I like how they told him to stay at his hotel after he offered, and wanted, to go back to the train, to see it and secure it for his own peace of mind, but they said “just stay there, no need to go back, get some sleep” and then charge him with negligence. Typical corporate.
If I'm seeing the timeline correctly, he would've been too late anyway, since apparently a fire fighter saw the train roll past mere minutes after extinguishing it. And the train operator was only called after the fire was under control. He was in a hotel in the other town, so I don't think he would've made it in time either way...
Yeah sadly had company followed policy and had a second person it would have been physically capable to engage all of the brakes... I don't blame him at all he did everything you possibly could yeah he had a couple mistakes but that was it everybody makes simple mistakes And he couldn't have accounted for the fact that the firemen were going to cut the engine
@@williamcote4208 there are exceptions where policies are overriden by certain actions. Yeah, the penalty might come later but the situation could be avoided.
This is the kind of town I want to live in. The community came together and defended 3 strangers and instead focused their attention on a bigger company. They must’ve known they wouldn’t win, but still wanted justice for those who are victims. That’s a true community.
I am from Lac-Mégantic. I was present during the tragedy. Seeing these pictures gives me chills. I can still hear the terrible hiss that this fire has been making all night. Bravo for the documentary, your information is correct and well explained.
WoW, I'm just in complete shock just watching this video. Can't imagine the nightmares you and countless others will remember for the rest of your lives. So happy you lived to speak of this tragedy. Thankyou Friend ❤
It's because the three employees was thrown under the bus. The real responsible was the MMA (Montreal Maine and Atlantics railroads) owner and CEO. That should be prosecuted , but when you are multi millionnaire the law fear to touch you. Even with a 10 feet pole.
The driver was purely innocent, the guy who was sent to check the train should have had prison time, or if wasn’t trained to do so then the guy who sent him should face prison time. Checking the train if it’s safe and then it ends up blowing a town up… well his check weren’t great then
Man just hearing that conversation with Tom and his manager and then what transpired afterwards hits hard bro. Asking if he should go back and check on the train after he absolutely sure he secured it within spec, then finding out later that it was his train that derailed. That could have happened to any one of us that holds a job with some crucial responsibility. It's super fucked up that their company threw them under the bus but I'm glad that they were all acquitted!
Yeah he tried to make sure, offered to go check. The company didn't want to waste the hour of pay I guess 🤦🏾♂️😢. This video was the best coverage I've seen of this tragedy
@@katieandkevinsears7724 I just wanna pop in and thank you for doing what you do. Railroads are essential for our society to function, yet you don’t get the respect you deserve.
It was stated in the video that Harding did not secure his train within spec, even before the fire. He stated himself that he applied 7 hand brakes in total. With the slope the train was parked on however, he should have applied twice as many hand brakes according to procedure. That way, the train would not have able to move. Whether the locomotive's engine was on or not.
@@aspirec1376 Yeah, BUT how much of what he physically did was because of his training FROM THE COMPANY... and how much was just him saying, "Christ... It's late, I'm not doing anymore than that. She ain't going nowhere." ??? You see??? You DO NOT KNOW... AND with the confidence in his voice on the phone, he was doing what he was trained to do, as far as he knew ALL within spec'. We're getting the "actual spec's" from the video YEARS AFTER the fact, because they get referenced in the investigation and reports and court cases, all of it... REGARDLESS of what he was told to do in the classes, schools, refreshers, etc... on the job... BY THE COMPANY. Did he REALLY know better than to test the handbrakes with the airbrakes on? Did he REALLY know how many handbrakes were prescribed for that slope on that train??? OR is it possible, his "Training Supervisor" told him the procedure to test the brakes, and "As long as she ain't going nowhere, she's secure enough. F*ck it. The brass don't need to be paying you overtime for extra handbrakes you don't need."??? OBVIOUSLY, if we even could track down the trainers and instructors, they'll ALL tow the school's prideful "company line". "We hold our students and especially our graduates to THE HIGHEST standards around here, because when we do right, nobody remembers, but when we screw up, EVERYBODY DIES!" Right? You've heard those lines (or lines like them) before. God knows, I HAVE. It's almost always BULLSHIT... BUT you here the same "Customers and Passenger's safety is our TOP priority!" and blah-blah-blah... ...yeah... Then how is it so often we keep hearing and seeing about how you kill 50 to 1000 of them at a whack??? How is it that's not a "once in a lifetime" thing??? Highest standards??? ....yeah... MY ASS... ;o)
Feel so bad for Mr. Harding.. he did everything he thought he was supposed to do and one little mix up (which definitely happened because he was the singular ONLY operator) screwed it all. Even after the first little smoke started, he offered to go back to the train and make sure everything was okay, but his superior told him not to and go to bed.. Harding almost certainly would’ve caught the error had he went back like he said he would..
Exactly I feel so bad for him cuz you know he almost certainly thinks about that about if only he just went back anyways to make sure everything was ok. He did his job and they tried to pin so much on him its just sad
Maybe so, but he did leave the locomotive running that kept the airbrakes on, those along with the seven manual car brakes did hold the train. The problem began after the fire when the 2nd engineer switched the engine off, probably doing the right thing as per procedure, that caused the air brakes to release and started the runaway. @@freedomunrestricted
@@steveprice1639 one of the biggest rules is that you are never supposed to rely on air brakes for this exact reason. That's why a good securement test requires ensuring the train holds with handbrakes alone.
A week before the disaster, the town had hosted the national cycling championship, it was one of the most beautiful venue I've raced at. It felt so surreal to think that the whole place was gone in smoke right after we were there. Returning there a few years later left me with such an hollow feeling in my guts.
That's like the Lower 9th Ward in New Orleans, there are still empty slabs where there used to be homes. I can't imagine being there, the energy of death still resonates in some places.
It hits me every time I hear this story overall I do not blame Tom Harding he did what he thought was necessary to operate the defective train and blame the inferior company he worked for
It sounded like on the phone conversation like he knew he should go up and check on that train after the fire, and there is no doubt in my mind if he had of, he would've secured the train properly and this disaster would've been avoided
@@Morpheen999 the only people responsible were the corrupt execs who chose to use subpar parts, profits should never ever take priority over safety, if they had used correct parts there would have been no fire nor would there have been a failure of the airbrakes and nothing would have gone wrong. This is another case of a rich company playing fast and loose with regulations and then blaming working men when something inevitably goes wrong
@@Morpheen999 What did you think he was gonna do, chase down the train? Sure, he might have got a feeling it was his train considering the same train had some *issues*, but why would he think that the train was going to go anywhere with the brakes on? Also, don’t forget that the negligence of the company was what caused the first fire. Sure, if he spent 3 minutes on the hand brakes, the explosion wouldn’t have happened, but if the company care about the safety of their workers, neither the fire nor the explosion would have happened!
@@sugarkane1571 If he went straight to the train after hearing that the firefighters had put out the fire, Instead of the Incompetent train workers that did nothing... He would've fired up one of the other engines to make sure the air brakes stayed engaged for the rest of the night
This story left out a few details. When the engineer did the air brake test one of the devices on the engine that indicated that the air brakes were applied wasn't functioning so it indicated that the air brakes were not applied even though they were. The engineer did the proper tests but got fooled by the faulty air brake indicator that all the air brakes had been released. A second problem was that a device in the other engines that would have started the engine up automatically with low air brake pressure was not working. So basically it was the combination of several poorly maintained our broken devices on that train that led to the accident.
That makes more sense. Fact there was a mickey mouse fix in engine to start with shows lack of correct care. It was the perfect storm of train accidents. 😢 hope the engineer is doing okay. Wouldn’t want to be in his shoes. Poor guy.
This sounds like one of the air pressure indicators on one of the gauges didn’t work. I would think it’s against FRA regs, or, in this case the Canadian counterpart, to let that locomotive be a leader in a consist. I’m not familiar with the FRA regs, but wouldn’t think it could be used with that type of defect! Very unsafe!
That and another thing that wasn't mentioned is that the fire department (while correct in judgement) had no authority to turn the engine off (only rail operators have the authority to engange and disengage rail equipment.), and in doing so triggered the following chain of events due to disengaging the air brakes by mistake. This was also compounded by MMA not sending out an operator to the investigation, instead relying on what we call in the industry, "The hard hat clowns" because they wear hard hats to look important, but don't know shit about operations at all. They were PR people out there trying to downplay the Fire incident to local authorities, not Rail People who knew proper rail operation and securement procedure. In short colossal fuck up on the Railroads part, and the fact they tried to sewer the Operator and Dispatcher is just par for the course. Always the guys with ties who fuck shit up, always the guys in the Hi-Vis who eat the shit. Was super glad when the labourers were acquitted and the Company held accountable. I can only imagine given recent events that the Crew of the Train and their Dispatchers are also going through a similar gauntlet for what happened in East Palestine Ohio, and NS is doing everything in their power to make it their fault and not the Companies Fault....and they will probably succeed, because they usually do. Its always "the little guys fault".
@@kurtmooreca I was also glad when the crew and dispatcher were acquitted. I don’t know all details about the latest. I did hear it was a hot box and axle burned off, but am still puzzled about the three detectors involved. Again, don’t know all details. Keeping an open mind. Just wondered why they didn’t stop after getting flagged by the one at Salem. Again, keeping an open mind. Not going to place blame on the crew until all evidence in. Hoping they did the job right!
I met the engineer Tom Harding, years before the incident at CP in Montreal. A really good fellow. I am grateful the MM&A Short line Railway and owners were blamed for their bad decisions
Watching this after what’s going on in Ohio right now and wondering when the next catastrophe will occur. One man crews are a terrible idea. PSR and other safety measures being cut so executives can remain paid well. Workers don’t even get paid sick leave. Between the government and the large rail companies/shareholders, no one takes responsibility and yet these tragedies keep happening. How frightening for us all.
Even worse now, sense your comment there has been dangerous derailments in Huston, Detroit, and somewhere in South Carolina. Only time will add more to the list.
*how freight-ening. (Buh dum tssss) In all seriousness though, there's a reason workers during the industrial revolution would simply murder their bosses and burn down their homes. The government won't ever hold these men accountable because they too are responsible, and not only that, they're on the payroll of these corrupt companies.
It seems crazy that one person could ever be in charge of such a large train. What if there's a medical emergency? People do faint, have strokes, heart attacks, allergic reactions etc. with zero warning sometimes.
I Imagine trains have a dead man switch, if you dont operate it every few minutes it assumes something happened to the operator and applies the brakes. Not sure it that locomotives had it tho.
@@paulrzzs3923 Operator bypass safety features all the time, I know as a fact a train equip with that DMS mechanism was in an accident because the driver found a way to override as standard practice and entered a situation in which that safety equipment was designed for.
“So the coroners had to use DNA samples to identify them” So my late Step-Father Hamish was the ME for the Piper Alpha Disaster, was the last case he took because he couldn’t be in the morgue any more after that, dealing with that volume of burnt human remains is such a harrowing job it left Hamish with pretty crippling PTSD (during a time PTSD didn’t get much support and was heavily judged). So trust me when I say I really feel for those coroners, they had one hell of a task where they’re not receiving whole cadavers but rather parts of them, just small, mangled parts of people, images you can’t get out your head no matter how hard you try. I really hope the coroners had a strong support system, people who were able to love and support them, because it’s such an incredibly difficult job with explosions like this. Hamish died by suicide a decade ago, it was just something that never left him, and hearing about disasters like this where I learn the coroners dealt with similar circumstances, I can only pray they have lots of love, strong support and understanding, because even then it’s not enough.
