Amtrak Crash 15 Years Ago

[unionpacific13]

what happens on the bridge?

[ooperj]

happy happy alligators....yum!

[jerryalanleonard]

a small towboat with 4 barges got lost in the fog and went up the wrong waterway....he was out of the channel....and did not know how to read the radar,the boat's name was the "mavilla" belonging to wgn transportation....the boat struck the bridge 4HOURS before the crash and was scared to report it....NO JOKE!!!.....the pilot had taken the test to operate a vessell failed the test 14 times

[RRboyLEGOboy]

30 people died in the crash

[4033hannah]

and omg

wow 

[4033hannah]

that is so scary wow is this true tell me please ok my cusine is going to that boat i wish that dosent happen to them

[jozsefkacsa]

Hm only 210 Passengers and crew all together it must have been a half empty run

[Kulayyu]

OH MY GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD

[StarryKid06]

"Simultaneously fire broke out on the bridge above...?" Not very likely a natural accident. Obvious terror attack/drill.

[OttovonEarth]

@StarryKid "Simultaneously fire broke out on the bridge above...?" Not very likely a natural accident. Obvious terror attack/drill.

It's obvious you didn't check out the facts and factors behind this accident too.

Google i.e. "1993 Big Bayou Canot train wreck" - read the Wikipedia article first.. unless you think Jimmy Wales did this...

[StarryKid06]

@OttovonEarth LOL-- I stopped as soon as you said "read Wikipedia." LLLLLLLLLLLLOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLL­LLLLLLLLLLL

[NorthForkFisherman]

@StarryKid06 Then read the NTSB report. The lead engine P40DC #819 ended up buried nose first in the opposite bank, killing all three crew aboard instantly. The remaining 45 people died either from drowning or from fire/smoke inhalation.

[michaelhpedersen]

Actually Chuck Norris was standing on the tracks.

[TheDylanJoyce]

@michaelhpedersen then he must have been in one of those body bags... huh 

[Pompadour123]

im the survivor of the that train!!! JK....

[applemorris1]

It was caused by a barge hitting the bridge and knocking some of the tracks out of line. The train then derailed as it hit these off line tracks. We woke up (it was in the middle of the night) being thrown around the carriage. We were however the lucky ones to walk away. The carriages that went into the water had the most fatalities and there were fires everywhere. There were 11 people from the UK on the train - all young people who had been doing Camp America - 4 of whom did not survive.

[applemorris1]

I was on this train. I had spent the summer working at a summer camp (I am from the UK) - and we were travelling on an amtrak train pass all over the US. We were in the train carriage that remained on the bridge and were able to walk off through the other carriages behind with just minor injuries compared to so many people. A truly horrific experience. :-(

[nascarsuxx]

Why does it always seem that Amtrack crashes in the most inaccessible places you can find,?

[zippyman818]

@nascarsuxx It's the main reason that terrorists don't target trains in the US. How could they possibly top this?

[MrShiz75]

@zippyman818 Don't jinx it!!!!!!!!

[acelafan123]

@nascarsuxx thats actually really true

[drgreeneel]

wow

[kjrehberg]

So sad. Today's PTC won't prevent this sort of disaster since none of the track circuits would have reported the problem. Lots of passengers and crew died: 47 deaths, 5 of which were crew. 103 injured. Look up Big Bayou Canot wreck.

[wishmasterwarrior47]

DAAAAAAAMN WHAT HAPPENED

[mikeshearer1250]

@wishmasterwarrior47 a barge had somehow lost its way and made it up a river, and slammed into on the the bridge spans which supports the rails, knocking it out of alignment, and then the train ran onto the bridge and derailed, causing carriages, and locomotives to fly into the snake and alligator infested waters

[330bossman]

if you ask me... i think its creepy seeing those body bags

[WattsTrains]

wow that is freaking insane

[Roboman2121]

Now it's the deadliest crash in Amtrak's 40 Year History.

[starguard]

Did anyone die in this accident? I hope not!

[rockrobster1]

@starguard read the description. 163 passengers and crew survived . yet 47 of the passengers and crew were killed.

[starguard]

@rockrobster1 Thats Horrible :(

[pegleg7777]

@starguard Yes, 47 people killed and 103 injured.

[LukRacer]

I've seen this on tv when i was young, but the moring after we've had to go by train, but that route goes over alot of (long) bridges....

I remeber being like

@_@ the whole time...

[daverunner]

I was there.....retired in 1996.....ugly ....very bad

[TrainGuy33]

ouch

[Nighthawk262]

"You have caused confusion and delay..." - Sir Topham Hatt.

