About 10:25 p.m., on February 22, 1978, 23 cars of a Louisville & Nashville Railroad Company train derailed at a facing point switch in Waverly, Tennessee. At 2:53 p.m., on February 24, 1978, a derailed tank car containing liquefied petroleum gas ruptured, releasing the product which ignited with an explosive force. As a result, 16 persons died and 43 were injured; property damage was estimated at $1,800,000. The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of the loss of life and substantial property damage was the release and ignition of liquefied petroleum gas from a tank car rupture. The rupture resulted from stress propagation of a crack which may have developed during movement of the car for transfer of product or from increased pressure within the tank. The original crack was caused by mechanical damage during a derailment, which resulted from a broken high-carbon wheel on the 17th car which had overheated.


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    Title :

    Railroad Accident Report - Derailment of Louisville and Nashville Railroad Company's Train No. 584 and Subsequent Rupture of Tank Car Containing Liquefied Petroleum Gas, Waverly, Tennessee, February 22, 1978


    Publication date :

    1979


    Size :

    30 pages


    Type of media :

    Report


    Type of material :

    No indication


    Language :

    English