On this day, September 22, 1993, Amtrak experienced its deadliest train wreck.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Big Bayou Canot rail accident



The wreck of the Sunset Limited at Big Bayou Canot

Date: September 22, 1993, 27 years ago; 2:53 am
Location: Mobile, Alabama, U.S.

On September 22, 1993, an Amtrak train derailed on the CSX Transportation Big Bayou Canot Bridge near Mobile, Alabama, United States. It was caused by displacement of a span and deformation of the rails when a tow of heavy barges collided with the rail bridge eight minutes earlier. Forty-seven people were killed and 103 more were injured. To date, it is the deadliest train wreck in both Amtrak's history and Alabama's railway history. It is also the worst rail disaster in the United States since the 1958 Newark Bay rail accident, in which 48 people died.

Events

Immediately prior to the accident, a barge being pushed by the towboat Mauvilla (owned and operated by Warrior and Gulf Navigation of Chickasaw, Alabama) had made a wrong turn on the Mobile River and entered the Big Bayou Canot, an un-navigable channel of water crossed by a CSX Transportation rail bridge.

The towboat's pilot, 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.

The bridge was struck by the Mauvilla at about 2:45 am. The span had been designed to rotate so it could be converted to a swing bridge by adding suitable equipment. No such conversion had ever been performed but the span had not been adequately secured against unintended movement. The collision forced the unsecured end of the bridge span approximately three feet out of alignment and severely kinked the track.

At 2:53 a.m., Amtrak's Sunset Limited train, powered by three locomotives (one GE Genesis P40DC number 819 in the front and two EMD F40PHs, numbers 262 and 312) en route from Los Angeles, California to Miami, Florida with 220 passengers and crew aboard, crossed the bridge at around 70 miles per hour (113 km/h) and derailed at the kink. The first of its three locomotives slammed into the displaced span, causing that part of the bridge to collapse into the water beneath. The lead locomotive embedded itself nose-first into the canal bank and the other two locomotives, together with the baggage car, sleeping car and two of the six passenger cars, plunged into the water. The locomotives' fuel tanks, each of which held several thousand gallons of diesel fuel, ruptured upon impact, resulting in a massive fuel spill and a fire. Forty-seven people, 42 of whom were passengers, were killed – many by drowning, others by fire/smoke inhalation. Another 103 were injured. The towboat's four crew members were not injured. Odom helped save seventeen people after the crash using the same towboat that had been pushing the barge that hit the bridge. At the time of the derailment, the lead locomotive, number 819, had been in service with Amtrak for only twenty days.

Despite the displacement of the bridge, the continuously welded rails did not break. As a result, the track circuit controlling the bridge approach block signals remained closed (intact) and the nearest signal continued to display a clear (green) aspect. Had one of the rails been severed by the bridge's displacement, the track circuit would have opened, causing the approach signal to display a stop (red) aspect and the preceding signal an amber (caution) approach indication. This might have given the Amtrak engineer sufficient time to stop his train or at least reduce its speed in an effort to minimize the accident's severity.

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1958 Newark Bay rail accident



The Central Railroad of New Jersey Newark Bay Bridge connected Bayonne and Elizabeth, seen in the distance.

Details
Date: September 15, 1958; 10:01 am EDT
Location: Newark Bay, Bayonne, New Jersey, U.S.
Coordinates: 40.6545°N 74.15°W
Country: United States
Line: Central Railroad of New Jersey main line
Operator: Central Railroad of New Jersey
Incident type: Derailment into water
Cause: Signal passed at danger
Statistics
Trains: 1
Deaths: 48
Injured: 48

The 1958 Newark Bay rail crash occurred on September 15, 1958 in Newark Bay, New Jersey, United States, when a Central Railroad of New Jersey (CNJ) morning commuter train, #3314, ran through a restricting and a stop signal, derailed, and slid off the open Newark Bay lift bridge. Both diesel locomotives and the first two coaches plunged into Newark Bay and sank immediately, killing 48 people and injuring the same number. A third coach, snagged by its rear truck (bogie), hung precariously off the bridge for two hours before it also toppled into the water. As the locomotive crew was killed, the cause of the crash was never proven, though the lack of a "dead man's control" may have contributed to the derailment.

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[lettucebe]

1. My Aunt and Uncle were on that train.

They were in a car that was mostly underwater for several hours. My uncle Max refused to leave Aunt Lil (he was not hurt but she was) and waited in cold water the entire time. Both were in their 80s.

Both survived, and lived several more years, until Lil passed and Max passed close behind her. Best couple in the world. Max loved to tell the story how they met. He and another fellow went out one night and saw two ladies. Both were attracted to the same girl, but Max got the short stick and ended up with Lil. They were married over 60 years.

[abqtommy]

2. Thanks for sharing that.