Wreck of the Sunset Limited is the 6th episode of Seconds from Disaster and rescues the clues of the fall of a train.
Plot[]
After one of a string of barges hit a support of a bridge in Big Bayou Canot, the Sunset Limited (an Amtrak train) derails as it crosses the bridge, resulting in its collapse and the deaths of 47 people.
Causes[]
The pilot controlling the towboat Mauvilla, Willie Odom was not properly trained on how to read his radar and so, due to very poor visibility in heavy fog and his lack of experience, did not realize he was off course. The boat also lacked a compass and a chart of the waters.Odom believed that he was still on the Mobile River and had identified the bridge in the radar as another tug boat.After the investigation, he was not found to be criminally liable for the accident.
Although there were signals on the line operated by track circuits, the long welded rails did not break and
The aftermath of the crash
did not cause the bridge approach signal to change to red. Had jointed rails still been fitted, the signal may have dropped to red, as such rails would more likely have broken at the joints.
The span had actually been designed to rotate so that the bridge could be converted to a swing-bridge by installing a motor and control equipment, if it were ever decided that barge traffic warranted this. No such conversion had ever been done and the span's lack of lateral rigidity was a contributing factor to the accident.
One span of the bridge was pushed so far out of position that the kink in the line caused the derailment. The span was not fitted with "stops" to keep it in reasonable alignment with other spans of the bridge. Had such stops been fitted, the kink in the line might have been less severe and less dangerous.
Had barge traffic posed a regular hazard, special barge collision detection circuits could have been fitted to shunt the signals to red in case of a collision. Similar circuits are used to detect Washaways. But the Big Bayou Canot is not navigable, so this seemed nearly pointless.
In addition, the train had a 38-minute delay at New Orleans due to repairs to an air conditioner unit and a toilet in one of the cars. Had it not been delayed, the Sunset Limited would have passed the Big Bayou Canot bridge before the Mauvilla struck it.
Aftermath[]
As a result of the accident, towboat pilots are now required to be trained in the use of radar.
In post accident analysis, the NTSB, again, called for Amtrak to implement an accurate, on board passenger enumeration ability. Amtrak now records passenger lists electronically.
The Big Bayou Canot bridge was rebuilt and reopened to rail traffic 11 days after the wreck, with the span now consisting a non-swing span.
