Bomb Trains shared a link.
August 2
Great letter ....

"I find it sad and disturbing that Norfolk Southern has no desire to help a small town terrorized by its trains. It hides behind a cloak of relief that the recent Vandergrift derailment was contained and there was no loss of life."
'Bomb trains' in the Allegheny-Kiski Valley
triblive.com
I am a native of East Vandergrift and have been pushing very hard for rail safety along the Norfolk Southern tracks. I fear another derailment ...
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Bomb Trains shared a link.
August 2
At least 16 bomb train derailments in the past 31 days is about double the average so far this year. If it turns out the heat is the problem, this doesn't bode well for the rest of the summer.
Derailments May Increase as 'Sun Kinks' Buckle Tracks
www.climatecentral.org
Sun kinks, sections of track that have buckled in intense outdoor heat, have caused more than 2,100 train derailments in the U.S. over the past 40 years.
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Bomb Trains shared a link.
August 2
"We've been keeping an eye out for when it comes back on city agendas, and being vigilant," said longtime resident and [Pittsburg] Defense Council member Lyana Monterrey. The group has also been keeping an eye on crude-by-rail issues in Berkeley, Richmond and Benicia, she said."
Pittsburg: WesPac oil-by-rail storage project remains on hold
www.contracostatimes.com
City officials waiting to see whether the developer wants to continue the application process in the midst of heavy community opposition.
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Bomb Trains shared a link via Portland Rising Tide.
August 2
"One might think that, in a world where climate change is killing crops and raising oceans, the federal government, when confronted with an oil boom so hasty and perilous it is deemed an imminent hazard, would do everything in its considerable power to put an end to that boom. Instead, regulators said they would “urge” companies to use safer cars."

A very learned essay ....
Oil Trains in Oregon: The Bakken Shale, the Uinta Basin, and the Climate Crisis - Portland...
portlandrisingtide.org
In order to maintain a liveable world, fossil fuel use must radically decline in the immediate future. This will require foregoing new mines, drilling projects, and pipelines; it will also require decommissioning a great deal of the ones that already
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Bomb Trains shared Sarah LittleRedfeather Kalmanson's story.
August 2
Near Milwaukee, WI, "... a deadly oil train carrying millions of gallons of explosive Bakken crude speeding past thousands of people unknowingly going about their day seemingly unaware of a potential disaster waiting to happen."
This is taken from the Tosa Farmers Market area where there's children, and families dining and hanging out. See how close these dirty trains are, and how the risks continue to be ignored for Big Oil and Gas #idlenomore !!! Within minutes a second train passed through carrying Canadian tanks opposite direction.

It's s...cary as they're so close to pedestrians, homes, businesses, Menomonee River and the train(s) traveling at high speed - going very fast!

Check out what these trains have left behind in small towns creating catastrophic damages to life, and environment. EXAMPLES . . . #DirtyOil !

Last moments of Lac-Mégantic: Survivors share their stories - A flood of burning oil would kill 47 people, orphan 21 children and destroy most of downtown in the worst rail disaster in modern Canadian history.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/lac-megantic-musi-cafe/article15656116/

Ohio Train Explosion Caught on Tape
http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/ohio-train-explosion-caught-tape-16758671

Oil train explosion - A fireball goes up at the site of an oil train derailment on Dec. 30, 2013, in Casselton, N.D. Wisconsin and many other states are wisely requiring public access to information about big oil shipments by rail through our state.
Read more: http://host.madison.com/oil-train-explosion/image_394c1560-b81c-5819-b7cd-f1ca4401f33d.html#ixzz39G0eplvR
 See More
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Bomb Trains shared a link via Herb No CoalPorts Goodwin.
August 2
UPDATE, video report. An earlier report from the newspaper said there were diesel tanks involved, but I'm thinking now that's probably not true. Still, this is a major oil train route, with the Columbia River just feet from these tracks ....
13 Empty Union Pacific Rail Cars Derail on Hwy. 730
www.nbcrightnow.com
Crews from Union Pacific are working to get one of their trains, that derailed early Friday morning, back on the tracks.
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Bomb Trains shared KNDU-TV's status.
August 2
Yesterday near Wallula, WA (see below) ....
Dede Anderson just sent us several pictures of the Union Pacific train cars that derailed and fell into the Columbia River along US 730 south of Wallula near the Washington/Oregon border this morning. The photographer appears to have been on the river giving all of us a great view. Thank you Dede Anderson & Cindy Acosta. (4 photos)
KNDU-TV's photo.
KNDU-TV's photo.
KNDU-TV's photo.
KNDU-TV's photo.
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Bomb Trains shared a link.
August 1
ALSO BREAKING: Regarding the Wallula, WA, derailment (see below) early this morning, the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin is now reporting:

"... seven cars ended up in the Columbia River off U.S. Highway 730 just south of the Oregon state line. Thirteen Union Pacific boxcars derailed around 3 a.m. Of the six that settled onto land, a couple were loaded with diesel fuel."
Crews work to clean up derailment near state line
union-bulletin.com
WALLA WALLA — Emergency crews are cleaning up an early morning boxcar derailment where seven cars ended up in the Columbia River off U.S. Highway 730 just south of the Oregon state line.
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Bomb Trains shared a link.
August 1
BREAKING: "Five cars were empty and the other was carrying lube oil, according Jim Feeny, CN's director of public and government affairs."