I saw your comment about him on the brick immortar video about the piper alpha a while back. I have thought about him and you often. I hope you're doing okay. 🖤
@@echokilo333 thank you for thinking of me and Hamish, that’s really kind! I went to Hazlehead park the day after the video to visit the memorial, just sat and talked too it. I’m hoping the coroners and their families feel a sort of peace at the Memorial Lac-Megantic
I didn't know the square root of jack sh*t about Quebec, but after hearing how the residents came out in droves to support the 3 guys who were scapegoated, that is pure awesome. Every time I learn about French culture (old world or new) I come away highly impressed. The French are just ungovernable. I like that.
My grandpa’s ashes were there when this happened. As you can imagine my grandmother was devastaded when this happened. The whole province experienced the tragedy
My heart goes out to the train operator. It's good that the charges against him were dropped, hope this all doesn't weigh too heavily on him. Hearing the recordings of his interactions before and after it all was great, I love to hear that kind of thing, it helps contextualize the event. The horror in their voices as they realize it was their train is chilling. You can hear him go over how many brakes he put down, at first in his head and then out loud, and come to the conclusion that should be right: seven. That little thing has me sold that he honestly didn't know about the rule about brakes on an incline, safety rules only reach as far as they're taught.
@@-et37- I find it especially enraging that they were used as scapegoats as the company did not want to take responsibility. Now that is greed at its finest. As far as the conductor knew, he was following protocal. I can only imagine what he goes through mentally, probably feeling guilty for the kives lost.
Canada now forbids solo or one-person operations on all trains. A minimum of two or three personnel must accompany a train in Canada. As for the US, no rules have been forced to the rail companies to prohibit one person train operations.
@VP.Scarface No, it's because they claim there's no evidence that two person crews are safer than one person crews. However this disaster pretty well provides that evidence.
@VP.Scarface Even worse idea. What do you think happens when an automated train malfunctions in a similar manner? There isn't even a slight chance someone notices.
This reminds me of our local incident (Alvia accident). In Spain something similar happened, also in 2013. A HV train full of passangers derailed leaving 80 deaths and 145 injured. The train took a turn at 200km/h when it had to slow down to 80km/h. It also happened by a combination of human error and poor security measures. The train operator was called by the train company and was speaking with them and overlooked the one and only warning sign and did not slow down, causing the catastrophe. The operator received all the blame, but 9 years after the incident, laste year (2022) the trials began and we all expect the company to take its part of the responsability if not all the responsability. This is why security measures are important and have to be solid. RIP all the victims.
I was 10 years old when this happened. I remember seeing it on the news and being told about it, but I never was able to grasp the full extent of the disaster until today. I now have a better understanding of what these people went through and who is to blame for what happened. I sincerely thank you for covering these events.
Lac-Megantic is taught in Canada as a "what not to do" for crisis communications. Shortly after the disaster, the rail company CEO was slow to respond, put blame everywhere else, gave insincere apologies, and eventually got someone to communicate with affected residents ... who couldn't speak French. The CEO also took over a week longer than it was safe to even visit the town (while the Prime Minister visited as soon as the fires were out). Another really sad point about this disaster is one of the buildings closest to the blast was the town's senior care home.
@@gxlorp what the actual hell are you talking about? A senior care home being in the radius of a disastrous explosion is an incredibly sad event! While it would have been worse if it were, say, an orphanage, the elderly are incredibly important parts of all of our lives, and to lose them like this is horrific.
@@Choco____1 they're probably somebody of the most current generation (my generation. I hate being here.) who never learned to respect their elders. our seniors are the ones who did all the work for us to currently use and enjoy. They are the ones who helped work in times when there was less safety and less automation, and helped to bring the technology to what it is today. Treating them like dirt, when they have wisdom they can share to help make our lives easier and better, is akin to kicking a child in the face and telling them to grow up when they cry.
@@airplanemaniacgaming7877 If this guy is of our generation, at least it means that he has lots of room to grow. Everyone's teenage years are cringe to them when they finally grow up.
@@Choco____1 It's just an expectation at this point that things are going downhill. At least some can see that happening, wind up seeing it happening, or live their whole lives acting like everything is hunky-dory. Yes, I'm a bitter bastard. History tends to repeat itself, or creates a new thing that is somehow even worse than the last.
It was a very good informative video, but to me the missing part is HOW horrific it was. We talk about (around) 7 millions litres of crude oil, now imagine THE WAVE; witnesses describe a TSUNAMI of fire!!! It leaks in the sewage system, then fire was spilling out every manholes, in the house's basements, etc. Some people were running to the lake, others were running to reach higher points. No time to think, only reflexes that can save or cost your life.
Yes it's my town and it was felling like the end of The world y was kinda far like a kilometer away and the second explosion came in and all the sky lights up I was like this it it.sorry for my English 🤣
Same and I think this one is the first to really show that the operator really wasn't at fault. I am unsure if the other videos mentioned it or not, but I do love hearing that the town realized what the company was doing and stood up for the scape goats. It would have been so easy for them to blame them and be over with it all and yet they didn't.
Among many videos with similar topics, this one stands out! It is very rare to find such a well-written, comprehensive and fair documentary! To top it off: no unnecessary voyeurism. A true gem, thanks a lot! I wish some creators take an example.
Fire dispatcher here, I work at the dispatch center who handled the disaster, barely got sleep for 5 days, it was a mess but even with the disaster, the help and support from everyone around was amazing ! Rest in peace 🙏
I am a former freight conductor. I cannot overemphasize the importance of two-man crews. They could have prevented this. They genuinely make up so much of the safety of rail transport. You don't know the horror of working 12 hours or more, sleeping a broken four to five hours at a bunkhouse, only to work another 12 hours back home. Why is this a horror? You've been doing this for weeks, if not months, back to back. Your body is exhausted. Your brain feels broken. Your eyes close, and next thing you know you're 20 miles from where you last were. Your engineer, due to the advent of Trip-Op has nothing to do but hit the yellow RSC button when the tone chimes, or blow the horn. When you look over to see him, he's asleep too. You're doing 30mph with 30,000 tons of LPG behind you and you don't know if you went through a crossing without blowing it and took someone out. You don't know if the last signal you passed was red. You don't know if someone has been trying to contact you. All you can do is keep going to the next signal, praying it is green while both your engineer and yourself sit there horrified, but knowing if you report yourselves you'll be pulled into a formal investigation by the company and treated like a criminal. Lac Megantic could have been prevented. With the direction things are going, and the advent of single person crews? I don't think we've learned from our past sins. I promise you, with the track the large railroads are going (CN, CP, UP, BNSF, NS, etc etc), you will see another town wiped out. Not from mechanical defects, not from a loss of control, but because the railroads are removing those slices of swiss cheese that stop these disasters.
Not a bad thought. The real problem actually runs way deeper. It's the widespread believe that every regulation is "socialism" and bad. should only get people who, if the f*** up get 47 people killed get reasonable work hour and compensation (living wage). or do we include those where it's only their own health at risk?
And one of the biggest things in my experience is training. I hired on last year with a local rail switching company. We stay on site and switched out cars for large customer. Usually handling something like .. about a thousand cars a day. Well we have shift exchange at about 6: 00. A few months ago its about 5:30pm and it's dark out cuz it's winter time. I had just finished my work for the day early and headed into the office to put my rail cars that I moved into the computer tracking system. For the next crew to be able to switch what they need and take the correct cars to the plant. While I'm on the computer, I all of a sudden felt the ground shake like an earthquake and I heard the most gut-wrenching screech of metal on metal. My first thought was holy dang. Something just derailed. Thankfully it didn't, but I found out quite quickly afterwards tuning into the radio.... the 2nd crew crew that was trying to come up the hill was in a rush to get into the office. Well they weren't speeding but the guy riding the shove was apparently unfamiliar with the yard and didn't realize that the switch was set to track one. They're supposed to go on the bypass track to get into track 7 and then park the train there. Well because the switch was thrown for track one and he didn't know better because he wasn't trained and he was new. He just simply jumped off the train. At 14 mph. The female engineer at the other end of the train had no idea so she had throttle at notch 6. And that's when they hit the parked ethanol unit train. 89 cars of loaded ethanol sitting and waiting for Union Pacific to pick up. I was told that the cars were lifted in the air and somehow came back down on the track. Nothing derailed. We got away with one that night and holy crap. I can't imagine what would have happened if the speed was higher than 14 mph and something caught fire
@@tompw3141 Even though the engine got shut down, the hand brakes should have been enough to hold it. Even with the air shut off when we go to change brake shoes on our locomotives which is a similar model of the one used to pull this train, I still have to go release the ham breaks even if I cut the air out. That being said, five locomotives or seven whatever it was, plus the buffer car obviously was not enough. Especially on the hill on flat ground. No problem. But being it was on a three or four percent grade it should have been way more. Of course, a procedure like that would take at least a half hour to set the proper amount of hand brakes which would have put him over his legal amount of time to work. When the other guys came to inspect the train to make sure he's all safe, all they had to do was check if there isn't the proper amount of hand brakes. Which they would have seen that there was the proper amount of hand brakes. It just happened to be that they all were locomotives
The citizens of that town are examples of how humanity should behave. They showed compassion and empathy to the engineers involved with this tragedy. While it should never have been able to happen, it serves as an example of how people ought to react. I hope the town has been able to recover!
Thank you for covering this. I'm native from Quebec and this event that struck us ten years ago was harrowing, horrifying and everything in between for the whole province and nation. Its come to light once again through what should of been a moment of respite thru the televised series that we locally and proudly produced as our way to mourn the events, but its horrors reared its ugly face once again in a similar incident seen in Ohio as of late. While not at all as destructive as what we experienced, the ugly face of neglect by the railway companies of both Canada and USA have caused yet again an incorrectible tragedy. For it weren't the conductor(s)' fault, its those who delegate their operations not for safety but for profit.
A number of fire departments responded from across the border in Maine. It was an incredible task getting the cars sorted out and the fire finally extinguished. Much respect to the crews who took on the inferno.
@@monrow1961 Mainers are very kind people in general from my experience. And the Canadians are as well - when we had a big apartment fire up in Aroostook County last year, some fire trucks from New Brunswick showed up to help.
@ 4:00 Why does Richard Labrie sound like "Lenny" in, "Of Mice and Men"?? Someone should walk Richard down to the river, tell him to close his eyes and ask him if he sees the bunny-rabbits. {0.o}
I feel so bad for Tom - I can't even imagine the level of guilt he must be feeling. It wasn't his fault, at all, but guilt isn't logical like that. You could hear it in that earlier call - his gut was telling him to go check on the train. But he was talked out of it. I wouldn't survive that type of guilt. I hope he's doing okay these days.
@@lesleylawson8094 he would have had to hand crank every single one of the manual breaks on every single tanker car. That’s a lot of work and unnecessary if you have the air brakes on.
@@lesleylawson8094 he did what he could, with the resources he had. He even double checked. It’s the fire fighters who unknowingly turned a switch that made this catastrophe.
