Derailment

Derailment is an event in which a train leaves its tracks. While a derailment may be caused by many situations and conditions, most occur because of faulty equipment or track defects. Other causes include track damage, excessive speed, weather, human error, vandalism, snow, signal failures, mechanical problems with the train, and obstacles on the tracks. The dangers of derailment include injury and loss of life to passengers and crew, loss of cargo, potential release of dangerous substances such as chemicals and flammable liquids, and pollution of waterways and land.

Derailment has been a danger since the earliest railway systems were installed. Many derailments can be prevented through diligence and observation. Rail line inspections and routine maintenance are necessary to prevent derailments. In modern times, many systems use onboard detection systems to alert operators of problems with trains or tracks.

Background

Railways originated in England during the seventeenth century. British engineer and cartographer Captain John Montresor built the first in North America in 1764 at the Niagara portage in Lewiston, New York. The earliest were gravity railroads, which used sloping tracks to move rail cars downhill, such as mining cars full of minerals. The cars were equipped with brakes, but no power systems, and animals were often used to pull the empty cars back uphill. Similar systems were implemented over varied terrain, often using horses to pull the cars.

Steam engines were introduced during the 1820s, and the first demonstration of steam locomotion was used on a circular experimental track in New Jersey in 1826. The steam engine allowed railway systems to travel longer distances over flat and hilly terrain.

Many enterprising individuals saw the potential of rail systems and began to develop and build their own in 1930. Among these were the Baltimore and Ohio, the Mohawk and Hudson, and the South Carolina Canal and Rail Road Company. Development was at a state level and not guided by any plan or oversight. Some were competing with the canal systems and deemed unprofitable even before they were completed, while others operated for a short time and were abandoned.

The earliest British rail systems used tracks laid 4 feet, 8.5 inches apart. This size was loosely based on some mine tramway cars, which were sized based on wagons in use at the time. When entrepreneurs began building rail systems in the United States, they saw trains as useful in connecting bodies of water that could not be practically linked by canals. They did not foresee transferring equipment from one system to another, so rail gauge was not important. All that mattered was that the distance between the tracks matched the steam locomotive’s gauge. Most of the builders in the North intended to use British steam engines, so many built the tracks to the 4-foot, 8.5-inch gauge. Both the Baltimore and Ohio and the Boston and Albany were built to this gauge, while the Pennsylvania was slightly wider at 4 feet, 9 inches, but the rails were still compatible.

In the South, most systems were built for wide-gauge engines. Rails set 5 feet, 0 inches apart were common. However, both northern and southern systems realized the need for a common gauge with the launch of the American Civil War (1861–65). In moving troops and supplies, it was necessary to transfer equipment between rail systems, and governments in both regions supported the standardization of tracks. Plans for the transcontinental railroad, initially using a gauge of 5 feet, 0 inches, were overhauled to use 4 feet, 8.5 inches. After the war, grain shipments from the Midwest to the East spurred track standardization.

Overview

A standard track gauge is necessary for trains to use rails. The train wheels must fit correctly on the rails to carry the cars. Over time, train weight and movement may alter the standard track gauge. Other conditions, such as loose crossties or foundation washout from rain, may widen the gauge. If the train’s wheels no longer line up with the rails, the train derails.

Trains are designed to stay on their tracks. The wheels on both sides of a train are coupled on an axle. This means that both wheels turn at the same speed. The wheels are designed to fit into the rails. The surface that comes into contact with the rails is beveled, so the wheels are wider on the inside. When a car turns right, the wheel on the left must turn faster because it covers a greater distance, but trains cannot do this. When the train turns, the beveling means the diameter of the wheels can change, which allows them to travel different distances with each revolution, though they are turning at the same speed. This design is meant to keep trains on their tracks when they go around turns.

The first train derailment in the United States took place on November 8, 1833. The Hightstown train on the Camden and Amboy Railroad in New Jersey was carrying former US president John Quincy Adams, who was unharmed. The derailment and crash were reportedly caused by a broken axle. Two passengers were killed, and at least a dozen more were hurt. Another early deadly crash involving derailment was a runaway Southern Pacific express train at Tehachapi, California, that derailed after would-be robbers released the hand brake of the passenger cars when they were uncoupled from the locomotive. This sent the passenger and baggage cars downhill at speeds of up to 70 miles per hour (mph) for four miles before it derailed, killing the criminals and nineteen passengers in 1883.

Other derailments have occurred for various reasons. In 1904, ninety-six died at Eden, Colorado, when a flash flood hit the wooden crossing at Porter Creek Gulch. This derailed the locomotive, baggage car, coach, and chair cars. Speed and human error caused a 1918 derailment in New York’s underground rapid transit system. An inexperienced driver filling in for a striking worker failed to slow the train to 6 mph, taking a turn at 30 mph. When it derailed, the train hit a concrete partition in the tunnel. Ninety-seven died in the derailment, while five more injured passengers died soon after. In 1943, a fire in the hot box of a passenger train heated the axle, which broke, derailing the Congressional Limited at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The train flipped, hitting a signaling frame above, sending six cars and passengers across Frankfort Junction. The Labor Day weekend sixteen-car train was filled with service members, many of whom leaped out to aid the wounded. Seventy-nine passengers died, while 117 others were injured.

Derailments are far more common than collisions. For example, in 2000, 2,112 trains derailed, while 238 were involved in collisions. Accidents in the twenty-first century have reduced on average, with 2022 seeing 1,341 derailments and 85 collisions.

At the same time, high-profile and damaging derailment incidents continued to draw public attention to railway safety and industry practices. Such discussions were prominently heightened following the derailment of more than thirty cars of a train in East Palestine, Ohio, in early 2023 that was transporting hazardous chemicals. The response to the accident, which led to a large fire and fears of explosion, involved an evacuation of residents as well as a process in which the chemicals were released, diverted, and burned off while other waste was disposed of. Though authorities continued to monitor the site over the ensuing days, many expressed concerns over the accident's negative effects and their potential to linger on the local environment and health conditions. Shortly after, the Railway Safety Act of 2023 was introduced in Congress. Although initially popular following the incident in East Palestine, the Act stalled during the legislative process. In July 2024, the Railroad Safety Enhancement Act of 2024 was introduced, which incorporated much of the original Act.

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