North Dakota town mostly evacuated after fiery oil train crash

[Chieftain]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/12/31/us-northdakota-collision-idUSBRE9BT0OV20131231

(Reuters) - Most of a small North Dakota town has been evacuated after a train carrying crude oil crashed into another train that had derailed, officials said on Tuesday.

Cass County Sheriff Paul Laney told CNN that 10 to 12 cars of the 106-car BNSF Railway Co oil train were still burning about a mile west of the town of Casselton. No injuries were reported.

About 65 percent of the 2,300 residents left under a non-mandatory evacuation, Laney said, adding that local authorities had carried out drills for such emergencies.

"The main areas that are real hot areas that we were worried about are pretty well empty," he said.

[Chieftain]

There are several pieces of pretty spectacular explosion video out there from multiple views.  These tank cars get hotter and hotter in a big fire like this until they rupture and cause a BLEVE (Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion).  If you watch the fireball closely you can see an enormous quantity of crude oil being blown straight up on top of the rising fireball and being consumed in flames.  It takes a lot of force to throw any heavy liquid that high so you can imagine what kind of pressure builds up in a tank car full of oil.

[11thCommandment]

There are several pieces of pretty spectacular explosion video out there from multiple views.  These tank cars get hotter and hotter in a big fire like this until they rupture and cause a BLEVE (Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion).  If you watch the fireball closely you can see an enormous quantity of crude oil being blown straight up on top of the rising fireball and being consumed in flames.  It takes a lot of force to throw any heavy liquid that high so you can imagine what kind of pressure builds up in a tank car full of oil.

Sort of like this in reverse?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zz95_VvTxZM

[Fishrrman]

This wreck doesn't appear to be the result of "human error", but occurred when one train (carrying mostly covered hoppers with either grain or soy) derailed -- and then "fouled" the track where the tank train was passing, derailing it, too. It happens now and then -- not too long ago there was a train derailment/collision in Bridgeport, Connecticut, where an eastbound Metro-North commuter train derailed after a rail joint broke beneath it, and ended up fouling the track on which a westbound was approaching.

With freight, could be a number of causes -- perhaps an axle journal overheated and broke. It's been very cold there, which increases the chances of a rail or joint bar breaking underneath a passing train (like with the MN accident above).

It's railroadin' -- no matter what you do, things like this can happen. Not much more to do other than clean things up and get back to business...

[SouthTexas]

While they are far from perfect, pipelines don't have wrecks.