| Burlington Northern Railroad C30-7 5136 on display at the Galesburg Railroad Days on June 6, 1981, Kodachrome by Chuck Zeiler. This locomotive was built in May 1981 (c/n 43171) and retired in November 1984. That seemed odd, so I looked up railroad accident reports at http://specialcollection.dotlibrary.dot.gov/ and came across the following ICC report (edited): About 1:00 a.m., on Thursday, June 14, 1984, Burlington Northern Railroad Company freight trains Extra 6760 West and Extra 7907 East collided head-on on the single track main line near Motley, Minnesota. The trains were being operated on dispatcher-issued train orders, in nonsignallized territory. The westbound train had been traveling about 35 to 40 mph and the eastbound train about 45 to 49 mph just before the emergency applications of the automatic air brakes of both trains. The accident resulted in three fatalities, one serious injury, and three minor injuries; damages were estimated at $3,931,146. The dispatcher controlling the movement of the trains had been promoted to dispatcher recently before the accident and was working in his second tour of duty in that position. The National Transportation Safety Board determined that the probable cause of this accident was the Burlington Northern Railroad's inadequate personnel selection criteria which resulted in the placement of an individual without sufficient training and supervision into the safety critical position of train dispatcher. When train Extra 6760 West passed through Brainerd, the engineer slowed the train for a 10-mph speed restriction through that vicinity. After having passed Brainerd, the engineer accelerated the train to about 49 mph. (The maximum speed at this location for an empty coal train is 49 mph). As the locomotive of train Extra 6760 West proceeded through a 1 degree curve to the right and neared tangent track, the head brakeman noticed light reflecting on the rails ahead of his train. He further stated that he then "... could see another engine that we didn't have (train) orders on, and I didn't know if that engine was in a siding for awhile. It took me awhile to remember the track and realize that there was no siding in that area." The head brakeman stated that he and the engineer applied the emergency brakes at the same time and that he then stepped out onto the front platform of his locomotive unit. He further stated "...I could see it (the oncoming locomotive) was moving, I was reading engine numbers and I decided I better get off, and I jumped." The three locomotive units in each of the trains were destroyed. The operating compartments of the lead locomotive unit of each train were crushed, and the units were sheared off at platform level. Of the 19 cars derailed in train Extra 7907 East, 10 were destroyed, 7 were moderately damaged, and 2 were lightly damaged. Of the 16 cars derailed in train Extra 6760 West, 8 were destroyed, 5 were moderately damaged, and 3 were lightly damaged. About 1,087 feet of main track was destroyed or damaged in the accident. The locomotive of train Extra 6760 West consisted of three diesel-electric units; BN 6760, BN 6765, and BN 7241. The three units were all model SD-40-2. The locomotive of train Extra 7907 East consisted of three diesel-electric units; BN 7907, BN 5136, and BN 7899. The first and third units were model SD-40-2, 3,000-horsepower, 6-axle units manufactured by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors Corporation. The second unit was a model C 30-7, 3,000-horsepower, 6-axle unit manufactured by the General Electric Company. |