Re: Train Accident in Blue Mountains

[Dion Williams <onamission@start.com.au>]

Bill Bolton wrote:

> Even at low speed the inertia of the IC would be considerable and the
> mass of a 17 car + 2 loco IP which had just started moving would have
> been pretty much an immoveable object as far as the inertia of the IC
> was concerned.

I don't know if you could say the inertia of a four car V set moving at
under 20 km/h is considerable, particularly compared to the IP. If the
impact had occurred at low speed the force could have been readily
absorbed by the mass of the train in front. As it was the IU broke a
train six or seven times its weight in half and had enough force left
over to derail its front car and the IP's rear wagon across the adjacent
track.

Media reports indicated there were approximately six seconds between the
driver sighting the danger at 100m and the impact. 100m in six seconds
is 60 km/h. This (admittedly highly unofficial) evidence suggests that
even if it were not doing 60 km/h it was not far under that.

Dion