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We were shocked to hear about the terrible train derailment in the charming community of Lac-Megantic in Quebec. Our hearts and prayers to the people in and around the community and to their loved ones and friends wherever they may be. We wish you a quick recovery.
There's been a lot of coverage on this on the cable news stations this afternoon. Am watching NBC Nightly News right now with more coverage. I can see a lot of Red Cross volunteers on the scene.
I am just stunned by the devastation here.
Thoughts and prayers being sent from western Colorado to our good neighbors to the north.
While the scale of the damage is huge, and the potential death toll is staggering..............
I have to wonder if this was a deliberate act, to create a disaster that involves oil tanker cars ?
Going by the information that the Quebec Provincial Police have released so far.........
The train was "parked for the night " and the air brakes were set, and the locomotive was not running. This particular railway company has reduced it's train crews, down to ONE lone engineer, and they don't operate at night.............all to save money.
The train was located out side of the town, but on a higher elevation, so when it started rolling , it was aided by gravity, and of course the weight of 77 railcars, filled with liquid petroleum product.
The inevitable crash happened in the middle of the town of Lac Megantic, at a rail junction point. When the cars went off the tracks, and the cars broke open, there was an explosion, followed by a huge fire.
Most of the estimated 40 missing people, are thought to have been in a local bar, that is located next to the tracks. So far the death toll is five dead, but I am sure that will go up. About six square blocks of the downtown part of the town have been flattened, and burned.
So, my question is this. How does a train, with a locomotive engine that is not running, move ? To me the answer is that some one uncoupled the engine from the rail cars, and got it moving downhill.
Now the other question is "who benefits " from something like this ? Not the railway, not the insurance company, and surely not the people who are dead. To me that leaves a few possible groups. The anti oil pipeline groups, the eco nuts, and the anti globalisation anarchists. And of course the "home grown terrorist " factions. That's four potential sources for this kind of action.
We will see what comes out, as the investigation continues.
Someone said "one locomotive was shut down". Does that mean there was another left running? IIRC when the brake air line running the length of the train is emptied all the brakes are set. I am not certain of this. Does anyone on here drive trains?
From what i've read there were 5 locomotives and 72 cars, the locomotives were left idling while the engineer went to a local motel to sleep, sometime after that one of the engines caught fire, the fire department arrived and put the fire out and in the process shut down one of the engines,sometime after that event the train started to roll away . Who's at fault? what led to the train rolling away? at this point we can only speculate..
Five locomotives ? In the Rocky Mountains, maybe, but in eastern Canada, no.
The CEO of the MMA railway has to be the most insensitive idiot that I have seen , ever.
He shows up FIVE days after the crash, doesn't have the sense to bring a French speaking associate, and acts as if his OWN employee is to blame for this tragedy. That is a great way to NOT make a positive impression. Idiot.
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