[Magdalen] Derailment, Please Pray

[Jim Guthrie]

There are two especially interesting aspects to this tragedy:

The site of the wreck is the same as a 1943 wreck of the Pennsylvania Railroad's 
Congressional" when 16 cars piled up, killing 75 people.
Cause was a burned-out journal which caused a wheelset to collapse at speed.

Amtrak trains are much shorter of course and carry far fewer passengers, 
especially compared to the wartime PRR.

It looks like the locomotive is one of Amtrak's brand-spanking new Siemen's.  It 
should be noted that 40 years ago when Amtrak was replacing their  venerable GG1 
Electric Locomotive (built in the 1930s, one of which was pulling that 1943 
Congressional) they first purchased locos known as the E60s   rom General 
Electric.

They had a tendency to yaw side-to-side when accelerating that tended to damage 
the track structure.  They were supposed to haul trains at 120 mph, but after 
two derailments during initial testing in 1974,  the Federal Railroad 
Administration limited them to 90 mph, and Amtrak went further limiting them to 
80 mph.

By 1984 -- less than ten years after purchase, Amtrak retired them because of 
continuing problems.

So there are at least two interesting aspects -- one historical (location) and 
one related to new locomotives.

Jim Guthrie e