RAILROAD ACCIDENT REPORT - HEAD-END COLLISION OF LOUISVILLE AND NASHVILLE RAILROAD LOCAL FREIGHT TRAIN AND YARD TRAIN AT FLORENCE, ALABAMA, SEPTEMBER 18, 1978

About 10:31 a.m., c.d.t., on September 18, 1978, Louisville and Nashville Railroad local freight train Extra 542 South collided head-on with L&N yard train No. 101 on the single main track within yard limits at Florence, Alabama. Both locomotive units and one car of each train were derailed. Three train crewmembers were killed. Since an LPG tank car was derailed and oil was spilled from ruptured locomotive fuel tanks, local officials evacuated about 1,000 persons from nearby residences. Total damage was estimated to be $462,500. The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of the accident was the failure of the engineer of Extra 542 South to operate his train at a speed that would have permitted stopping the train within one-half the available sight distance as required by L&N operating rules. Contributing to the severity of the accident was the failure of the engineer of Extra 542 South to apply his train's brakes after he was in a position to see the opposing train. Contributing to the collision was the failure of the L&N management to insure that all operating rules were being complied with, particularly those involving the operation of two trains in opposite directions on the same track.

• Corporate Authors:

  National Transportation Safety Board

  Bureau of Accident Investigation, 800 Independence Avenue, SW
  Washington, DC  United States  20594
• Publication Date: 1979-2-22

Media Info

• Pagination: 36 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Crash investigation; Crashes; Crashworthiness; Design; Disasters and emergency operations; Fatalities; Freight cars; Freight transportation; Frontal crashes; Hazardous materials; Liquefied petroleum gas; Locomotive engineers; Locomotive operation; Locomotives; Operating rules; Operations; Railroad safety; Railroad terminals; Railroads; Regulations; Single track; Supervision; Tank cars; Training; Vehicle cabs
• Identifier Terms: Louisville & Nashville Railroad
• Uncontrolled Terms: Emergency procedures
• Geographic Terms: Alabama
• Old TRIS Terms: Cargo transportation; Government regulations; Locomotive cab design; Locomotive engineer's tasks; Single track operations; Tank car safety
• Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Design; Education and Training; Freight Transportation; Law; Railroads; Safety and Human Factors; Terminals and Facilities;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00197983
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Technical Information Service
• Report/Paper Numbers: NTSB-RAR-79-2
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Sep 15 1979 12:00AM