[MrHyht]

Баржа об мост ударилась и уп....здела с места ДТП, а вы говорите Америка!

[cunradt]

I lived in Monroeville at the time.

My kids boy scout pack leader's wife's brother was the engineer.

He was suppose to get off in Mobile.

His releaf was late so the decided to switch out in Pensacola, FL.

A tug with a load of barges got lost and bumping a swing bridge without knowing it...

The rules for tug boat crew training on how to use radar for navigation is much better now.

[christiansenfamily]

was this real?

[wampaAWESOMEsauce]

@christiansenfamily dumbass yes read the comments also 47 ppl died

[MrGizmo757]

if he got her up to 88 MPH he would have been fine. :-)

[mikethequeenfan]

Why can't Amtrak keep their trains on the track?

[grimmss1]

@mikethequeenfan enineer fault or company not investing money in track maintenance

[wampaAWESOMEsauce]

@grimmss1 in this case a boat hit the bridge er something like that

[ArmageddonArena]

Wow it looks like something from a movie sad. I wish stuff like this didn't happen.

[upfan2000]

030 wow... bad train wrecks

[1dogeez]

the locomotive is darted in the river bank almost completly

[craziikid9]

i would sew the hell out of that bridge company

[chris40539]

what happened with the engines?

[MrGH3Man4]

@chris40539 The Engines sunk into the mud and Don't really know what happened after that

[oliverjumelle]

@MrGH3Man4 tell me i know this story well but cant understand this ok. moments before the crash the train was given a green signal. why was that if there was a fault in the track it should have gone straight to red?

[MrGH3Man4]

@oliverjumelle Well the Barge struck the bridge made it out of line not enough 2 cut the curcuit on the track and turn the signal red

[DarkAltiar]

@chris40539 Actually a two of the engines flew foward onto the other side obviously derailed and another sunk in partially into the river

[TheMantisTycoon]

Slamtrak again.

[stevefromPA2]

thats just sickening to look at...

[counterclockwise123]

This was a freak accident and is absolutely no reason what so ever to not ride a train. Trains are far safer than automobiles as are planes and cruise ships.

[OleandrFilms]

Yeah, that was horrible :((

I still remember vividly the news about this crash...

My thoughts & prayers are to those who suffered or lost loved ones..

[falcons1988]

@northrox11

A similar thing happened in the late 1960 where a barge hit the Severn Railway Bridge (UK) and it as eventually demolished in 1970. Wiki it

[haleynjimmy4]

so sad

[Thunderheadpros]

RIP passengers and amtrak employees

[moosesmart]

@rakauskas9...Satan called looking for you. You left Hell without his permission.

[fattony252]

 This is what happens when proper folling procedures are not used

[spartan0738]

I'M NEVER RIDING AMTRAK AGAIN!!!!!

[thetrainguy1]

@spartan0738 Please do because of one fucking fool Amtrak is the best in the county so please don't

[digimaks]

@spartan0738 Fine! Go fly on planes! But don't you tell me that planes don't crash.

[ERAUPRCWA]

@spartan0738 huh? why? this crash basically wasn't Amtrak's fault

[OleandrFilms]

@spartan0738 It's your choice. So, you can either drive in the car (where accidents happen daily) or take a plane (and planes do crash, alas). But it's wrong to blame Amtrak in the instant case because it wasn't their fault whatsoever.

[charlieb640]

@spartan0738 So....are you going to lock yourself in the closet so you don't get hurt? Statistically Amtrak is safer than riding in your car. You staying out of automobiles as well?

[gibb1991]

@spartan0738 Why? I love Amtrak. Very pleasent way to travel.

[pawpawnorth]

@spartan0738 this was 15 years ago, and still amtrak is much safer than pretty much any other tranportation in america.

[whenindoubtwhipitout]

Barge, Fire, Trestle, Speed & Alligators all combine for the Win!

[telsport]

@whenindoubtwhipitout A sports report? I am a sports reporter and this is one ugly ass game. 47 Dead? Oh brother.

Tom in Utica

[mike92586]

some of those cars just now are getting fixed 17 years after the crash. seen in a recent issue of trains magazine.

[tom201090]

shouldn't the bridge have been closed after the barge had hit it to check for structual weakness or at least there been a speed restriction

[Sodiumreactor]

@tom201090 it happened less than 15 minutes before the train arrived, and the tug pilots didnt notify anyone because they didnt know where they were or what they had ran into. It was early AM and very very foggy.

