Coal train derails on overbridge in Colorado, bridge collapsed

[randyrippley]

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[LNW-GW Joint]

Looks bad.
These trains can carry up to 10,000 tonnes of coal (typically 100 cars of 100 tonnes each), and it looks like a fair amount of that is now spread on the interstate from the derailed cars.
Some of the reports blame a broken rail for the accident, but it's too early to tell really.
There also appears to be a dispute as to who owns the bridge that collapsed, the railway or the state of Colorado.
It was a BNSF train, quite likely from the huge Powder River Basin coal area in Wyoming.

 

[ac6000cw]

These trains can carry up to 10,000 tonnes of coal (typically 100 cars of 100 tonnes each), and it looks like a fair amount of that is now spread on the interstate from the derailed cars.
Some of the reports blame a broken rail for the accident, but it's too early to tell really.
There also appears to be a dispute as to who owns the bridge that collapsed, the railway or the state of Colorado.

From https://gazette.com/news/truck-driv...cle_f386305a-6bae-11ee-bc44-97f19a31bc45.html

The train consisted of five locomotives and 124 cars carrying coal, according to an email from the National Transportation Safety Board. A total of 30 cars derailed.

So that's around 15000 to 16000 tonnes gross, 11500 to 13000 tonnes of payload (depending on the coal hopper specs), and up to 3000+ tonnes of potentially spilt coal...

The bridge was built in 1958 according to CDOT records, department spokesperson Bob Wilson said. BNSF owns the bridge and is responsible for inspecting it, he said.

From https://gazette.com/news/cause-of-f...cle_7279ad78-6cff-11ee-8d6b-6f09169d6c00.html

A preliminary investigation shows that a broken train track rail was the cause of the fatal derailment and bridge collapse over Interstate 25, according to a Tuesday announcement from the National Transportation Safety Board.

NTSB spokesperson Sarah Sulick said investigators believe the broken rail preceded Sunday's derailment.

"Investigators will continue to determine the cause of the broken rail and why warnings systems did not alert the crews to the condition of the track as part of the ongoing investigation," Sulick said.