it and pile up a 68 car grain train between 6 pole lenghts.Not all UP SD 60M's had this switch located there. Some had them up on the overhead panel where the speedo and radio and head end box is located.After this incedent UP moved the swicth up higher. However in the meantime a really great idea came into play to keep someone from doing this again. We had little square drinking water bottles of pond water. Tyler Mountain or something like that. Any way an empty bottle would be cut off about 2 1/2" from the bottom and using a 1" band aid from the first aid kit attached to the top of the cut down bottle was placed over the MU shut down swicth and the other half of the band aid attached to the metal part  forming a "Hinge".That way the water bottle would have to be lifted up to activate the swtcth.It must have been somewhat succesful I never heard of anothe pile up like that. But I do know of that happening on New Year's day of that same year. I wrote about this on TO years ago. I had all SP Bakersfield railroader's favorite manager, Manny Logan,as my brakeman on a NPLAGE train west bound on the south track on Cajon Pass We had a low air hose tear open on a wood grade crossing about MP 57.5 . Manny and I tied down the train and when reacing the hose we couldn't get it off so a carman came up from San Bernadino and torced it off. As he was finishing it up our engineer called on the radio stating that all of our power had just died.The carman gave us a ride to the head end. Our power was 3 brand new blue LMS dash 8's with a UP SD 60M as the leader. To make this short our hoghead decided to take advantage of his rest period, pushed the seat back and crossed his leg. Well since this was before the grain train mess we had no water bottle band aid safety device to keep this from happening. 

Thanks Fred ,Glad you had your train tie down and didn't Wind up like UP#6205 West.I was at Barstow when I heard the Mayday call and took off on I-15 to Baker then down Cal/Baker Road to Kelso .

Dave Dodds
San Dimas, CA

Sounds like the engineer was set up to fail by poor design of the control stand
and error in train tonnage computation.  Not at all second guessing
a man confronted by a strange situation of all the power shutting down at once but
if he had put it into emergency right then instead of waiting a minute would the
train still have been able to stop?

Wasn't there a previous runaway on the SP caused by inaccurate tonnage info?

Is train braking curve in PTC also based on possible inaccurate tonnage numbers?

Wonder if the control stand designer went on to design 737 Max for Boeing.

Fredo Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Here is how this happened Dave. UP SD 60M
> locomotives had the desk top control stand. On the
> left side of desk the metal extends down to the
> floor and has controls for things like the heater
> & air conditioner. The MU engine shut off switch
> was also located there about where your left knee
> could hit it and pile up a 68 car grain train
> between 6 pole lenghts.

This accident happened after my time on the UP but I was a hostler when the SD60Ms were first delivered and I remember thinking how stupid it was to put that switch where they put it. But I had bigger problems because these were the first desktop control stands we had ever seen and nobody got any training on them. The first time I had to move a consist with one of these as a leader it took me awhile just to figure out how to move it and, more importantly, how to stop it.

I remember that horrible water too Fred. It had a flimsy foil cap on it that was nearly impossible to get off when the water was cold, but fell off on its own if you warmed the water bottle up enough to make instant coffeee, tea, or soup with it. Many sidwall heaters had the melted remains of those crappy bottles stuck to them and they smelled terrible. I never knew about the switch cover trick though.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/17/20 12:16 by trainjunkie.

Englewood Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> Wasn't there a previous runaway on the SP caused
> by inaccurate tonnage info?
>

Yes, on Cima hill in about 1980 if I remember. A westbound work train with bad brakes and weighing a lot more than was logged ran away and hit crazy speeds (well over 100mph) as it ran into the back of a freight in front of it. Several fatalities.... there's an account for it online if you search on 'Cima Hill Runaway'.
 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/17/20 07:28 by exhaustED.

BN  had to make the same modification on their SD 60 M's.  These also were the first  desktop control stands on BN. One incident in our territory,  was not so damaging as on river grade.  When you hit the MU shut off switch and do not know you did that,  an engineer has no idea  why the units all shut down at same time...

