Western Railroad Discussion > Monahans wreck

My rail fanning trip along the UP was curtailed when we came across the wreck, as discussed previous. Took some photos. I had a good discussion with the police on site, and was pleased to hear there's no fatalities, but crew hospitalised. I'm not prepared to enter into the BS that T.O. Seems to create. As an engineer involved with incidents at work, I'll wait for something official. Regards, Chris UK.

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Wow, what a mess!

From the UK, my knowledge of the train is somewhat lacking. However the locos on the west end were UP 2677, 4105, 2255, 9778, 8417? These remained upright, and moved the remaining stacks away. Under the wreckage appears to be UP 4838, 6073, 7219. Chris UK

From the last bit of information there I almost assumed this was a rear end collision. Further reading and photos on the other post removed that thought quickly. At least no deaths and I don't know how in the world they escaped that.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/18/18 18:21 by dcfbalcoS1.

dcfbalcoS1 Wrote:
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> From the last bit of information there I assume
> this was a rear end collision then. At least no
> deaths and I don't know how in the world they
> escaped that.


Obviously not a rear-ender or headd-on. More likely
one train derailed into the other.

Hoping the crew is truly ok... looks terrible.

This Sunset Limited Route??

railcity Wrote:
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> This Sunset Limited Route??


NOPE



Allen

railcity Wrote:
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> This Sunset Limited Route??


No. exT&P (MP) route.

Thanks John Carr for the info.

johncarr Wrote:
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> Chris,
>
> Thanks for the pictures. They are are a good
> example of the 1 foot per mile an hour safety
> rule.
>
> The engines you saw at the west end were probably
> off another train that was going to pull the rest
> of the train west to a clear siding so crews can
> work on both sides of the wreck.
>
> John Carr in Dallas, Texas


Makes me re-think about how many times I stood close to the tracks taking pictures. What a mess.

Looks to be UP 7129, not 7219.

I assume there will be a damaged goods sale.

Jim
Hatboro, PA

Thanks for the drone view. That clarifies some of the various lines of discussion.

The collision occurred at approximately 1:30am Wednesday, April 18.
According to MVFD Fire Chief and County Commissioner Eddie Nelms, two Union Pacific men were rescued from the eastbound engine with non life-threatening injuries, such as cracked ribs, but were responsive and alert.
Details of how the accident occurred are pending an investigation, and after video footage from the train is examined. It was not a head-on collision, but is speculated however, that one train was headed west towards the yard when one of its cars derailed, and did not have time to warn the eastbound train traveling down the main line.
The cause is believed to be a broken rail in the yard, that caused the first train to derail. (The broken rail is yet to be determined.) When it derailed, it pushed a car toward the rear of the train toward the main line. The eastbound train on the mainline had no warning and made impact with the train near the yard at 70mph.
The crossing as a result will be closed until further notice. Union Pacific is actively working towards clearing the area.

= From local news report................

Wow, what shots, incredible no fatalities or fire?
JB

3rdswitch Wrote:
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> Wow, what shots, incredible no fatalities or
> fire?
> JB


The guys are lucky to be alive. Could have been a whole lot worse.

will someone tell us where this happened? State,county etc.

u34ch Wrote:
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> will someone tell us where this happened?
> State,county etc.

Monahans, Texas. More in this thread...

https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?1,4533985

Monahans, Ward County, Texas (on the former T&P /Missouri Pacific line, now UP).

Someone posted the coordinates in the previous thread about this accident:

https://www.google.com/maps/@31.5935241,-102.8983018,19z/data=!3m1!1e3



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/19/18 09:19 by czephyr17.