Broken Bolt

[nscnotp1]

A broken bolt on a freight car has been ruled the cause of the derailment of a CSX train in Bullitt County Ky that derailed 25 of its 80 cars and caused a massive fire from several punctured tankers and forced about 500 from their homes in January. Most have returned home and the estimated cost to CSX(damages...etc) is around $30 million dollars.  :'(

[cmherndon]

And here's the whole story on it.  This came from the Kentucky Railfan list.

Tuesday, April 3, 2007

BROOKS, Ky. -- CSX says a snapped bolt caused a massive train
derailment in Bullitt County.

We're talking one bolt and not a bolt that was in the track, but a
bolt connected to the wheel of one of the rail cars.

Twenty-five cars of the 80-car train derailed in Brooks, Kentucky
back in January. It led to a fiery explosion. Some of the cars
carried hazardous chemicals.

The bolt that snapped was on car number 18, which was carrying paper.
The bolt suddenly gave way and broke as the train was at Huber
Station Road in Bullitt County.

Here's how it happened, according to CSX spokesman Gary Sease:

"A broken bolt allowed a plate on the car to shift into a position
that restricted the truck's or the wheel's ability to turn and follow
the rail, so when the train came to a very slight curve at Brooks,
the wheels wanted to continue straight where the tracks actually
curved."

According to CSX, the train got a visual inspection at a stop in
Birmingham. However, Sease says there was no way a visual inspection
could have detected the faulty bolt.

One thing is certain: this faulty bolt will turn out to be one of the
most expensive in the railroad's history.

The damage and the evacuation are resulting in millions of dollars
paid out by CSX.

"Between the track and equipment damage, the environmental
remediation and claims that we have paid in the area, we are
approachintg $30 million," Sease says.

As of last Friday, four families are still out of their homes. Keep
in mind, 500 families were evacuated. CSX continues to work on
cleaning carpets and furniture for them.

The CSX findings are not the final word on the derailment
investigation -- the National Transportation Safety Board needs to
sign off on the findings.

[nscnotp1]

Sounds like CSX is "barely" afloat as a Class 1 railroad. If another major derailment like this one occurs, then CSX may be in deeper "doo-doo."

[CubsFanJohn]

Remember the FRA already nailed them with at least 200 violations.