Train derails in heavy snow

The crew of a freight train are lucky to have escaped serious injury after it derailed in Scotland. . Follow us on twitter at http://twitter.com/itn_news

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• freight
• train
• derail
• injury
• derailed
• Scotland
• Carrbridge

[randknu]

I am an engineer in Norway and winter railroading has it's problems. I'm thinking this is a frosen blockage in the brake line. Humidity comes into the compressed air and gathers at the lowest point which is in the hose between two cars, freezes and blocks off brakes for an x number of cars.

[barrach7]

Naaah mate! You've got it wrong! 'Feck all' up here in "Jockland"! I mean, my sister's been snowed in by FEET of snow in Moray since 22/12...but spare a thought fr them poor, Saaaf Eastern Ingirlish! Why....the ground there's ben devastated by at LEAST 6 snowflakes! The poor souls! Not much WONDER all the efforts are being concerntrated down there! Sniff!

[SteffanLlwyd]

@SteffanLlwyd (I should have said that this was in the UK. There were historical reasons why many waggons still had no vacuum or air brakes. One advantage of of loose coupled waggons without brakes was that small locomotives could start big trains, as each waggon was pilled individually. There was a delay between the first waggon starting and the last one starting. The sound made by each coupling link as it was being drawn tight was like music. They sounded best at night.

[SteffanLlwyd]

@randknu1 It is interesting to hear from someone directly involved. Even in the mid 1970s many waggons only had hand brakes which had to be 'pinned down' before descending steep inclines such as 'Tallerddig'. A notice reminded 'All drivers of down unfitted goods trains to pin down brakes.' Couplings could also break when the 'slack' in loose three-link couplings was taken up and the shock of the momentum in the leading waggons pulled suddenly at the waggons on the rear. Crude!

[randknu1]

@SteffanLlwyd Air dryers on the compressor helps, adding alcohol to the compressed air further lowers the risk. But it can still happen and does happen from time to time, that is why we are required to make a brake test before any major downhill. If you find your brakes are poor you have much more time to get the train stopped and finding the culprit before anything bad happens.

[SteffanLlwyd]

@randknu I was wondering how such a thing could happen with air brakes. Thanks for the explanation. I wonder how the risk can be reduced?

[250Trojan]

OMG! It's Stobart rail!

[samthegreencat47]

The jocks came from miles around walking in snow 15 ft deep! Hoping for free plunder! Sam Green in England!

[es78xx]

there just needs to be more preperation. november should be a month when people work really hard to do things in advance and get ready for things to come. not waiting to december when evrything is frozen and shut down.

[zark212]

I bet the train Driver was listening to Justin Bieber lol.

[lucy9359]

@qLa7a us 2 we have had record snow and rain falls as well as an increase in large scale Tornado's and or fish washing up on the shores for no reason or birds dropping out of the sky for no reason and bees up and leaving their nests for no reason as is the same around the world....odd events like this happening....

[qLa7a]

@lucy9359we dont usally jus this year was really bad