About 4:35 p.m. on July 18, 1983, 58 cars of Burlington Northern Railroad Company freight train No. MTC-0718, moving about 52 mph, were derailed on the main track near Crystal City, Missouri. Two of the derailed cars came to rest in the Mississippi River. Within the train's 94 cars were 17 maintenance-of-way, ballast-laden hopper cars being transported to maintenance-of-way work locations north of St. Louis, Missouri. The train was being operated in revenue service without restriction. No one was injured in this accident, and no hazardous materials were involved. Damage was estimated to be about $1,058,330. The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the displacement of the outer rail in a curve by a truck on a maintenance-of-way car, which could not slue to the track curvature because of a cracked and displaced centerplate. Contributing to the accident was the Burlington Northern Railroad Company's failure to enforce its inspection and maintenance procedures for maintenance-of-way cars or to impose restrictions on their movement in revenue freight trains.
Railroad Accident Report - Derailment of Burlington Northern Railroad Company Freight Train No. MTC-0718 Near Crystal City, Missouri, July 18, 1983
1984
37 pages
Report
No indication
English