[fordude60]

I remember when this crash happened.

[kjrehberg]

It's a tragic accident.  The engines ended up underwater. Pray for their souls.

[mike92586]

@kjrehberg no they went into the mud on the other bank

[draco900000]

thats scary cause i went over the same trestle in an amtrak superliner

[HBMAN665420]

damn, already 15 years.

[BosniaArmin]

i'm scared of old build....... but not idea new build.

[telsport]

@BosniaArmin Armin..are you in Utica NY?

Tom in Utica

[milw189]

Ironically the lead investigator named Brooks was killed not too long after this in a train wreck.

[Petemonster62]

I was stationed at Keesler Air Force Base near Biloxi Mississippi & very thick fog does develop on the gulf coast. It would be all too easy for the barge sailors to not see the bridge piers in time to avoid hitting them or the locomotive engineer to see any damage to the bridge. 

[1f5sda]

Oh man! I heard about that on the Discovery Channel 8 years after the crash.

[jesunkel]

The boat and barges were not even supposed to be in Bayou Canot. The first mistake was management sending the boat/barges out when they had no business doing so. Then, since the boat operator was not where he was supposed to be, nothing made sense anymore. I believe it was the NEXT left he was supposed to have made. A compounding of errors leading to an unthinkable tragedy.

And all starting with a rush for profit!

[jdrummer16]

dude was the bridge already out?

[paraawesome]

If you read brotherhood of the fin, about a Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer, theres a chapter that tells about him being called to fly to the wreck. he transported like 20 people and treated even more.

[joshtemplet]

The Fetch! with Ruff Ruffman 4th Season Finale was kinda like this. 4 of the kids were on the train & 2 of them stopped the train to keep it from going in the water.

[traumajunkie0800112]

This happened in Saraland, AL. bout 20 minutes north of Mobile. My dad was a Firefighter when this happened...

[auburnboy141]

@traumajunkie0800112 I live in Saraland. Where was it at in Saraland?

[TaviMunk]

has it been that long ago now? wow!!!

[Iam1HipHopEducator]

i remember when they had this on the news CNN air this

[Welwyn22]

damn, on my first birthday too! What a coincidence.

[WhatTheCluckerzShow]

I am the 51,000 Viewer!!!

[pink707jr]

that was the day i was born

[charlieb640]

Amtrak has a high accident rate? They do? Statistically it is much, much, much safer than driving.

[coolcatevan9]

it is...But i was just joking jeeze

[charlieb640]

Sorry man. My bad. I work in this industry and periodically I get a little mad when people trash it.

My apologies.

Have a Happy New YEar.

[OleandrFilms]

@charlieb640 Totally true

[369bumblebee]

i remember seeing something on this , when the barge hit the bridge , it caused the tracks on one side to be out of line when The Sunset Limited was due to cross because it was proven that 20 mins to an hour before Amtrak was due , a heavy/long freight train crossed the bridge with no problem what so ever . I remember seeing a program that mentioned something about where the rails are joined , they weren't even , they got knocked out of place , amtrak could not see this or he would have stopped!

[CoasterFan2105]

When you're going 79 MPH in the middle of the night and the visibility is poor, there's a very small chance he will be able to stop in time. This was due mainly to a poor design flaw: the bridge was built as a swing bridge,but CSX never upgraded it when they decided to make it a non-swinging bridge. When the bardge hit, the bridge swung so that one of the girders was right in the path of train 2, launching it into the air... It was devastating.

[tdvandy2]

The signals on the railroad were tied into the track. The track did not seprate, therefore the train had a green signal which on that track meant 70 mph. The bridge shifted, but because the track did not the seperate, the signal did not go to red.

[travone71]

logo47 maybe the bridge wasnt on the radar....i dont think radar shows a map of landscape. i think radars only detect other ships just like an airplane pilot would detect other planes...some1 correct me if im wrong on this.

[Coastergeekperson04]

The guy didn't know how to read radar, he though it was a row of barges (???). He must have been high.

[CSX2665]

Hah the Boat pilot Lost His License! good 4 him!.I can tell it was very horrible. He knew the Bridge was there and why the hell did he kept on going??.

[flyguy1237]

Have you seen the National Geographic Seconds from Disaster video on this? It says some stuff about that.

[CSX2665]

no i have not but i have seen thhe spanish version on Discovery espanol.

[Coastergeekperson04]

He DIDN'T know it was there. The first time he hit it, he didn't notice anything, so he kept going. If he totaled the bridge, it would have tripped a sensor that would have stopped the train and the crash would have never happened.

