The Kismet train crash
The Kismet train crash is a collision between two BNSF trains on Kismet siding in Madera, California, famous for its video recorded from a camcorder on one of the BNSF trains. The video has become popular, being used in parody videos. The accident happened when a conductor of a BNSF train passed a red block, crashing the train into another. One of the trains had a camcorder that recorded the crash.
Train units
EM-RIC-BAR 1-13 units
BNSF Dash-9 4059
NREX SD50 5473 (retired from Conrail as 6829)
BNSF Dash-9 1065
FURX SD40-2 8110
BNSF GP30 2437 (has been with Santa Fe)
Burlington Northern SD40-2 7065
BNSF Dash-9 997
US-PDP-KC 1-11-2 units (train where camcorder recorded the crash) (Had all Dash-9's power)
4479
4715 (which was painted in "Santa Fe colors", but had BNSF branding on)
8967 (which was a 40CW and was from NS)
4576
background
On June 14, 2006, BNSF unit train US-PDP-KC 1-11-2 departed Calvo, California, heading for BNSF Spoke's yard in Sacramento. The train was pulling cement cars and departed at 6:00 a.m. At 10:35 p.m., BNSF Manifest and Power-move train EM-RIC-BAR 1-13 departed BNSF Richmond yard going to Khalwa, California. The train had 10 freight cars, but gained 45 more cars at Pittsburg yards, with the train now having 55 cars (35 loaded and 20 empty). Both trains were heading onto Kismet siding, which EM-RIC-BAR 1-13 would have stopped at to let US-PDP-KC 1-11-2 go to a siding (which didn't happen). The Manifest passed a signal (which showed red), and a crew member in the unit yelled, "HEY, THAT'S A RED BLOCK!" The conductor asked, "What are you talking about?" Almost at milepost 1027 point 2 (until the west end), the Manifest passed a flashing yellow signal telling the engineer not to go over 40 miles per hour, and at milepost 1026.3 passed a yellow signal (showing to be prepared to stop at the next and reduce the speed to 30), which the engineer didn't do anything about. The unit train passed a yellow block telling the train to slow down, which the engineer did (having great priority). The Manifest (at 43 miles per hour, which was beyond the speed limit) engineer switched notch 1 to 2 (returning to notch 1) and saw the unit train, applied the emergency brakes, and the crew ducked down (with the conductor bailing out).
crash
Both trains collided at 5:51 a.m. (Manifest at 22 miles per hour and unit train at 38 miles per hour). The unit train locomotives and 14 cars derailed, with the Manifest’s first three locomotives and two cars. All crew members of both trains survived (suffering injuries). Railfans that saw the images of the damaged locomotives, many of them said the locomotives were "goners," assuming they were going to be scrapped (which the locomotives were repaired). All units from both trains were repaired (with the NREX unit written off). All other trains were ordered to stop to prevent any more damage.
investigation
The FRA was brought in to investigate the crash. They didn't find the cause, and the only way they could find it was through drug testing. During drug testing, the FRA found the cause of the wreck was the conductor. The conductor of the Manifest was on cocaine at the time of operation (which made it hard to communicate with the crew about the signals). The conductor was later interviewed, who reported that the signal at the west had no indication and said that the sun made the signal at the east end too hard to understand (who later said the signal was showing red), then recalled one of the crew members saying, "Is that signal red?" Later, the conductor yelled at him to "run out the back" out of the locomotive. The Engineer witnessed the signal going green, therefore he kept a speed of 44 miles per hour; he later said that at the east end he saw the signal was red (throwing the Manifest into emergency brakes and bailing). The conductor said that the sun made the signal fluctuate (to which the engineer said, "It went clear"), and the engineer put on sunglasses. The brakeman never recalled the signal indication, and the sunlight made it hard to determine at the west. Three statements from the crew were tested by the FRA and BNSF on June 21, and the FRA concluded that the signal did not malfunction, no sunlight hampered the crews’ vision, and no hamper unit problem. The crew failing to notice the signals and the conductor being on drugs were the cause of the crash.
Recorder discovery and Video Popularity
While investigating the wreck, some FRA investigators found a camcorder in the lead unit of the unit train; it was bought by them and showed to other FRA investigators.
The video begins with the train rounding a curve to a length of track going to Kismet siding when the Manifest is seen not stopping. The conductor is seen bailing out of the lead unit before crashing. The camera bluescreens, with the mic recording the sounds of the impact.
After viewing it, the FRA put the camcorder footage on YouTube. In the following days, it became viral (being used in parodies, YTP’s, and videos made by railfans). It was later ported to other websites.
Aftermath
The conductor and engineer were fired from BNSF. Railfans thought all units were going to be scrapped (which BNSF denied). Dash-9’s 4479 and 4059 were repaired (with 4059 retaining its H2 scheme and 4479 painted in H3) and are still in use. FURX SD40-2 8110 was repaired and went back to service (now operates as WAMX 4152 as of June 2020). Dash-9 997 was rebuilt with a new number font and its original scheme. Dash-9 1065 was repaired with its original paint scheme and new number font (just like 997). Dash-9 4715 was repaired with its new H3 scheme (losing its Santa Fe colors). GP30 2437 was repaired and went back to service, but was sold to LTEX in 2018. BN SD40-2 7065 was repaired and continued to work until 2008 when it was retired and was put in storage when NS bought it in 2013, renumbered as 3517. Dash-9 8967 was repaired and returned to NS (now rebuilt as AC44C6M 4208). NREX SD50 5473 was scrapped. The FRA uploaded the camcorder footage onto YouTube, which gained a massive following; by 2019, the video had 8,914,217 views.
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