1971 Salem, Illinois, derailment Contents Accident Investigation Aftermath Notes Endnotes References External links Navigation menu"Salem train wreck results in plea for tighter regulations"Derailment of Amtrak train no. 1 while operating on the Illinois Central Railroad near Salem, Illinois, June 10, 19719554867e

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Railway accidents and incidents in IllinoisRailway accidents in 19711971 in IllinoisAccidents and incidents involving AmtrakAccidents and incidents involving Illinois Central Railroad1971 disasters in the United StatesMarion County, IllinoisDerailments in the United States


Amtrakpassenger trainderailedSalem, IllinoisTonti, IllinoisNational Transportation Safety Boardflangeflat wheelintercity passenger trainsChicagoCentral StationCTNew Orleans, LouisianaIllinois Central Railroadbaggage cardiner-counterlounge carEMD E-unitsE7AE9BsE8AEMD E7A12 cylindertraction motorsChampaign, Illinoisdouble trackEffingham, Illinoisreverserwheel sliplocomotive engineerFederal Railroad Administration


























1971 Salem, Illinois, derailment

1971 Salem, Illinois derailment aerial.jpeg
Aerial view of the wreck

Details
DateJune 10, 1971
LocationSalem, Illinois
CountryUnited States
LineIllinois Central Railroad
OperatorAmtrak
Incident typeDerailment
CauseMechanical problem
Statistics
Trains1
Passengers211
Deaths11
Injuries163

The 1971 Salem, Illinois, derailment occurred on June 10, 1971, when Amtrak's City of New Orleans passenger train derailed near Salem, Illinois. It is sometimes referred to as the Tonti derailment, after the unincorporated community of Tonti, Illinois, which is nearer to the crash site. An investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) found that the derailment was caused by a false flange on a flat wheel caused by a seized axle bearing. The crash killed 11 people and injured 163. It was Amtrak's first fatal accident since assuming control of most intercity passenger trains in the United States on May 1, 1971.




Contents





  • 1 Accident


  • 2 Investigation


  • 3 Aftermath


  • 4 Notes


  • 5 Endnotes


  • 6 References


  • 7 External links




Accident




Illinois Central EMD E8 #4026, sister locomotive to #4031, leading the City of Miami through Kankakee, Illinois, in 1964


Amtrak #1 (later #59), the City of New Orleans[nb 1] departed Chicago's Central Station at 8:00 AM CT on June 10, 1971. The City of New Orleans was a daytime train between Chicago and New Orleans, Louisiana. Up until April 30, 1971, it had been operated by the Illinois Central Railroad, but passed to Amtrak when the latter assumed operation of most intercity service in the United States.[1] It was scheduled to arrive in New Orleans at 1:30 AM on June 11. The train was composed of 15 cars: a baggage car, 11 coaches, a diner-counter, a lounge car, and a combination coach/food service car. Amtrak had inherited or leased this equipment from other railroads. A set of four leased Illinois Central EMD E-units of various models pulled the train: E7A #4031 (leading), E9Bs #4109 and #4106, and E10A (a rebuilt E8A) #2024 (formerly 4032).[2]


The lead locomotive assigned to the train was #4031, an EMD E7A originally manufactured in 1952. The E8 developed 2,250 horsepower (1,680 kW) from two 12 cylinder model 567B engines, each driving a generator to power the two traction motors on one truck.[3] During the run south from Chicago the #2 engine on #4031 failed and could not be repaired. After a crew change in Champaign, Illinois, the new crew observed the #2 engine respond to the throttle and concluded that it was operational again. South of Champaign the Illinois Central main line was double track with crossovers. As the train passed over one of these crossovers at Tonti #4031 derailed.[4]


#4031 was badly damaged in the derailment; #4109, immediately behind, caught fire and was destroyed. The rear two locomotives remained upright and suffered little damage. The lead baggage car and first five coaches were destroyed. The remaining eight cars suffered varying degrees of damage. Eleven people were killed and 163 were injured. Six of the eleven fatalities occurred when passengers were ejected through large side windows.[5] It was Amtrak's first fatal accident.[1]



Investigation




Flat spots on a wheel on #4031's rear truck


The NTSB investigation found flat spots on the rear truck of #4031. Inspection of the tracks between Tonti and Effingham, Illinois, revealed markings where the wheels had slid instead of spun. Further investigation revealed that the truck's traction motor had seized prior to the accident, and that the wheels had probably locked at Effingham during a station stop. The locked wheels created a false flange. When the compromised wheel reached the switch at the crossover at Tonti it derailed.[6]


#4031 had made another run from Chicago to New Orleans on June 6. Engine #2 had failed on that trip as well and was shut down in New Orleans. As an added precaution the reverser for the engine was locked in neutral for trip to Chicago. Shutting down the engine and locking the reverser in neutral had the effect of disabling the wheel slip indicator, which would notify the locomotive engineer that a wheel was slipping or sliding.[7] While #4031 was repaired in Chicago, the Illinois Central maintenance forces did not observe that the reverser was locked and did not realize that power was not being supplied to the rear truck.[8]



Aftermath


The NTSB found that the mechanical faults in Illinois Central locomotive #4031 caused the derailment. It recommended improvements in wheel-slip detection devices for locomotives and in pre-departure testing procedures. The NTSB also recommended that the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) draft safety standards to address the ejection of passengers through windows in the event of accidents.[9][10]



Notes




  1. ^ Between May 1, 1971, and November 14, 1971, when Amtrak issued a new timetable, all trains were officially nameless and used the numbers assigned by their previous operator. This train had been Illinois Central #1, the City of New Orleans. Amtrak replaced it with the Panama Limited in November.[1]




Endnotes




  1. ^ abc Sanders 2006, p. 94


  2. ^ NTSB 1972, p. 9


  3. ^ NTSB 1972, pp. 3–6


  4. ^ NTSB 1972, p. 10


  5. ^ NTSB 1972, p. 11


  6. ^ NTSB 1972, pp. 14–22


  7. ^ NTSB 1972, pp. 8–9; 25


  8. ^ NTSB 1972, p. 34


  9. ^ NTSB 1972, p. 35


  10. ^ "Salem train wreck results in plea for tighter regulations". The Southern Illinoisan. November 29, 1972. p. 13. Retrieved October 5, 2014 – via Newspapers.com..mw-parser-output cite.citationfont-style:inherit.mw-parser-output .citation qquotes:"""""""'""'".mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registrationcolor:#555.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration spanborder-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output code.cs1-codecolor:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-errordisplay:none;font-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-errorfont-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-maintdisplay:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-formatfont-size:95%.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-leftpadding-left:0.2em.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-rightpadding-right:0.2em
    open access



References



  • NTSB (1972). Derailment of Amtrak train no. 1 while operating on the Illinois Central Railroad near Salem, Illinois, June 10, 1971 (PDF). OCLC 9554867.


  • Sanders, Craig (2006). Amtrak in the Heartland. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-34705-3.


External links



  • Media related to 1971 Salem, Illinois derailment at Wikimedia Commons







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