@@vsbaretummysugastonguetech1540 can't blame the firefighters, they are there to fight the fire, not there to learn about locomotives, the company should be to blamed, for sending trainees instead of professionals
@@lesleylawson8094 even if he did put everything on, the engine went off and they clearly stated that THE BREAKS STOPPED FUNCTIONING BECAUSE THE ENGINES WENT OFF, so in the end it wouldn't even matter if he had 2 billion brakes on them
10 years later and I still life in a town in Quebec where trains carrying hazardous cargo pass through downtown every 3-4 hours. There even was a derailment back in the 80s when the town was less populated/developped (no casualties I believe, but still). Back in the days there was talk of rerouting the tracks to go around the town, but that fell through. That there's been little to no change is pretty worrisome and infuriating. The appartement building I live in is right by these tracks, so it's difficult not to think about what could happen.
When the manager told the engineer "no" that time, and go to bed WAS the break point. The engineer would immediately notice the engine not idling. RIP to all, a big salute to the citizens. As a Floridian, I should add Lac-Mégantic to my list of winter vacation locations, it looks beautiful there.
@@karabinjr if the engineer had went down there, he would have restarted the engine as stated in the video. He knew the train should be idling to keep the air brakes activated. If he was there, more than likely he would have applied more hand brakes as a failsafe, albeit he didn't apply enough while on a hill to begin with.
A friend of mine died that day in the musi-café celebrating a friend’s birthday. Hearing about that chilling event makes me relive it as if it was yesterday.
It's quite sad but common to use train drivers as scapegoats... The 2011 Wenzhou Train crash in China was also blamed on the train driver who died from impalement by the brake handle... Of course, later investigation led to China's railway reform, several people in charge were arrested and sentenced. The driver was hailed as a hero who stayed on his post and held on the breaks until the last moment.
“Ah yes you see, this disaster isn’t our fault, clearly it’s the man who was killed by the breaks fault, he should have held the break not died from it”
you see, at least in china, someone, that is actually responsible does eventually get hold responsible. never seen it happen in any "western" country, but it frequently happens in china.
@@lattenkack3592 oh boy, you dont know the vast corruption that plagues both america and china. In america, corruption is acknowledged and there are laws a cunning individual can use to their advantage. In china, your born into corruption and the punishments are rare.
My parents were raised near Lac Megantic. I was home the day of the tragedy with my family. It was the most devastating moment I remember feeling seeing this on TV news. When it happens close to you, it hits hard.
Lack of maintenance is an unfortunate reality in the rail industry. I’ve had engines catch on fire while I’m on them and it’s not a good time. I’ve reported engines and been forced to take them as is. I’ve reported air brake issues and also been ordered to take the train out. Luckily, we never made it a mile outside of the yard. The crews get blamed for the companies lack of care. It’s a damn shame.
As a railroad enthusiast, everything you got in this video is correct when it comes to railway operating procedure. Hopefully this educates the public more on why we need to fight for two person and three person train crews, as well as fight to have a guarantee of safety from railroad companies when moving their trains through urban areas.
You can kiss railways goodbye then, we are on the horizon of no one in semi trucks...actually already running in Arizona...railways need to compete....they won't stand a chance with 2 and 3 men crews ...
This is a common story shared around the Locomotion community. I asked my uncle, a Train Engineer about this. Apparently after Tom was released, he apologized to all of the families affected with tons of money.
My now wife and I went here the year prior in 2012 after I was searching for dark sky areas to observe the stars. I'd never heard of this place before and we absolutely loved it. Safe to say it was shocking hearing this had happened to a town we thought no one has ever heard of but had a special place in our hearts. It was our first trip together.
@@BiggestYutaGlazerInHistory There is an area of the same name nearby with an observatory that is a dark sky reserve with limited artificial lighting.
What an upstanding community. It's a travesty that they never got justice for their loved ones, and even moreso that they're still in danger of a repeat tragedy.
And this is why we learn why a disaster/accident happens so we can learn from it and avoid a repeat. Those 47 lost helped save future lives but they won’t be forgotten. Update: forgot 7 people and yes I know this isn’t working out but people are still fighting to have the safety features added so this doesn’t repeat.
The US rail strike was partly due to the workers protesting unsafe conditions. The strike was denied and the same shortsighted dangerous practices are still in place.
There's no word to describe the anger we all feel in Quebec about companies refusing to implement the new security standards. They should not be allowed to run a train on our land without those. The train companies have way too much power over our politicians in North America, this needs to change now. Or we'll have another Lac-Megantic level tragedy on our hand soon, and then we'll only have ourelves to blame for sitting idle and doing nothing.
Les Quebecois est les plus fort dans Canada. (apologies if I butchered it, it's been a while since I really used French, and I was never really good with not anglo-writing with it to begin with.)
I just cannot believe that other countries do not use the system that is standard in the UK, where the brakes on cars are held on by springs and air pressure is needed to RELEASE them, rather than applying the brakes. It is simple and fail safe, along with not needing a locomotive to be left running when a train is parked. It may sound like a problem in the shunting yard, but it is not. Coupling the hoses to what you want to move takes less than 30 seconds per car and requires no physical effort. You can then pull off, without fear of anything else following you or running away. I have seen more than a dozen videos of accidents of this type, including the one in Japan, where simply by closing the air supply valve in error, the driver killed himself and around 100 passengers. I believe that at least France and Germany use the same system as ours, probably along with many other countries.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news to your comment as it happened again, but this time in the USA! Look up the news on the Ohio train derailment. The destruction isnt to the scale as Lac Megantic, but a whole town is basically going to be turned into a superfund pollution site due to heavy carcinogenic chemicals. I hope that it finally changes things down south and pushes for legislation and law changes.
I work in logistics for automotive, and these railroads are so out of touch, but they have literally all the power. It's ridiculous that governments aren't forcing these companies to do the right things for the SAFETY OF THE PEOPLE. How much do they value a life? Mine is priceless to me.
@@dissimulii Well, u know, how u guys always make demeaning comments about us over here in the EU, and how all our laws, rules and regulations are robbing us of our freedoms? U can keep ur "free-dumb". Coz those laws, rules and regulations are there to protect us. Against dangers like this. Against eating toxic food. To ensure our rights as workers to work under safe condition at a livable wage. To ensure our right to privacy. Etc etc. Yeah, imagine thinking the government cares about anything but preserving itself. In actually democracies they do, coz otherwise theyre out. U guys can be as foul and insulting as u like, u only make us laugh at u for volunteerily living under a system, where the vast majority is suppressed by the top 1% by means of propaganda making u actually support the lack of laws, rules and regulations to protect u. U have "free-dumb", coz u actually support the system, that ensures ur "right" to live in 3rd world conditions. Hell, there are 3rd world countries, that treat their ppl better than u. And why? Coz u allow urselves to be told, that ur the best in the world, ur better than every1 else, so no matter how bad things are for u, dont worry, every1 else has it worse. So u accept the unacceptable. Yeah, imagine thinking the government cares about anything but preserving itself. Ur government doesnt, coz u chose it to be so.
Money. Most of the goverments gets a cut of profits from railways. And as you know. Railways moves large amounts of goods. So this cut is quite substantial. And that's why in many countries railways are called government within the government. They pay and politicians and institutions turns the blind eye. So they can do whatever they want. Most what will happen in case of disaster or incident they WILL find the lowest level worker who will be sacrificed. And his life will be ruined. While "elite" continue to make money at the cost of human and environment.
I've been there so many times before, and after... I knew one of those 47 victims... I can't believe it's been almost 10 years ago already... A new path been promised for those trains to avoid Lac Megantic, but trains still use those tracks... RIP to all those 47... 🙏
@@tylern6420 - The other guy is right; I wasn't there that night. I worked a few days per year in one of the business that been destroyed. I've stay in a little hotel near by, ironicaly the same hotel where the train driver been... That hotel been destroyed eventually because of the soil contamination of this disaster...
This is my hometown. My father left the musicafe 20 mins before it happened. He heard the explosions and could see the fire and smoke from his driveway. RIP Roger Paquette and Richard Veilleux.
Your videos are, sadly, very well done!! Your narration is very good and I appreciated your talking at a rate so I can comprehend all the information!!!
I've been there when it happened. I used to live at Lac-Mégantic when the train fell. I lost two friends at the time and seeing this video makes me bring back old, hurtful memories. CCN should have been held much more accountable to their actions since they shouldn't have had this much oil on their locomotives. RIP 🇨🇦
Literally local to me, unforgettable event, so many family ripped apart, friends lost and a whole town completely destroyed... Many left because only living there was to much. The town is not even done rebuilding, and it'll take much longer before every one heals up from that. Your video is spot on! Thank you for caring!
I'm from Quebec and I vividly remember when this happened. It was a terrible tragedy and many people here still associate Lac Mégantic with this event.
The last hope to avoid disaster was crushed when they told Harding not to go to the train. Even if he'd not get there in time to stop the train from going. Having someone to sound the alarm would have saved many.
Good point about the timing -- his hotel was either 8 km or 8 miles from where he'd left the train, wasn't it? And a firefighter just leaving the scene of the engine fire spotted that same engine going by... Harding probably couldn't have made it back in time, even if he took the initiative to go, after having been told to head to bed instead. 😺💕🐾
@@nancyharman4795 That begs the question that if he had indeed went, would word have been sent to the Rail employees and fire fighters to stay on scene until his arrival. Surely they would’ve observed the train as it started to move.. In the case of “better safe than sorry”, this is the sorry. 😕
I used to work at a yard that could house 100+ rail cars. This event has haunted me since I learned of it and I think about it often. It’s absolutely terrifying.
This accident shows that saving money by only having one person operate a whole train by themselves is a bad idea. Funny that airlines are now discussing the possibility of cost-cutting by having only one pilot fly an entire jet on their own... Can't see how that could go wrong, its not like we have plenty of examples why putting one person in charge is terrible for safety /s
They can't legally do that though after what happened with that tragic flight where the mentally ill German pilot intentionally crashed the plane full of passengers into the mountains. They now have to have 2 or 3 people in the cockpit at all times. And no self locking doors
@@shadowsinmymind9 Exactly what I was thinking. There’s examples within aviation that pretty much spell it out that one person in the cockpit at a time is terrible, and it better not be a legal loophole they can jump through to make it happen.
You have to understand, it's not 47 victims, it's a whole community. What happened there is unthinkable. Every single person in the province knows about this, we all felt it. The owner of the company (16:33) belongs in prison.
I feel so sorry for the 3 employees of the rail line and especially the operator of the train. You could hear in his voice that he was very concerned on the calls.
I really enjoyed this video and the way it was told. Such a terrible Tragedy and so many lives lost and those who will have nightmares forever. My heart really goes out to you! ❤
From Varennes. I visited Lac Megantic a couple years ago. Visited the memorial, it's quite beautiful and impressive, all those sculptures with there messages of hope and what they did where the previous MusiCafe was. Truly beautiful.
Trainman from Maine here. Half of my coworkers were employed by the MMA railway when this happened, and because of this incident I can say that we’re not allowed to leave trains on the tracks between the border (or maybe as far west as Jackman) and Lac Megantic. I don’t have a timetable for the other side of Lac Megantic but I imagine it’s the same.
