If it is true that this train carried on for over 20 miles with a grinding and sparking axle then the railroad will be way more than liable for all this. Maybe even criminally liable.
So, tougher regulation of the railroad companies seems like something everyone ought to support from now on, right? Not ex post lawsuits, but actual ex ante safety requirements.
“If it is true that this train carried on for over 20 miles with a grinding and sparking axle then the railroad will be way more than liable for all this.”
This is actually true, though how long it takes for the axle to burn off after the bearing locks up can vary a lot. BUT, the real truth is that had there been a caboose on the end of the train with someone in it to be WATCHING the train then at the first signs of smoke and fire the train would have been stopped. So, indeed, the Railroads themselves are to blame for this because they are who got rid of the cabooses and the people in them on the Nations rail roads. They would LIKE to have only one person on the train total, an engineer to run the whole thing. This should put a stop to that crazy...