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Kelso railroad accident memorial

At about 12:24 AM, on November 11, 1993, a Burlington Northern freight train headed southbound for Portland, Oregon collided head-on with a Union Pacific freight train near Kelso, Washington, at this location at milepost 102.8, killing all five members of the crews from both trains in a fiery crash and derailment that tossed flaming railcars onto Interstate 5.


Investigators later concluded that a flashing yellow warning light was missed by the crew, shortly before the accident. The yellow light was flashing to warn the BN engineer to slow the train to 35 mph and prepare to stop at a signal located 9,600 feet further south. It was later determined the BN crew missed a caution signal due to fog, and continued south at a speed as high as 55 mph.

The Burlington Northern train was comprised of 117-cars and the Union Pacific train had 83 cars as they traveled toward each other on the same track, smashing into each other just south of Kelso near the Columbia River. The site is about 130 miles south of Seattle.

The crash caused an explosion and a huge fireball that was fueled by the 10,000 gallons of diesel fuel on the two trains. The eight locomotives pulling the two trains were destroyed and the forces of the collision and the explosion sent burning freight cars and shipping containers flying onto nearby Interstate 5.

The victims were all railroad veterans with a decade or more experience. The BN crew were identified as engineer Wayne Kronberger, 40, of Bothell, who had 14 years of service with the railroad; conductor Larry Brooks, 56, of Seattle, who had 24 years employment with the railroad, and brakeman Kenny Mercer, 49, employed 29 years by the railroad, from Puyallup. Mercer was one of four workers who had been cited for heroism by BN after catching a transient who had stolen three locomotives and led workers on a high-speed chase in early 1990.

The UP crew were identified as conductor Tom Klein, 50, (29 years with the railroad) of La Center, and engineer Mark Poler, 41, of Tacoma.

With 60 trains using the two sets of tracks daily, this is considered one of the busiest railroad corridors in the US, including use by Amtrak 2 to 3 times per day.

The section of track was closed to freight and Amtrak trains for three days.

Following the crash, the two Railroads implemented new safety features called "Positive Train Control" on 750 miles of UP and BN track.

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Copyright: William L
Type: Spherical
Resolution: 20756x10378
Taken: 25/03/2022
Uploaded: 28/03/2022
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Tags: kelso; railroad; accident; collision; interstate 5; columbia river; portland; washington; disaster; explosion; memorial; union pacific; burlington northern; caboose; train
More About USA

The United States is one of the most diverse countries on earth, jam packed full of amazing sights from St. Patrick's cathedral in New York to Mount Hollywood California.The Northeast region is where it all started. Thirteen British colonies fought the American Revolution from here and won their independence in the first successful colonial rebellion in history. Take a look at these rolling hills carpeted with foliage along the Hudson river here, north of New York City.The American south is known for its polite people and slow pace of life. Probably they move slowly because it's so hot. Southerners tend not to trust people from "up north" because they talk too fast. Here's a cemetery in Georgia where you can find graves of soldiers from the Civil War.The West Coast is sort of like another country that exists to make the east coast jealous. California is full of nothing but grizzly old miners digging for gold, a few gangster rappers, and then actors. That is to say, the West Coast functions as the imagination of the US, like a weird little brother who teases everybody then gets famous for making freaky art.The central part of the country is flat farmland all the way over to the Rocky Mountains. Up in the northwest corner you can find creative people in places like Portland and Seattle, along with awesome snowboarding and good beer. Text by Steve Smith.


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