Derailment - Springfield, Ohio 3/4/2023

GRSdave wrote: ↑Tue Mar 07, 2023 9:41 pm The road is the former PRR Cincinnati line from Columbus OH (Buckeye Yard) to Springfield OH.

Thank you, Mr. General Railway Signal Dave, for this report.

Save the NYC Water Level Route, Cleveland-Chicago, which did change hands (Chessie already had the B&O; the NKP same for Topper, but could hardly handle all his new found E-W traffic through OH and IN), it appeared that Conrail was chopped up along the lines of Topper got the PRR and whatever was left of the ERIE, Chessie got the Central.

That video was in the second post of the whole thread, what's your point/comment? .

Has anyone heard whether those coil steel cars were empty or loads? I'm guessing empty. Anybody have a track profile of that segment?

With regard to the question: "on which prior railroad did this derailment occur?" This derailment occurred West of London OH on a segment of the Cincinnati Line that was ex-NYC.

NS acquired the CR Cincinnati Line between Buckeye and Cincinnati, OH. The portion of this route between Buckeye and London (where the ex-NYC crossed) was ex-PRR. The remainder of the Line between London and Cincinnati was ex-NYC. The ex-NYC portion of the Cincinnati line passed through South Charleston and Springfield, OH.

The ex-PRR route between Buckeye and Cincinnati passed through Xenia, with a long segment west of Xenia abandoned. At the Cincinnati end, a short branch was operated by CR as the Blue Ash Secondary Track. IIRC, the portion of the ex-PRR route between London and Dayton via Xenia was last used as an alternate through route by CR in the 1980s..

On Monday, April 17 Railway Age reported National Steel Car Exonerated in NS Derailment indicating no loose wheels were involved as the cause, but rather the loose wheel found at the derailment scene in Springfield was caused by the extreme lateral forces incurred in the derailment, for which the cause is now attributed to train makeup.

AAR instruction EI-0033 affecting 675 cars requiring special inspections and/or wheel changes has been withdrawn, reportedly with the concurrence of the FRA and NTSB.

Unsurprisingly, the note is made of significant concerns related to train makeup, apparently foretelling the final determination of cause to follow.

IMO, this is encouraging, as it's long past time for the industry to adopt "best practices" with respect to long trains and distribution of tonnage.

R Paul Carey wrote: ↑Wed Apr 19, 2023 7:14 am On Monday, April 17 Railway Age reported National Steel Car Exonerated in NS Derailment indicating no loose wheels were involved as the cause, but rather the loose wheel found at the derailment scene in Springfield was caused by the extreme lateral forces incurred in the derailment, for which the cause is now attributed to train makeup.

Grief Mr. Carey, when present day Yardmasters were playing with their Lionels as a kid, didn't they quickly learn that placing a lighter car at the head of their train simply invited a derailment?

Perhaps the AAR, and as you report endorsed by the FRA, was too quick to withdraw their Instruction.

Gil, the withdrawn order refers to AAR EI-0033, mandating wheel inspections of 675 cars manufactured by National Steel Car, in effect, reopening the finding as to cause of this derailment.

As this train was proceeding from a descending to an ascending grade (think of it as operating through a "sag"), this empty covered steel gondola was at a "node" (the cars ahead were stretched in "draft", and the cars behind were bunched in "buff"). At some points and depending upon physical characteristics, these unusually long trains may have two or more active "nodes".

To the extent these trains are built with the tonnage concentrated at the head end, handling of in-train forces can be optimized. On the other hand, to the extent the carriers fail to address distribution of tonnage in the makeup of these long trains, they are placing undue reliance upon the train handling skills of their engineers.

Paul.