He did what he was trained to do and was told he was good so it was out of his hands at that point since they didn't even train the crew that showed up again not his fault
When i was hired to work for CN, they sent me out to Winnipeg. The training is extensive. My first week at the training facility, it was 8 hours from Monday to Friday showing us videos of these accidents happening under not just CN's railways, but all rail company accidents Canada and US wide. Those accident videos really put the gravity of just how bad things can get when things go wrong or mistakes are made. CN adopted a new motto a few years ago. "Zero is possible." When i first saw it i didn't really understand what it meant but after being informed, CN believes that having Zero accidents or injuries or deaths is possible, I only hope that i have the opportunity to contribute to that goal so things like this don't happen to anyone ever again.
My best friend lives there and actually considered going to the Musi Café that night. Thankfully, the place was crowded and they decided against it, going home instead. Just thinking about it, thinking what could've happened, it brings tears to my eyes. Thinking about all those people who lost there lives. That shit hits hard...
it's absolutely disgusting how many of these disasters are caused by poor, greedy, evil management who cares more about money than safety and they always get away with it.
Yeah, parking a heavy vehicle pointing downhill just gives me the creeps in general. Here in the UK, lorry drivers are taught how to do this (first of all, avoid parking on a hill if at all possible). You have to choose a parking spot with heavy buildings or fences next to it. First you turn on all brakes, then turn the front wheels towards the obstacle (something sturdy like a concrete building), in case for some reason the brakes let go - it is likely the whole lorry would just grind to a halt against the building, or at least slow it down significantly. Then you put chocks under the rear tractor wheels. In any case, the brakes are such that if the air pressure fails, heavy springs jam on all brakes through friction. This is all for a 44 ton HGV, nevermind a 10k ton train hauling fuel!
It was a common tie down/ crew change location. But since the track was considered the main line, derails were not installed since it would be easy for a vandal to cut the lock and set the derail, which could derail a west bound train at track speed. Since MMA let the track conditions deteriorate, it took two crews to get the train from Farnham to Jackman, ME. With MMA cutting so many jobs, in later years they would have the crew overnight in a hotel and take the train the rest of the way the following morning. The operator which took over the bankrupt MMA actually invested the money to upgrade the railroad, so trains could do the Jackman-Farnham portion in one shift eliminating the need for the crew change point.
@@needsmetal the C30's were purchased in the railroad's first year when they still had money. The C30 model requires extensive maintenance but is an extremely reliable locomotive. The unit would have never caught fire, had the block not been repaired with a JB Weld style material that can be purchased at Home Depot.
I feel like it would be so easy to blame the operator without hearing the full story and his phone calls, when in reality it seems like he was perfectly competent and operating in line with the company's procedures. Pretty scummy that he was used as a scapegoat and really awesome that the people of the town stood by him and the other two guys who got thrown under the bus, despite the unimaginable horror and heartbreak they must have been going through losing so many of their own people.
This happened not far away from where I am. I can remember where I was while I watched everything unfold on tv, updating friends on a forum on the situation. I was absolutely shocked. A few years ago, I went on vacation at Mount Mégantic national park and actually visited the memorial for the disaster. I live in the Quebec province, for context. Went to Cité de l'Énergie in Shawinigan with my best friend last summer and in the interactive museum of energy there were little docks with videos about the pros and cons of different energy sources. One of them included footage of Lac Mégantic and I jumped backwards in shock....
I'd heard of this story before but was shocked by the detail in this video that the train was single manned with a vehicle of this size and cargo you would think that it would be mandatory regulation that the train be multi operator as a normal procedure.
Another poster mentioned in another thread, that Canada actually changed the rules, now requiring a minimum of 2 or 3 personnel to accompany a train. No changes in the US tho.
@@MM-fe9mz leaving the train unattended is not the issue. The lack of safety measures is the problem (installing auto-stop devices on the engine, installing derailing devices on the rails and improving overall maintenance of trains in general).
RIP to those 47 people and condolences to their loved ones. Typical that the railroad was use those three accused as scapegoats. Glad to hear they were acquitted. Nice vid Dark history.
So they left 1 man to manage 72 train cars? A significant portion of it carrying explosive oil? That sounds TOTALLY sound. This kind of neglect stems from the mentality of, "oh its never happened before, and I think it's not going to happen, so it'll just be unnecessarily excessive"
Im from quebec, I was 6 years old when the tragedy happened. It was everywhere on every news station and spoke about it all day and the reportings haunt me to this day. so much so that i couldve sworn that the flames went on for more than 2 days, to little me it felt like a year, and the tragedy kept on being talked about on news for at least an other year
Thank you for covering this, it was huge news across Canada when it happened. It's incredible how extensive and fatal it was given how small the town is...this isn't a place with sky scrapers and densely packed houses and people.
Something that made the disaster worse than previous crude oil derailments is the quality of North Dakota's oil. Their crude is particularly sweet; it contains far more volatile compounds than normal. All oil tankers up until this point were built to carry less volatile oil and were never upgraded for safety.
I was camping in the south point of Lac Megantic lake the night of the accident with some friends. At one point we looked up and the sky was orange we thought at first that it was a forest fire. We decided to take a walk to the docks at the lake which was a 5-minute walk. It was there that in the distance we could see the town burning. And then we saw the mushroom cloud and the realization came over all of us that this was big and people for sure were dead. And then another mushroom cloud explosion and another. There was no big industry in Megantic and the closest thing I could think of was a lumber mill on fire. Never in my imagination at that time would I have thought it to be a train. The next morning we drove up to Mount Megantic and in the distance, smoke still billowed up towards the sky from the city center that was no more. Still sends shivers through my spine knowing how many people at that moment I was there were dead.
I was living in New Brunswick when this happened - I remember wanting to know all the details but never feeling satisfied with what I read. This video was excellent and covered everything from all perspectives! Very well done! 🙌
Growing up in a railroad town out here in the West this was always my worst fear. And to see it happen to the people of this town is horrifying... Also goes to show you the importance of safety protocols and proper maintenance to this very day and what happens when you cut corners to save a buck...
My late husband and I went there yearly in the late 90s and early 2000s as part of our annual vacation in Rangeley, Maine. I was horrified to hear of this disaster! People there were so kind and welcoming. I will never forget this disaster..and I was just a vague bystander. My prayers go out to all of the citizens impacted. So sad.
I cant imagine the guilt and pain those three felt, especially Harding... You can hear it in his voice that he truly believed he did everything right... I'm grateful to God they were acquitted.
I live close enough to some train tracks that I can hear when they go by. I've learned to ignore it and usually don't give it a second thought, but whenever the pattern in which they blow the horn changes, or the train's louder than usual I drop everything and listen out of fear that something like this will happen one day...
My dad had to work for 24 hours to reroute the drinking water system for a city downstream of Rivière Chaudière. He would sleep for 30 mins and then go back to work. It was wild.
Being from Quebec and even from a town near Lac Mégantic im "happy" to see that this story isnt forget and their memories wont be forgot and those error commit again.
I went to Lac-Megantic last summer. It's a beautiful small town. The downtown has been rebuilt and its shocking how it looks like it's been rebuilt atop a warzone. It's kinda weird how everything looks so new (cause it is!)
I like how they told him to stay at his hotel after he offered, and wanted, to go back to the train, to see it and secure it for his own peace of mind, but they said “just stay there, no need to go back, get some sleep” and then charge him with negligence.
Typical corporate.
With my OCD, I would have told the guy I'm going back to the unit. F that sh++
If I'm seeing the timeline correctly, he would've been too late anyway, since apparently a fire fighter saw the train roll past mere minutes after extinguishing it.
And the train operator was only called after the fire was under control. He was in a hotel in the other town, so I don't think he would've made it in time either way...
The company didn't charge him, the government did.
That phone call was probably what got him off the hook. He attempted to secure it and they told him to stand down.
You dont get to be absolved of responsibility just because some dude told you it's fine, especially when so many lives are in your hands.
While Mr. Harding screwed up by not engaging enough brakes, a train carrying crude oil should not have had one engineer managing the train.
It was company policy… basically he got skrewed by the MMA.
Yeah sadly had company followed policy and had a second person it would have been physically capable to engage all of the brakes... I don't blame him at all he did everything you possibly could yeah he had a couple mistakes but that was it everybody makes simple mistakes
And he couldn't have accounted for the fact that the firemen were going to cut the engine
Especially if you don’t even let that one engineer go check on it after it catches fire.
@@williamcote4208 there are exceptions where policies are overriden by certain actions. Yeah, the penalty might come later but the situation could be avoided.
That image at 7:50 really shows the scale of the carnage,absolutely dreadful!
This is the kind of town I want to live in. The community came together and defended 3 strangers and instead focused their attention on a bigger company. They must’ve known they wouldn’t win, but still wanted justice for those who are victims. That’s a true community.
@Carah ok
It's rare to see such town people defended 3 strangers. Now that is good town folks
@Carah just end it here
@Carah Get a life
@1099Wert ok
I am from Lac-Mégantic. I was present during the tragedy. Seeing these pictures gives me chills. I can still hear the terrible hiss that this fire has been making all night. Bravo for the documentary, your information is correct and well explained.
I'm glad to see you are OK at least ❤
😢
Jr suis desolé. Cela a dû etre traimatizant
So sorry you had to go through that :(
WoW, I'm just in complete shock just watching this video. Can't imagine the nightmares you and countless others will remember for the rest of your lives. So happy you lived to speak of this tragedy. Thankyou Friend ❤
I'm touched how the citizens of Lac-Megantic didn't blame the three employees, and even stood by them.
It's because the three employees was thrown under the bus. The real responsible was the MMA (Montreal Maine and Atlantics railroads) owner and CEO. That should be prosecuted , but when you are multi millionnaire the law fear to touch you. Even with a 10 feet pole.
@@MOTANFOUTUNE capitalism baby!
YES , fine people , they likely knew that the lowerst positions are usually the scape goats
Canada is usually lenient with prison time.
The driver was purely innocent, the guy who was sent to check the train should have had prison time, or if wasn’t trained to do so then the guy who sent him should face prison time. Checking the train if it’s safe and then it ends up blowing a town up… well his check weren’t great then
Man just hearing that conversation with Tom and his manager and then what transpired afterwards hits hard bro. Asking if he should go back and check on the train after he absolutely sure he secured it within spec, then finding out later that it was his train that derailed. That could have happened to any one of us that holds a job with some crucial responsibility. It's super fucked up that their company threw them under the bus but I'm glad that they were all acquitted!
Yeah he tried to make sure, offered to go check. The company didn't want to waste the hour of pay I guess 🤦🏾♂️😢.
This video was the best coverage I've seen of this tragedy
I work for a major U.S. railroad. I absolutely know they'd throw mu under the train if a similar situation happened with me.
@@katieandkevinsears7724 I just wanna pop in and thank you for doing what you do. Railroads are essential for our society to function, yet you don’t get the respect you deserve.
It was stated in the video that Harding did not secure his train within spec, even before the fire. He stated himself that he applied 7 hand brakes in total. With the slope the train was parked on however, he should have applied twice as many hand brakes according to procedure. That way, the train would not have able to move. Whether the locomotive's engine was on or not.
@@aspirec1376 Yeah, BUT how much of what he physically did was because of his training FROM THE COMPANY... and how much was just him saying, "Christ... It's late, I'm not doing anymore than that. She ain't going nowhere." ???
You see??? You DO NOT KNOW... AND with the confidence in his voice on the phone, he was doing what he was trained to do, as far as he knew ALL within spec'. We're getting the "actual spec's" from the video YEARS AFTER the fact, because they get referenced in the investigation and reports and court cases, all of it... REGARDLESS of what he was told to do in the classes, schools, refreshers, etc... on the job... BY THE COMPANY.
