1971 Salem, Illinois, derailment

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Coordinates: 38°39′56″N 88°58′39″W / 38.665431°N 88.977421°W / 38.665431; -88.977421
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1971 Salem, Illinois, derailment
Aerial view of the wreck
Details
DateJune 10, 1971; 52 years ago (1971-06-10)
about 12:30 P.M.
LocationSalem, Illinois
Coordinates38°39′56″N 88°58′39″W / 38.665431°N 88.977421°W / 38.665431; -88.977421
CountryUnited States
LineIllinois Central Railroad
OperatorAmtrak
Incident typeDerailment
CauseMechanical problem
Statistics
Trains1
Passengers211
Deaths11
Injured163

The 1971 Salem, Illinois derailment occurred on June 10, 1971, when

intercity passenger trains
in the United States on May 1, 1971.

Accident

Illinois Central EMD E8 #4026, sister locomotive to #4031, leading the City of Miami through Kankakee, Illinois, in 1964

Amtrak #1 (later #59), the

baggage car, 11 coaches, a diner-counter, a lounge car, and a combination coach/food service car. Amtrak had inherited or leased this equipment from other railroads. A set of four leased Illinois Central EMD E-units of various models pulled the train: E8A #4031 (leading), E9Bs #4109 and #4106, and E10A (a rebuilt E8A) #2024 (formerly #4032).[2]

The lead locomotive assigned to the train was #4031, an

double track with crossovers. As the train passed over one of these crossovers at Tonti, #4031 derailed.[4]

#4031 was badly damaged in the derailment; #4109, immediately behind, caught fire and was destroyed. The rear two locomotives remained upright and suffered little damage. The lead baggage car and first five coaches were destroyed. The remaining eight cars suffered varying degrees of damage. Eleven people were killed and 163 were injured. Six of the eleven fatalities occurred when passengers were ejected through large side windows.[5] It was Amtrak's first fatal accident.[1]

Investigation

Flat spots on a wheel on #4031's rear truck

The NTSB investigation found flat spots on the rear truck of #4031. Inspection of the tracks between Tonti and Effingham, Illinois, revealed markings where the wheels had slid instead of spun. Further investigation revealed that the truck's traction motor had seized prior to the accident, and that the wheels had probably locked at Effingham during a station stop. The locked wheels created a false flange. When the compromised wheel reached the switch at the crossover at Tonti it derailed.[6]

#4031 had made another run from Chicago to New Orleans on June 6. Engine #2 had failed on that trip as well and was shut down in New Orleans. As an added precaution the

locomotive engineer that a wheel was slipping or sliding.[7] While #4031 was repaired in Chicago, the Illinois Central maintenance forces did not observe that the reverser was locked and did not realize that power was not being supplied to the rear truck.[8]

Aftermath

The NTSB found that the mechanical faults in Illinois Central locomotive #4031 caused the derailment. It recommended improvements in wheel-slip detection devices for locomotives and in pre-departure testing procedures. The NTSB also recommended that the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) draft safety standards to address the ejection of passengers through windows in the event of accidents.[9][10]

Notes

  1. ^ Between May 1, 1971, and November 14, 1971, when Amtrak issued a new timetable, all trains were officially nameless and used the numbers assigned by their previous operator. This train had been Illinois Central #1, the City of New Orleans. Amtrak replaced it with the Panama Limited in November.[1]

Endnotes

  1. ^ a b c Sanders 2006, p. 94
  2. ^ NTSB 1972, p. 9
  3. ^ NTSB 1972, pp. 3–6
  4. ^ NTSB 1972, p. 10
  5. ^ NTSB 1972, p. 11
  6. ^ NTSB 1972, pp. 14–22
  7. ^ NTSB 1972, pp. 8–9, 25
  8. ^ NTSB 1972, p. 34
  9. ^ NTSB 1972, p. 35
  10. Newspapers.com. Open access icon

References

External links
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