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00:00Although almost no one knows of this wreck, people can still learn from it, like why you
00:06should never leave tank cars unattended with neither the handbrakes nor the airbrake set.
00:12This is the story of the Denver Yard Train Wreck.
00:21In the early morning hours of May 23, 2007, a switching job at BNSF's 31st Street Yard
00:27in Denver, Colorado, were doing their duties moving cars around the yard, making up consists
00:33to prepare for departure.
00:35This switching train was led by GP35U-2505 and GP28M-1532.
00:45Up the line in another yard, another switching crew was taking care of 34 white tank cars,
00:52all loaded with, out of all things, beer, specifically Coors Light, to put them on another
00:58train after they had just left the Coors Brewing Company facility in Golden.
01:03However, the conductor or brakeman made a critical mistake.
01:08They left the 34 cars unattended without their locomotive.
01:13Since the locomotives weren't coupled to the rest of the train, their airbrakes had no
01:17effect on the brakes of the Coors tank cars.
01:20Since the yard was situated on a 1% downhill grade, the only thing that could prevent the
01:25tank cars from running away are the handbrakes.
01:29These brakes were not set either.
01:32With none of the brakes applied and all the brakes released on the tank cars, after a
01:37few minutes of collecting air, they started to roll down the hill towards BNSF's 31st
01:44Street Yard, where the switching job mentioned earlier was working.
01:49The crew of the 2505 got an emergency message on their radio, stating that the runaway tank
01:56cars were coming right for them on their own track.
01:59They hear this call and bail off the engine, but not a moment too soon.
02:11The unattended tank cars slam into the two engines, doing over 40 miles an hour.
02:17This acceleration was solely due to gravity.
02:20The cabin car body of 2505 was sheared off, and the long hood of 1532 was also destroyed.
02:28Thankfully, both of the crew members made it out uninjured before the wreck.
02:33Almost immediately, the blame was placed on the crew in the other yard, the one north
02:38of the 31st Street facility.
02:40Their negligence allowed the 34 tank cars to run away, destroy the engines, and spill
02:46a gross mix of beer and asphalt all over the yard.
02:50The engines that were hit by the runaway tank cars removed a short distance to the locomotive
02:54shop at the same yard, where 2505 was gutted and scrapped, and 1532 was repaired with another
03:02long hood and put back into service just a few months later.
03:06In addition, it was painted into the H4 paint scheme.
03:10This isn't the first incident of a runaway cut of cars, due to crew negligence, and it
03:15doesn't look like it'll be the last either.