— Tuesday night's Amtrak train derailment reminded many in Maryland of a horrific crash on Jan. 4, 1987. Fourteen passengers on the Amtrak train were killed, as well as the Amtrak engineer and lounge car attendant. It was over 10 hours after the collision before the final trapped people were freed from the wreckage. A train bound for Boston collides with Conrail engines in Maryland and derails. [2] Cromwell was responsible for calling out the signals if Gates missed them, but failed to do so. According to the NTSB, had these cars been fully occupied at the time, the death toll would have been at least 100. The man added that he didn't leave the crash site for three or four days, sometimes catching some sleep while propped against the trees lining the track. Emergency personnel worked for many hours in the frigid cold, impeded as they were by the stainless-steel Amfleet cars' skin's resistance to the ordinary hydraulic rescue tools at their command, to extricate trapped passengers from the wreckage as helicopters and ambulances transported injured people to hospitals and trauma centers. [1], In the case of the accident, the interlocking plant was properly set for through track movement only, so as to allow the Amtrak train to pass the freight locomotives (which should have been stopped on the side tracks) on the through tracks onto and over the bridge. Gates was uninjured. [1] With little time to react, Amtrak engineer Evans apparently saw the diesels on the line in front of him and applied the brakes for an emergency stop. [4] Marijuana can alter one's sense of time and impair the ability to perform tasks that require concentration. This was, Gates later claimed, when he realized that he did not have a wayside signal to proceed north at the interlocking. Train crash--A photo caption in Saturday’s editions incorrectly identified a railroad car involved in a collision. (AP) -- A highspeed Amtrak passenger train collided with three Conrail locomotives and derailed Sunday, killing at least 12 people, injuring at least … [4], Toxicology tests on the Amtrak engineer's body returned negative. He offered to be interviewed only to defend Michael S. Gimbel, Baltimore County's substance-abuse director. Trainz Wrecks #5 1987 Maryland train collision. "The reason is how the members of the professional and volunteer fire departments and the community people got together." While many of the injured passengers were aided by nearby residents, some of the uninjured passengers wandered away, making it difficult for Amtrak to know the complete story. January 5 – U.S. President Ronald Reagan undergoes prostate surgery, causing speculation about his physical fitness to continue in office. Her family has never ridden a train since. However, the collision was unavoidable. [3] Gates and Cromwell were immediately suspended by Conrail pending an internal investigation, but resigned rather than face certain termination. The NTSB determined that even if #94 had been travelling at 105 mph (169 km/h), the Amtrak's authorized speed limit, the collision was unavoidable at this point. Most of the dead were on Amtrak car #21236.[1]. Tuesday night's Amtrak train derailment reminded many in Maryland of a horrific crash on Jan. 4, 1987.Mobile users: Watch report | Aerial video | In their own words | Train … A horrific train collision occurred at 1:04 p.m. on January 4, 1987, on Amtrak's Northeast Corridor main line in the Chase community in eastern Baltimore County, Maryland, at Gunpow Interlocking, about 18 miles northeast of Baltimore. The Maryland train collision occurred at 1:04 pm on January 4, 1987, on Amtrak's Northeast Corridor main line in the Chase community in eastern Baltimore County, Maryland, United States, at Gunpow Interlocking, about 18 miles (29 km) northeast of Baltimore. Another effect was that age-old Rule G (The use of intoxicants or narcotics by employees subject to duty, or their possession or use while in duty, is prohibited. It was later discovered that someone had disabled the cab signal alerter whistle on lead unit #5044 with duct tape, muting it almost completely. Conrail subsequently developed a device called a locomotive speed limiter (LSL), a computerized device that is designed to monitor and control the rate of deceleration for restrictive signals in conjunction with cab signals. Nikki Nelson / WENN.com “Dirty Dancing” star Jennifer Grey turned her back on Hollywood after surviving a fatal car crash in Ireland in 1987, just as her career was taking off. According to the NTSB, had these cars been fully occupied at the time, the death toll would have been at least 100. The derailment was the deadliest incident involving an Amtrak train on the Northeast Corridor since the 1987 Maryland collision between an Amtrak train … There were relatively few passengers on those cars, however, and so the death toll was much less. Mr. Gates, 38, has tried to avoid publicity since the accident. The collision took place at Gunpow interlocking where the … Prosecutors cut a deal with Cromwell in which he agreed to testify against Gates in return for immunity. In a 1993 interview with the Baltimore Sun, Gates said the accident would have never happened if not for the marijuana. As a result of the wreck, all locomotives operating on the Northeast Corridor are now required to have automatic cab signalling with an automatic train stop feature. The engineer was 35-year-old Jerome Evans. [5] Cromwell was responsible for calling out the signals if Gates missed them, but failed to do so. With a total passenger load of about 600 people, there was a great deal of confusion after the collision. The whistle was so well muted, that when it was sent to the FBI, they were not able to determine when and who muted it, due to the lack of fingerprints. This page was last modified on 7 December 2015, at 18:53. In the aftermath, drug and alcohol procedures for train crews were overhauled by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), which is charged with rail safety. Since then, railroads