1993 Sunset Limited derailment

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CTANut

CTANut

Service Attendant
Joined
Oct 29, 2019
Messages
170
Location
USA
Does anyone know what the consist of the 1993 Sunset Limited derailment was?
I was looking at an accident report, and the information inside appeared to be incorrect.
 
CTANut said:
Does anyone know what the consist of the 1993 Sunset Limited derailment was?
I was looking at an accident report, and the information inside appeared to be incorrect.
Click to expand...
Could you please provide a link to what you are referring to? Thanks.
 
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CTANut: I have the data to answer your question, but it is in my office at home. I should know it, but I can not remember the exact consist. If no one has answered your question before the end of the afternoon, I will provide it. I have always (like many railfans) been extremely interested in this incident. My son and I were on this train exactly one week BEFORE the date of the incident (September 1993). I always will remember that we were in the sleeper--it was the last car on the train and remained on the bridge, on the rails and upright and did not fall into Mobile bay.
 
The only inaccuracy I see is the lead locomotive being listed as an F40, when it was a P40. Other than that, the USFA report seems to have the correct info, from the photos I've seen.

1643674741450.png

The far upper left corner of this image shows unit 819, the P40. To its right is an F40, then the bridge, then the baggage car, then the second F40. Moving down from the baggage car, there is a Hi-Level Coach-Dorm car, then a Superliner 1 coach, and on the remaining portion of the bridge appears to be a second coach.
 
Parlour Car #39973 was on the train and Amtrak Coach 34040 was the one hanging off the bridge.

the coach is still in service and you can still see the dent from the accident
 
After the accident I was booked for a round-trip DEN<>LNK for a meeting. Our admin assistant worried out loud that it would be dangerous for me to take the train. I tried to explain to her that the risk of a tug and barge combination hitting a bridge on that segment was low, but that did not reassure her. She got all her news from tv.
 
I was living in Daytona Beach FL at the time and was a passenger numerous times 1993-2005. I remember what a great day it was in April 1993 when the Sunset Ltd service was restored NOL-MIA (with a stop in DLD)--first passenger service back on that route for 20+ years (I was a sleeping car passenger on the third trip out of NOL in April 1993--rode DLD-WAS-NOL-DLD just to ride it). Of course Hurricane Katrina ended all that in 2005, yet to be seen again.
 
My point was that there had been no "thru" service on the NOL-JAX line from the discontinuation of the Gulf Wind when Amtrak came into existence May 1971 until Amtrak extended the Sunset Ltd. in April 1993; AND there has been no "thru" service since Amtrak discontinued the NOL-ORL part of the Sunset Ltd when Katrina hit in 2005.
 
Seaboard92 said:
The Baggage Car I have in my files as 1163 an EX Union Pacific St. Louis Car Company Baggage No. 6331.
Click to expand...
Do you have the rest of the consist? I personally find the numbers/identification of cars involved in accidents.
 
Cal said:
Do you have the rest of the consist? I personally find the numbers/identification of cars involved in accidents.
Click to expand...

I don't but I'm sure I could probably find it somewhere. Right now I'm working on the dispositions of all of the Heritage Era HEP cars. I started with baggage cars which is why I had that so easily accessible.
 
Seaboard92 said:
I don't but I'm sure I could probably find it somewhere. Right now I'm working on the dispositions of all of the Heritage Era HEP cars. I started with baggage cars which is why I had that so easily accessible.
Click to expand...
Gotchya. Maybe this would be worth it's own thread? Or is there another site that could use this info...
 
I'm still confused about the consist. I am using this for a paper for a college class.
Was it:
P42, F40, F40, baggage, high level coach dorm, superliner coach, superliner coach, superliner coach, superliner lounge, superliner diner, superliner sleeper?
Was the Pacific Parlour car on the train as well?
 
I am not sure what this diagram is, but it appears that the accident report misnamed the superliner lounge.
Accident report diagram
1643906035883.png

Current diagram
1643906094887.png
 
CTANut said:
I am not sure what this diagram is, but it appears that the accident report misnamed the superliner lounge.
Accident report diagram
View attachment 26988

Current diagram
View attachment 26989
Click to expand...

The pacific parlour car was a “Superliner Lounge” at the time of the accident. There was not a “sightseer Lounge” in the consist.

Gets a little confusing -

“Superliner Lounge” was the ex-Santa Fe Hi-Level Lounges that would later become the Pacific Parlour Cars.

“Sightseer Lounge” are the Superliner Cars built for Amtrak, but modeled after the Hi-Level lounges.
 
CTANut said:
I'm still confused about the consist. I am using this for a paper for a college class.
Was it:
P42, F40, F40, baggage, high level coach dorm, superliner coach, superliner coach, superliner coach, superliner lounge, superliner diner, superliner sleeper?
Was the Pacific Parlour car on the train as well?
Click to expand...

The consist was as follows:

819 P40
262 F40PHR
312 F40PHR
1139 Baggage ex UP 6331 (1962 SLC)
39908 Hi Level Coach-Dorm
34083 Superliner I Coach
34068 Superliner I Coach
34040 Superliner I Coach
39973 Hi Level Lounge - eventually became a Pacific Parlour Car
38030 Superliner I Diner
32067 Superliner I Sleeper

Reconstructed from diagram in the NTSB Report with car details from Warner @ Simon "Amtrak By the Numbers"

Hope this answers your question fully and helps move along your paper for the college class!

Here is a nice diagram showing the disposition of the cars, not precisely correct in final location of things, but close enough:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DnraUyRU4AIBzgz?format=jpg&name=large
 
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Thank you so much.
jis said:
The consist was as follows:

819 P40
262 F40PHR
312 F40PHR
1139 Baggage ex UP 6331 (1962 SLC)
39908 Hi Level Coach-Dorm
34083 Superliner I Coach
34068 Superliner I Coach
34040 Superliner I Coach
39973 Hi Level Lounge - eventually became a Pacific Parlor Car
38030 Superliner I Diner
32067 Superliner I Sleeper

Reconstructed from diagram in the NTSB Report with car details from Warner @ Simon "Amtrak By the Numbers"

Hope this answers your question fully and helps move along your paper for the college class!

Here is a nice diagram showing the dispostion of the cars, nopt precisely correct in final location of things, but close enough:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DnraUyRU4AIBzgz?format=jpg&name=large
Click to expand...
 
Are these the current statuses of the cars?
819 P40- scrapped after accident
262 F40PHR- scrapped after accident
312 F40PHR- scrapped after accident
1139 Baggage ex UP 6331 (1962 SLC)- scrapped after accident
39908 Hi Level Coach-Dorm- scrapped after accident
34083 Superliner I Coach- scrapped after accident
34068 Superliner I Coach- scrapped after accident
34040 Superliner I Coach- currently in service
39973 Hi Level Lounge - eventually became a Pacific Parlour Car- retired 2018
38030 Superliner I Diner- wrecked later on
32067 Superliner I Sleeper- returned to service, in service currently
 
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34040, 39973, 38030 and 32067 were returned to service.

34040 was wrecked in Boise ID (Pioneer) 2/95. It was repaired using funds from American Recovery and Reimbursement Act (TIGER grant), and put back in active roster in Jan 2011. It is currently active.

39973 became Pacific Parlour Car and since has been retired. Sold to DALT Nov/18

38030 apparently suffered heat damage on train 59 in Sledge MS on 4/23/07. It may have been subsequently put back in service. It has been stored dead since Sep/20.

32067 Currently active

That is all I could dig out from Dave Warner's journal on OTOL and Dan Ainsworth's Superliner page.
 
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