RAILROAD ACCIDENT REPORT: REAR END COLLISION OF TWO TEXAS AND PACIFIC RAILWAY COMPANY FREIGHT TRAINS, MEEKER, LOUISIANA, MAY 30, 1975

About 8:52 a.m. on May 30, 1975, a Texas and Pacific Railway Company freight train, Extra 3311 West, passed an "approach" signal and a "low" signal and collided with the rear of train Extra 551 West, which was stopped on the main track in Meeker, Louisiana. The 4 locomotive units and the first 10 cars of Extra 3311 West and the last 5 cars and the caboose of the standing train were derailed and damaged. The engineer and the front brakeman of Extra 3311 West and the conductor of Extra 551 West were killed. The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of the collision was the failure of the engineer of Extra 3311 West, while operating the train in violation of a "low" signal indication, to perceive the train ahead in time to prevent a collision. A cause of the severity of the collision was the subnormal braking capability of a significant number of cars. As a result of this investigation, five recommendations concerning use of radio, backup control system, "Stop and Proceed" procedure and enforcement of braking system regulations have been addressed to the Federal Railroad Administration.

• Corporate Authors:

  National Transportation Safety Board

  Office of Surface Transportation Safety
  Washington, DC  United States  20594
• Publication Date: 1975-12-30

Media Info

• Features: Appendices; Figures;
• Pagination: 23 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Alertness; Block signal systems; Crash investigation; Crashes; Human factors; Locomotive engineers; Locomotive operation; Operating rules; Radio; Traffic signal control systems
• Identifier Terms: Missouri Pacific Railroad
• Geographic Terms: Louisiana
• Old TRIS Terms: Block systems; Locomotive engineer's tasks; Signal systems
• Subject Areas: Railroads; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00130670
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Transportation Safety Board
• Report/Paper Numbers: NTSB-RAR-75-9
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Mar 29 1976 12:00AM