RAILROAD ACCIDENT REPORT--HEAD-ON COLLISION OF BALTIMORE AND OHIO RAILROAD COMPANY FREIGHT TRAINS EXTRA 6474 EAST AND EXTRA 4367 WEST, ORLEANS ROAD, WEST VIRGINIA, FEBRUARY 12, 1980

About 5:55 a.m., on February 12, 1980, two freight trains operated by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company collided head-on at Orleans Road, West Virginia. Extra 6474 East was on track No. 2 traveling at 38 miles per hour as it passed the stop-and-stay signal at Orleans Road and entered a compound curve to the right, where Extra 4367 West was approaching at a speed of 32 mph. The fireman of Extra 4367 West was killed and the engineer and head brakeman were injured; the engineer, conductor, and brakeman of Extra 6474 East were injured. Property damage was estimated to be $1,688,200. The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the failure of the conductor of Extra 6474 East to see that the train was operated in accordance with the operating rules and the failure of the engineer and head brakeman to control the train as required by the signal at Orleans Road. Contributing to the accident was the absence of an adequate safety control device on the locomotive.

• Corporate Authors:

  National Transportation Safety Board

  Bureau of Accident Investigation, 800 Independence Avenue, SW
  Washington, DC  United States  20594
• Publication Date: 1980-9-16

Media Info

• Pagination: 30 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Alertness; Cabs (Vehicle compartments); Casualties; Crash investigation; Crashes; Design; Freight cars; Freight trains; Freight transportation; Frontal crashes; Human factors; Locomotive engineers; Locomotive operation; Locomotive operations; Locomotives; Loss and damage; Operating rules; Physiological aspects; Railroad signals; Railroad transportation; Railroads; Safety equipment; Signaling; Supervision; Training
• Identifier Terms: Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company
• Geographic Terms: West Virginia
• Old TRIS Terms: Cargo transportation; Deadman control; Locomotive cab design; Locomotive engineer's tasks; Physiological factors; Signal recognition
• Subject Areas: Design; Education and Training; Freight Transportation; Railroads; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00326525
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Technical Information Service
• Report/Paper Numbers: NTSB-RAR-80-9
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Feb 18 1981 12:00AM