The Briefing Room
State Chapters => Arizona => Topic started by: Cyber Liberty on July 29, 2020, 03:59:03 pm
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Train Derails Over Tempe Town Lake in Arizona, Causing Massive Fire, Bridge Collapse
By Jenni Fink On 7/29/20 at 11:15 AM EDT
A train derailed in Tempe, Arizona, early Wednesday morning, causing a bridge to collapse and a massive fire that left first responders rushing to the scene.
The Tempe Police Department confirmed officers and the fire department were on the scene of a trail derailment at a railroad bridge over Tempe Town Lake. Agencies were working to put out a second-alarm fire and large plumes of smoke were seen billowing from the area.
(https://d.newsweek.com/en/full/1615754/tempe-train-derailment-fire-bridge-arizona.webp?w=790&f=a709c9872c27c0d9da7f8140c60f0a9d)
More at https://www.newsweek.com/train-derails-over-tempe-town-lake-arizona-causing-massive-fire-bridge-collapse-1521411 (https://www.newsweek.com/train-derails-over-tempe-town-lake-arizona-causing-massive-fire-bridge-collapse-1521411)
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I know this bridge. It's been spanning the Salt River since 1912, the year of AZ Statehood, when it was actually a river. In recent years Tempe dammed the riverbed at both ends and made Tempe Town Lake. That's the water you see under this bridge.
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[CT] Wasn't there a "protest" in that same area this past weekend? [/CT]
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[CT] Wasn't there a "protest" in that same area this past weekend? [/CT]
Probably. There's a park that's been used for "protests" near the juncture of the bridge and the south side of the lake. I was there back in 2010, when the lower dam collapsed (almost under this same bridge). It killed hundreds of stocked fish when it drained the lake. I think I may have pictures of it somewhere...
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So.... cause of derailment? Odd that there were protests there. Hmmm....
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Arizona train derailment and fire described as 'a scene from hell'
By Ray Sanchez and Hira Humayun, CNN (https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/29/us/tempe-arizona-train-derailment/index.html)
Updated 12:37 PM ET, Wed July 29, 2020 (CNN)No injuries were reported when a Union Pacific train derailed and caught fire on a bridge over Tempe Town Lake in Arizona, officials said Wednesday.
Plumes of smoke could be seen rising into the morning sky beneath a trail of flames on video and images from the site of the derailment, where part of the bridge collapsed.
The train was hauling unknown hazardous material, according to the Tempe Fire Department. ...
(https://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/200729111118-01-tempe-arizona-train-derailment-exlarge-169.jpg)
The cause of the derailment is unknown, CNN affiliate KNXV reported. ...
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So.... cause of derailment? Odd that there were protests there. Hmmm....
There were indeed protests there, Monday.
Meanwhile, seven people were arrested Monday night in Tempe, Ariz., where demonstrators approached a police bicycle line and clashed with officers.
A protest began around 5 p.m. at Tempe Beach Park before crowds left sidewalks and marched through street traffic onto the bridge over Tempe Town Lake, AZ Family reported.
“Protesters/demonstrators continue to exercise their First Amendment Right as they make their way east towards Scottsdale Rd. Participants will NOT be allowed to enter the roadway on Scottsdale Rd in either direction and MUST remain on the sidewalk,†Tempe Police tweeted.
It was not particularly close to the rail bridge, but they could have tampered with the track. This may have been the first train to go across the bridge since the protest. The light rail system, which runs all day, does not use this bridge, it's for heavy freight.
If the menagerie was planning on going "over a bridge," it would have been Mill Ave, which stands next to the rail bridge.
ETA: The part I bolded above was in error! The track to the bridge goes through the park! I checked Google Maps.
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Any word on whether this lake is Tempe's potable water supply? Disaster may be a double whammy.
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There were indeed protests there, Monday.
It was not particularly close to the rail bridge, but they could have tampered with the track. This may have been the first train to go across the bridge since the protest. The light rail system, which runs all day, does not use this bridge, it's for heavy freight.
If the menagerie was planning on going "over a bridge," it would have been Mill Ave, which stands next to the rail bridge.
Wondering if there is any video of that "area" around that time (of the protests). Would be nice.
In fact, I think we need to have drone surveillance of every single one of these ""protests"".
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Any word on whether this lake is Tempe's potable water supply? Disaster may be a double whammy.
It is not a source of potable water, Tempe pumps ground water for that.
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Wondering if there is any video of that "area" around that time (of the protests). Would be nice.
In fact, I think we need to have drone surveillance of every single one of these ""protests"".
Check the post you quoted, it contains an error. The train track to the bridge goes through the park where the "peaceful protest" was.
