Sunday, September 26, 1999

Looking Ahead

Signal glitch contributed to fiery train derailment

Status: Railroad officials said a split-second malfunction that changed a train signal from green to red contributed to a fiery train derailment in Birmingham. A full report is expected this week. Update: On Aug. 29, a 97-car Canadian National Railroad train jumped the tracks in Birmingham. The train was pulling cars filled with autos and trucks, auto parts, sugar and some hazardous materials from Pontiac to Flat Rock. Forty-two of the cars derailed. The engineer said a red warning light that signals a possible break in the tracks came on as the train approached the Birmingham-Bloomfield Township border. Investigators said the train also was loaded too heavily up front and in the rear. "It contributed to either the cause or the severity of the wreck," said Jack Burke, Canadian National Railroad spokesman. Impact: Two of the derailed rail cars carrying pickup trucks burst into flames. Costs reached into the millions of dollars in part because 27 of the derailed cars were loaded with vehicles. Dozens of cars and trucks were destroyed. The accident closed the tracks and caused delays that day around Big Beaver, Adams and Maple. Emergency and hazardous material workers considered evacuating the area when the accident first happened, but deemed it unnecessary because the cars carrying hazardous materials were not among the cars that derailed. Coming up: Investigators re-created the wreck to pinpoint problems. They said speed didn't cause it. A report on the accident is expected to be released this week.

http://www.detnews.com/1999/oakland/9909/27/09260063.htm

-- Homer Beanfang (Bats@inbellfry.com), September 27, 1999

Answers

Computer Failure Puzzles Metro

By Lyndsey Layton Washington Post Staff Writer Saturday, September 25, 1999; Page B01

Metro officials are still trying to understand why their $20 million central computer system crashed before dawn yesterday, stalling the start of daily service for the first time in Metro's 23-year history and delaying thousands of morning passengers.

Link

-- Homer Beanfang (Bats@inbellfry.com), September 27, 1999.

Apparently this is somewhere near Detroit, Michigan, altho the state/provence isn't mentioned. (What kind of news article doesn't mention a state...?)

-- not all of (us@are.locals), September 27, 1999.

Yes, its Birmingham, Michagan

-- Homer Beanfang (Bats@inbellfry.com), September 27, 1999.