I've been trying to dial-in for over an hour and a half now to share what's going on in Baltimore...but have been having problems with AOL, so I had to dial in to my work access number. At any rate - there's been a derailment in Baltimore. I've been getting details from the local TV news (which have extended their 6:00 coverage of the ongoing situation). Here's what happened (and what I know thus far): A 60 to 90-car (numbers vary depending who you're watching) northbound CSX freight, originating in Hamlet, NC and heading to Oak Island, NJ derailed in the Howard Street tunnel in Baltimore, and caught fire, sometime around 3:30 or so this afternoon. This tunnel is approximately 1 1/2 miles in length, begins at Camden Yards and runs beneath the city. Nine tank cars are known to be carrying hazardous materials. One car is known to be carrying Hydrochloric Acid, another is carrying Hydroflouric Acid. It is NOT known at this time if any of the nine cars that derailed are leaking. A Haz-Mat expert says that HydroFLOURIC Acid is the more volitile of the two gases. There were three locos pulling the train. Reports are that the two-person crew is fine. They did everything by the book - Apparently the locos had already made it through the other end of the tunnel when they noticed a warning indicator in the cab, stopped the train, tried to make access back into the tunnel, but at this point the fire was too intense. They set as many brakes as they could, cut off the engines and pulled away from the cars. Smoke is billowing mostly from the northern end of the tunnel. Most of the immediate area has been evacuated, including Oriole Park at Camden Yards where the O's were supposed to play tonight (which is at the southern end of this tunnel). A lot of roadways into and around the immediate vicinity have been shut down. Folks can leave, but they're not letting anyone into the city. I don't know about rail traffic. I'm sure it is affected greatly right now. I thought something was peculiar on my way home when I noticed two trains stopped at West Plane (on the Old Main Line Sub, near Mt. Airy). I guess Jacksonville is holding them in place until they can sort things out with alternate traffic patterns. I'll let you know more once details become available. It's a pretty serious situation right now. [ 19 July 2001: Message edited by: Lefty ]</p>
That one's really gonna hurt! I can't think of a worse place to have to fight a fire than in one of the three railroad tunnels in Baltimore. All three have buildings and streets above them. The Howard Street tunnel was the site of the first railroad electrification as it is a pretty steep grade from Camden to Mount Royal Stations. I recall a scare when I worked in Baltimore for the PRR, a carlaod of naptha started leaking in the B&P tunnel. All catenary power was cut off and a Diesel switcher at Frederick Road pulled the train back out of the tunnel v=e=r=y carefully. I had to call my customer and tell him to get his crew to that leaker QUICK!
<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>That one's really gonna hurt! I can't think of a worse place to have to fight a fire than in one of the three railroad tunnels in Baltimore.<hr></blockquote> That's for certain Gregg! This story jsut gets crazier: the latest I've heard is that there's now a water main break about where the cars derailed in the tunnel. Needless to say, water is flowing about 3 feet deep though some of the downtown streets. My guess is the break may be in one of the larger pipes due to the sheer amount of water. Because of the water, Baltimore Gas & Electric has had to cut power to many businesses in the affected area. What's more, the Department of Public Works doesn't know whether or not they should shut off the water because it may be aiding to keep the fire under control! The air has and is been tested and so far there doesn't appear to be much toxicity in the air. I haven't been hearing much my scanner, probably because nothing's moving until this situation is under control! Here's a couple of links to the story: http://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/DailyNews/trainderailment010719.html http://www.insidebaltimore.com/news/local/csx-derailment0718.shtml [ 19 July 2001: Message edited by: Lefty ]</p>
As of now I heard the last addition to the happening in Baltimore.. The reports said railroad officials said their is no trace of derailed cars as of yet.... They are still trying to get to the problem and sort it through without any futher damage and mishap to the city....... I hope this task is completed and soon.... alot of loss if they don't get something done being its dirrectly under the city!!!!!
I've updated the abcnews.com link. In a nutshell: most of the major roads into Baltimore have been re-opened, although the area immediately around the accident remains shut down. Most businesses in the area are on a liberal leave policy today. The smoke is not nearly as thick as it was yesterday. Here are some pics (source: Baltimore Sun) Southern end of the tunnel, Camden Yards is off to the left in this photo Northern end of the tunnel. I believe this photo is taken from under the entrance to Mt. Royal Station Southern end of the tunnel Here's a graphic of the Howard Street Tunnel (source: Baltimore Sun) [ 19 July 2001: Message edited by: Lefty ]</p> [ 19 July 2001: Message edited by: Lefty ]</p>
Here's a couple more updates (As of 7/20/01): http://www.sunspot.net/news/local/bal-te.md.train20jul20.story?coll=bal%2Dhome%2Dhea dlines http://www.sunspot.net/news/local/bal-te.bz.freight20jul20.story?coll=bal%2Dhome%2Dheadlines [ 20 July 2001: Message edited by: Lefty ]</p>
Updates: Here's a couple more pics, mostly of the cleanup and post-accident survey of the inside of the tunnel by CSX and Baltimore city officials: http://www.sunspot.net/news/local/bal-trainfire23.story?coll=bal%2Dhome%2Dheadlines Looks like CSX is going to be paying A LOT of restitution to many folks!
Those pics bring back memories of our channel tunnel disaster. A fire in a tunnel is like a blowtorch!
Update: Here's a link to the story appearing in today's Baltimore Sun regarding the first train through the tunnel after the accident: http://www.sunspot.net/news/local/bal-te.ride25jul25.story?coll=bal%2Dhome%2Dheadlines [ 25 July 2001: Message edited by: Lefty ]</p>
Lefty, thanks for keeping us up to date. Seems like the western media dropped the story as soon as it became old news. Nice to be able to read the follow-ups.
