# Amtrak Train Southwest Chief has derailed near Kansas City: 2022-06-27 **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Tags:** breaking-news\ **Created:** [June 27, 2022, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amtrak-train-southwest-chief-has-derailed-near-kansas-city-2022-06-27/966990 "2022-06-27T19:59:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2022, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amtrak-train-southwest-chief-has-derailed-near-kansas-city-2022-06-27/966990/21 "2022-06-28T14:15:52Z")
[This article from Trains Magazine](https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews/news-wire/site-of-southwest-chief-accident-had-been-recommended-for-grade-crossing-improvements/) (apologies, may be behind a paywall) on the crash includes mention of something that I’ve seen on other media coverage this morning: the grade crossing where the collision occurred had been recommended for an upgrade to a “controlled” crossing (i.e., lights and a gate). The article also includes an aerial photograph of the crash scene. You can see that every one of the passenger cars (and baggage cars) derailed and tipped over. The train’s two locomotives are at the far right side of the picture; it looks like the second locomotive is partially tipped over as well. [![](https://www.trains.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/TRN_Chief_derailment.jpg) ](https://www.trains.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/TRN_Chief_derailment.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2022, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amtrak-train-southwest-chief-has-derailed-near-kansas-city-2022-06-27/966990/22 "2022-06-28T15:41:24Z")
From what I’ve heard, everything derailed. So, the engines may not look tipped, but the wheels are off. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2022, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amtrak-train-southwest-chief-has-derailed-near-kansas-city-2022-06-27/966990/23 "2022-06-28T16:29:15Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > So, the engines may not look tipped, but the wheels are off. That wouldn’t surprise me at all. Here’s a picture that was taken by one of the passengers, in the aftermath of the crash. It appears that this stretch of track is “double track” (i.e., two parallel sets of tracks), and that the Amtrak train was running on the right-hand track, which is typical operating procedure on most U.S. railroads. While it’s a little hard to make out, the track that the train was on has been completely torn apart by the derailed cars running along it. Look near the person in the lavender shirt, in the bottom center of the picture – the left-hand rail has been rotated, a long series of ties has been displaced, and the right-hand rail appears to be buried underneath the ballast (gravel). [![](https://www.kansascity.com/latest-news/50ye8z/picture262944118/alternates/FREE_1140/LEDE_SurvivorStories.jpg) ](https://www.kansascity.com/latest-news/50ye8z/picture262944118/alternates/FREE_1140/LEDE_SurvivorStories.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2022, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amtrak-train-southwest-chief-has-derailed-near-kansas-city-2022-06-27/966990/24 "2022-06-28T16:54:00Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > The WaPo story features a Twitter link, apparently from one of the passengers on the Southwest Chief, with a couple of photos showing a number of the train’s cars on their sides. Pretty frightening, and I’m concerned about injuries or fatalities. > > [https://twitter.com/cloudmarooned/status/1541496621921361920](https://twitter.com/cloudmarooned/status/1541496621921361920) One of my sisters was on that train, and is now in the hospital with a collapsed lung, and a broken collarbone, ribs and hip. My brother reports that she’s on a lot of pain meds right now, including fentanyl. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2022, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amtrak-train-southwest-chief-has-derailed-near-kansas-city-2022-06-27/966990/25 "2022-06-28T16:58:05Z")
@kaylasdad99 I’m so sorry to hear that. I hope she makes a full recovery. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2022, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amtrak-train-southwest-chief-has-derailed-near-kansas-city-2022-06-27/966990/26 "2022-06-28T16:58:42Z")
Once again a driver’s stupidity gets alot of innocent people killed. 😡 ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2022, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amtrak-train-southwest-chief-has-derailed-near-kansas-city-2022-06-27/966990/27 "2022-06-28T17:01:45Z")
Thank you, so do our family. She had come out to California to assist a family friend with his asylum hearing (which got postponed- again), and was on her way back to her husband in Michigan. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2022, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amtrak-train-southwest-chief-has-derailed-near-kansas-city-2022-06-27/966990/28 "2022-06-28T17:25:17Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > The article also includes an aerial photograph of the crash scene. You can see that every one of the passenger cars (and baggage cars) derailed and tipped over. The train’s two locomotives are at the far right side of the picture; it looks like the second locomotive is partially tipped over as well. It’s interesting how the lead engine is still upright - I wonder if it is still on the tracks? But yeah, I can see how a rapid deceleration would cause the following cars to “buckle” and hop off the tracks. What a mess. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2022, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amtrak-train-southwest-chief-has-derailed-near-kansas-city-2022-06-27/966990/29 "2022-06-28T17:43:05Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > the resulting effect on the passenger cars would probably have not been as violent At least for the train. Likely that train was doing about 80 (the fastest I have ever observed on the EB in eastern MT), a passenger vehicle would be not quite vaporized. The overhead image shows no discernable damage to the lead locomotive, but I cannot see anything of the dump truck. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2022, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amtrak-train-southwest-chief-has-derailed-near-kansas-city-2022-06-27/966990/30 "2022-06-28T17:47:23Z")
