Posted on 05/14/2015 5:38:13 AM PDT by robowombat
Looks like the concrete ties failed where the rail anchors attach letting the outboard rail go loose. That would explain why the loco remained upright while transiting the minor hill off to the side of the tracks.
The train left the last station on time to the minute....
Putting on the brakes, or leaving them off was not going to change the outcome of derailment.
However, slowing the train from 106 down to 102 provided a little less momentum going into the crash, less energy to expend in stopping the train as it came off the tracks.
Applying the brakes helped, not hurt in this case. Perhaps if the speed was marginal to derailment it may created a difference but that was not the case in this incident.
One would have to calculate the forces from speed difference in the curve vs the braking forces. I suspect that the braking force is higher than the difference in the speed-curve forces. It looks like the concrete ties failed rather than the train flipping over. If the rails had been held in position, the train may have made it around the curve. Ill have to look at the aerial photos to see if there is much of a spiral transition into the curve..
The lateral forces on the rail will be from “holding back” the momentum of the train, centripetal force. The braking force will be parallel with the rail.
How far from the Philly station did this accident occur? I am looking for time and distance...
The braking is applied along the length of the train and the train is on a curve. Also the forces are applied at the wheel-track interface which is well below and offset from the center of gravity of the vehicles.
Some background:
Frankford Junction (PRR station)
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This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2008)
Frankford Junction
Former: SEPTA regional rail[1]
PRR inter-city rail
Location Frankford Avenue and East Butler Street
Coordinates 40.00°N 75.093°WCoordinates: 40.00°N 75.093°W
Line(s) Former:
Trenton Line
Platforms 1 side platform
Tracks 4, 2, 2 (junction)
Connections
Market–Frankford Line at Erie–Torresdale or Tioga
Construction
Structure type demolished (2008)[2]
Platform levels 2
Other information
Fare zone 1
History
Closed 1990s
Electrified 1935
Previous names Conrail (1976—1999)
Penn Central (1968—1976)
Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines (1932—1976)
Pennsylvania Railroad (1871—1968)
Philadelphia and Trenton Railroad (1832—1871)
Services
Former services
Preceding station SEPTA.svg SEPTA Following station
Frankford
(also closed in 1990s)
toward Trenton
Trenton Line
North Philadelphia
toward Temple University
Pennsylvania Railroad
North Philadelphia
toward Chicago
Main Line
Frankford
toward New York City or Exchange Place
North Penn
toward Suburban Station
Trenton Line
Frankford
toward Trenton
Frankford Junction is a railroad junction, and former junction station,[3] located on the border between the Kensington and Port Richmond neighborhoods of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. At the junction, the 4-track Northeast Corridor line from Trenton connects with the 2-track Atlantic City Line from Atlantic City in the northeastern portion of Philadelphia about 2.9 miles (4.7 km) northeast of North Philadelphia station.[4] It lies near the intersection of Frankford Avenue and Butler Street, to the west of where New Jersey Route 90 meets Interstate 95 after crossing the Betsy Ross Bridge. It has been used for rail transportation since 1832 but has not served as a station since the 1990s.
Overview[edit]
The junction has seen a mass of freight and passenger service throughout its existence. In 1832 the Philadelphia and Trenton Railroad (P&T) was formed and started service with a small yard. The line extended southwest of the junction and on to destinations north. In 1871 the railroad was leased by the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR). During this time a new branch was formed, namely the Tioga Street Branch, consisting of trackage running down the middle of Tioga Street. The branch was later sold to the Kensington and Tacony Railroad. The Pennsylvania Railroad operated the Connecting Railway (part of today’s Northeast Corridor) that carried trains to the south.
Through time the junction passed from the Pennsylvania Railroad to the Penn Central and finally to Amtrak. During the era of the PRR they operated the Congressional, which passed through the junction. Amtrak now operates the Acela Express and Northeast Regional through the junction, although the 4° turn through it imposes the lowest speed limit along the Northeast Corridor line of 50 miles per hour (80 km/h).[4]
The junction started to dwindle as a station in its older years, with the last service coming from Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) in the 1990s along the Trenton Line (formerly known as the R7 Line). The junction still sees many trains, both freight and passenger, none of which serve the station platforms that still exist. Today the original P&T line still stretches for a few city blocks, terminating abruptly at Ann Street. It is still used for local freight service. A Conrail freight line splits from the Northeast Corridor at this location and continues to New Jersey via the Delair Bridge. NJ Transit maintains the Atlantic City Line through the junction that serves 30th Street Station to Atlantic City Rail Terminal with local service daily. Amtrak and SEPTA pass through on the Northeast Corridor. There is an abandoned track that used to be for local freight on the north side of the junction. The switching yard is still maintained with continuously decreasing service.
Accidents[edit]
On September 6, 1943, a deadly accident occurred when an axle detached from a train as the result of an undiscovered hot box, causing it to derail.[5] 79 people were killed and more were injured.[5]
On May 12, 2015, Amtrak Northeast Regional #188 from Washington DC to New York derailed as it was traversing Frankford Junction.
ROFLMAO!
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