Another source reported a diesel fuel spill was being mopped up.
Rail service cancelled as Via, CN trains collide near Kingston, Ontario
montreal.ctvnews.ca
For the second time this summer, Via Rail service between Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal is being delayed after a train derailment.
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Bomb Trains shared a link.
August 1
Holy cow. This is on a major oil train route southeast of Kennewick, WA, and a national wildlife refuge, along the Columbia River.

"13 Union Pacific cars jumped the track and ended up near the [Columbia] river .... you can see the entire track was pretty much pulverized by this derailment .... The cars, normally used to transport new cars, were all empty. They were heading from Spokane to Hinkle, Oregon."
13 train cars derailed near Wallula, WA
www.keprtv.com
The cars were empty and no one was injured. But the company says this line is vital to the economy of the region.
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Bomb Trains shared a link.
August 1
WAFB 9, Baton Rouge, LA ....

"... four of the derailed cars were carrying silica pellets, two were carrying lubricant oil and the last had diflourmeth residue in it. Diflourmeth is hazardous, but is not causing a problem because the car had been emptied before the derailment."
Train derailment causes heavy traffic delays, evacuations
www.wafb.com
A train derailment on South Choctaw Drive at West Dual Street in Baton Rouge is causing traffic delays for drivers trying to get around the city. It is unknown if there were any injuries.
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Bomb Trains shared a link.
August 1
Here it is. The comment period runs today through September 30. Please comment and share ....

"The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA or we), in coordination with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), is p...roposing: new operational requirements for certain trains transporting a large volume of Class 3 flammable liquids; improvements in tank car standards; and revision of the general requirements for offerors to ensure proper classification and characterization of mined gases and liquids." See More
Hazardous Materials: Enhanced Tank Car Standards and Operational Controls for High-Hazard Flammable
www.regulations.gov
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Bomb Trains shared Dean Smith's photo.
August 1
The most likely crude oil train disaster scenario for Everett WA is a derailment on the tracks along Port Gardner Bay at the base of the bluffs extending from Mukilteo to the Port Gardner neighborhood. Nearly all of this stretch is not acc...essible to first responders because there are no roads. In the winter of 2012-2013 we had 200 landslides on that stretch of track, two of which forced derailments.

Fire fighters have told me that they cannot extinguish a crude oil fire, they can only try to keep it from spreading to adjacent cars by applying water to cool those cars. (That's why one of the 'improvements' in the newer tank cars is to put heat shields on the ends of the cars.) But in this area, firefighters cannot get at the problem to cool the adjacent cars, so we could get a whole series of explosions, spaced 15-20 minutes apart right down the length of the train.

The prevailing winds here are in the west or southwest, so the likely path of the toxic smoke would be up over the bluff and into our residential neighborhoods.

The bluffs are most likely to slide when there has been heavy rain, a condition weather scientists tell us will be more common with climate warming. We can add to that the minute seismic disturbances caused in the bluffs by the passing vibration of the trains themselves. It is a formula for disaster.

As citizens of Everett, we cannot stop the trains. We cannot build more roads for firefighters. All we can do is to be prepared to run like hell when the crisis occurs and we can construct systems to give us early warning. See More
Photo: The most likely crude oil train disaster scenario for Everett WA is a derailment on the tracks along Port Gardner Bay at the base of the bluffs extending from Mukilteo to the Port Gardner neighborhood. Nearly all of this stretch is not accessible to first responders because there are no roads. In the winter of 2012-2013 we had 200 landslides on that stretch of track, two of which forced derailments. Fire fighters have told me that they cannot extinguish a crude oil fire, they can only try to keep it from spreading to adjacent cars by applying water to cool those cars. (That's why one of the 'improvements' in the newer tank cars is to put heat shields on the ends of the cars.) But in this area, firefighters cannot get at the problem to cool the adjacent cars, so we could get a whole series of explosions, spaced 15-20 minutes apart right down the length of the train. The prevailing winds here are in the west or southwest, so the likely path of the toxic smoke would be up over the bluff and into our residential neighborhoods. The bluffs are most likely to slide when there has been heavy rain, a condition weather scientists tell us will be more common with climate warming. We can add to that the minute seismic disturbances caused in the bluffs by the passing vibration of the trains themselves. It is a formula for disaster. As citizens of Everett, we cannot stop the trains. We cannot build more roads for firefighters. All we can do is to be prepared to run like hell when the crisis occurs and we can construct systems to give us early warning.
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Bomb Trains shared a link via The Coalition for Bakken Crude Oil Stabilization.
August 1
“I don’t know how many warnings we’re going to get,” said Charlene Benton, president of the Ezra Prentice Homes Tenants Association and resident of the community. “We have 156 children under the age of 16. . . . We have to do something.”
The Price of Oil Trains
metroland.net
One year after oil tankers went off the rails and exploded in Lac-Megantic, Quebec—killing 47 people and leaving a community devastated—local political leaders and community members are growing increasingly concerned about a similar tragedy occurring closer to home. A
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