# 49 Years Later: The Crescent City Train Derailment & Explosions



## CSXfoamer1997 (Jun 21, 2019)

49 years ago today, Crescent City, IL suffered great destruction as a result of a train accident. Around 6:30 AM, a 109-car freight train (Toledo, Peoria, and Western Train No. 20) hauled by 4 locomotives was approaching Crescent City. As the train passed through town, the 20th car broke an axle. 15 cars derailed, including 9 tank cars loaded with highly flammable Propane. One of the tank cars ruptured and ignited, setting the wreckage and many nearby buildings ablaze.

Firefighters rushed to the scene and evacuation of the area began shortly after the first alarm. When firefighters arrived, it was not immediately known what the tank cars were loaded with. Because of this, there was a high possibility of a BLEVE (Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion).

After the tank cars are exposed to the fire for a long period of time, they eventually become overheated. The Propane within them could vaporize, expand, and ignite, increasing the pressure within them. Eventually, a combination of external heat and internal buildup of pressure will weaken the tank cars. If one or more of the tank cars reaches its breaking point, it'll rupture and explode with enormous force.

Because the fire had come in contact with power lines, the power company was forced to shut off the town's power supply. However, as a result, the water pumps were also shut off, leaving them unavailable for firefighters. When it was found that the tank cars were loaded with Propane, the firefighters decided to move to safer positions.

About an hour after the train derailed, a tank car BLEVE'd and rocketed 600 feet. About 2 hours after that, another tank car BLEVE'd and rocketed 1,600 feet. About 5 minutes after that, another tank car BLEVE'd and rocketed through 2 houses and a cement-block garage before it wedged itself into another house. With limited water supply exhausted, the firefighters decided to withdraw. The two remaining tank cars that were punctured by rocketing debris were left to burn until all of the Propane was consumed.

About 56 hours later, the fire burned out. When the fire was finally out, Crescent City was left in ruins. 25 homes and 15 businesses were destroyed. Many other homes and businesses sustained extensive damage. Over 60 firefighters and bystanders sustained injuries. Amazingly, because of civilian evacuation and caution from the firefighters, no one was killed.

An investigation revealed that the accident was caused by an overheated journal box (commonly known as a Hot Box) on the 20th car. A Hot Box, which is common on friction bearing trucks but rare on roller bearing trucks, occurs when the lubrication on one or more of the journal bearings leaks or dries out. It can also occur when one or more of the journal bearings is not properly lubricated. As a result, the bearings rub against each other and cause friction. The friction will eventually cause the bearings to overheat. If it's not detected quick enough, the bearings will seize and the axle will break, causing the car to derail. In rare cases, even though roller bearing trucks require little to no lubrication, they can still overheat. This typically occurs when one of the rollers fails, causing the other rollers to fail and eventually causing the bearing to overheat.

As a result of the accident and other similar accidents, tank car builders have gone into designing and building tank cars with more improvements to reduce the chances of a BLEVE, including insulation, thicker shells, thermal jackets, and improved pressure relief valves. The railroads also have Defect Detectors to detect Hot Boxes and other defects on passing trains to warn train crews of a defect. When a defect is spotted, the train crews are notified and the conductor has to inspect the defect. When the defect is confirmed, it may be fixed on the spot, or the car may have to be set out for the defect to be fixed. This way, accidents like this can be prevented from happening again.


----------

