San Bernardino train disaster
| Date | May 12, 1989 |
|---|---|
| Time | 7:36 AM |
| Location | San Bernardino, California |
| Coordinates | 34°08′15″N 117°20′39″W / 34.13750°N 117.34417°WCoordinates: 34°08′15″N 117°20′39″W / 34.13750°N 117.34417°W |
| Country | United States |
| Rail line | Cajon Pass |
| Operator | Southern Pacific |
| Type of incident | Runaway train, derailment, and subsequent pipeline explosion |
| Cause |
Train derailment: Train weight miscalculated and several locomotives with inoperative dynamic brakes. Pipeline rupture: undetected damage to pipeline during cleanup |
| Statistics | |
| Trains | 1 (SP 7551 East) |
| Passengers | 0 |
| Deaths | 6 (2 on the train and 4 in houses) |
| Injuries | 7 (train crew on SP 7551 East and 4 residents) |
The San Bernardino train disaster, sometimes known as the Duffy Street incident, was a combination of two separate but related incidents that occurred in San Bernardino, California, United States: a runaway train derailment on May 12, 1989; and the subsequent failure on May 25, 1989, of the Calnev Pipeline, a petroleum pipeline adjacent to the tracks which was damaged by earth-moving equipment during the crash cleanup.
On May 12, 1989, at 7:36 a.m. a 6-locomotive/69-car Southern Pacific freight train (SP 7551 East, computer symbol 1 MJLBP-11) that was transporting trona, lost control while descending Cajon Pass, derailed on an elevated curve and plowed into a residential area on Duffy Street. The location is just northeast of where the 210 Foothill Freeway crosses the Cajon Creek wash.
The conductor, head-end brakeman, and two residents were killed in the wreck. Seven houses on the street immediately next to the tracks were demolished by the wreck, as were the lead locomotives and all of the freight cars. Clerks in Mojave had miscalculated the weight of the train, while the engineer and crew at the head end were unaware that one of the rear helper engines had inoperative dynamic brakes. Hence there was not enough dynamic braking force available to maintain control of train speed during the descent. When the helper engineer realized that the train speed was not being adequately controlled, he made an emergency brake application, which deactivated dynamic braking, resulting in a runaway condition. The train reached a speed of about 100 miles per hour (mph) before derailing on an elevated 35 mph curve next to Duffy Street, sending the head end locomotives and several cars off the high railroad bed and into houses on the street below, completely demolishing them.
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