Derailment

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. A derailment is an accident on a railway in which a train leaves the rails, which can result in damage, injury, and death. There are several main causes of derailment: broken or misaligned rails, excessive speed, faults in the train and its wheels, and collisions with obstructions on the track. Derailment can also occur as a secondary effect in the aftermath...
More Description

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. A derailment is an accident on a railway in which a train leaves the rails, which can result in damage, injury, and death. There are several main causes of derailment: broken or misaligned rails, excessive speed, faults in the train and its wheels, and collisions with obstructions on the track. Derailment can also occur as a secondary effect in the aftermath of a collision between two or more trains. Rails are also more likely to break when the weather is cold, when the ballast and ties/sleepers aren't providing as much support as they should, and when ground or drainage condition is such that 'pumping' occurs under heavy load. All of these conditions can contribute to a broken rail, and in turn a possible derailment. Trap points protect main lines from runaway vehicles by deliberately derailing them to bring them to a stop. Flangeless wheels make it easier for a locomotive to negotiate curves, but make them more prone to derailment. Rerailing a train after it has derailed is not an easy task, and often requires the use of large rail mounted cranes.