Five Fatal Minutes: The 1986 Hinton Train Collision
By: Max S
Tags: Accident, Canada, Trains, Railways, Fire

The trains involved

Travelling through Hinton on its eastbound journey from Jasper to Edmonton was the Via Rail Super Continental, which had seen the Skeena, another Via Rail passenger service, added to the back of it in its entirety (including the locomotive) at Jasper. The train was led by EMD FP7 number 6566, a four-axle multipurpose diesel locomotive introduced in 1949. Weighting 120 metric tons at 16.82m/55.2ft in length the FP7 can reach up to 192kph/119mph thanks to a supercharged two-stroke V16 diesel engine producing 1100KW/1500hp.

Via Rail FP7 #6566, the leading locomotive from the accident, photographed 5 months prior to the accident.

Following behind #6566 was EMD F9B number 6633, a cab-less so called B-unit of the EMD F9. B-units are referred to as Boosters, providing additional power without requiring a second crew by being remote-controlled by the crew in the locomotive in front. The EMD F9 is a four-axle multipurpose diesel locomotive introduced in 1953. Each F9B-unit weights 103.4 metric tons at 15.2m/50ft in length and can reach up to 169kph/105mph.

Via Rail F9B #6633, the booster unit involved, photographed in May 1984.

Included in the train in 8th position was the Skeena’s locomotive, being pulled along with the engine off. On the day of the accident the Skeena had been pulled by GMD FP9ARM number 6300, a version of the GMD FP9A refurbished specifically for Via Rail. Introduced into service in 1983 with new engines and electrical systems these 16.66m/54.8ft long locomotives had a power output of 1300KW/1800hp and could reach up to 105mph/169kph despite weighting 120 metric tons while being more reliable than the standard FP9, which had been in service since 1954.

Via Rail FP9ARM #6300 photographed in 2008, having been preserved.

Consisting of 9 passenger cars and two steam generator cars (for heating) the passenger train, operating simply as “Number 4”, carried 94 passengers and a crew of 21 including the locomotive crew. Driving the train at the time of the accident were the engineers Mister Peleshaty, aged 57, and Mister Miller, aged 53. There was no crew on #6300, which acted largely like a train car.

Coming the other way was CN freight train number 413, consisting of 3 locomotives and 115 freight cars most of which carried grain. The freight train measured 1867m/6124ft long and weighted 11616 metric tons.Leading the train was EMD GP38–2W number 5586, a Canadian market version of the EMD GP38–2 featuring the so-called Canadian Comfort Cab (the W is actually an unofficial designation by enthusiasts to specify these cabs). The Term “comfort cab” actually refers to the nose-section rather than the cab, which, on these locomotives, stretches the width of the locomotive meaning the doors are moved to the rear. The wider nose features additional impact protection engineered for collisions with obstacles smaller than the locomotive such as stopped vehicles or fallen trees. The changes also create a little more space inside the cabin itself, making them more comfortable to be in. Technically there is no difference to the standard EMD GP38–2 except for slightly different wiring and snow-shields on the air intakes. The GP38–2 is a four-axle multipurpose diesel locomotive introduced in 1972 for service with railway companies in the Americas and Saudi Arabia. Each locomotive weights 113.4 metric tons at 18.03m/59.2ft in length and can reach 105kph/65mph thanks to a supercharged two-stroke V16 diesel engine producing 1490KW/2000hp.

CN GP38–2W #4769, identical to the locomotive pulling the freight train, photographed in 2000.

Following behind the leading #5586 were two EMD SD40, numbered 5104 and 5062. The EMD SD40 is a six-axle diesel freight locomotive introduced in 1966. Engineered for both freight trains and shunting work these locomotives weight 160 metric tons at 20m/65.6ft in length and can reach 134kph/83mph thanks to a turbocharged V16 diesel engine producing 2240KW/3000hp. The train was driven by engineer Mister Hudson, aged 48, with brakeman Mister Edwards, aged 25, accompanying him. Riding in the caboose, a crew car required for freight trains at the time, at the back of the train was the conductor, Mister Smith, aged 33.

