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1989 Helena train wreck

Train accident in Montana, U.S.

Field	Value
name	Helena Train Wreck
date
location	Helena, Montana
country	US
operator	Montana Rail Link
cause	Failure of train crew to set brakes properly.
deaths	0
injuries	2
damage	$6 million

The Helena Train Wreck occurred in the early morning on February 2, 1989, in Helena, Montana, United States, when 49 cars of a Montana Rail Link freight train that had been decoupled from their locomotives by a train crew on Mullan Pass rolled backwards down the pass, traveling nine miles back into the city of Helena and colliding with a work train at a railway crossing near the center of the community. The collision resulted in a fire and explosion that damaged Carroll College and other nearby structures, knocked out power to most of the town, and led to the evacuation of residents within an area of 2 sqmi due to concerns of possible toxic chemical release. The event occurred during a severe cold snap, with temperatures below -30 F that morning and with a wind chill factor of as much as -75 F, which froze the water that firefighters used to attempt to extinguish the fire.

Event

In the early morning of February 2, 1989, during a record cold snap, At about 5:30 a.m., record cold temperatures caused the air brakes to fail on the decoupled cars.

The explosion awakened many local residents, some of whom thought it was an earthquake. The blast caused extensive damage to Carroll College, A piece of a railroad car landed in the college library, which was vacant at the time due to the early hour of the day. No one was killed, but the explosion disabled electric service to much of the community, as well as to some residents outside Helena, including rolling brownouts extending as far north as Great Falls, Montana, approximately 90 mi away. It shattered windows 1 mi distant, ejected debris for blocks, and increased concerns about toxic gases spreading through the community. Neighborhoods within a radius of 2 mi were evacuated.

Weather

The temperature at the time of the accident was about -32 F and the resulting power outage disabled heat for a significant number of community residents. The event headlined a three-minute story on winter weather on NBC News that evening. The cold snap that ran from January 30 to February 4 was ranked number 4 on the NOAA's list of Montana's Top Weather/Water/Climate events of the 20th century. The temperature remained colder than -20 F for 84 hours. A record low, -33 F, occurred on February 4. Wind chill was as low as -75 F. Firefighters were hampered by water freezing as they attempted to use hoses to extinguish the blaze.

Hazardous materials

First responders were concerned about the potential for exposure to toxic chemicals, as they did not know at the time what materials were being transported by the freight cars. The accident, particularly due to the chemical release, has been used as an example of the risks inherent in rail transportation, particularly by those assessing the risks of rail transportation of nuclear materials. This derailment was part of a 2003 study of highway and train derailment accidents by the United States Department of Energy on accident sequence and nuclear risk.

References

(December 6, 1989). "Collision and Derailment of Montana Rail Link Freight Train with Locomotive Units and Hazardous Materials Release". [[National Transportation Safety Board]].
Searl, Molly. (2001). "Montana Disasters: Fires, Floods, and Other Catastrophes". Pruett Publishing.
"Cathedral of St. Helena, Helena, Montana". Conrad Schmitt Studios.
(February 2, 2009). ""The House Really Shook": Central Montana Remembers Explosion of 1989". KFBB News.
Byron, Eve. (December 29, 2011). "Mold Turns Dream Home To House Of Horror". Helena Independent Record.
"NBC Evening News for Thursday, Feb 02, 1989". Vanderbilt Television News Archive.
(December 8, 1999). "Comments of Robert J. Halstead On Behalf Of The State Of Nevada Agency For Nuclear Projects Regarding The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Study Assessing Risks Of Spent Nuclear Fuel Transportation Accidents (Modal Study Update) Presented At The Public Meeting In Henderson, Nevada". State of Nevada.
(April 8, 2003). "Comparison Of Selected Highway And Railway Accidents To The 10CFR71 Hypothetical Accident Sequence And NRC Risk". United States Department of Energy.

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

railway-accidents-and-incidents-in-montana 1989-in-montana helena,-montana railway-accidents-in-1989 accidents-and-incidents-involving-montana-rail-link february-1989-in-the-united-states carroll-college-(montana)

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