| On Dec. 28, 1977 a northbound KCS train 66 with 4102 and 4116 hit a loaded log truck that had pulled in front of them. The resulting derailment caused a tank car loaded with LPG to rupture and explode. The two crew men on 4102 did not survive. At least ten others were injured including a crew menber on the caboose and the truck driver. Report of NTSB-RHR-78 dated 1978-6-8 gives the following account: About 2:15 pm cst on Dec 28, 1977, Louisiana & Arkansas Railway freight train Extra 4102 North collided with a log-laden tractor-semitrailer on the Vine Street crossing in Goldonna, La. The 2 diesel locomotive units and 22 cars derailed.A jumbo tank car loaded with about 31,000 gallons of LPG was ruptured and the cargo ignited. The resultant fireball enveloped an area 1200 feet wide including parts of Goldonna's business and residential districts. Two train crewmembers were killed; the truckdriver, a train crewmember, and eight bystanders were injured. Total damage was estimated to be $1,256,000. About 900 persons were evacuated from the Goldonna area. The NTSB determines that the probable cause of the accident was the excessive speed of the train,the failure of the truckdriver to approach the railroad at a speed which would allow him to stop short of the approaching train, and the obstructions which reduced the truckdrivers field of vision. |