Did he REALLY know better than to test the handbrakes with the airbrakes on? Did he REALLY know how many handbrakes were prescribed for that slope on that train??? OR is it possible, his "Training Supervisor" told him the procedure to test the brakes, and "As long as she ain't going nowhere, she's secure enough. F*ck it. The brass don't need to be paying you overtime for extra handbrakes you don't need."???
OBVIOUSLY, if we even could track down the trainers and instructors, they'll ALL tow the school's prideful "company line". "We hold our students and especially our graduates to THE HIGHEST standards around here, because when we do right, nobody remembers, but when we screw up, EVERYBODY DIES!"
Right? You've heard those lines (or lines like them) before. God knows, I HAVE. It's almost always BULLSHIT... BUT you here the same "Customers and Passenger's safety is our TOP priority!" and blah-blah-blah...
...yeah... Then how is it so often we keep hearing and seeing about how you kill 50 to 1000 of them at a whack??? How is it that's not a "once in a lifetime" thing??? Highest standards???
....yeah... MY ASS... ;o)
Feel so bad for Mr. Harding.. he did everything he thought he was supposed to do and one little mix up (which definitely happened because he was the singular ONLY operator) screwed it all. Even after the first little smoke started, he offered to go back to the train and make sure everything was okay, but his superior told him not to and go to bed.. Harding almost certainly would’ve caught the error had he went back like he said he would..
Exactly I feel so bad for him cuz you know he almost certainly thinks about that about if only he just went back anyways to make sure everything was ok. He did his job and they tried to pin so much on him its just sad
Nope, he screwed up doing a proper securement test. And would have known it would hold if he had done it properly.
Maybe so, but he did leave the locomotive running that kept the airbrakes on, those along with the seven manual car brakes did hold the train. The problem began after the fire when the 2nd engineer switched the engine off, probably doing the right thing as per procedure, that caused the air brakes to release and started the runaway. @@freedomunrestricted
@@steveprice1639 one of the biggest rules is that you are never supposed to rely on air brakes for this exact reason. That's why a good securement test requires ensuring the train holds with handbrakes alone.
@@freedomunrestricted exactly, he came off easy
A week before the disaster, the town had hosted the national cycling championship, it was one of the most beautiful venue I've raced at. It felt so surreal to think that the whole place was gone in smoke right after we were there. Returning there a few years later left me with such an hollow feeling in my guts.
That's like the Lower 9th Ward in New Orleans, there are still empty slabs where there used to be homes. I can't imagine being there, the energy of death still resonates in some places.
What happened there?
@@user-tx7wu3rn4v hurricane katrina comes to mind though it probably isn't the only thing.
It hits me every time I hear this story overall I do not blame Tom Harding he did what he thought was necessary to operate the defective train and blame the inferior company he worked for
It sounded like on the phone conversation like he knew he should go up and check on that train after the fire, and there is no doubt in my mind if he had of, he would've secured the train properly and this disaster would've been avoided
@@Morpheen999 the only people responsible were the corrupt execs who chose to use subpar parts, profits should never ever take priority over safety, if they had used correct parts there would have been no fire nor would there have been a failure of the airbrakes and nothing would have gone wrong. This is another case of a rich company playing fast and loose with regulations and then blaming working men when something inevitably goes wrong
@@Morpheen999 What did you think he was gonna do, chase down the train? Sure, he might have got a feeling it was his train considering the same train had some *issues*, but why would he think that the train was going to go anywhere with the brakes on? Also, don’t forget that the negligence of the company was what caused the first fire. Sure, if he spent 3 minutes on the hand brakes, the explosion wouldn’t have happened, but if the company care about the safety of their workers, neither the fire nor the explosion would have happened!
@@Morpheen999 disaster is always caused by a chain of events. It was the final link, but far from the only one
@@sugarkane1571 If he went straight to the train after hearing that the firefighters had put out the fire, Instead of the Incompetent train workers that did nothing...
He would've fired up one of the other engines to make sure the air brakes stayed engaged for the rest of the night
This story left out a few details. When the engineer did the air brake test one of the devices on the engine that indicated that the air brakes were applied wasn't functioning so it indicated that the air brakes were not applied even though they were. The engineer did the proper tests but got fooled by the faulty air brake indicator that all the air brakes had been released. A second problem was that a device in the other engines that would have started the engine up automatically with low air brake pressure was not working. So basically it was the combination of several poorly maintained our broken devices on that train that led to the accident.
That makes more sense. Fact there was a mickey mouse fix in engine to start with shows lack of correct care. It was the perfect storm of train accidents. 😢 hope the engineer is doing okay. Wouldn’t want to be in his shoes. Poor guy.
This sounds like one of the air
pressure indicators on one of the gauges didn’t work. I would
think it’s against FRA regs, or,
in this case the Canadian counterpart, to let that locomotive be a leader in a
consist. I’m not familiar with the
FRA regs, but wouldn’t think it
could be used with that type of
defect! Very unsafe!
@@TPW900GP35 Don’t think safety was first on their minds. Its horrible. The engine patch alone shows you that. Bottom dollar outranked everything.
That and another thing that wasn't mentioned is that the fire department (while correct in judgement) had no authority to turn the engine off (only rail operators have the authority to engange and disengage rail equipment.), and in doing so triggered the following chain of events due to disengaging the air brakes by mistake. This was also compounded by MMA not sending out an operator to the investigation, instead relying on what we call in the industry, "The hard hat clowns" because they wear hard hats to look important, but don't know shit about operations at all. They were PR people out there trying to downplay the Fire incident to local authorities, not Rail People who knew proper rail operation and securement procedure.
In short colossal fuck up on the Railroads part, and the fact they tried to sewer the Operator and Dispatcher is just par for the course.
Always the guys with ties who fuck shit up, always the guys in the Hi-Vis who eat the shit.
Was super glad when the labourers were acquitted and the Company held accountable.
I can only imagine given recent events that the Crew of the Train and their Dispatchers are also going through a similar gauntlet for what happened in East Palestine Ohio, and NS is doing everything in their power to make it their fault and not the Companies Fault....and they will probably succeed, because they usually do. Its always "the little guys fault".
@@kurtmooreca I was also glad when the crew and dispatcher were acquitted. I don’t know all details about
the latest. I did hear it was a hot box and axle burned off, but am still puzzled about the three detectors
involved. Again, don’t know all details.
Keeping an open mind. Just wondered
why they didn’t stop after getting flagged by the one at Salem. Again, keeping an open mind. Not going to
place blame on the crew until all
evidence in. Hoping they did the job
right!
I met the engineer Tom Harding, years before the incident at CP in Montreal. A really good fellow.
I am grateful the MM&A Short line Railway and owners were blamed for their bad decisions
I am related to Tom and he is a wonderful person
Watching this after what’s going on in Ohio right now and wondering when the next catastrophe will occur. One man crews are a terrible idea. PSR and other safety measures being cut so executives can remain paid well. Workers don’t even get paid sick leave. Between the government and the large rail companies/shareholders, no one takes responsibility and yet these tragedies keep happening. How frightening for us all.
Even worse now, sense your comment there has been dangerous derailments in Huston, Detroit, and somewhere in South Carolina. Only time will add more to the list.
*how freight-ening.
(Buh dum tssss)
In all seriousness though, there's a reason workers during the industrial revolution would simply murder their bosses and burn down their homes. The government won't ever hold these men accountable because they too are responsible, and not only that, they're on the payroll of these corrupt companies.
No. 'Accidents'.
And it could have been prevented if lobbyists hadn't paid Congress to guy the laws passed after the disaster
I am wondering how many of the non-implemented recommendations from this incident will be found at fault in the Ohio derailment and others.
It seems crazy that one person could ever be in charge of such a large train. What if there's a medical emergency? People do faint, have strokes, heart attacks, allergic reactions etc. with zero warning sometimes.
Especially with all the heart injuries after 2021.
I Imagine trains have a dead man switch, if you dont operate it every few minutes it assumes something happened to the operator and applies the brakes. Not sure it that locomotives had it tho.
@@paulrzzs3923 Operator bypass safety features all the time, I know as a fact a train equip with that DMS mechanism was in an accident because the driver found a way to override as standard practice and entered a situation in which that safety equipment was designed for.
@@gxlorp what happened?
@@jonatgan8546the mandatory things…if that gives you a clue.
“So the coroners had to use DNA samples to identify them”
So my late Step-Father Hamish was the ME for the Piper Alpha Disaster, was the last case he took because he couldn’t be in the morgue any more after that, dealing with that volume of burnt human remains is such a harrowing job it left Hamish with pretty crippling PTSD (during a time PTSD didn’t get much support and was heavily judged). So trust me when I say I really feel for those coroners, they had one hell of a task where they’re not receiving whole cadavers but rather parts of them, just small, mangled parts of people, images you can’t get out your head no matter how hard you try. I really hope the coroners had a strong support system, people who were able to love and support them, because it’s such an incredibly difficult job with explosions like this.
Hamish died by suicide a decade ago, it was just something that never left him, and hearing about disasters like this where I learn the coroners dealt with similar circumstances, I can only pray they have lots of love, strong support and understanding, because even then it’s not enough.
I saw your comment about him on the brick immortar video about the piper alpha a while back. I have thought about him and you often. I hope you're doing okay. 🖤
Sorry to hear about that, hope you and your family are alright.
I remember your comment about Hamish on the other video too. I hope the MEs and support staff on this disaster got the support they needed too.
I'm sorry for all your stepfather went through. And losing him so sad.
@@echokilo333 thank you for thinking of me and Hamish, that’s really kind! I went to Hazlehead park the day after the video to visit the memorial, just sat and talked too it. I’m hoping the coroners and their families feel a sort of peace at the Memorial Lac-Megantic
I didn't know the square root of jack sh*t about Quebec, but after hearing how the residents came out in droves to support the 3 guys who were scapegoated, that is pure awesome. Every time I learn about French culture (old world or new) I come away highly impressed. The French are just ungovernable. I like that.
Bienvenue au Québec 🇨🇦
historically the french didnt treat the natives in the americas like shit unlike some other countries *cough cough spain and England*
they're pretty nice people
Very true.
Oh Quebecers are governable alright. Just gotta wave a cheque in front of their faces and they do whatever you tell them to.
My grandpa’s ashes were there when this happened. As you can imagine my grandmother was devastaded when this happened. The whole province experienced the tragedy
My heart goes out to the train operator. It's good that the charges against him were dropped, hope this all doesn't weigh too heavily on him. Hearing the recordings of his interactions before and after it all was great, I love to hear that kind of thing, it helps contextualize the event. The horror in their voices as they realize it was their train is chilling. You can hear him go over how many brakes he put down, at first in his head and then out loud, and come to the conclusion that should be right: seven. That little thing has me sold that he honestly didn't know about the rule about brakes on an incline, safety rules only reach as far as they're taught.
Agreed. I was oddly personally invested in whether or not he was charged. I'm happy that the charges were dropped.
Sure right, poor little train operator I hope he's well, the 47 persons that Died though they can fuck right off.
@@MissMiseryLeigh SAME. All 3 men couldn’t have known the extent of the problem.
The charges weren't dropped. He was acquitted of the charges. Big difference and I'm glad he was acquitted.
