Curve where Amtrak train derailed in Washington has speed limit of 30 mph

The Seattle Times ^ | December 18th, 2017 | By Mike Baker , David Gutman and Mike Lindblom

[Mariner]

The Amtrak train that derailed Monday morning on its inaugural trip through a faster railway route was supposed to slow dramatically before entering the curve where the crash occurred.

The speed limit at the curve where the train crosses Interstate 5 is 30 miles per hour, said state transportation department spokeswoman Barbara LaBoe, while the speed limit on most of the track is 79 mph. She said speed-limit signs are posted two miles before the lowered speed zone and then just before the zone.

“Engineers are trained to slow trains according to posted speeds,” she said.

Daniel Konzelman, who was driving on I-5 south parallel to the train, said he was traveling at 60 mph or more and watched the train pass his vehicle about a half-mile before the crash. A website that monitors locations and speeds of Amtrak trains, transitdocs.com, reported that the train was going about 81 mph shortly before the derailment, The Associated Press reported.

Russell Quimby, a consultant who was previously an investigator-in-charge for the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), said it appeared to him that the derailment was caused by speed. He said the track appeared relatively undisturbed, so it seemed unlikely that something knocked the train off the track, and he noted that it appeared the train drove in a straight line, missing the turn.

[Elsie]

...appeared the train drove in a straight line, missing the turn.

True; but the 'turn' had barely begun. how much lateral shift is needed to get the train to jump the track?

I'd guess the center of gravity would have to be over the outer wheels; at least.

[Elsie]

It’s very expensive, (built by union shops?)and the railroads (unions?) have been pushing back at the government for years.

[Elsie]

The pictures say a lot.

But many; apparently; can't read them.

[Elsie]

If a train goes off the track around a curve due to excessive speed (only), the rail cars will generally be all on one side of the track, outside the curve.

They started that way; and if the engine had not have stopped by plowing into the ground, then all of then would have gone to the right.

The little valley (ditch?) could only hold about 4-5 cars, then they piled into them as were scattered all different directions.

[Elsie]

One 'expert' on the radio said that because the cars are so close together, it probably wasn't going 80mph.

I think it was WAY less than 80 mph, for inertia and momentum should have done FAR greater damage than what is seen.

[Elsie]

... for inertia and momentum ...

Heck; that trailing locomotive should have pancaked them all!

[DoughtyOne]

Thanks Elsie. I do believe that cars continued on down to the freeway in that one picture circulating on the forum.

[Elsie]

Inaugural trip is NOT equal to FIRST trip; or initial one; either.

It means 'paying customers on board'.

[Elsie]

I’M trying to imagine tooling down the highway and suddenly a train car or locomotive is coming at me!

And that should be the ONLY time the news media shold be ALLOWED to print "Train hits car"; instead of how they do it now.

FOOL drives in front of speeding TRAIN should be the headline; but it NEVER is...

[Elsie]

The only way they won’t be caught is if the Feds cover for them and blame everything on the engineer.

Google® Captain of the USS Indianapolis.

[Elsie]

This entire situation is more complicated than I have made it sound. It never really was about saving 70 people 4 minutes 5 times a day. That is just a lie they have repeatedly told the public.

The Indianapolis taxpayers (and others) will soon be getting a RedLine.

Same type of boondoggle in the offing.

https://www.google.com/search?q=Indianapolis+RedLine&ie=&oe=

[editor-surveyor]

.
>> “The Indianapolis taxpayers (and others) will soon be getting a RedLine.” <<

Indiana is politically different than Washington.

Urban Washington is like Chicago. (+/-)
.

[21twelve]

“I’M trying to imagine tooling down the highway and suddenly a train car or locomotive is coming at me!”

I recall one time on the outskirts of Manhattan coming across an accident. A semi-truck and trailer missed the bridge and went off the cliff landing on a car below. The car was squashed, and the cab and trailer were still standing almost vertically against the cliff and the bridge.

I thought “Man - you can be the most careful driver in the world, but....” From the looks of it I’m guessing they didn’t suffer.

[djf]

Yup.

And it’s time for WSP to arrest the conductors.

I’m totally serious about that!

[jonascord]

When you consider that Evergreen College is only 20 miles away, one of the long time Antifa bases, dating back to the 70's...?
And, isn't it a little cute that this happened right at the intersection of the two MAJOR ground transport arteries, The North/South rail link, AND Interstate 5...? At this time, (22:45 on 19 December, BOTH are still blocked.)

Evergreen was the place where the leftist prof was driven out because he was white, and refused to buy into the Minority Only Day on campus. He thought his Socialist chops would protect him.

It's the alma mater of Rachel Corrie, Patron Saint of IHOP.
She's the stupid c#nt that was protesting Israeli IDF tractors knocking down the houses that Hezbollah was using in Gaza to launch rockets into Israel. She had gone to Gaza as part of her senior-year college, (Evergreen), assignment to connect her home-town, Olympia, with Rafah in a sister cities project. She laid down in front of an armored IDF D-8 Cat, and got crushed.

The LAST thing the People's Democratic Republic of Washington, or the Ministry of Truth, ABCNBCCNNCBS would admit is whether this is Antifa sabotage...

[drpix]

"The train had two engines, one on either end. The engine still on the rails is the rear engine. The lead engine ended up on the freeway"

[Elsie]

One would think that RUTS from the wheels would be seen in the dirt...

[drpix]

I would also think that that all train engines would have a dashboard camera operating that would film exactly what occurred before and during the crash (since not only cop cars but many everyday passenger cars have them).