are required by law to certify that their engineers are properly trained and qualified, and that they have no drug or alcohol impairment motor vehicle convictions for the five-year period prior to certification. In a 1993 interview with The Baltimore Sun, Gates said the accident would have never happened if not for the marijuana, saying that it had thrown off his "perception of speed and distance and time." The deadmans pedal was also found to have been disabled, when Gates was trying to reactivate the cab signaling system by switching it off in the nose of the locomotive (this was despite the cab signalling and deadmans pedal levers being different in aspect). Had Gates reacted either to an approach signal instructing him to reduce speed, or to the stop signal itself in a timely fashion, or had the brakeman called out the state of the signals as he was supposed to do, it was likely the Conrail engines could have stopped short of the switch. After leaving the Baltimore, Maryland Amtrak station, the train's next stop was Wilmington, Delaware. A train bound for Boston collides with Conrail engines in Maryland and derails. [1], As Amtrak Train 94 approached the Gunpowder Interlocking near the Chase community on the electrified main line, the three Conrail freight locomotives were moving north on one of the adjacent freight tracks. While many of the injured passengers were aided by nearby residents, some of the uninjured passengers wandered away, making it difficult for Amtrak to know the complete story. As Amtrak Train 94 approached the Gunpow Interlocking near the Chase community on the electrified main line, the three Conrail freight locomotives were moving north on one of the adjacent freight tracks. The train had 12 cars and was filled with travelers returning from the holiday season to their homes and schools for … In 1991, prompted in large part by the Chase Maryland crash, the United States Congress took even broader action and authorized mandatory random drug-testing for all employees in "safety-sensitive" jobs in all industries regulated by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) including trucking, bus carriers and rail systems. Dunkirk, NY Auto And Train Crash, Nov 1987; Mountain Lake, MD School Bus And Train Crash, Sep 1959; Ellicott City, MD Train Derailment, Aug 2012; Bowie, MD Auto and Train Collision, May 1966; Annapolis Junction, MD, Train Wreck, June 1869 However, the federal codification of this rule was deemed necessary to assure that any violator would be dealt with in a consistent and harsh manner. Amtrak Train 94 (the Colonial) left Washington Union Station at 12:30 pm (Eastern time) for Boston South Station. Source: Tennessee Valley Railroad Operating Rules book, effective March 15, 1995. The engineer served four years in a Maryland prison for his role in the crash. Essex, MD Amtrak Train Collision, Jan 1987. Train 94's speed at the time of the collision was estimated at about 108 miles per hour (174 km/h). Possession of any of the foregoing while on duty, or possession, use, or being under the influence of any of the foregoing while on Company or occupying facilities provided by the Company is prohibited. [8], "Railroad Accident Report: Rear-end Collision of Amtrak Passenger Train 94, The Colonial and Consolidated Rail Corporation Freight Train ENS-121, on the Northeast Corridor, Chase, Maryland, January 4, 1987", "National Transportation Safety Board Safety Recommendation", "Derailment of Amtrak Train NO. The site of the crash was in the Chase community in eastern Baltimore County, Maryland, United States, at Gunpowder Interlocking, about 18 miles (29 km) northeast of Baltimore… [1], The Conrail locomotives came to a stop on the track directly in front of #94, which approached the interlocking a speed between 120 and 125 mph (193 and 201 km/h). — UCOR, 1962) was revamped to: An employee who reports for duty under the influence of alcohol or other intoxicant, cannabis in any form, an amphetamine, a narcotic, a hallucinogenic drug, any controlled substance (as defined by federal law), or a derivative or combination of any of these, or who uses any of the foregoing while on duty, will be dismissed. In a 3-2 decision, the NTSB report stated that the speed of train #94 at the time the brakes were applied, between 120 and 125 mph (193 and 201 km/h), was an unauthorized excessive speed, since the maximum for an Amtrak train carrying Heritage cars was 105 mph (169 km/h). Ten years after the collision, the McDonogh School of Owings Mills, Maryland decided to build a 448-seat theater in memory of one of the crash's victims and alumna, 16-year-old Ceres Millicent Horn, daughter of American mathematicians Roger and Susan Horn. Conrail diesel, GE B36-7 #5045 was completely destroyed while #5044 and #5052 were repaired and returned to service. Gates recalled having tested the cab signalling and seeing all the aspects, but he might have not looked at all the lights. The 1987 Maryland train collision occurred at 1:30 pm on January 4, 1987, on Amtrak's Northeast Corridor main line in the Chase community in eastern Baltimore County, Maryland, United States, at Gunpow Interlocking, about 18 miles (29 km) northeast of Baltimore. At first, Gates and Cromwell denied smoking marijuana. The train had 12 cars and was filled with travelers returning from the holiday season to their homes and schools for the second semester of the year. The freight locomotive crew ignored the stop signals in their locomotive cab (which were muted), and at trackside, visible to them from the cab of their locomotive. Witnesses and neighbors ran to the smoking train and helped remove injured and dazed passengers, even before the first emergency vehicles could arrive at the location. Gates' history of DWI (driving while intoxicated) convictions as well as his admission that the crew had been using marijuana while on duty led for a call to certify locomotive engineers as to their qualifications and history.
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