@@-et37- I find it especially enraging that they were used as scapegoats as the company did not want to take responsibility. Now that is greed at its finest. As far as the conductor knew, he was following protocal. I can only imagine what he goes through mentally, probably feeling guilty for the kives lost.
Canada now forbids solo or one-person operations on all trains. A minimum of two or three personnel must accompany a train in Canada. As for the US, no rules have been forced to the rail companies to prohibit one person train operations.
@VP.Scarface No, it's because they claim there's no evidence that two person crews are safer than one person crews. However this disaster pretty well provides that evidence.
The way these guys were arrested was over the top. Harding (I think) was taken by SWAT from a backyard birthday party.
@VP.Scarface Even worse idea. What do you think happens when an automated train malfunctions in a similar manner? There isn't even a slight chance someone notices.
@@XMysticHerox if corrupt companies can find ways to save money, they'll do it.
@@kansascityshuffle8526 Christ, as if he hadn't been through enough
This reminds me of our local incident (Alvia accident). In Spain something similar happened, also in 2013. A HV train full of passangers derailed leaving 80 deaths and 145 injured. The train took a turn at 200km/h when it had to slow down to 80km/h. It also happened by a combination of human error and poor security measures. The train operator was called by the train company and was speaking with them and overlooked the one and only warning sign and did not slow down, causing the catastrophe. The operator received all the blame, but 9 years after the incident, laste year (2022) the trials began and we all expect the company to take its part of the responsability if not all the responsability. This is why security measures are important and have to be solid. RIP all the victims.
I was 10 years old when this happened. I remember seeing it on the news and being told about it, but I never was able to grasp the full extent of the disaster until today. I now have a better understanding of what these people went through and who is to blame for what happened. I sincerely thank you for covering these events.
Lac-Megantic is taught in Canada as a "what not to do" for crisis communications. Shortly after the disaster, the rail company CEO was slow to respond, put blame everywhere else, gave insincere apologies, and eventually got someone to communicate with affected residents ... who couldn't speak French. The CEO also took over a week longer than it was safe to even visit the town (while the Prime Minister visited as soon as the fires were out).
Another really sad point about this disaster is one of the buildings closest to the blast was the town's senior care home.
How is that sad? It would be more sad if it was a bunch of kids
@@gxlorp what the actual hell are you talking about? A senior care home being in the radius of a disastrous explosion is an incredibly sad event! While it would have been worse if it were, say, an orphanage, the elderly are incredibly important parts of all of our lives, and to lose them like this is horrific.
@@Choco____1 they're probably somebody of the most current generation (my generation. I hate being here.) who never learned to respect their elders.
our seniors are the ones who did all the work for us to currently use and enjoy. They are the ones who helped work in times when there was less safety and less automation, and helped to bring the technology to what it is today.
Treating them like dirt, when they have wisdom they can share to help make our lives easier and better, is akin to kicking a child in the face and telling them to grow up when they cry.
@@airplanemaniacgaming7877 If this guy is of our generation, at least it means that he has lots of room to grow. Everyone's teenage years are cringe to them when they finally grow up.
@@Choco____1 It's just an expectation at this point that things are going downhill. At least some can see that happening, wind up seeing it happening, or live their whole lives acting like everything is hunky-dory.
Yes, I'm a bitter bastard. History tends to repeat itself, or creates a new thing that is somehow even worse than the last.
I’ve heard this one before, but this narration really puts into perspective how horrific this must have been.
It was a very good informative video, but to me the missing part is HOW horrific it was. We talk about (around) 7 millions litres of crude oil, now imagine THE WAVE; witnesses describe a TSUNAMI of fire!!! It leaks in the sewage system, then fire was spilling out every manholes, in the house's basements, etc. Some people were running to the lake, others were running to reach higher points. No time to think, only reflexes that can save or cost your life.
For everyone
Yes it's my town and it was felling like the end of The world y was kinda far like a kilometer away and the second explosion came in and all the sky lights up I was like this it it.sorry for my English 🤣
Same and I think this one is the first to really show that the operator really wasn't at fault. I am unsure if the other videos mentioned it or not, but I do love hearing that the town realized what the company was doing and stood up for the scape goats. It would have been so easy for them to blame them and be over with it all and yet they didn't.
didnt they make a movie of this
Among many videos with similar topics, this one stands out! It is very rare to find such a well-written, comprehensive and fair documentary! To top it off: no unnecessary voyeurism. A true gem, thanks a lot! I wish some creators take an example.
Rest in peace for those who were lost in this horrible event.
Fire dispatcher here, I work at the dispatch center who handled the disaster, barely got sleep for 5 days, it was a mess but even with the disaster, the help and support from everyone around was amazing ! Rest in peace 🙏
LOL. OK. 😅
@@RoshanAntonyTauro what? what is so funny about this? jfc.
@pencerism its always people involving themselves to a situation when it's likely not true commenting something like " I was there"
@@JRTX93 Well, I was there on duty, took the calls and tried to help people, so you're not quite right here buddy !
Sure ya did
I am a former freight conductor. I cannot overemphasize the importance of two-man crews. They could have prevented this. They genuinely make up so much of the safety of rail transport. You don't know the horror of working 12 hours or more, sleeping a broken four to five hours at a bunkhouse, only to work another 12 hours back home. Why is this a horror? You've been doing this for weeks, if not months, back to back. Your body is exhausted. Your brain feels broken.
Your eyes close, and next thing you know you're 20 miles from where you last were. Your engineer, due to the advent of Trip-Op has nothing to do but hit the yellow RSC button when the tone chimes, or blow the horn. When you look over to see him, he's asleep too. You're doing 30mph with 30,000 tons of LPG behind you and you don't know if you went through a crossing without blowing it and took someone out. You don't know if the last signal you passed was red. You don't know if someone has been trying to contact you. All you can do is keep going to the next signal, praying it is green while both your engineer and yourself sit there horrified, but knowing if you report yourselves you'll be pulled into a formal investigation by the company and treated like a criminal.
Lac Megantic could have been prevented. With the direction things are going, and the advent of single person crews? I don't think we've learned from our past sins. I promise you, with the track the large railroads are going (CN, CP, UP, BNSF, NS, etc etc), you will see another town wiped out. Not from mechanical defects, not from a loss of control, but because the railroads are removing those slices of swiss cheese that stop these disasters.
Not a bad thought. The real problem actually runs way deeper. It's the widespread believe that every regulation is "socialism" and bad. should only get people who, if the f*** up get 47 people killed get reasonable work hour and compensation (living wage). or do we include those where it's only their own health at risk?
And one of the biggest things in my experience is training. I hired on last year with a local rail switching company. We stay on site and switched out cars for large customer. Usually handling something like .. about a thousand cars a day. Well we have shift exchange at about 6: 00. A few months ago its about 5:30pm and it's dark out cuz it's winter time. I had just finished my work for the day early and headed into the office to put my rail cars that I moved into the computer tracking system. For the next crew to be able to switch what they need and take the correct cars to the plant. While I'm on the computer, I all of a sudden felt the ground shake like an earthquake and I heard the most gut-wrenching screech of metal on metal. My first thought was holy dang. Something just derailed.
Thankfully it didn't, but I found out quite quickly afterwards tuning into the radio.... the 2nd crew crew that was trying to come up the hill was in a rush to get into the office. Well they weren't speeding but the guy riding the shove was apparently unfamiliar with the yard and didn't realize that the switch was set to track one. They're supposed to go on the bypass track to get into track 7 and then park the train there. Well because the switch was thrown for track one and he didn't know better because he wasn't trained and he was new. He just simply jumped off the train. At 14 mph. The female engineer at the other end of the train had no idea so she had throttle at notch 6. And that's when they hit the parked ethanol unit train. 89 cars of loaded ethanol sitting and waiting for Union Pacific to pick up. I was told that the cars were lifted in the air and somehow came back down on the track. Nothing derailed. We got away with one that night and holy crap. I can't imagine what would have happened if the speed was higher than 14 mph and something caught fire
I love both these stories
The train was parked, the crew getting rest. That would have been the same with a two-person crew.
@@tompw3141 Even though the engine got shut down, the hand brakes should have been enough to hold it. Even with the air shut off when we go to change brake shoes on our locomotives which is a similar model of the one used to pull this train, I still have to go release the ham breaks even if I cut the air out. That being said, five locomotives or seven whatever it was, plus the buffer car obviously was not enough. Especially on the hill on flat ground. No problem. But being it was on a three or four percent grade it should have been way more. Of course, a procedure like that would take at least a half hour to set the proper amount of hand brakes which would have put him over his legal amount of time to work. When the other guys came to inspect the train to make sure he's all safe, all they had to do was check if there isn't the proper amount of hand brakes. Which they would have seen that there was the proper amount of hand brakes. It just happened to be that they all were locomotives
The citizens of that town are examples of how humanity should behave. They showed compassion and empathy to the engineers involved with this tragedy. While it should never have been able to happen, it serves as an example of how people ought to react. I hope the town has been able to recover!
Thank you for covering this.
I'm native from Quebec and this event that struck us ten years ago was harrowing, horrifying and everything in between for the whole province and nation.
Its come to light once again through what should of been a moment of respite thru the televised series that we locally and proudly produced as our way to mourn the events, but its horrors reared its ugly face once again in a similar incident seen in Ohio as of late.
While not at all as destructive as what we experienced, the ugly face of neglect by the railway companies of both Canada and USA have caused yet again an incorrectible tragedy.
For it weren't the conductor(s)' fault, its those who delegate their operations not for safety but for profit.
A number of fire departments responded from across the border in Maine. It was an incredible task getting the cars sorted out and the fire finally extinguished. Much respect to the crews who took on the inferno.
I didn't know that, that's very kind from the people of Maine
@@monrow1961 Mainers are very kind people in general from my experience. And the Canadians are as well - when we had a big apartment fire up in Aroostook County last year, some fire trucks from New Brunswick showed up to help.
@ 4:00 Why does Richard Labrie sound like "Lenny" in, "Of Mice and Men"??
Someone should walk Richard down to the river, tell him to close his eyes and ask him if he sees the bunny-rabbits. {0.o}
@@Snowstar837 happens a lot during power outages, we send each other workers
I feel so bad for Tom - I can't even imagine the level of guilt he must be feeling. It wasn't his fault, at all, but guilt isn't logical like that. You could hear it in that earlier call - his gut was telling him to go check on the train. But he was talked out of it. I wouldn't survive that type of guilt. I hope he's doing okay these days.
He didn't put all the breaks on! It said it he didn't put them on
@@lesleylawson8094 he would have had to hand crank every single one of the manual breaks on every single tanker car. That’s a lot of work and unnecessary if you have the air brakes on.
@@lesleylawson8094 he did what he could, with the resources he had. He even double checked. It’s the fire fighters who unknowingly turned a switch that made this catastrophe.
@@vsbaretummysugastonguetech1540 can't blame the firefighters, they are there to fight the fire, not there to learn about locomotives, the company should be to blamed, for sending trainees instead of professionals
@@lesleylawson8094 even if he did put everything on, the engine went off and they clearly stated that THE BREAKS STOPPED FUNCTIONING BECAUSE THE ENGINES WENT OFF, so in the end it wouldn't even matter if he had 2 billion brakes on them
10 years later and I still life in a town in Quebec where trains carrying hazardous cargo pass through downtown every 3-4 hours. There even was a derailment back in the 80s when the town was less populated/developped (no casualties I believe, but still). Back in the days there was talk of rerouting the tracks to go around the town, but that fell through. That there's been little to no change is pretty worrisome and infuriating. The appartement building I live in is right by these tracks, so it's difficult not to think about what could happen.