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Check the post you quoted, it contains an error. The train track to the bridge goes through the park where the "peaceful protest" was.
Hopefully the correct forensics experts will be there to see. I mentioned a few days ago that the final flash point may come in an unexpected manner. And an escalation of an attack on infrastructure, just could be that.
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Bunch of pictures can be viewed here:
https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffnt&q=massive+train+fire+Tempe&iax=images&ia=images
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Error 404 (Not Found)!!1 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=hqpd5fCLsRI&feature=emb_logo#)
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The Salt River is seasonal. It can get to the point of causing flooding (e.g. winter '77-'78). Tempe Town Lake was done in the 1990s, mainly for recreation and filled with water from the Colorado River, but I wonder if it also recharges the local aquifer and might be available to give some "cushion" during a very rainy winter. One of the street bridges over it was built in the 1930s, and another in the 1990s to increase traffic capacity. In winter '77-'78 the 1930s bridge was one of just two that were open the whole time of the flooding (Central Avenue in Phoenix was intact but intermittent). The parks, streets, and trails and near the lake are sometimes used for running events (not this time of the year, obviously!).
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Yesterday at about 6:40 am I saw the massive smoke plume out my office window... Went online to discover it was a derailed train wreck...
I'm still really curious if it was some sort of mechanical failure or on purpose.
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The Salt River is seasonal. It can get to the point of causing flooding (e.g. winter '77-'78). Tempe Town Lake was done in the 1990s, mainly for recreation and filled with water from the Colorado River, but I wonder if it also recharges the local aquifer and might be available to give some "cushion" during a very rainy winter. One of the street bridges over it was built in the 1930s, and another in the 1990s to increase traffic capacity. In winter '77-'78 the 1930s bridge was one of just two that were open the whole time of the flooding (Central Avenue in Phoenix was intact but intermittent). The parks, streets, and trails and near the lake are sometimes used for running events (not this time of the year, obviously!).
The bridge over I-10 was closed then, effectively cutting Phoenix off from the East Valley, and points south. When I first moved there, most of the bridges were closed off, and you could see the remnants of trees and creosote bushes wedged up under the structures and around the abutments. Temporary roads were built across the river bottom.
Some entrepreneurs got together and set up a train to shuttle commuters over the river, on the bridge that just collapsed.
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Update: They are demolishing the damaged section of the bridge today.
Crews to detonate parts of Tempe Town Lake bridge destroyed by train derailment
azcentral.com · by Helena Wegner
The work will be conducted along the south side of the lake between Tempe Town Lake and Rio Salado Parkway between 7 and 9 a.m. Sunday, according to Tempe Fire Department Assistant Chief Andrea Glass.
Glass said the detonation will sound like fireworks.
Glass explained that the partial demolition involves putting charges around various parts of the bridge in addition to small incisions which will allow for the 150-foot section to drop below.
The detonation will not impact the rest of the bridge, she noted.
https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/tempe-breaking/2020/08/01/crews-detonate-parts-bridge-destroyed-tempe-train-derailment/5562901002/ (https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/tempe-breaking/2020/08/01/crews-detonate-parts-bridge-destroyed-tempe-train-derailment/5562901002/)
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This HAS to be asked.
"Is there any evidence of either the train or the tracks being sabotaged ?
Has anyone even looked for evidence?
If not,why not?"
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Update: They are demolishing the damaged section of the bridge today.
Crews to detonate parts of Tempe Town Lake bridge destroyed by train derailment
https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/tempe-breaking/2020/08/01/crews-detonate-parts-bridge-destroyed-tempe-train-derailment/5562901002/ (https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/tempe-breaking/2020/08/01/crews-detonate-parts-bridge-destroyed-tempe-train-derailment/5562901002/)
Didn't hear any booms this morning...
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Didn't hear any booms this morning...
You probably won't, where you are. I have a leftist friend from my work days who lives near Curry and Mill, she'll hear it if she's home.
This HAS to be asked.
"Is there any evidence of either the train or the tracks being sabotaged ?
Has anyone even looked for evidence?
If not,why not?"
@sneakypete
The press is staying well away from mentioning there was a BLM "peaceful protest" a day or so before the derailment in the park the track runs through. I understand the Department of Transportation (NTSB?) is carefully turning over stones on the site.
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You probably won't, where you are. I have a leftist friend from my work days who lives near Curry and Mill, she'll hear it if she's home.
@sneakypete
The press is staying well away from mentioning there was a BLM "peaceful protest" a day or so before the derailment in the park the track runs through. I understand the Department of Transportation (NTSB?) is carefully turning over stones on the site.
@Cyber Liberty
Excellent news. Thank you!