Miles City Railway Accident
The Miles City railway accident was caused on June 19, 1938 by the collapse of a bridge near Miles City , Montana , USA . At least 47 people died.
Starting position
At Miles City, a railway bridge built in 1913 led over Custer Creek , a tributary of the Yellowstone River on which the city lies. The bridge consisted of seven arches. The Custer Creek is usually dry, but could sudden flooding after rains. The bridge was designed for a water level of 5 meters. When heavy rains were reported in the mountains, the bridge was checked again for stability after 10 p.m. The water level at this point was around 2 meters.
The westbound Olympian on the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad crossed the bridge shortly after midnight.
the accident
After a heavy rain , a flood wave of 6 meters high occurred, which damaged a bridge pier. As soon as the train crossed the bridge, part of it collapsed. The couplings broke : the locomotive and the first five cars of the train reached the other bank, the two following sleeping cars crashed into the river, the last four cars stayed on the track and were even able to continue their journey later.
consequences
At least 47 people died, and it could have been more, because bodies of people from the train were found up to 50 miles downstream in the Yellowstone River.
See also
literature
- Peter WB Semmens: Disasters on the rails. A worldwide documentation. Transpress, Stuttgart 1996, ISBN 3-344-71030-3 .