When the manager told the engineer "no" that time, and go to bed WAS the break point. The engineer would immediately notice the engine not idling. RIP to all, a big salute to the citizens. As a Floridian, I should add Lac-Mégantic to my list of winter vacation locations, it looks beautiful there.
didn't the engine burn? that's what handbrakes were for
@@karabinjr if the engineer had went down there, he would have restarted the engine as stated in the video. He knew the train should be idling to keep the air brakes activated. If he was there, more than likely he would have applied more hand brakes as a failsafe, albeit he didn't apply enough while on a hill to begin with.
@@kevinspacey5325 but how would he restart the engine that has burned down. What makes you think it is in working condition?
@@karabinjr Maybe they thought those engines were more rugged than Corollas idk
@@karabinjr He would have tried. . . . failed. . . then realized there was a bigger problem involved. that was the point i was making.
A friend of mine died that day in the musi-café celebrating a friend’s birthday. Hearing about that chilling event makes me relive it as if it was yesterday.
😢 I’m so sorry!
Sorry for your loss.
The timing of this is eerie…
Crazy you post this and East Palenstine, Ohio gets destroyed by a train derailment and nobody is talking about it
It's quite sad but common to use train drivers as scapegoats... The 2011 Wenzhou Train crash in China was also blamed on the train driver who died from impalement by the brake handle... Of course, later investigation led to China's railway reform, several people in charge were arrested and sentenced. The driver was hailed as a hero who stayed on his post and held on the breaks until the last moment.
That's how you would get impaled by the break handle I imagine, not letting go of it
“Ah yes you see, this disaster isn’t our fault, clearly it’s the man who was killed by the breaks fault, he should have held the break not died from it”
you see, at least in china, someone, that is actually responsible does eventually get hold responsible. never seen it happen in any "western" country, but it frequently happens in china.
@@lattenkack3592 oh boy, you dont know the vast corruption that plagues both america and china. In america, corruption is acknowledged and there are laws a cunning individual can use to their advantage. In china, your born into corruption and the punishments are rare.
I find it quite heartwarming that in their grief, the residents didn't blame the 3 employees; instead, quite rightly, blaming the companies involved,
My parents were raised near Lac Megantic.
I was home the day of the tragedy with my family. It was the most devastating moment I remember feeling seeing this on TV news. When it happens close to you, it hits hard.
Lack of maintenance is an unfortunate reality in the rail industry. I’ve had engines catch on fire while I’m on them and it’s not a good time. I’ve reported engines and been forced to take them as is. I’ve reported air brake issues and also been ordered to take the train out. Luckily, we never made it a mile outside of the yard. The crews get blamed for the companies lack of care. It’s a damn shame.
As a railroad enthusiast, everything you got in this video is correct when it comes to railway operating procedure. Hopefully this educates the public more on why we need to fight for two person and three person train crews, as well as fight to have a guarantee of safety from railroad companies when moving their trains through urban areas.
This terrible disaster reminds me a lot of the new Palestine Ohio disaster, and the negligence of northolk and southern
Basically like how airlines require at least two pilots on the flight just in case.
@@brainrotmdthe two pilots in airliners definitely arent there "just in case"
A second person likely would not have known he screwed up the securement test.
You can kiss railways goodbye then, we are on the horizon of no one in semi trucks...actually already running in Arizona...railways need to compete....they won't stand a chance with 2 and 3 men crews ...
I remember this happening. I’m always surprised people don’t talk about it more
I still talk about it. I live near train tracks and it really kind of scarred me. 😟😟
there is a tv serie about it on club illico
Seems like there is a Denzel Washington movie loosely based on this, except he stops the train.
So true. I still remember that day and I live on the other side of the country
@@fedfan3079 Wrong runaway thats Unstopable and the story of Crazy 8s
Thank you for posting this documentary. N Scale Train Enthusiast here.
Weird time to be recommended this
This is a common story shared around the Locomotion community. I asked my uncle, a Train Engineer about this. Apparently after Tom was released, he apologized to all of the families affected with tons of money.
Its also a very common story told in Quebec and Canada
My now wife and I went here the year prior in 2012 after I was searching for dark sky areas to observe the stars. I'd never heard of this place before and we absolutely loved it. Safe to say it was shocking hearing this had happened to a town we thought no one has ever heard of but had a special place in our hearts. It was our first trip together.
Bro what
@@BiggestYutaGlazerInHistory There is an area of the same name nearby with an observatory that is a dark sky reserve with limited artificial lighting.
Ive also been there and it’s absolutely beautiful
@GojoBiggestHater can you not read ? Buddy was pretty clear with what he said
This is video hits different with the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio
What an upstanding community. It's a travesty that they never got justice for their loved ones, and even moreso that they're still in danger of a repeat tragedy.
And this is why we learn why a disaster/accident happens so we can learn from it and avoid a repeat. Those 47 lost helped save future lives but they won’t be forgotten.
Update: forgot 7 people and yes I know this isn’t working out but people are still fighting to have the safety features added so this doesn’t repeat.
Judging from one is the last statements in this video those lives lost are currently in vain as the new regulations are being skirted.
The US rail strike was partly due to the workers protesting unsafe conditions. The strike was denied and the same shortsighted dangerous practices are still in place.
they are being forgotten though, like the vid said railways arent following the new regulations, theyre just ignoring them
47 not 40
did you not watch and/or listen to the programme?
There's no word to describe the anger we all feel in Quebec about companies refusing to implement the new security standards. They should not be allowed to run a train on our land without those. The train companies have way too much power over our politicians in North America, this needs to change now. Or we'll have another Lac-Megantic level tragedy on our hand soon, and then we'll only have ourelves to blame for sitting idle and doing nothing.
We paid for the Canadian Pacific when we were forced to join Canada and we are still paying to enrich these bastards.
Les Quebecois est les plus fort dans Canada.
(apologies if I butchered it, it's been a while since I really used French, and I was never really good with not anglo-writing with it to begin with.)
I just cannot believe that other countries do not use the system that is standard in the UK, where the brakes on cars are held on by springs and air pressure is needed to RELEASE them, rather than applying the brakes. It is simple and fail safe, along with not needing a locomotive to be left running when a train is parked.
It may sound like a problem in the shunting yard, but it is not. Coupling the hoses to what you want to move takes less than 30 seconds per car and requires no physical effort. You can then pull off, without fear of anything else following you or running away.
I have seen more than a dozen videos of accidents of this type, including the one in Japan, where simply by closing the air supply valve in error, the driver killed himself and around 100 passengers.
I believe that at least France and Germany use the same system as ours, probably along with many other countries.
@@wilsjane exactly, U.S trains technology is very dated and backward
I hate to be the bearer of bad news to your comment as it happened again, but this time in the USA! Look up the news on the Ohio train derailment. The destruction isnt to the scale as Lac Megantic, but a whole town is basically going to be turned into a superfund pollution site due to heavy carcinogenic chemicals.
I hope that it finally changes things down south and pushes for legislation and law changes.
this video aged real well in only 2 weeks
Engineer sounds like a nice genuine guy.
I work in logistics for automotive, and these railroads are so out of touch, but they have literally all the power. It's ridiculous that governments aren't forcing these companies to do the right things for the SAFETY OF THE PEOPLE. How much do they value a life? Mine is priceless to me.
imagine thinking the government cares about anything but preserving itself. i'm genuinely curious how people end up this naive and misguided.
Oh they can most definitely put a price value on human life and they do. And believe it or not, life is cheap...
@@dissimulii Well, u know, how u guys always make demeaning comments about us over here in the EU, and how all our laws, rules and regulations are robbing us of our freedoms? U can keep ur "free-dumb". Coz those laws, rules and regulations are there to protect us. Against dangers like this. Against eating toxic food. To ensure our rights as workers to work under safe condition at a livable wage. To ensure our right to privacy. Etc etc.
Yeah, imagine thinking the government cares about anything but preserving itself. In actually democracies they do, coz otherwise theyre out. U guys can be as foul and insulting as u like, u only make us laugh at u for volunteerily living under a system, where the vast majority is suppressed by the top 1% by means of propaganda making u actually support the lack of laws, rules and regulations to protect u. U have "free-dumb", coz u actually support the system, that ensures ur "right" to live in 3rd world conditions. Hell, there are 3rd world countries, that treat their ppl better than u. And why? Coz u allow urselves to be told, that ur the best in the world, ur better than every1 else, so no matter how bad things are for u, dont worry, every1 else has it worse. So u accept the unacceptable.
Yeah, imagine thinking the government cares about anything but preserving itself. Ur government doesnt, coz u chose it to be so.
Money. Most of the goverments gets a cut of profits from railways. And as you know. Railways moves large amounts of goods. So this cut is quite substantial. And that's why in many countries railways are called government within the government. They pay and politicians and institutions turns the blind eye. So they can do whatever they want. Most what will happen in case of disaster or incident they WILL find the lowest level worker who will be sacrificed. And his life will be ruined. While "elite" continue to make money at the cost of human and environment.
@@dissimulii I'm not naive. I actually DO understand, but I can still be outraged and flabbergasted by it.
I've been there so many times before, and after... I knew one of those 47 victims... I can't believe it's been almost 10 years ago already... A new path been promised for those trains to avoid Lac Megantic, but trains still use those tracks... RIP to all those 47... 🙏
You were there when it happened?
@@tylern6420 No.. the person has visited that place but not during the accident
@@Didyus thats good
@@tylern6420 - The other guy is right; I wasn't there that night. I worked a few days per year in one of the business that been destroyed. I've stay in a little hotel near by, ironicaly the same hotel where the train driver been... That hotel been destroyed eventually because of the soil contamination of this disaster...
@@tylern6420 he said before and after the incident not during.
This is my hometown. My father left the musicafe 20 mins before it happened. He heard the explosions and could see the fire and smoke from his driveway. RIP Roger Paquette and Richard Veilleux.
Your videos are, sadly, very well done!! Your narration is very good and I appreciated your talking at a rate so I can comprehend all the information!!!
I've been there when it happened. I used to live at Lac-Mégantic when the train fell. I lost two friends at the time and seeing this video makes me bring back old, hurtful memories. CCN should have been held much more accountable to their actions since they shouldn't have had this much oil on their locomotives.
RIP 🇨🇦
Literally local to me, unforgettable event, so many family ripped apart, friends lost and a whole town completely destroyed...
Many left because only living there was to much. The town is not even done rebuilding, and it'll take much longer before every one heals up from that. Your video is spot on! Thank you for caring!
Incredibly tragic event, like yesterday, not 10 years! Great video, ty. ❤
I'm from Quebec and I vividly remember when this happened. It was a terrible tragedy and many people here still associate Lac Mégantic with this event.
The last hope to avoid disaster was crushed when they told Harding not to go to the train. Even if he'd not get there in time to stop the train from going. Having someone to sound the alarm would have saved many.
Good point about the timing -- his hotel was either 8 km or 8 miles from where he'd left the train, wasn't it? And a firefighter just leaving the scene of the engine fire spotted that same engine going by... Harding probably couldn't have made it back in time, even if he took the initiative to go, after having been told to head to bed instead. 😺💕🐾
@@nancyharman4795 That begs the question that if he had indeed went, would word have been sent to the Rail employees and fire fighters to stay on scene until his arrival. Surely they would’ve observed the train as it started to move..
In the case of “better safe than sorry”, this is the sorry. 😕
Just terrifying, I am a railroad enthusiast, and I am amazed of the great narration. Again, amazing work.
Man the phone calls were brutal! I can’t even imagine the feeling Tom had when he found out it was his train.
When he said only one injured showed up in the hospital I thought good everyone else survived. But then he said 47 were burned beyond recognition.
I used to work at a yard that could house 100+ rail cars. This event has haunted me since I learned of it and I think about it often. It’s absolutely terrifying.
This accident shows that saving money by only having one person operate a whole train by themselves is a bad idea.
Funny that airlines are now discussing the possibility of cost-cutting by having only one pilot fly an entire jet on their own... Can't see how that could go wrong, its not like we have plenty of examples why putting one person in charge is terrible for safety /s
They can't legally do that though after what happened with that tragic flight where the mentally ill German pilot intentionally crashed the plane full of passengers into the mountains. They now have to have 2 or 3 people in the cockpit at all times. And no self locking doors
@@shadowsinmymind9 Exactly what I was thinking. There’s examples within aviation that pretty much spell it out that one person in the cockpit at a time is terrible, and it better not be a legal loophole they can jump through to make it happen.
@Fishy excuse me? Who says that kinda crap?
You have to understand, it's not 47 victims, it's a whole community.
What happened there is unthinkable.
Every single person in the province knows about this, we all felt it.
The owner of the company (16:33) belongs in prison.
Not true ! He is free like the wind !!
Free em
I feel so sorry for the 3 employees of the rail line and especially the operator of the train. You could hear in his voice that he was very concerned on the calls.
I really enjoyed this video and the way it was told. Such a terrible Tragedy and so many lives lost and those who will have nightmares forever. My heart really goes out to you! ❤
I'm from Montreal and I remember the horror of this incident.....
From Mauricie region. Was in LaTuque when it happened
From Varennes. I visited Lac Megantic a couple years ago. Visited the memorial, it's quite beautiful and impressive, all those sculptures with there messages of hope and what they did where the previous MusiCafe was. Truly beautiful.
Trainman from Maine here. Half of my coworkers were employed by the MMA railway when this happened, and because of this incident I can say that we’re not allowed to leave trains on the tracks between the border (or maybe as far west as Jackman) and Lac Megantic. I don’t have a timetable for the other side of Lac Megantic but I imagine it’s the same.
Its remarkably wonderful that the local community supported the engineer rather than accepting his being singled out as a scapegoat.
He did what he was trained to do and was told he was good so it was out of his hands at that point since they didn't even train the crew that showed up again not his fault
@FarTooRight Didn't know fighting against your occupiers makes you a terrorist
@@ilyaslerouge1598 freedom of speech 🇺🇸😜
When i was hired to work for CN, they sent me out to Winnipeg. The training is extensive. My first week at the training facility, it was 8 hours from Monday to Friday showing us videos of these accidents happening under not just CN's railways, but all rail company accidents Canada and US wide. Those accident videos really put the gravity of just how bad things can get when things go wrong or mistakes are made. CN adopted a new motto a few years ago. "Zero is possible." When i first saw it i didn't really understand what it meant but after being informed, CN believes that having Zero accidents or injuries or deaths is possible, I only hope that i have the opportunity to contribute to that goal so things like this don't happen to anyone ever again.
My best friend lives there and actually considered going to the Musi Café that night. Thankfully, the place was crowded and they decided against it, going home instead.
Just thinking about it, thinking what could've happened, it brings tears to my eyes. Thinking about all those people who lost there lives. That shit hits hard...
it's absolutely disgusting how many of these disasters are caused by poor, greedy, evil management who cares more about money than safety and they always get away with it.
It's incredible that the railroad would not require a fully loaded train parked on a downhill slope to be secured by derails or catch points.
Yeah, parking a heavy vehicle pointing downhill just gives me the creeps in general. Here in the UK, lorry drivers are taught how to do this (first of all, avoid parking on a hill if at all possible). You have to choose a parking spot with heavy buildings or fences next to it. First you turn on all brakes, then turn the front wheels towards the obstacle (something sturdy like a concrete building), in case for some reason the brakes let go - it is likely the whole lorry would just grind to a halt against the building, or at least slow it down significantly. Then you put chocks under the rear tractor wheels. In any case, the brakes are such that if the air pressure fails, heavy springs jam on all brakes through friction. This is all for a 44 ton HGV, nevermind a 10k ton train hauling fuel!
One issue is the MMA had no money, illegaling cut every cornor, buying GEs that were prone to fire. Plus the oil, just a wonder it lasted 10 years
Turns out the siding beside the main line had derails, but it had empty boxcars on it.
It was a common tie down/ crew change location. But since the track was considered the main line, derails were not installed since it would be easy for a vandal to cut the lock and set the derail, which could derail a west bound train at track speed. Since MMA let the track conditions deteriorate, it took two crews to get the train from Farnham to Jackman, ME. With MMA cutting so many jobs, in later years they would have the crew overnight in a hotel and take the train the rest of the way the following morning. The operator which took over the bankrupt MMA actually invested the money to upgrade the railroad, so trains could do the Jackman-Farnham portion in one shift eliminating the need for the crew change point.
@@needsmetal the C30's were purchased in the railroad's first year when they still had money. The C30 model requires extensive maintenance but is an extremely reliable locomotive. The unit would have never caught fire, had the block not been repaired with a JB Weld style material that can be purchased at Home Depot.
I remember when this happened live about 4hrs north of there and the town still are recovering from this😢
I feel like it would be so easy to blame the operator without hearing the full story and his phone calls, when in reality it seems like he was perfectly competent and operating in line with the company's procedures. Pretty scummy that he was used as a scapegoat and really awesome that the people of the town stood by him and the other two guys who got thrown under the bus, despite the unimaginable horror and heartbreak they must have been going through losing so many of their own people.
This happened not far away from where I am. I can remember where I was while I watched everything unfold on tv, updating friends on a forum on the situation. I was absolutely shocked.
A few years ago, I went on vacation at Mount Mégantic national park and actually visited the memorial for the disaster.
I live in the Quebec province, for context. Went to Cité de l'Énergie in Shawinigan with my best friend last summer and in the interactive museum of energy there were little docks with videos about the pros and cons of different energy sources. One of them included footage of Lac Mégantic and I jumped backwards in shock....
I'd heard of this story before but was shocked by the detail in this video that the train was single manned with a vehicle of this size and cargo you would think that it would be mandatory regulation that the train be multi operator as a normal procedure.
Good point. I guess that's the cherry on top for all the cost cutting the company was doing at the time.
Another poster mentioned in another thread, that Canada actually changed the rules, now requiring a minimum of 2 or 3 personnel to accompany a train. No changes in the US tho.
And leaving it unattended overnight is just craziness
@@MM-fe9mz leaving the train unattended is not the issue. The lack of safety measures is the problem (installing auto-stop devices on the engine, installing derailing devices on the rails and improving overall maintenance of trains in general).
I thought there would have been a night shift guard or something, at the very least to stop a runaway train or potencial thieves
Great video and overview of this horrible incident.
RIP to those 47 people and condolences to their loved ones. Typical that the railroad was use those three accused as scapegoats. Glad to hear they were acquitted. Nice vid Dark history.
Over 40 deaths in a small town like this one?
Jesus.
Why mention his name when apparently it doesn't mean anything to you anyway. Odd habit
@@wrosebrock god isnt real
@@wrosebrock You ever hear what they say about assuming?
@@wrosebrock It's ok, christinanity is all about forgiveness, why don't you preach what you teach a bit??
It's a crazy coincidence that this came out so close to the derailment of a train in my state (Ohio) that was carrying hazardous materials
I don’t believe it’s a coincidence that it isn’t getting much attention.
It's not a crazy coincidence it's over 500 miles away from ohio
So they left 1 man to manage 72 train cars? A significant portion of it carrying explosive oil? That sounds TOTALLY sound.
This kind of neglect stems from the mentality of, "oh its never happened before, and I think it's not going to happen, so it'll just be unnecessarily excessive"
Im from quebec, I was 6 years old when the tragedy happened. It was everywhere on every news station and spoke about it all day and the reportings haunt me to this day. so much so that i couldve sworn that the flames went on for more than 2 days, to little me it felt like a year, and the tragedy kept on being talked about on news for at least an other year
Thank you for covering this, it was huge news across Canada when it happened. It's incredible how extensive and fatal it was given how small the town is...this isn't a place with sky scrapers and densely packed houses and people.
Something that made the disaster worse than previous crude oil derailments is the quality of North Dakota's oil. Their crude is particularly sweet; it contains far more volatile compounds than normal. All oil tankers up until this point were built to carry less volatile oil and were never upgraded for safety.
One person to handle that massive train is INSANE
The timing of this video is crazy.
I was camping in the south point of Lac Megantic lake the night of the accident with some friends. At one point we looked up and the sky was orange we thought at first that it was a forest fire. We decided to take a walk to the docks at the lake which was a 5-minute walk. It was there that in the distance we could see the town burning. And then we saw the mushroom cloud and the realization came over all of us that this was big and people for sure were dead. And then another mushroom cloud explosion and another. There was no big industry in Megantic and the closest thing I could think of was a lumber mill on fire. Never in my imagination at that time would I have thought it to be a train. The next morning we drove up to Mount Megantic and in the distance, smoke still billowed up towards the sky from the city center that was no more. Still sends shivers through my spine knowing how many people at that moment I was there were dead.
I was living in New Brunswick when this happened - I remember wanting to know all the details but never feeling satisfied with what I read. This video was excellent and covered everything from all perspectives! Very well done! 🙌
From Québec here...amazing documentary!
Watching from Australia - never knew of this, thank you for sharing
Thank you for covering this. I had never heard of it before. Rest in peace to all those who lost their lives
Growing up in a railroad town out here in the West this was always my worst fear. And to see it happen to the people of this town is horrifying... Also goes to show you the importance of safety protocols and proper maintenance to this very day and what happens when you cut corners to save a buck...
My late husband and I went there yearly in the late 90s and early 2000s as part of our annual vacation in Rangeley, Maine. I was horrified to hear of this disaster! People there were so kind and welcoming. I will never forget this disaster..and I was just a vague bystander. My prayers go out to all of the citizens impacted. So sad.
I cant imagine the guilt and pain those three felt, especially Harding... You can hear it in his voice that he truly believed he did everything right... I'm grateful to God they were acquitted.
I live close enough to some train tracks that I can hear when they go by. I've learned to ignore it and usually don't give it a second thought, but whenever the pattern in which they blow the horn changes, or the train's louder than usual I drop everything and listen out of fear that something like this will happen one day...
My dad had to work for 24 hours to reroute the drinking water system for a city downstream of Rivière Chaudière. He would sleep for 30 mins and then go back to work. It was wild.
Being from Quebec and even from a town near Lac Mégantic im "happy" to see that this story isnt forget and their memories wont be forgot and those error commit again.
I went to Lac-Megantic last summer. It's a beautiful small town. The downtown has been rebuilt and its shocking how it looks like it's been rebuilt atop a warzone. It's kinda weird how everything looks so new (cause it is!)