Amtrak Accident in Chicago

[had8ley]

I would assume by now the wreckage is cleared and track repaired (if that was necessary). Would the entire consist need to be out of service for a while to be repaired? Taken to Beech Grove? Any ideas on if the engine is repairable or not?

MrFSS;

Just as a matter of history;after the Bayou accident in Alabama (which at 46 deaths was Amtrak's worst ever) the cars were moved to Mobile, Alabama on flat cars and eventually to Gentilly Yard in New Orleans for quite some time. From there I don't know where they went but I would assume Beech Grove until all the ligation is over and then probably scrapped. I'm sure everyone from the NTSB to ambulance chasing lawyers are going to want pictures and have access to the equipment. From the picture of the front of the engine there is extensive damage to the consoles which probably means the engine, air compressor and generator all shifted from the impact. One would have to get on board to determine exactly what it would take to re-build the unit. Also you would to take into consideration the trucks and fuel tanks which climbed up onto the stack car.

Jay

 

[AmtrakWPK]

This is just my own eyeball observations, but from some large closeup photos that have started circulating, it looks to me like the front truck of engine #8 was sheared off when #8 hit the rearmost freight car, and that truck ended up butted up against the rear truck of that freight car. The front half, maybe a little more than that, of Amtrak engine #8 (minus the front truck) then rode up on top of that freight car, and it looks as if when the rear truck of #8 (probably still on the rails at that point) smacked into the (sheared-off) front truck, which was butted up against the freight car, that's when the engine came to a stop. The initial contact probably compressed the couplings of the freight cars so there was no "give" beyond the initial impact. That would probably have been one heck of a jolt. When the rear truck hit the front truck, up against the rear of the freight car, that may have caused a very sudden complete stop from whatever the remaining velocity was, and that in turn may be the primary cause of most of the serious injuries. Whew. The sheared-off front truck ended up with the front wheel possibly on or nearly still on the rails, with the rear wheel on the ground to the left by a few inches. It looks like the front wheel of the rear truck was in contact with the rear wheel assembly of the front truck. Again, this is just my observation. I don't offer it as established fact.

 

[MrFSS]

I would assume by now the wreckage is cleared and track repaired (if that was necessary). Would the entire consist need to be out of service for a while to be repaired? Taken to Beech Grove? Any ideas on if the engine is repairable or not?

MrFSS;

Just as a matter of history;after the Bayou accident in Alabama (which at 46 deaths was Amtrak's worst ever) the cars were moved to Mobile, Alabama on flat cars and eventually to Gentilly Yard in New Orleans for quite some time. From there I don't know where they went but I would assume Beech Grove until all the ligation is over and then probably scrapped. I'm sure everyone from the NTSB to ambulance chasing lawyers are going to want pictures and have access to the equipment. From the picture of the front of the engine there is extensive damage to the consoles which probably means the engine, air compressor and generator all shifted from the impact. One would have to get on board to determine exactly what it would take to re-build the unit. Also you would to take into consideration the trucks and fuel tanks which climbed up onto the stack car.

Jay

Sort of like this outfit? Train Accident Attorney

 

[Dutchrailnut]

I would assume by now the wreckage is cleared and track repaired (if that was necessary). Would the entire consist need to be out of service for a while to be repaired? Taken to Beech Grove? Any ideas on if the engine is repairable or not?

MrFSS;

Just as a matter of history;after the Bayou accident in Alabama (which at 46 deaths was Amtrak's worst ever) the cars were moved to Mobile, Alabama on flat cars and eventually to Gentilly Yard in New Orleans for quite some time. From there I don't know where they went but I would assume Beech Grove until all the ligation is over and then probably scrapped. I'm sure everyone from the NTSB to ambulance chasing lawyers are going to want pictures and have access to the equipment. From the picture of the front of the engine there is extensive damage to the consoles which probably means the engine, air compressor and generator all shifted from the impact. One would have to get on board to determine exactly what it would take to re-build the unit. Also you would to take into consideration the trucks and fuel tanks which climbed up onto the stack car.

Jay

Most of Damage probably is inside the locomotive where the engine and generaor were ripped of its footings and slid forward into electrical cabinet.