[charlieb640]

You have no idea what you're talking about. Read the facts (not a TV special) about this incident and then you can better recite what actually took place.

[joshtemplet]

It was too foggy for him to see the bridge.

[CoasterFan2105]

The cap'tn let a trainee pilot the boat, very poor judgement on his part.

[TheCrazycam45]

I live in Montgomery and I rember that very bad day.

[logo47]

How did that tugboat pilot even get a license without knowing how to read his radar?

[jazzstorie]

@logo47 Prior to 1993, tugboat pilots were not required to have training in the use of radar. Following the NTSB's investigation of this incident, all vessel pilots are required to have a certain amount of hours and certification in the use of radar.

[Weiberts]

@logo47 It wasn't required back then.

[Dkels219]

The Engineer didn't even see it coming.

[Dkels219]

That was in 1993 just outside of Mobile Alabama in the "wee hours" of the morning. A barge had lost it cargo in the fog causing the barge to hit the bridge derailing the bridge killing 53 passengers including the Engineer. A very sad year for Amtrak.

[surfliner463]

What engine numbers were on this train?

[UPrailroad]

Wasn't it a barge that cause this wreck? or am I thinking of some other wreck that happened.

[swatteam311]

Yes it was a barge lost in the fog that hit the bridge causing it to shift leading to the crash

[inuyashakagome445]

it was a brage

[CableReadyTechnoSIut]

LOL

[uhhhhhssss]

omg i was almost one year old when that happened...

[k5lta]

i am so glad i did not go to alabama in 1993 but even if i would of went i go in

the summer or winter.

[maravichfan4077]

damn. i thought the '87 chase maryland wreck was bad until this

[amtraklover]

A correction if I may make one. The cars that were parked on the bridge didn't catch on fire even though the one hanging off the bridge did sustain some impact damage. The only cars to get torched were the baggage car and the crew car.

[ruhtramoolb]

They were driven into the mud at the left of the overhead shot. All three locomotive engineers died.

[NS9647]

Where were the engines?

[k5lta]

Scraped somewhere,are their probably the computers we are using right now never know.

[jimmyp42002]

they all burned beyond use and where scrapped. yup your computer is probably made of some of the metal.

[k5lta]

yeah

[CSX2665]

the engines where on the other side of the bridge they were stabbed in the earth.

[RailfanDaniel]

@NS9647 One of locomotives were shown at 0:04. That was Amtrak P40DC 819. Half of the locomotive was buried in the mud. The two F40PH's 262 and 312 were buried in the water.

[mmandmcb14]

I have one picture of Amtrak P40DC 819 and lots of pictures of Amtrak F40PH's 262 and 312 in the 1970's, 80's and 90's

[RailfanDaniel]

@mmandmcb14 Oh cool! Yeah i found pics of 262, 312 and 819. You know, you were lucky you got 819. It was only in service for 3 months. At the time when the P40DC's were brand new.

[mmandmcb14]

Did you see a lot of pictures of F40PH #262 and #312.

[trainster100]

@NS9647 The train was pulled by 3 engines. 2 F40's, and one P40DC. Two of the engines were most likely in the river, but one engine impaled itself nose first into the river bank on the other side of the river. This train was called the Sunset Limited. 47 people were killed, 103 injured.

[49MCURLL49]

@NS9647 stuck in the mud, almost completely covered in it

[myjuto369]

@NS9647 london bridge is falling down falling down falling down!

at 0:27 !

[CSX2665]

@NS9647 the lead engine had been impaled in the earth the second unit was beside and the 3rd unit was on the right side of the 2nd unit.

[gibb1991]

@NS9647 The lead locomotive went nose-first into the mud, the following loco acted like a jackhammer and actually slammed the rest of the first all the way, except for the last 15 feet of the loco, into the mud.

[Warcauser]

@NS9647 Across the river, impaled into the river bank like arrows - not kidding

[awolfpack343]

@NS9647 in the bottom of that river

[s0nnyburnett]

@NS9647 on the other side of the bridge, buried in the mud banks after they catapulted across the bridge after hitting the shifted rail, according to Seconds from Disaster.

[SUBWAY125]

@NS9647 The engines got scared by Sir Topham Hatt and got sent to the island of sodor

[mark10788]

The engines went flying when the crashing started they were on the other side the lead engine slamed into the ground another one laid right next to it i did not know what happened to the 3rd locomotive...

[mark10788]

The engines went flying when the crashing started they were on the other side the lead engine slamed into the ground another one laid right next to it i did not know what happened to the 3rd loco.