PWM



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/17/20 12:11 by Quakerengr.

Lets all remember just who "designed" those desk-top controls inside those "safety cabs". The EMD & GE folks pretty much had to do just what they were told by the various Union Representatives and RR operating managers who all comprised the "Cab Safety Committee". I sat in on more than one of those "meetings", held in the EMD Engineering Dept.,and sometimes it got pretty crazy, as we could tell which of the Union Members and RR Managers actually were NOT directly involved in the day-to-day operating of trains!

exhaustED wrote:

> > Wasn't there a previous runaway on the SP caused by inaccurate tonnage info?

> Yes, on Cima hill in about 1980 if I remember. 


Cima Hill is on the UP, not the former SP.

The SP runaway caused partly by inaccurate tonnage info was the one on Cajon Pass in 1989.
 



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/17/20 13:44 by johnsweetser.

johnsweetser Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> exhaustED wrote:
>
> > > Wasn't there a previous runaway on the
> SP caused by inaccurate tonnage info?
>
> > Yes, on Cima hill in about 1980 if I
> remember. 
>
>
> Cima Hill is on the UP, not the former SP.
>
> The SP runaway caused partly by inaccurate tonnage
> info was the one on Cajon Pass in 1989.
>  

My mistake.

HotWater Wrote:      If I rember right Steve Lee took a lot of credit for the desk top controls.
-------------------------------------------------------
> Lets all remember just who "designed" those
> desk-top controls inside those "safety cabs". The
> EMD & GE folks pretty much had to do just what
> they were told by the various Union
> Representatives and RR operating managers who all
> comprised the "Cab Safety Committee". I sat in on
> more than one of those "meetings", held in the EMD
> Engineering Dept.,and sometimes it got pretty
> crazy, as we could tell which of the Union Members
> and RR Managers actually were NOT directly
> involved in the day-to-day operating of trains!

trainjunkie Wrote:   The first day on the railroad I was told by the old heads to make sure you had the foil on the crappy water bottle open before you ever put the asprin in your mouth! 
-------------------------------------------------------
> Fredo Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Here is how this happened Dave. UP SD 60M
> > locomotives had the desk top control stand. On
> the
> > left side of desk the metal extends down to the
> > floor and has controls for things like the
> heater
> > & air conditioner. The MU engine shut off
> switch
> > was also located there about where your left
> knee
> > could hit it and pile up a 68 car grain train
> > between 6 pole lenghts.
>
> This accident happened after my time on the UP but
> I was a hostler when the SD60Ms were first
> delivered and I remember thinking how stupid it
> was to put that switch where they put it. But I
> had bigger problems because these were the first
> desktop control stands we had ever seen and nobody
> got any training on them. The first time I had to
> move a consist with one of these as a leader it
> took me awhile just to figure out how to move it
> and, more importantly, how to stop it.
>
> I remember that horrible water too Fred. It had a
> flimsy foil cap on it that was nearly impossible
> to get off when the water was cold, but fell off
> on its own if you warmed the water bottle up
> enough to make instant coffeee, tea, or soup with
> it. Many sidwall heaters had the melted remains of
> those crappy bottles stuck to them and they
> smelled terrible. I never knew about the switch
> cover trick though.

oneblock Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> HotWater Wrote:      If I rember right Steve
> Lee took a lot of credit for the desk top
> controls.
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Lets all remember just who "designed" those
> > desk-top controls inside those "safety cabs".
> The
> > EMD & GE folks pretty much had to do just what
> > they were told by the various Union
> > Representatives and RR operating managers who
> all
> > comprised the "Cab Safety Committee". I sat in
> on
> > more than one of those "meetings", held in the
> EMD
> > Engineering Dept.,and sometimes it got pretty
> > crazy, as we could tell which of the Union
> Members
> > and RR Managers actually were NOT directly
> > involved in the day-to-day operating of trains!

I don't think so. Plus, I don't remember him being on the "committee". But,,,,I'll ask him.