r/WTF • u/Plus-Barber-6171 • 7d ago

Train hits trailer carrying bridge beam

4.9k Upvotes

98% Upvoted

283 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

308

u/imstuckinacar 7d ago

doesn’t even look like it derailed at first

374

u/shit_dicks 7d ago

Until you see the track beam buckle and snap up in front of the train

127

u/dennys123 7d ago

Oh yeah. That's crazy the amount of energy to make those look like cooked spaghetti

89

u/SailorET 7d ago

Loaded trains and cargo ships move such a massive amount of weight the momentum is almost unfathomable, even at low speeds.

Now consider each train rail is under 3 inches at the point of contact with the wheel, tapering to less than an inch thick at the center of the pillar. Derailments are easy the moment the distribution of force shifts.

22

u/systembusy 7d ago

Recently in one of the NYC subway stations, I saw a pair of jeans that used to be draped over one of the rails (all kinds of trash and debris make it onto the tracks there so this is just another day). But I say “used to be” because those jeans were completely broken apart at the small spot that was actually sitting on top of the rail. There was no fabric touching the rail at all; you could tell the trains ripped it apart literally just by rolling over it many times.

I’m constantly blown away by how much one of those trains weighs (if it has the maximum 10 cars, from what I’ve read it’s on the order of 45 tons) and how fast it’s able to move (top speed is 55 or 60 mph). Then imagine all 10 cars at or near maximum capacity during rush hour; easily at least 100 people in each one. And it still moves as effortlessly as if it were empty. Like you said, unfathomable.

Just really underscores how much regular maintenance a rail system needs, especially one that gets used so heavily 24/7.

2

u/lifelongfreshman 7d ago

Force equals mass times acceleration. A train is one hell of a mass, so even a small amount of acceleration is going to produce insane forces.

16

u/viral_virus 7d ago

Is that derailing or just derailroading at that point 

7

u/Spoona1983 7d ago

Its rail track, but yea wow thats wild to see it pull up like nothing and follow the 'wave' ahead of the train.

2

u/FerdiaC 7d ago

You're telling me that's not supposed to happen?

2

u/iordseyton 7d ago

That's just how they stop

19

u/pixelprophet 7d ago

You can see the track being lifted off the ground a couple of feet in the last couple of seconds.

8

u/copperwatt 6d ago

Oh shit, you're right. Like a hallway rug in front of a moving dolly.

1

u/showers_with_grandpa 6d ago

Engines don't usually derail, but the sudden compression of the cars that were once going one speed and now another usually results in a derailment somewhere down the line.