Lac Megantic

[Begonia]

Canadians has been following this for a week now: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/story/2013/07/14/coroner-7-named-lac-megantic-coroner.html

Canada is in tears...

 

[ClassyRocks]

America is in tears for Canada. It is such a surreal tragedy that I have been following too. I am so sorry.

 

[sonnyjane]

This story is really tragic. It hits home the fact that no matter what you do in this life to protect yourself and live a long, healthy life, you are still at the mercy of things completely beyond your control.

 

[TC1987]

I have been following that story, because there have been a lot of train derailments and collisions and other odd stuff. Enough to make one wonder wth is going on. I remember reading or watching some news reports maybe 1 or 2 years ago that said the railroads are very vulnerable to terrorist attacks, and that their computer systems were not very well secured against hackers, either. But body is talking about that now.

Lac-Megantic was a nightmare, a horror. It was like a story out of some WWII movie, it was so unbelievable. An update on the Lac-Megantic train fire was posted on another discussion board. My question was always how were the remainder of those tanker cars hauled back up the track*, considering that the engines also cruised into town and derailed there, and that Canadian woman answered it: "one man hooked up his tractor to several of the tank cars and pulled them away from the other burning ones, preventing even more explosions." Also, she said oil "...spilled out and ran in part into peoples' basements and the town's sewer lines. It then caught fire and a river of underground flames started blasting man hole covers thirty feet into the air. The main street of town had a fifteen foot high wall of flames running through it. The fuel in the cars was equal to 900 tonnes of TNT." A man who owned excavating equipment knocked down some buildings and poured gravel into the sewers to try to stop the spread of the fire.

*This video shows the earlier portion of the fire with railcars exploding and a line of railcars stretched across the street: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRb3JHsiqfA&feature=share

She posted a link to a graphic that shows the sequence of events: http://wpmedia.news.nationalpost.com/2013/07/na0713_lac-magentic_c-rjweb2400e.jpg

I think it's entirely possible that the engineer set all of the brakes and enough brakes correctly, and someone else let the cars loose. Leaving a train unattended on a track is lunacy, though. It was just begging for a disaster. Either park the d*** things in a level freight yard, or bulk up the staffing and keep the sobee moving 24/7. But parking it uphill of a town, totally unguarded for the night?! Unbelievable!

And then there was this event in the USA, 2 trains apparently collided head on but only locomotives caught fire, and it also happened in or near a town: http://www.kwch.com/news/kwch-news-jam-train-derails-and-catches-fire-east-of-hays-20130716,0,1057470.story

Earlier collision stories, not that they are related but it's very weird how many of these events have occurred: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/25/us-usa-train-crash-idUSBRE94O07020130525 http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/130525/freight-trains-collide-rockview-missouri-7-injured
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/injuries-reported-trains-collide-conn-article-1.1347525

and a 2012 collision:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3NS4Hn1hHY

 

[TC1987]

Can you believe this! Re: Lac Megantic

http://www.ohscanada.com/news/lac-megantic-train-cargo-of-crude-oil-was-as-flammable-as-gasoline-safety-board/1002591609/

OTTAWA, ONT. (The Canadian Press)

The crude oil that exploded into flame in the deadly Lac-Megantic train derailment in July was as volatile as gasoline, but was documented as a less-dangerous product akin to diesel or bunker crude, the Transportation Safety Board says.
... ...
The board's report says the oil in the train came from 11 different wells in the Bakken Shale formation of North Dakota. The various shipments had initially been classified differently, with some rated in the most volatile packing group 1. When trucked to the rail terminal by several different firms, the oil was all labelled group 2.

But for purposes of the rail shipment to Sant John, N.B., the entire load was graded as the least volatile packing group 3.

Hang somebody. Or have the firing squad shoot them. This makes me wonder just how much of this has been going on.

 

[JewelFreak]

This is an awful, terrible thing. I almost cried watching the news when it happened. Sympathies & thoughts are with the families & everyone who loves them.

--- Laurie

 

[yennyfire]

So tragic. My heart goes out to the whole community....what a waste of life....

 

[JaneSmith]

Re: Can you believe this! Re: Lac Megantic

http://www.ohscanada.com/news/lac-megantic-train-cargo-of-crude-oil-was-as-flammable-as-gasoline-safety-board/1002591609/

OTTAWA, ONT. (The Canadian Press)

The crude oil that exploded into flame in the deadly Lac-Megantic train derailment in July was as volatile as gasoline, but was documented as a less-dangerous product akin to diesel or bunker crude, the Transportation Safety Board says.
... ...
The board's report says the oil in the train came from 11 different wells in the Bakken Shale formation of North Dakota. The various shipments had initially been classified differently, with some rated in the most volatile packing group 1. When trucked to the rail terminal by several different firms, the oil was all labelled group 2.

But for purposes of the rail shipment to Sant John, N.B., the entire load was graded as the least volatile packing group 3.

Hang somebody. Or have the firing squad shoot them. This makes me wonder just how much of this has been going on.

Oh WTF! Never mind the safety of human beings, just drill baby drill, gotta keep our cars runnin'.