List of wind-related railway accidents

High winds can blow railway trains off tracks and cause accidents.[1]

Dangers of high winds

High winds can cause problems in a number of ways:

  • blow trains off the tracks
  • blow trains or wagons along the tracks and cause collisions
  • cause cargo to blow off trains which can damage objects outside the railway or which other trains can collide with
  • cause pantographs and overhead wiring to tangle
  • cause trees and other objects to fall onto the railway.

Preventative measures

Risks from high winds can be reduced by:

  • wind fences akin to snow sheds
  • lower profile of carriages
  • lowered centre of gravity of vehicles[2]
  • reduction in train speed or cancellation, at high winds
  • a wider rail gauge
  • improve overhead wiring with:
    • regulated tension rather than fixed terminations
    • shorter catenary spans
    • solid conductors

By country

 Australia

  • 1928 – 47 waggons blown along line at Tocumwal [3]
  • 1931 – Kandos – wind blows level crossing gates closed in front of motor-cyclist [4]
  • 1943 – Hobart, Tasmania; Concern that wind will blow over doubledeck trams on 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) gauge if top deck enclosed.[5]
  • 2010 – Marla, South Australia; Small tornado blows over train.[6]

Austria

  • 1910 – Trieste (now in Italy) – train blown down embankment.[7]

 China

 Denmark

 Germany

 India

  • One reason for choosing broad gauge in India for greater stability in high winds.

 Ireland

 Japan

 New Zealand

 Norway

 South Africa

 United Kingdom

 United States

One reason for choosing broad gauge (17% wider than standard gauge) for BART was the greater stability in high winds and perhaps earthquakes.[31][32][33]

Factors

  • Lightweight trains
  • Narrow gauge
  • Aspects of the terrain [34]
  • Tunnels [35]

See also

References

  1. C. Proppe, C. Wetzel (2007). "Overturning Probability of Railway Vehicles under Wind Gust Loads". Iutam Symposium on Dynamics and Control of Nonlinear Systems with Uncertainty. IUTAM Book Series. Springer. 2: 23–32. doi:10.1007/978-1-4020-6332-9_3. ISBN 978-1-4020-6331-2.
  2. Kieper, Klaus; Preuß, Reiner; Rehbein, Elfriede (1982). "Bahnen in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern". Schmalspurbahn-Archiv (in German) (2nd ed.). Berlin: Transpress. p. 116.
  3. "SEVERE WINDSTORM". The Argus. Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 8 October 1928. p. 8. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  4. "LEVEL CROSSING ACCIDENT". The Sydney Morning Herald. National Library of Australia. 27 August 1931. p. 10. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
  5. "Double-Deck Trams". The Mercury. Hobart, Tas.: National Library of Australia. 1 June 1943. p. 4. Retrieved 24 April 2012.
  6. http://www.railpage.com.au/news-8530.htm
  7. "FATAL RAILWAY ACCIDENT". Northern Star. 34. New South Wales, Australia. 4 April 1910. p. 3. Retrieved 26 November 2016 via National Library of Australia.
  8. "Six dead in train crash on Denmark's Great Belt Fixed Link". The Local DK. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  9. "GALE DERAILS TRAIN". The Sydney Morning Herald. National Library of Australia. 21 October 1936. p. 16. Retrieved 4 May 2012.
  10. "TRAIN DERAILED". The Examiner. Launceston, Tas.: National Library of Australia. 21 October 1936. p. 8 Edition: DAILY. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  11. "RAILWAY ACCIDENT". Zeehan and Dundas Herald. Tas.: National Library of Australia. 31 July 1895. p. 3. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
  12. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 12 December 2012.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) Wind stalls Cape trains
  13. The Railway Magazine April 2015, p12
  14. The Railway Magazine April 2015, p12
  15. The Railway Magazine April 2015, p12
  16. Blown from the Track, Railroad Gazette, April 4, 1883; pages 285-286. Reprinted from the Apr. 25 'Denver Tribune'.
  17. Thrown off the Track, Chicago Daily Tribune, May 8, 1876, page 5. (Retrieved via Library of Congress Chronicling American archive).
  18. Two Cars Blown Off the Track, New York Times, Feb. 24, 1884.
  19. Train Wreck at Georgetown, February 4th, 1885, Rocky Mountain Railroad Heritage Society Newsletter, Vol. 3, No. 9 (Winter, 2017); page 6. (reprinted from the Denver Tribune Republican, Feb. 5, 1885.)
  20. Exhibit No. 5. Casualties, 1891-'92, Annual Report of the Postmaster General of the United States for the Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 1892, GPO, 1892; page 845. Gives time and location.
  21. Train Blown Over, St. Paul daily globe (Saint Paul, Minn.), 02 April 1892; page 1. Historic American Newspaper collection, Library of Congress.
  22. Swept by Fearful Winds, The Abbeville press and banner (Abbeville, S.C.), 20 April 1892; page 2. Historic American Newspaper collection, Library of Congress.
  23. "NEWS BY MAIL". The Brisbane Courier. National Library of Australia. 24 May 1892. p. 7. Retrieved 12 May 2012.
  24. "AMERICAN WIND STORM". The Northern Times. Carnarvon, WA: National Library of Australia. 2 September 1911. p. 5. Retrieved 25 April 2012.
  25. July 28-29 1986 Derecho "The Supercell Transition Derecho", part of the NOAA About Derechos web site, retrieved Aug. 2020.
  26. Archive photos: June 1998 derecho hits the Iowa City area, The Cedar Rapids Gazette, retrieved Aug. 2020.
  27. http://abc7chicago.com/archive/5875829/
  28. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYubpuIe3cw
  29. Carlie Kollath Wells (27 April 2015). "Train cars blown off tracks on Huey P. Long Bridge, FOX 8 reports". The Times-Picayune.
  30. Kyle Cheromcha, Bomb Cyclone Winds Blow Freight Train Off Railroad Bridge in New Mexico, The Drive, March 14, 2019
  31. http://www.wirewd.com/wh/blog/bart_sucks/
  32. http://www.thetransportpolitic.com/2010/01/06/crossing-the-bay-again-but-not-necessarily-with-bart/
  33. http://homepage.mac.com/s_sloan/twar/ISSUE66/BODY.HTM%5B%5D
  34. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 22 February 2011. Retrieved 8 November 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  35. http://www.yunlong.com.au/pdf/Liu-CFD.pdf
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