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Does anyone remember the 1993 Train Wreck over Mobile that killed all of those people?
Posted on 5/26/21 at 6:04 pm
Posted on 5/26/21 at 6:04 pm
Any stories? Thought about it today when crossing the bay.
1993 and killed 40+ people
1993 and killed 40+ people
This post was edited on 5/26/21 at 6:05 pm
17
Posted on 5/26/21 at 6:05 pm to financetiger
I kind of remember this, but I was really young.
Posted on 5/26/21 at 6:09 pm to Duke
the Sunset Limited crash
barge operator couldn't see what he was doing in a heavy fog and accidently went into the wrong area of the Bay
hit the bridge and knocked the rail out of alignment... but didn't do enough damage for the mechanisms on the rails to trigger the lights along the rails to red... telling the train to stop
train engineers had no clue what was coming until it happened... esp. with the train at top speed
ETA: barge operator supposedly had no clue he hit a bridge (that's how foggy it was... he couldn't see to the end of whatever he was pushing)... thought he just ran aground
barge operator couldn't see what he was doing in a heavy fog and accidently went into the wrong area of the Bay
hit the bridge and knocked the rail out of alignment... but didn't do enough damage for the mechanisms on the rails to trigger the lights along the rails to red... telling the train to stop
train engineers had no clue what was coming until it happened... esp. with the train at top speed
ETA: barge operator supposedly had no clue he hit a bridge (that's how foggy it was... he couldn't see to the end of whatever he was pushing)... thought he just ran aground
This post was edited on 5/26/21 at 6:14 pm
Posted on 5/26/21 at 6:19 pm to financetiger
quote:
Any stories? Thought about it today when crossing the bay.
1993 and killed 40+ people
I was a freshman at LSU so I was preoccupied with knowing everything and being a punk arse teenager.
But. I do remember it on the news for quite some time and that it was a terrible tragedy.
Posted on 5/26/21 at 6:19 pm to financetiger
Awful tragedy! I remember the USA Today newspaper had overhead photos (likely from a helicopter) of the bodies that were pulled from the water laying on the ground next to the river. I was surprised they showed them.
Posted on 5/26/21 at 6:32 pm to financetiger
I remember well. Did Amtrak service ever resume?
Posted on 5/26/21 at 6:35 pm to goodgrin
I don’t think Amtrak has ever resumed service through there.
Posted on 5/26/21 at 6:40 pm to financetiger
A friend of mine at the time was on that train. He helped rescue a lot of people.
Posted on 5/26/21 at 6:43 pm to financetiger
I've watched a few documentaries about it. Brutal story
Posted on 5/26/21 at 6:48 pm to financetiger
There is an episode of Forensic Files dedicated to this event. I’ve seen it several times. Very good.
Basically a barge captain got lost in the fog and hit the railroad bridge causing the catastrophe.
Basically a barge captain got lost in the fog and hit the railroad bridge causing the catastrophe.
Posted on 5/26/21 at 7:30 pm to rt3
quote:
the Sunset Limited crash
barge operator couldn't see what he was doing in a heavy fog and accidently went into the wrong area of the Bay
hit the bridge and knocked the rail out of alignment... but didn't do enough damage for the mechanisms on the rails to trigger the lights along the rails to red... telling the train to stop
train engineers had no clue what was coming until it happened... esp. with the train at top speed
ETA: barge operator supposedly had no clue he hit a bridge (that's how foggy it was... he couldn't see to the end of whatever he was pushing)... thought he just ran aground
They also discovered that the bridge girder was never secured to the pedestal so when the barge hit the girder moved more than a foot off the pedestal.
Posted on 5/26/21 at 7:31 pm to goodgrin
quote:
remember the USA Today newspaper had overhead photos (likely from a helicopter) of the bodies that were pulled from the water laying on the ground next to the river. I
Just googled it. Damn that’s morbid. Cant believe a photo like that was green lighted
Posted on 5/26/21 at 7:36 pm to financetiger
Supposedly there was a few guys near by fishing when it happened and saw the whole thing happen
Posted on 5/26/21 at 7:48 pm to SlidellCajun
It happened at 2 am in the morning.
I bet he has some stories
quote:
A friend of mine at the time was on that train. He helped rescue a lot of people.
I bet he has some stories
Posted on 5/26/21 at 8:27 pm to 0x15E
quote:
Cant believe a photo like that was green lighted
Yeah that’s brutal :(
Posted on 5/26/21 at 10:40 pm to 0x15E
quote:
Just googled it. Damn that’s morbid. Cant believe a photo like that was green lighted
At least post the photo
Posted on 5/26/21 at 10:50 pm to financetiger
I was teaching a boating class in NOLA when it happened. We got out the navigation charts for the area of Mobile Bay that was involved.
The channel he should have taken was the same depth as the one he took. The 'correct' channel was marked every so often, BUT the cans, etc. weren't lighted. Nor did they have horns.
Several months later, word from folks who had boated over there that the preferred channel was 'now' lighted up like a Christmas Tree.
The channel he should have taken was the same depth as the one he took. The 'correct' channel was marked every so often, BUT the cans, etc. weren't lighted. Nor did they have horns.
Several months later, word from folks who had boated over there that the preferred channel was 'now' lighted up like a Christmas Tree.
Posted on 5/26/21 at 10:51 pm to LuckySo-n-So
quote:
There is an episode of Forensic Files dedicated to this event. I’ve seen it several times. Very good.
It can be found here (Medical Detectives (Forensic Files) - Season 8, Episode 41 - Visibility Zero)
I have also seen it a few times, very intriguing. The barge operator hit the bridge and didnt even realize it, knocking the bridge out of alignment. The train was traveling at top speed and ran straight into the bayou. Supposedly the first few cars were totally submerged in mud.
This post was edited on 5/26/21 at 10:56 pm
Posted on 5/26/21 at 11:47 pm to SlickRickerz
quote:
At least post the photo
Don't know what photo USA Today used, but this one is in the article the OP linked. This is less than half of the people that died, btw.
This post was edited on 5/26/21 at 11:48 pm
Posted on 5/26/21 at 11:52 pm to financetiger
Deadliest wreck in Amtrak history. Utterly destroyed 3 locomotives and half of a consist. And is the reason for PTC nowadays.
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