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Amtrak #7 Derailment near Shelby, MT. 9/25/21.
Posted: Sat Sep 25, 2021 7:56 pm
by Jochs
I'm seeing reports on Facebook that the Empire Builder, train #7, just derailed a little while ago near Shelby, MT.
https://www.facebook.com/ted.curphey/po ... 4174061608
I can only find old articles of train #7 derailing at this moment.
Re: Amtrak #7 Derailment near Shelby, MT. 9/25/21.
Posted: Sat Sep 25, 2021 8:15 pm
by Jochs
Here's an update:
https://www.kxly.com/amtrak-train-derailed-in-montana/
It happened between the Havre and Shelby stops.
Re: Amtrak #7 Derailment near Shelby, MT. 9/25/21.
Posted: Sat Sep 25, 2021 10:08 pm
by Jochs
Re: Amtrak #7 Derailment near Shelby, MT. 9/25/21.
Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2021 11:13 pm
by hoborich
An aerial drone view shows it occurred at or near a switch.
Re: Amtrak #7 Derailment near Shelby, MT. 9/25/21.
Posted: Tue Sep 28, 2021 6:36 pm
by David Collins
I feel like the switch was reversed when it derailed, but the engines and the first 3 cars didn't jump the tracks which it would had the switch been reversed.
Re: Amtrak #7 Derailment near Shelby, MT. 9/25/21.
Posted: Tue Sep 28, 2021 7:04 pm
by DaveO
It seems the derailment occurred prior to reaching the switch.
The NTSB initial statement indicated no obvious cause.
Re: Amtrak #7 Derailment near Shelby, MT. 9/25/21.
Posted: Tue Sep 28, 2021 7:17 pm
by Saturnalia
DaveO wrote: ↑Tue Sep 28, 2021 7:04 pm
It seems the derailment occurred prior to reaching the switch.
The NTSB initial statement indicated no obvious cause.
I agree, the fact that the rear overturned cars were still well short of the turnout indicates that the turnout was not the cause, and it was in fact on the ground, starting around the 3rd or 4th car, first. The car on the switch only looks like it picked it because it was already on the ground.
Re: Amtrak #7 Derailment near Shelby, MT. 9/25/21.
Posted: Wed Sep 29, 2021 7:56 am
by Tom49801
"One couple said they were experiencing a very rough ride," Anderson said, adding that the Michigan couple travels Amtrak a couple of times a year to see their son in Seattle, the train's final destination.
"They were noticing that it wasn't a very smooth ride."
From a Yahoo news article
https://search.yahoo.com/search?p=amtra ... UTF-8&fp=1
Sadly, I also read this morning there was a couple celebrating their 50th Wedding Anniversary that had perished. One possibility is a problem with the tracks, perhaps from heat-induced buckling, railroad crash experts speculate.
https://news.yahoo.com/couple-celebrati ... p_catchall
Re: Amtrak #7 Derailment near Shelby, MT. 9/25/21.
Posted: Wed Feb 22, 2023 6:41 pm
by Saturnalia
https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews ... ZYs7QIFaeY
The NTSB hasn't issued a probable cause yet, but in their release of information today, they included lots of evidence and discussion about a sun/heat kink in the track that the train passed over immediately before the derailment.
I'd be curious to know more about the CWR adjustment in the area, what the neutral temp was, and how hot the rail was. The shoulders and track are in good condition, so it is quite possible that the neutral rail temperature was set too low for that hot day, leading to the heat kink.
A couple previous trains captured the kink on their video recorders but it got worse before the Builder. The prior crews did not report it and the Amtrak engineer didn't notice it before hitting it - he felt a jolt and then lost his air.
This image is from the video recorder on the lead locomotive of the Amtrak:
