About 12:10 a.m., on March 29, 1978, 4 locomotive units and 43 cars of St. Louis Southwestern Railway Company freight train SRASK derailed when they entered an 8 degree curve in the wye track at Lewisville, Arkansas. The body of the 13th car struck and ruptured the tank head of the 12th car, releasing vinyl chloride into the atmosphere. The vinyl chloride subsequently ignited and buildings within a 1,500-foot radius of the ruptured car were damaged. About 1,700 residents of Lewisville were evacuated. The engineer and two head brakemen were injured. Property damage was estimated to be $2,189,000. The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the failure of the engineer and other crewmembers to slow train SRASK for the 10-mph speed restriction through the wye track as required by the railroad's general orders.


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    Title :

    Railroad Accident Report St. Louis Southwestern Railway Company Freight Train Derailment and Rupture of Vinyl Chloride Tank Car, Lewisville, Arkansas, March 29, 1978


    Publication date :

    1978


    Size :

    26 pages


    Type of media :

    Report


    Type of material :

    No indication


    Language :

    English