@CopperCountryJake posted:I just saw a news report that said, "Federal investigators and police have not determined the cause of the derailment."
Is it just me, or could the tie that flipped up under the tanker be the cause?
Derailment investigation is not as simple as it seems. It requires training and a lot of shoe leather. First, the actual point of derailment must be identified and clues searched for. This could be some distance previous to the secondary derailment, in which case you have to follow marks on ties and rails to find it. Then, the secondary derailment (typically, the place where the derailment produces a pileup or something going into the ditch) has to be investigated.
I filled out plenty of BNSF Accident/Derailment Forms. There were lots of questions and measurements had to be furnished. Many of the questions had to do with tie condition, rail condition, spike condition, wheel flange measurement, uneven loading of cars, speed, train handling, and all parts broken should be found and inspected for metal fatigue.
When I was a new official, I naively furnished a very simple 1-car, low speed, derailment closeout on a rickety industrial spur as "Spread Rail". My phone rang, and the Superintendent's first word was not "hello." The greeting, if you would call it that, began with, "Mister, I just got your closeout." And that was the nice part of the phone call.
