RAILROAD ACCIDENT REPORT: HEAD-ON COLLISION OF TWO NORFOLK & WESTERN RAILWAY COMPANY FREIGHT TRAINS, NEW HAVEN, INDIANA, OCTOBER 19, 1976

About 9:15 p.m., on October 19, 1976, at New Haven, Indiana, Norfolk & Western Railway Company (N&W) freight train Extra 1376 West collided head-on with N&W yard locomotive unit No. 3363, which was pulling 55 freight cars. One locomotive unit, a caboose, and one car of Extra 1376 West, and the yard locomotive and one car were derailed. The brakeman on the locomotive of Extra 1276 West was killed and four crewmembers were injured. The estimated cost of damages was $168,400. The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the failure of the crewmembers of Extra 1276 West to couple the airbrake hoses between the fifth and sixth cars from the rear, and to test the brakes as required by N&W rules and the Federal Power Brake Law of 1958. As a result of its investigation, the Safety Board sumitted one recommendation to the Norfolk and Western Railway Company.

• Corporate Authors:

  National Transportation Safety Board

  Bureau of Accident Investigation, 800 Independence Avenue, SW
  Washington, DC  United States  20594
• Publication Date: 1977-8-5

Media Info

• Features: Appendices; Figures;
• Pagination: 19 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Air brakes; Brakes; Crash investigation; Crashes; Human factors; Locomotive engineers; Locomotive operation; Operating rules; Power brakes; Regulations; Signaling; Tests; Training; Trainmen
• Identifier Terms: Norfolk and Western Railway Company
• Old TRIS Terms: Brake applications; Government regulations; Locomotive engineer's tasks; Power brake law; Signal recognition
• Subject Areas: Education and Training; Law; Railroads; Safety and Human Factors; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00170074
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Transportation Safety Board
• Report/Paper Numbers: NTSB-RAR-77-6
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jan 30 1978 12:00AM