CN SD40 #5104, the second locomotive on the freight train, photographed in 1981. Note the narrower nose.

The accident

On the 8th of February 1986 at approximately 8am the freight train is stopped in a siding outside the town of Medicine Lodge, 24km/15mi linear distance east of Hinton, to let two eastbound train pass on the otherwise single track section of the line. Departing Medicine Lodge at 8:02am the freight train reached the eastern end of the double track section at Hargwen at 8:20am, being directed into the northern track (Canadian Railways use Right Hand Traffic). At about the same time the Super Continental departed Hinton eastbound five minutes behind schedule.

A photo from the report showing the exit signal with a worker for size-reference.

At 8:29am the dispatcher set the points at the western beginning of the double track section for the southern track, turning the exit-signal for the northern track, located 150m/490m before the western end of the double track section, red. The signal now displayed three solid red lights for the freight train, a clear order that the train must not proceed any further. Travelling, as the freight train did, east to west this signal was preceded by an approach signal 4.1km/2.5mi ahead of the exit signal, which now displayed yellow over red indicating “expect stop”. This meant that the freight train was ordered to reduce speed to 48kph/30mph and prepare to come to a stop at the exit signal.

As they approached the first signal Mister Smith radioed the locomotive, figuring out by the mileboards along the track that the locomotives were about to reach it. He got no reply on several calls, but figured that the radio was simply defective. He didn’t think that anything was wrong as he estimated them to be travelling at about 80kph/50mph and felt like the brakes had been applied a little bit. Both these estimates were false, though. The conductor could have checked the air pressure gauges for the brakes, but trusting in his coworkers and his instinct he did not do it. For unknown reasons the crew of the freight train had become incapacitated or at least inattentive as they approached the signal and the train went past the approach signal at 95kph/59mph, 14kph/9mph faster than they would’ve been allowed to travel had the signal been green. The investigation would find not trace of the brakes being applied. Shortly after it ran the approach signal the train also ran the main signal without slowing down, “breaking” the points (the process of going through a set of points from a side the points are not set up for) and entering the single tracks section right in front of the passenger train. Two passengers on the passenger train saw the lights of the approaching freight train, one of which, Mister Warniski in car 4, realized that it was on the same track and called out as such just moments before the collision. At 8:40am, 18 seconds after the freight train broke the points, the two trains collided head on at a combined speed of 174kph/108mph. Both leading locomotives were obliterated in the collision, killing their crews instantly, as the train cars behind them derailed. On the freight train’s side, the 76 first freight cars and the three locomotives were destroyed or severely damaged in seconds, while the passenger train’s forward section (ahead of locomotive #6300) derailed and ran into the wreckage and each other. The leading passenger car was crushed by a freight car propelled into the air by the forces of the collision, the second suffered severe damage as it ran into the stationary locomotives at speed. The dome car (featuring an elevated glass dome for better views of the landscape) derailed and almost fell over, several survivors managed to escape through broken windows in the dome and jump down, abandoning the train. Two passenger cars behind the dome car were thrown aside, causing at times severe injuries but no deaths as they were essentially thrown clear of the wreckage. The rear passenger cars didn’t derail but the violent stop still caused the passengers to suffer injuries. The same moment the locomotives collided their fuel tanks tore open, sparking a massive fireball to engulfing the locomotives, the baggage car and he leading passenger car. As the grain-loaded hoppers piled up they spilled their cargo over the wreckage, some of it landing inside the torn-open leading passenger car smothered flames inside it and allowed a few survivors to escape.

It should be mentioned that the report’s section on the aftermath starts with the following: The devastation caused by the impact defies description. It is not possible to appreciate the horror that the victims of the collision experienced .

In seconds 23 people lost their lives in an event of incredible force and violence. Among the dead were both locomotive-crews and 18 passengers of the leading passenger car (which ran in fourth position behind the baggage car and locomotives). 71 people are injured in Canda’s worst railway accident since 1947. The report still notes that, seeing the aftermath, the number of survivors is notably high, indicating a lot of acts of bravery along survivors leading to them helping each other rather than abandoning the wreckage as soon as possible.