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In a railway accident, telescoping occurs when the underframe of one vehicle overrides that of another, and smashes through the second vehicle's body. The term is derived from the resulting appearance of the two vehicle bodies: the body of one vehicle may appear to be slid inside the other like the tubes of a collapsible telescope – the body sides, roof and underframe of the latter vehicle being forced apart from each other.
Telescoping often results in heavy fatalities if the cars telescoped are fully occupied. The car riding on top will often destroy the structure of the car below, crushing those on board (although the physics of the incident may reverse the cars' roles). The chances of telescoping can be reduced by use of
File:June 22, 2009 WMATA Collision - NTSB accident photo 422860.jpg, The aftermath of the June 2009 Washington Metro train collision
File:St Johns train crash 1898.jpg, The aftermath of the
In a railway accident, telescoping occurs when the underframe of one vehicle overrides that of another, and smashes through the second vehicle's body. The term is derived from the resulting appearance of the two vehicle bodies: the body of one vehicle may appear to be slid inside the other like the tubes of a collapsible telescope – the body sides, roof and underframe of the latter vehicle being forced apart from each other.
Telescoping often results in heavy fatalities if the cars telescoped are fully occupied. The car riding on top will often destroy the structure of the car below, crushing those on board (although the physics of the incident may reverse the cars' roles). The chances of telescoping can be reduced by use of anticlimber
A cowcatcher, also known as a pilot, is the device mounted at the front of a locomotive to deflect obstacles on the track that might otherwise damage or Derailment, derail it or the train.
In the UK, small metal bars called ''life-guards'', ...
s and other structural systems which direct crash energy and debris away from the passenger and crew areas. One such energy absorbing system is the Green Buffer, winners of the 2023 Swedish Steel Prize, where a collapsing steel structure in the buffers dissipate energy similarly to the crumple zones used in the automotive industry.
Accidents where telescoping occurred are numerous and include:
* 1864 Shohola train wreck
* 1888 Mud Run disaster
* 1928 Times Square derailment
* 1945 Michigan train wreck
* 1947 Camp Mountain rail accident
* 1952 Harrow and Wealdstone rail crash
* 1957 Lewisham rail crash
* 1962 Rail accidents in Winsford
* 1970 Benavídez rail disaster
The Benavídez rail disaster, which occurred on February 1, 1970, is the worst-ever rail disaster in Argentina and South America, leaving 236 dead and more than 500 injured.
Summary
This accident happened in an isolated, dimly lit area near Bena ...
* 1972 Chicago commuter rail crash
* 1981 Seer Green rail crash
* 1987 Bintaro train crash
The 1987 Bintaro train crash occurred in Pondok Betung urban village, Bintaro, South Jakarta, Indonesia, on Monday, 19 October 1987. Two passenger trains collided, causing 139 fatalities, making it Indonesia's worst railway crash to this day.
...
* 1990 Ursus rail crash
* 2008 Chatsworth train collision
The 2008 Chatsworth train collision occurred at 4:22:23 p.m. PDT (23:22:23 UTC) on September 12, 2008, when a Union Pacific Railroad freight train and a Metrolink commuter rail passenger train collided head-on in the Chatsworth neigh ...
* 2009 Washington Metro train collision
* 2012 Buenos Aires rail disaster
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...
To reduce the chance of telescoping, rail and tramway vehicles are often provided with an anticlimber: a horizontally ridged plate at the end of the chassis, which in a collision will engage with the anticlimber on the next car.
Gallery
1898 St Johns rail accident
The St Johns train crash happened at 9 am on 21 March 1898 when, in thick fog, a passenger train waiting to enter St Johns railway station, St Johns Station on the South Eastern Railway, UK was run into by another passenger train. Thre ...
, where the rear two carriages of a passenger train were telescoped by being hit at by a following train.
File:MudRunDisaster.jpg, Cars involved in the Mud Run disaster, October 10, 1888
See also
*Anticlimber
A cowcatcher, also known as a pilot, is the device mounted at the front of a locomotive to deflect obstacles on the track that might otherwise damage or Derailment, derail it or the train.
In the UK, small metal bars called ''life-guards'', ...
* Buff strength
Buff strength is a design term used in the certification of rail rolling stock. It refers to the required resistance to deformation or permanent damage due to loads applied at the car's ends, such as in a collision. Particular emphasis on buff str ...
* Crashworthiness
Crashworthiness is the ability of a structure to protect its occupants during an impact. This is commonly tested when investigating the safety of aircraft and vehicles. Different criteria are used to figure out how safe a structure is in a crash, ...
* EN 15227 anti-climbing
References
{{Rail accidents Railway accidents and incidents