When a freight train comes to a sudden stop, the cars frequently accordion as the energy dissipates. [![](https://www.gordon-elias.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/topeka-ks-union-pacific-train-derailment1.jpg) ](https://www.gordon-elias.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/topeka-ks-union-pacific-train-derailment1.jpg) Passenger cars are equipped with the AAR Type F coupler (“tightlock”) that limits slack action to a fraction of an inch instead of the four or five inches the regular Type E afford.\* I conjecture the tightlock couplers forced the train to the side and off the tracks instead. \*There is also draft gear with wedges and springs that allow several more inches of controlled movement. [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/04/AAR_Type_F_coupler_a.jpg/640px-AAR_Type_F_coupler_a.jpg) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/04/AAR_Type_F_coupler_a.jpg/640px-AAR_Type_F_coupler_a.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2022, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amtrak-train-southwest-chief-has-derailed-near-kansas-city-2022-06-27/966990/31 "2022-06-28T17:48:06Z")
The Kansas City Star is reporting a fourth victim of the crash has died, at University Hospital in Columbia. > [@eschereal](#): > > The overhead image shows no discernable damage to the lead locomotive, but I cannot see anything of the dump truck. This photo, also from the Star, shows what looks to be the bottom of the truck’s chassis, near the grade crossing. [https://www.kansascity.com/latest-news/inprwi/picture262946203/alternates/FREE\_1140/KCM\_PhotosamtraktraincrashJ%20(5)](https://www.kansascity.com/latest-news/inprwi/picture262946203/alternates/FREE_1140/KCM_PhotosamtraktraincrashJ%20(5)) ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2022, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amtrak-train-southwest-chief-has-derailed-near-kansas-city-2022-06-27/966990/32 "2022-06-28T22:07:49Z")
Hugs to you, and her and your family too. Is she conscious? I’m guessing she is, if she’s on fentanyl; they often use that in patient-controlled analgesia, which is very commonly used after surgery or trauma. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2022, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amtrak-train-southwest-chief-has-derailed-near-kansas-city-2022-06-27/966990/33 "2022-06-28T22:12:17Z")
Something must have been left of the truck, because the driver did not die instantly. He was thrown from the truck, and comforted by a Boy Scout who found him, mortally injured, in a ditch. This is something no teenager should ever have to witness, let alone do. I saw a picture of him in another story, which named him too; he’s the boy in Troop 73 who wears glasses. > **[Boy Scouts jump into action after Amtrak derailment: 'We're really proud'](https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Living/boy-scouts-jump-action-amtrak-derailment-proud/story?id=85850359)** > > Two Boy Scout troops were on the Amtrak train that derailed in Missouri Monday. The scouts, trained in first aid, quickly responded in the aftermath of the accident. One Scout was T&R’ed at a local hospital, and they were put on a bus in Columbia and headed home. I heard that the parents chartered a bus, and if that is true, I hope they can be reimbursed by Amtrak. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2022, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amtrak-train-southwest-chief-has-derailed-near-kansas-city-2022-06-27/966990/34 "2022-06-28T22:38:39Z")
They must have all been coming home from Philmont. That’s where my friend was headed with his son’s troop on his way west. ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2022, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amtrak-train-southwest-chief-has-derailed-near-kansas-city-2022-06-27/966990/35 "2022-06-28T22:47:47Z")
@kaylasdad99, I’m sorry to learn this and hope she makes a full recovery. She sounds like a wonderful person. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2022, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amtrak-train-southwest-chief-has-derailed-near-kansas-city-2022-06-27/966990/36 "2022-06-28T23:35:05Z")
Yeah, she is. She beat ovarian cancer several years ago, and went on to receive her doctorate in medical ethics. Turns out her collarbone didn’t break, but she did sustain fractures in her neck and back. No information yet on whether her spinal cord was injured. ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2022, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amtrak-train-southwest-chief-has-derailed-near-kansas-city-2022-06-27/966990/37 "2022-06-29T01:40:29Z")
Wow.I’m VERY impressed. You must be incredibly proud of her. I hope her spinal cord wasn’t injured. Please keep us updated. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2022, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amtrak-train-southwest-chief-has-derailed-near-kansas-city-2022-06-27/966990/38 "2022-06-29T01:52:54Z")
Oy! I’m so sorry. Please keep us in the loop. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2022, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amtrak-train-southwest-chief-has-derailed-near-kansas-city-2022-06-27/966990/39 "2022-06-29T02:01:13Z")
Keeping your sister in my thoughts, @kaylasdad99 ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2022, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amtrak-train-southwest-chief-has-derailed-near-kansas-city-2022-06-27/966990/40 "2022-06-29T04:07:44Z")
(((((kaylasdad99 and his sister))))) Keep us updated! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amtrak-train-southwest-chief-has-derailed-near-kansas-city-2022-06-27/966990.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amtrak-train-southwest-chief-has-derailed-near-kansas-city-2022-06-27/966990.md?page=3)