List of wind-related railway accidents

High winds can blow railway trains off tracks and cause accidents.[1]

Dangers of high winds

High winds can cause problems in a number of ways:

  • blow trains off the tracks.
  • blow trains or wagons along the tracks and cause collisions.
  • cause pantographs and overhead wiring to tangle.
  • cause trees and other objects to fall onto the railway

Preventative measures

Risks from high winds can be reduced by:

  • wind fences akin to snow sheds
  • lower profile of carriages
  • lowered centre of gravity of vehicles[2]
  • reduction in train speed or cancellation, at high winds
  • a wider rail gauge
  • improve overhead wiring with:
    • regulated tension rather than fixed terminations
    • shorter catenary spans
    • solid conductors

By country

 Australia

  • 1928 – 47 waggons blown along line at Tocumwal [3]
  • 1931 – Kandos – wind blows level crossing gates closed in front of motor-cyclist [4]
  • 1943 – Hobart, Tasmania; Concern that wind will blow over doubledeck trams on 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) gauge if top deck enclosed.[5]
  • 2010 – Marla, South Australia; Small tornado blows over train.[6]

Austria Austria

  • 1910 – Trieste (now in Italy) – train blown down embankment.[7]

 China

 Germany

 India

  • One reason for choosing broad gauge in India for greater stability in high winds.

 Ireland

 Japan

 New Zealand

 Norway

 South Africa

  • Wind tangles overhead wiring.[11]

 United Kingdom

 United States

  • During the storm of 31 March / 1 April 1892 a narrow-gauge passenger train of the Burlington and Northwestern railway was blown off the tracks in St Louis, causing several persons to be injured.[15]
  • On 2 September 1911 tram services in Charleston, South Carolina, were suspended due to winds.[16]
  • A 2008 tornado in Northern Illinois derailed a Union Pacific train.[17] Dramatic footage of the event was captured by a camera mounted on the train.[18]
  • On April 27, 2015 a severe storm knocked several cars off the line while they were traveling across the Huey P. Long Bridge, New Orleans, Louisiana, with no injuries. The footage of the complete accident was captured by a WGNO News Team on a dash cam.[19]

One reason for choosing broad gauge (17% wider than standard gauge) for BART was the greater stability in high winds and perhaps earthquakes.[20][21][22]

Factors

  • Lightweight trains
  • Narrow gauge
  • Aspects of the terrain [23]
  • Tunnels [24]

See also

References

  1. C. Proppe, C. Wetzel (2007). "Overturning Probability of Railway Vehicles under Wind Gust Loads". Iutam Symposium on Dynamics and Control of Nonlinear Systems with Uncertainty. Springer.
  2. Kieper, Klaus; Preuß, Reiner; Rehbein, Elfriede (1982). "Bahnen in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern". Schmalspurbahn-Archiv (in German) (2nd ed.). Berlin: Transpress. p. 116.
  3. "SEVERE WINDSTORM". The Argus. Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 8 October 1928. p. 8. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  4. "LEVEL CROSSING ACCIDENT". The Sydney Morning Herald. National Library of Australia. 27 August 1931. p. 10. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
  5. "Double-Deck Trams". The Mercury. Hobart, Tas.: National Library of Australia. 1 June 1943. p. 4. Retrieved 24 April 2012.
  6. http://www.railpage.com.au/news-8530.htm
  7. "FATAL RAILWAY ACCIDENT". Northern Star. 34. New South Wales, Australia. 4 April 1910. p. 3. Retrieved 26 November 2016 via National Library of Australia.
  8. "GALE DERAILS TRAIN". The Sydney Morning Herald. National Library of Australia. 21 October 1936. p. 16. Retrieved 4 May 2012.
  9. "TRAIN DERAILED". The Examiner. Launceston, Tas.: National Library of Australia. 21 October 1936. p. 8 Edition: DAILY. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  10. "RAILWAY ACCIDENT". Zeehan and Dundas Herald. Tas.: National Library of Australia. 31 July 1895. p. 3. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
  11. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 12 December 2012. Wind stalls Cape trains
  12. The Railway Magazine April 2015, p12
  13. The Railway Magazine April 2015, p12
  14. The Railway Magazine April 2015, p12
  15. "NEWS BY MAIL". The Brisbane Courier. National Library of Australia. 24 May 1892. p. 7. Retrieved 12 May 2012.
  16. "AMERICAN WIND STORM". The Northern Times. Carnarvon, WA: National Library of Australia. 2 September 1911. p. 5. Retrieved 25 April 2012.
  17. http://abc7chicago.com/archive/5875829/
  18. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYubpuIe3cw
  19. Carlie Kollath Wells (April 27, 2015). "Train cars blown off tracks on Huey P. Long Bridge, FOX 8 reports". The Times-Picayune.
  20. http://www.wirewd.com/wh/blog/bart_sucks/
  21. http://www.thetransportpolitic.com/2010/01/06/crossing-the-bay-again-but-not-necessarily-with-bart/
  22. http://homepage.mac.com/s_sloan/twar/ISSUE66/BODY.HTM%5Bpermanent+dead+link%5D
  23. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 22 February 2011. Retrieved 8 November 2010.
  24. http://www.yunlong.com.au/pdf/Liu-CFD.pdf


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